Wind of Change
It’s 1990. The Berlin Wall just fell. The Soviet Union is on the verge of collapse. And the soundtrack to the revolution is one of the best selling songs of all time, the metal ballad “Wind of Change,” by the Scorpions. Decades later, journalist Patrick Radden Keefe heard a rumor: the song wasn’t written by the Scorpions. It was written by the CIA. This is his journey to find the truth. Wind of Change is an Original Series from Pineapple Street Studios, Crooked Media and Spotify.
- Update frequency
- every 15 days
- Average duration
- 33 minutes
- Episodes
- 14
- Years Active
- 2020 - 2023
Introducing Dreamtown: The Story of Adelanto
Chapter 1: Bug’s Plan. It’s 2014. Adelanto is a bankrupt city in the California desert known for its massive detention centers and not much else. Then, a stranger comes to town with a wild idea to ma…
00:33:29 |
Wed 07 Jun 2023
Bonus #3 - Scorpions Live from New York | Fundraiser For Ukraine
When Patrick Radden Keefe heard that the Scorpions were coming to town last month, he knew he had to go to the show. So he called his friend Michael, his source for the original CIA conspiracy theory…
00:19:44 |
Tue 11 Oct 2022
Special Preview: "Rogues" by Patrick Radden Keefe
Patrick has a new book that's just out, Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels and Crooks. It's twelve strange but true stories of skulduggery and intrigue. Listen to an exclusive excerpt …
00:10:28 |
Thu 21 Jul 2022
An Avocado Revolution | Introducing 544 Days
Everything was going great for Jason Rezaian. He was The Washington Post’s correspondent in Tehran. He had just gotten married. Then, in July of 2014, Jason and his wife were arrested and thrown in I…
00:29:18 |
Thu 14 Oct 2021
Out Now: Bonus Episodes
Thanks for listening to Wind of Change. We’ve made two additional episodes of the show — a pair of stories that we couldn’t fit into the main season of the podcast, but are so wild we had to share th…
00:01:30 |
Mon 06 Jul 2020
8. Hello, Klaus
HANOVER, GERMANY, 2020: There is one last person Patrick needs to ask about “Wind of Change.” At a small hotel in sleepy Hanover, Germany, it is time to confront Klaus Meine about his biggest hit.
Le…
00:50:24 |
Mon 29 Jun 2020
7. Rorschach
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 2019: On a boat ride down the Moskva River, Patrick starts to fear that this entire podcast could itself be CIA propaganda. Or worse, Ksenia, his Russian fixer points out: propaganda …
00:45:48 |
Mon 22 Jun 2020
6. The Doctor Is In
CAYMAN ISLANDS, 1982: The Scorpions’ manager Doc McGhee has a secret past: he played a role in one of the largest drug busts in U.S. history, working with a smuggling ring that included CIA asset (an…
00:57:35 |
Mon 15 Jun 2020
5. I Follow The Moskva
MOSCOW, USSR, 1989: Klaus Meine, the lead singer of the Scorpions, has said for 30 years that the Moscow Music Peace Festival in 1989 inspired him to write “Wind of Change.” Bon Jovi, booze, Ozzy Osb…
00:41:52 |
Mon 08 Jun 2020
4. The KGB Rock Club
LENINGRAD, USSR, 1988: Patrick finds another person who has told an eerily similar story about the Scorpions and the CIA. But he won’t answer emails, so Patrick travels to a GI Joe convention in Dayt…
00:45:09 |
Mon 01 Jun 2020
3. America’s Secret Weapon
LAGOS, NIGERIA, 1961: One of America’s most beloved singers died without ever knowing that during the Cold War she had been used by the CIA. And a 40-year-old mystery resurfaces: when the Nitty Gritt…
00:44:12 |
Mon 25 May 2020
2. You Call It An Operation, We Call It A Performance
KYIV, UKRAINE, 2019: Patrick flies to Ukraine and witnesses how fully the political message of “Wind of Change” still resonates with fans at a Scorpions show in Kyiv. Plus: what does the CIA say when…
00:46:08 |
Mon 18 May 2020
1. My Friend Michael
LANGLEY, VIRGINIA, 2011:
The Scorpions’ song “Wind of Change” became the soundtrack to the end of the Cold War. But decades later, New Yorker investigative journalist Patrick Radden Keefe heard a rum…
00:44:17 |
Mon 11 May 2020
Wind of Change, coming May 11
A power ballad helped bring down the Soviet Union. Was it written by the CIA? Journalist Patrick Radden Keefe investigates the secret history of Cold War espionage and heavy metal.
Wind Of Change is …
00:03:39 |
Sat 25 Apr 2020
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