The KGB Double Agent Who Stopped Armageddon with Ben McIntyre

The KGB Double Agent Who Stopped Armageddon with Ben McIntyre

Author: History Hit September 14, 2026 Duration: 41:29

This is an extraordinary story of espionage, betrayal and an unlikely friendship between spies on opposite sides - and of a man who risked his life and shaped the course of history, for a deeply personal and unlikely reason. In 1981, Washington feared a Soviet takeover of Iran could trigger military intervention and potentially a nuclear war. A KGB officer - Vladimir Kouzichkin - was stationed in revolutionary Iran. He was codenamed Agent Redwood and worked with British intelligence to expose the Soviet Union's operations in Iran... in exchange for a cure to a very private medical problem.


Ben McIntyre's new book is called Redwood: The Most Extraordinary Spy of the Cold War and is out now!


Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.


Listen to The Iranian Embassy Siege with Ben Macintyre:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2Yn4pGGxsG1YLI90kf4UkM?si=sUB3ShdzQiGEDeEj9fyBNg

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/the-iranian-embassy-siege-with-ben-macintyre/id1042631089?i=1000670522326


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There’s history you might recall from a textbook, and then there’s the kind that feels like you’re standing right there in the moment. Dan Snow's History Hit is firmly in the latter category. Hosted by the historian Dan Snow, this podcast doesn't just recount dates and facts; it transports you. Each episode is built from Dan's travels to the actual locations where history unfolded, from the echoing floor of the Roman Colosseum to the silent expanse of the Waterloo battlefields and the awe-inspiring presence of the Great Wall of China. The conversations dig into the compelling human stories-the motivations of heroes and villains, the engineering behind great monuments, and the pivotal decisions that changed everything. You’ll hear the how and why behind the world's most defining events, delivered with a palpable sense of place and curiosity. New episodes arrive twice weekly, on Mondays and Thursdays, with additional subscriber episodes every other Friday, making this a consistently engaging dive into our shared past. It’s a history podcast that treats the subject not as a static record, but as a living, breathing narrative waiting to be explored.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Dan Snow's History Hit
Podcast Episodes
The 'Scandalous' Life of Marie Antoinette [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:51
They called her a treasonous nymphomaniac who bankrupted France for diamonds and cake. The revolutionaries didn't just execute Marie Antoinette - they waged a brutal smear campaign to ruin her first. But what if almost e…
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Duration: 55:56
At its height, Ming China was one of the most powerful states on Earth. Its cities bustled with merchants and scholars, its goods travelled across continents, and its treasure fleets sailed as far as East Africa and the…
Knights vs Ottomans: The Great Siege of Malta [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:47
The fate of the Mediterranean hung in the balance during this bloody battle between the Knights of St John and the armies of Suleyman the Magnificent in the summer of 1565. The Ottoman Empire had carved its way across th…
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Duration: 31:50
Dan explains how England’s last great Viking invasion met its brutal end. At Stamford Bridge in September 1066, King Harold Godwinson’s army faced Harald Hardrada, the most feared warrior of his age, in a battle of extra…
The Battle of New York Explained [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:42:06
Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Hudson, the East River - today, these are the very heart and soul of New York City. But in 1776, they were the battlefield on which the American Revolution nearly died. Today Dan explains this cr…
The Rise & Fall of Babylon [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:32
Babylon has a PR problem, and it's 2,600 years in the making.The Bible remembers it as the ultimate city of sin, the place that crushed Jerusalem and dragged the Jewish people into exile. But if you look beyond this chap…
The Brutal History of The First Warplanes [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:55
Flying aces, flaming wreckage and deadly dogfights in the skies defined the First World War’s brutal air war. From fragile reconnaissance planes to lethal fighter aircraft, aerial warfare evolved at astonishing speed. To…
Medieval Krakow [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:45
In the Middle Ages, Krakow was one of Central Europe’s greatest cities: a thriving crossroads of kings, merchants and legends, crowned by a royal castle and haunted by tales of dragons. But in 1241, catastrophe arrived.…
Was Henry VIII England's Most Evil King? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:47
This is the turbulent reign of that infamous Tudor monarch, Henry VIII. His spectacularly complicated love life, break with Rome, political executions and ruthless pursuit of power. Today we examine his rule and the many…