Our first episode of the EXCLUSIVE series 1956 is out now! To give you a taster of what’s to come, this first episode and its follow up are absolutely FREE for all listeners, but episode 3 onwards will require you guys to sign up for the bargain price of just $5 a month to join in the party. By paying $5 a month, you’ll not only secure your place as a valued history friend, you’ll also guarantee that you get the best of WDF, the earliest access and of course, access to future exclusive series like the Age of Bismarck! Above all, you’ll be helping to ensure that I can continue to do this as part of my living, and you’ll be making history thrive in the process.

Above all you should notice, as per some previous announcements, that this podcast series is moving to a new address! 1956 will have its own RSS feed and its own home within the WDF podcast group, soon to be joined by many more, as you’ll soon see! This way, 1956 can serve as a constant advertisement for the benefits of becoming a Diplomat, but it also means that we don’t clog up the feed with any 1956 episodes. My OCD senses are pleased, but your history senses should be well pleased too! Remember that all Patrons can even help out further by giving a review in 1956’s new home if you are enjoying the series. Now then, you may be wondering – what does 1956 have to offer? What exactly is in the box?

Well, if you want to learn more about what followed after the Korean War – as a story and as a year of significance, 1956 has few equals, and we open our narrative with the event which set up all subsequent events – the death of Josef Stalin on 5th March 1953. As far as deaths of prominent characters go, the death of Stalin from a succession of strokes at the age of 73 sticks out particularly – a man who allowed his paranoia get the better of him, out of fear of his own vulnerability and out of lust for power, died without being the victim of any underhanded scheme. As we’ll see, he also died without naming an official successor, throwing into chaos those men who had stuck around long enough to accumulate some power for themselves.

In this episode we’ll meet these figures – the so-called ‘collective leadership’ of the Soviet Union, which included such heavy hitters as Molotov, Malenkov, Lavrenti Beria, Anastas Mikoyan and a sometimes crude, always blunt figure by the name of Nikita Khrushchev. The story of what would come after Stalin is a gripping and fascinating snapshot of life at the top of the Soviet greasy pole. It prepares us for the eventful months which are to come, by investigating exactly what it was that compelled these men to undo some of what Stalin had made, while still holding onto the terrifying edifice which held half of the continent of Europe in rapture. I hope you’ll join me – and a huge thanksss for all your support so far!

Remember to head on over to https://www.patreon.com/WhenDiplomacyFails if you want to access all that this incredible story has to offer! By pldging $5 a month to our Patreon page, you can access over 20 hours of content that already sits in the XTRA feed, but you can also prepare yourself for exclusive series to come,1956 right here, and even the Age of Bismarck in the future! I hope you'll think about it - but make sure and listen to this episode here and its sequel first, my lovely history friends! Thankssss!

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