In episode 4 of our series History Books, we look at the story of a very different type of KGB spy in the Cold War.

rss feed | iTunes | History Books page | Other listening options

In a previous episode in this series we looked at Stalin’s Gulags; this time we are back with the Soviets in Cold War Radio: The Dangerous History of American Broadcasting in Europe, 1950 – 1989 by Richard H. Cummings.

Cold War Radio refers to Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty. These are radio stations that still exist and are funded by the US Congress. They seek to provide information to those parts of Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East where there is not a free flow of information. That is, in those countries with more limited freedom of speech and press.

Any why is this story different? Well, because it involves a rather uncommon type of spy. A female. And there’s more. She was from the West and hardly supportive of Soviet aims.