CNN Cold War Journal

    The CNN Cold War Experience website relates to culture by providing articles that highlight aspects of American culture during the Cold War era.  One article titled “Atomic Rock: The Cold War Hit Parade” discusses songs written about the cold war, such as “99 Red Balloons,” “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall,” “Eve of Destruction,” and “Atomic Dog.”  The website also contains reviews of vintage movies from the cold war era, and a history of Hollywood’s entrance into the American image of the Cold War.  One of the best features that relates to culture on the website is the TV Timeline, which highlights popular American television shows from 1927 to 1993 that related to the Cold War and includes viewable clips from many of the shows.

            The website includes many features which relate to the technology of the Cold War.  Most interestingly is “An Exercise in Alternate History,” which lets you choose an alternate scenario from what actually happened in the past and lets you read about the fictional consequences of your decisions.  The website has several timelines relating to the inventions their time of invention as well as facts and information.  Another interesting feature is an article about where many of the scientists that were pooled by the Soviet Union and the US ended up and their current professions and effects they are now making on the world.

            The Espionage section pertains to Cold War era spies, spy stories, and spy equipment.  The most interesting of these is the section titled “Tools of the Trade” and has articles on many of the secret United States and Soviet weapons that were concealed to look like ordinary objects and discrete enough for assassinations.  Another interesting portion of the “Tools of the Trade” section contains information on the many different tools that spies during the Cold War would use to collect and gather information of communicate secretly.

            The final area of the website is titled “The Bomb.”  It contains many articles pertaining to all aspects of nuclear weaponry during the cold war, and also how it affects us today.  One article has a brief introduction before stating Kennedy’s message in Life magazine about the dangers a nuclear war and the preparedness American citizens should have.  Other topics include the science, costs, accidents, deployments, oppositions, and fears surrounding the atomic bomb and its importance to the Cold War.