Cold War
At the 1960 Olympics, American Athletes Recruited by the CIA Tried to Convince Their Soviet Peers to Defect
Al Cantello, a star of the U.S. track and field team, arranged a covert meeting between a government agent and a Ukrainian long jumper
A Massive Crane Helping With the Baltimore Bridge Cleanup Was Built to Recover a Sunken Soviet Submarine
The Chesapeake 1000 was used to construct a ship for a top-secret CIA mission in the 1970s
The Town That Kept Its Nuclear Bunker a Secret for Three Decades
The people of White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, helped keep the Greenbrier resort's bunker—designed to hold the entirety of Congress—hidden from 1958 to 1992
Climate Change May Unearth Cold War-Era Nuclear Waste Stored by the U.S. in Other Countries
A new report finds that melting ice and rising sea levels could disturb radioactive contamination left over from American nuclear tests after World War II
Inert Cold War-Era Missile Discovered in a Washington Man's Garage
A resident of Bellevue, Washington, attempted to donate the historic artifact to a museum, which alerted authorities
Oppenheimer Has a Long History On Screen, Including the Time the Nuclear Physicist Played Himself
Now with 13 Academy Award nominations to its credit, the blockbuster film comes after nearly eight decades of mythologizing the father of the atomic bomb
The American Soldier Whose Fear of Fighting in Vietnam Led Him to Defect to North Korea. He Stayed There for 40 Years
During his time in the repressive country, Charles Robert Jenkins married a Japanese abductee, taught English at a school and appeared in propaganda films
Declassified Cold War Satellite Photos Reveal Hundreds of Roman-Era Forts
Once thought to be defensive military bases, the forts may have supported peaceful trade and travel
Secret World War II-Era Tunnels Could Become a London Tourist Attraction
Built as a shelter during the London Blitz, the subterranean network could open as an immersive experience
The Real History Behind the 'Golda' Movie
A new film explores how Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir navigated the 1973 Yom Kippur War
The Man Who Pierced the Iron Curtain in a Flying Go-Kart—and Left Civilization Forever
Escaping communism in a DIY aircraft wasn’t enough for Ivo Zdarsky. So he invented his own way of life in a Utah desert ghost town
How Spam Became a Staple of Asian Cuisine
When American G.I.s fought abroad in wars in the 20th century, they left behind an unlikely legacy: canned meat
Did Lions Live in Ancient Greece? And More Questions From Our Readers
You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts
The African Diplomats Who Protested Segregation in the U.S.
Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy publicly apologized after restaurants refused to serve Black representatives of newly independent nations
Inside JFK's Secret Doomsday Bunker
The president's Nantucket nuclear fallout shelter could become a National Historic Landmark—but efforts to preserve its history have stalled
The Doomsday Clock Is Now Closer Than Ever to Midnight
The reset comes amid the war in Ukraine, nuclear threats and climate change
The Most Anticipated Museum Openings of 2023
Scheduled to launch this year are new institutions dedicated to punk rock, Amelia Earhart and robots
U.S. Reverses 1954 Removal of J. Robert Oppenheimer’s Security Clearance
The “father of the atomic bomb” was accused of being a communist
When the Muppets Moved to Moscow
A new book details the tangled tale of "Ulitsa Sezam," a "Sesame Street" spinoff that aired until visions of Russia's democratic future faltered
The Incredible Technology That Made Humanity's Moon Dreams a Reality
A new, completely reimagined exhibition goes beyond the Cold War narrative to explore the full story of lunar landings
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