Welcome to a new type of episode I'm calling Cold War Short Stories — a collection of stories from our listeners and social media followers. These are fascinating Cold War tales that may not fill a full episode, but are far too good to leave untold. So keep them coming!

Your Cold War memories, or those of a loved one, are part of history. Share them with us!

If you have a story to share, whether in text or audio form, you can send it to me at ian "at" coldwarconversations.com.

In this first edition, we’ve got a brilliant mix: a memory from the Cuban Missile Crisis, a chance encounter with a Cold War legend, a 13-year-old’s unexpected flight behind the Iron Curtain, some poignant family reflections from the Korean War, and a visitor’s eerie timing as they arrived in Ukraine just as the Chernobyl disaster was unfolding.

Links.

• Robin Stock's web site https://theextraordinarylivesofordinarypeople0.wordpress.com/cuba-rockets-and-me/
• Russell Phillips web site https://russellphillips.uk/

• Article about Russell's story  https://coldwarconversations.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Saga-June-2000.pdf

Episode extras ⁠https://coldwarconversations.com/episode413⁠

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