In this premiere episode of Shadow Wars: Stranger Things and the Cold War from the Cold War Bunker, we dive into the eerie parallels between Hawkins Lab and one of the darkest chapters in American history: the CIA’s Project MKUltra.
Through an interwoven narrative of fiction and fact, we place Eleven’s experiments side-by-side with real-life stories of LSD trials, psychic warfare, and a government obsessed with weaponizing the human mind.
From secret brothels wired with two-way mirrors to mothers unknowingly dosed with hallucinogens, the truth behind MKUltra is more unsettling than fiction. And yet, Stranger Things transforms that history into a metaphorical battleground where paranoia, secrecy, and power created monsters both real and imagined.
Episode 1 asks: when governments use fear as fuel and science as a weapon, who are the real monsters?
Step into the bunker. The shadow wars are just beginning.
What if Stranger Things wasn’t just fiction?
Secret mind control experiments. Psychic warfare. Cold War paranoia.
The real history that inspired Hawkins is darker than you think.
Shadow Wars: Stranger Things and the Cold War — New podcast drops September 15th.
After digging deep into the history, secrecy, and sheer power of America’s airborne command post, we sit down to reflect. In this special Debrief Episode, Ben is joined by Aaron & Blaire to unpack everything we’ve learned about the E-4B “Doomsday Plane.”
From its Cold War origins to its enduring relevance in the modern era, we break down the biggest revelations, ask the tough questions, and debate the legacy of a flying fortress designed to keep the government running at the end of the world.
Expect a mix of serious analysis, surprising perspectives, and even a few laughs as our panel discusses what the E-4B really represents: fear, resilience, and the extraordinary lengths nations will go to prepare for the unthinkable. Whether you’ve been with us from the beginning or you’re just boarding now, this finale is your chance to hear the story behind the story, and discover what the Doomsday Plane tells us about the past, the present, and the future.
In the final chapter of our deep dive into the E-4B Doomsday Plane, we bring the story full circle. We look at the E-4B’s place in today’s world, its role in a new age of cyber warfare, space weapons, and shifting global threats. The Cold War may be over, but the need for airborne command centers hasn’t gone away.
This serves as a reflection: what does this plane really symbolize? Is it a monument to human ingenuity, or a reminder of our obsession with preparing for the end? Through its legacy, we confront the paradox of a machine built for a scenario we pray never arrives.
The E-4B is more than an aircraft. It’s a shadow that still flies above us; a command post in the sky, ready for the unthinkable.
In this stretch of the story, we dive into the living legacy of the E-4B Doomsday Plane. It explores how the aircraft adapted in the post–Cold War era, shifting from nuclear fears to new global threats like terrorism and cyber warfare. We unravel the mysteries and myths surrounding the plane, from sightings on 9/11 to conspiracy theories that keep it shrouded in intrigue. Finally, we reflect on the enduring symbolism of the E-4B: a flying fortress that represents both humanity’s fear of destruction and its relentless drive to survive the unimaginable.
This is where past and present collide, and where we ask the hard question: what does a “Doomsday Plane” mean in the 21st century?
When the Cold War turned white-hot in the minds of military planners, the E-4B had to prove it could do more than just survive — it had to run the nation from the sky.
In this episode of Command in the Sky, we step inside the heart of the “Doomsday Plane” as it evolves from concept to an airborne command post capable of managing nuclear war in real time.
We explore the cutting-edge (and classified) communications systems, the crew who would operate them under unimaginable pressure, and the Cold War crises that tested its readiness.
From simulated apocalypses to shadowy midair refueling operations, these sections reveal how the E-4B became more than a plane — it became the last line of command.
In this first episode of Command in the Sky, we take you back to the darkest days of the Cold War, when the fear of nuclear annihilation shaped policy, culture, and innovation. Here we lay the foundation of this gripping tale — a story of airpower, survival, and silent missions flying high above a world on the brink.
We begin by revisiting the geopolitical paranoia of the 1960s and 70s, when Cold War tensions forced U.S. strategists to ask a terrifying question: What happens if Washington is destroyed in a nuclear strike? The answer was both stunning and secret — a fleet of airborne command centers, designed to keep the President and military leaders alive and in control even if the nation was burning.
You’ll hear how the E-4B "Nightwatch" was born out of this fear, why a converted Boeing 747 was chosen, and how this jet became one of the most powerful and enigmatic weapons in America's arsenal — without ever firing a single shot. From the fail-safes embedded in its hardened airframe to the political debates surrounding continuity of government, we explore the overlapping worlds of military engineering, Cold War paranoia, and elite secrecy.
This is not just the story of a plane. It’s the story of the plan — to command the apocalypse from 30,000 feet.
The Debrief
Cuban Missile Crisis
Description:
Blaire Hicks & Aaron Baldwin join The Bunker Crew to examine the series on The Cuban Missile Crisis.
How close did we really get to nuclear war? What secrets were kept—and what were the long-term consequences of those whispered deals? What myths have shaped our memory of October 1962, and what lessons have been lost to time?
Together, we explore the hidden costs of compromise, the power of backchannel diplomacy, and how the shadows of the Cuban Missile Crisis still shape global politics today. This isn’t just history—it’s a warning.
Don’t miss the final installment - because understanding how we survived the past may be the key to surviving the future.
How the World Changed After the Cuban Missile Crisis
In October 1962, the world held its breath. Nuclear war seemed imminent. The Cuban Missile Crisis was resolved in thirteen tense days — but the real impact would last decades. In this immersive, 60,000-word deep dive, we examine how the Cold War was forever changed by those two weeks of near-apocalypse.
From the rise of Mutually Assured Destruction to the birth of nuclear diplomacy… from haunted presidents to silent submarines… from the nuclear paranoia of schoolchildren to the evolution of superpower strategy — this episode traces the long, chilling shadow the crisis cast across history.
This is not just a story of what almost happened… it’s a reckoning with how close we came, and how we still live in its echo.
Topics Covered:
The psychological aftermath of nuclear brinkmanship
Shifts in U.S. and Soviet strategic doctrine
How the crisis redefined diplomacy, war planning, and intelligence
The explosion of nuclear fear in global culture
The treaties, technologies, and tensions born from 1962
Why the memory of the crisis may be more important now than ever
In Episode 3 we arrive at the razor’s edge of global catastrophe. With Soviet missiles in Cuba discovered, President John F. Kennedy and his advisors must navigate a series of impossible choices. This episode plunges listeners into the intense hours of October 22–24, 1962, when the world waited, breath held, to see if diplomacy could outpace destruction.
We explore the dramatic televised address that shocked the American public, the naval quarantine that tested Soviet resolve, and the backchannel messages that revealed just how close the U.S. and USSR came to launching nuclear war. Meanwhile, Fidel Castro watched nervously from Havana, furious at his role as a pawn in a superpower chess match.
"The Brink" is a visceral, minute-by-minute journey through the most dangerous standoff in human history—a confrontation where every pause, every word, and every move could trigger annihilation.
Prepare yourself. This is the moment the Cold War turned hot—almost.
Episode 2: The Photographs
The crisis begins.
When U.S. reconnaissance flights over Cuba capture shocking images of Soviet missile installations, the world shifts overnight. In Episode 2: The Photographs, we walk hour by hour through the frantic intelligence scramble, the internal debates of Kennedy’s war council, and the sobering realization that the Soviet Union has brought the nuclear threat to America’s doorstep.
Inside the White House, President Kennedy wrestles with impossible choices: launch a military strike that could ignite World War III—or risk allowing the missiles to become operational.
Across the ocean, Nikita Khrushchev plays a dangerous game of brinkmanship, confident that his gamble remains hidden.
From the clandestine U-2 flights to Kennedy’s televised address that shocked the world, this episode captures the moment the Cold War teetered on the edge.
The missiles are in place. The decisions cannot wait.
The clock is now ticking.
Thirteen Days: The Cuban Missile Crisis in Full is an in-depth, longform podcast that walks you hour by hour through the most dangerous standoff in human history.
Across six immersive episodes we explore not just the crisis itself, but the decades of political tension, ideological rivalry, and human miscalculation that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war.
This is not a surface-level retelling. There are no dramatizations, no reenactments—only the real history, fully detailed, with original sources, key player profiles, and careful analysis that pulls you inside the rooms where decisions were made.
From the aftermath of World War II to the rise of Fidel Castro, from secret U-2 flights to the tense meetings of Kennedy’s ExComm, from backchannel diplomacy to the final resolution—this is the Cuban Missile Crisis as you’ve never heard it before.
Because sometimes, understanding how the world almost ended… is the only way to understand how it survived.
Episode 1: A World Divided
Before the world held its breath during the thirteen fateful days of October 1962, a much longer story had already been unfolding. In Episode 1: A World Divided, we journey into the origins of the Cuban Missile Crisis—decades before the U-2 photographs, the quarantines, and the brink of nuclear war.
We explore the fractured alliances at the end of World War II, the birth of the Cold War, and the global chessboard that emerged from the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union. We trace the rise of Fidel Castro, the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion, and the dangerous miscalculations of John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev.
This episode provides the critical context: the ideological battles, the proxy wars, the personal ambitions, and the diplomatic failures that shaped the most dangerous confrontation in human history. It’s the story of how the world became divided—and how that division set the stage for the most perilous standoff of the 20th century.
Episode 3: The Fallout
After a billion-dollar operation to raise a sunken Soviet submarine in complete secrecy, what came next was a battle for silence—and eventually, the truth. In Episode 3 of our Project Azorian series, “The Fallout,” we examine the aftermath of one of the most audacious covert operations in American history.
How did the CIA handle the media leaks? What happened when journalists, lawmakers, and the families of lost Soviet sailors demanded answers? And how did six simple words—“We can neither confirm nor deny”—become a cornerstone of U.S. secrecy law?
This episode traces the ripple effects of Azorian through legal doctrine, ethics, declassified footage, and Cold War diplomacy. Featuring archival audio, expert interviews, and a haunting burial at sea, “The Fallout” asks what secrecy costs—and who ultimately pays the price.
Episode 2: Lifting Leviathan
The Cold War Bunker: Project Azorian
In the heart of the Pacific Ocean, a covert CIA operation begins its most dangerous phase: the physical recovery of a sunken Soviet nuclear submarine, K-129. What unfolds is part triumph, part tragedy—and entirely unprecedented.
In this gripping second episode, we follow the Hughes Glomar Explorer as it descends into darkness with a steel claw the size of a small building. As the CIA’s billion-dollar gamble teeters on the brink, we uncover what was salvaged, what was lost, and the haunting human cost hidden inside the wreckage.
From high-tech engineering to a solemn burial at sea, from top-secret analysis to the birth of a legendary phrase—“We can neither confirm nor deny”—this chapter captures the tension, fallout, and humanity behind the most audacious intelligence mission of the Cold War.
Listen now to witness the moment America tried to pull secrets from the deep—and came face to face with its consequences.
Project Azorian: The Sunken Secret | Episode 1 – The Cold War Bunker
In 1968, a Soviet nuclear submarine vanished in the Pacific Ocean. What followed was one of the most audacious and secretive missions in CIA history: Project Azorian. This is the story of how the U.S. government built a billion-dollar ship, created a fake mining company, and tried to steal a sunken enemy submarine from 3 miles beneath the sea—all under the nose of the Soviets.
In Episode 1:
The mysterious disappearance of K-129
The Cold War stakes that led to a top-secret salvage mission
Howard Hughes, billionaire cover stories, and oceanic espionage
The engineering marvel of the Hughes Glomar Explorer
And the origin of the famous phrase: “We can neither confirm nor deny…”
Listen in for deep-sea drama, spycraft, and the first steps of a mission that redefined secrecy and shaped Cold War history.
Don’t forget to Like, Subscribe, and hit the bell icon so you never miss an episode.
#ProjectAzorian #ColdWar #CIA #Submarine #Espionage #ColdWarBunker #HistoryPodcast #GlomarExplorer
In this episode we climb to 70,000 feet and dive into one of the most dramatic - and embarrassing - spy missions of the entire Cold War... The story of the 1960 U-2 incident
Welcome to Episode 3 of the Cold War Bunker. This is our Bunker Debrief episode on the Doomsday Clock series here at CWB. Aaron Baldwin joins me today as we discuss our takeaways, and impressions from this series. We will also talk about events, issues and underlying causes that may have influenced the clock settings, and also our lives. Podcast mentions in this episode: Dan Carlin's Hardcore History - https://www.dancarlin.com/hardcore-history-series/ Wind of Change: https://crooked.com/podcast-series/wind-of-change/ Note: this video contains archived public domain / licensed footage. This footage serves documentary purposes on world history and is to be viewed as educational. Main Informational Resource: https://thebulletin.org/ The Bunker Small Business Spotlight: Goosbridle Coffee Roasters - www.goosebridle.com Intro Background Music: ASLC-2DA36772-5326C2E368 (Premiere Pro) Equipment Used: Camera - Sony A6700 Lens - Sigma 30mm f1.4 SD Card: PNY 128 EliteX Microphone - Shure SM7B Editing Software - Adobe Premiere Pro Coffee Grinder: Chestnut C2 MAX Manual Coffee Grinder by TIMEMORE Intro Video Clips: Title Duck and cover Other Title Civil defense for schools: duck and cover Summary Through animation, it focuses on the steps to be taken for maximum safety in the street or in school in the event of an enemy attack by atomic or other weapons. Names Langlois, Leo, film producer, actor, composer Middleton, Robert, 1911-1977, narrator Calonius, Lars, 1916-1995, art director Lambert, Dave, 1917-1966, arranger Carr, Leon, composer Archer Productions, production company United States. Office of Civil Defense, contributor National Education Association of the United States, contributor Castle Films, inc., film distributor
Welcome to Episode 2 of the Cold War Bunker. Part 2 of our feature on The Doomsday Clock. This video takes a look at the Pop Culture & Societal impacts on the clock since its inception in 1947. Through the years we find that the hands of the doomsday clock are not the only thing changing. Factors that determine the “time”, people who make the decision, and the motives behind its resetting all ebb and flow throughout the years. Whether we find ourselves ebbing, or flowing, with the bulletins' determinations, one thing remains certain: mankind is doing itself no favors as it pertains to the “balance” we live with. Note: this video contains archived public domain / licensed footage. This footage serves documentary purposes on world history and is to be viewed as educational. Main Informational Resource: https://thebulletin.org/ The Bunker Small Business Spotlight: Goosbridle Coffee Roasters - www.goosebridle.com Intro Background Music: ASLC-2DA36772-5326C2E368 (Premiere Pro) Equipment Used: Camera - Sony A6700 Lens - Sigma 30mm f1.4 SD Card: PNY 128 EliteX Microphone - Shure SM7B Editing Software - Adobe Premiere Pro Coffee Grinder: Chestnut C2 MAX Manual Coffee Grinder by TIMEMORE Intro Video Clips: Title Duck and cover Other Title Civil defense for schools: duck and cover Summary Through animation, it focuses on the steps to be taken for maximum safety in the street or in school in the event of an enemy attack by atomic or other weapons. Names Langlois, Leo, film producer, actor, composer Middleton, Robert, 1911-1977, narrator Calonius, Lars, 1916-1995, art director Lambert, Dave, 1917-1966, arranger Carr, Leon, composer Archer Productions, production company United States. Office of Civil Defense, contributor National Education Association of the United States, contributor Castle Films, inc., film distributor Created / Published United States : Castle Films, 1952. Headings - Atomic bomb--United States--Safety measures - Civil defense readiness - Cold war--Children Genre Instructional films Children's films Sponsored films Short films Nonfiction films
Welcome to Episode 1 of the Cold War Bunker. Part 1 of our feature on The Doomsday Clock. This video takes a look at the Political and Governmental impacts on the clock since it's inception in 1947. Through the years we find that the hands of the doomsday clock are not the only thing changing. Factors that determine the “time”, people who make the decision, and the motives behind its resetting all ebb and flow throughout the years. Whether we find ourselves ebbing, or flowing, with the bulletins' determinations, one thing remains certain: mankind is doing itself no favors as it pertains to the “balance” we live with. Note: this video contains archived public domain / licensed footage. This footage serves documentary purposes on world history and is to be viewed as educational. Main Informational Resource: https://thebulletin.org/ The Bunker Small Business Spotlight: Goosebridle Coffee Roasters - http://www.goosebridle.com/ Intro Background Music: ASLC-2DA36772-5326C2E368 (Premiere Pro) Equipment Used: Camera - Sony A6700 https://amzn.to/4a6Smvc Lens - Sigma 30mm f1.4 https://amzn.to/4aaHgFr Soundboard - Zoom PodTrak P8 https://amzn.to/49QAEfO SD Card: PNY 128 EliteX https://amzn.to/3VfX8lT Microphone - Shure SM7B https://amzn.to/4a5yjNE Editing Software - Adobe Premiere Pro Coffee Grinder: Chestnut C2 MAX Manual Coffee Grinder by TIMEMORE https://amzn.to/3TcjdPH Intro Video Clips: Title Duck and cover Other Title Civil defense for schools: duck and cover Summary Through animation, it focuses on the steps to be taken for maximum safety in the street or in school in the event of an enemy attack by atomic or other weapons. Names Langlois, Leo, film producer, actor, composer Middleton, Robert, 1911-1977, narrator Calonius, Lars, 1916-1995, art director Lambert, Dave, 1917-1966, arranger Carr, Leon, composer Archer Productions, production company United States. Office of Civil Defense, contributor National Education Association of the United States, contributor Castle Films, inc., film distributor Created / Published United States : Castle Films, 1952. Headings - Atomic bomb--United States--Safety measures - Civil defense readiness - Cold war--Children Genre Instructional films Children's films Sponsored films Short films Nonfiction films
Welcome to The Cold War Bunker! A place where natural sunlight, foods with limited shelf-life & non-reinforced materials are not welcome. If you are anything like me, at least a part of your life was spent living under the ever looming cloud of the threat that is the Cold War. A life lived in the ever-present reality that this Cold War could turn into a "hot war" at any moment. In this show we will journey through the history of this time, and examine the information of events, times and people that defined this era; an era in which information was not free to flow. We will embark on this adventure by doing our best cursory research possible, because, I am most certainly not an expert. I am someone who loves this time in our past, and is not quite convinced that the Cold War is as far in our rearview as what would like to think.