Alfred McCoy: Cold War on 5 Continents, Global History of Empire & Espionage
Geopolitics & Empire
The Men on the Spot Concept
McCoy introduces his concept of 'men on the spot'—covert actors whose individual actions shaped Cold War events.
Dr. Alfred McCoy provides a sweeping historical analysis of the Cold War, focusing on how individual covert operatives (“men on the spot”) shaped world events. McCoy explains how his early work on the CIA’s role in heroin trafficking during the Vietnam War evolved into a broader study of covert operations and their impact on world history. He characterizes the era as a golden age of intelligence, where the threat of nuclear catastrophe forced superpowers to compete through indirect, clandestine operations. McCoy describes his personal experiences with CIA surveillance and his research into the global drug trade, illustrating how the agency penetrated American civil society and media. He argues that the geopolitical strategies developed during this period, particularly the containment of Eurasia, remain central to understanding modern power dynamics. Finally, the discussion explores the decline of American hegemony, contrasting past interventionist models with current shifts toward a multi-polar world order, noting how historical tactics of surveillance and control are increasingly being applied within the domestic United States.
Watch on BitChute / Brighteon / Rumble / Substack / YouTube
*Support Geopolitics & Empire!
Become a Member https://geopoliticsandempire.substack.com
Donate https://geopoliticsandempire.com/donations
Consult https://geopoliticsandempire.com/consultation
**Listen Ad-Free for $4.99 a Month or $49.99 a Year!
Apple Subscriptions https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/geopolitics-empire/id1003465597
Supercast https://geopoliticsandempire.supercast.com
***Visit Our Affiliates & Sponsors!
Above Phone https://abovephone.com/?above=geopolitics
American Gold Exchange https://www.amergold.com/geopolitics
easyDNS (15% off with GEOPOLITICS) https://easydns.com
Escape The Technocracy (15% off with GEOPOLITICS) https://escapethetechnocracy.com/geopolitics
Outbound Mexico https://outboundmx.com
PassVult https://passvult.com
Sociatates Civis https://societates-civis.com
StartMail https://www.startmail.com/partner/?ref=ngu4nzr
Wise Wolf Gold https://www.wolfpack.gold/?ref=geopolitics
Websites
Cold War on Five Continents: A Global History of Empire and Espionage https://www.amazon.com/Cold-War-Five-Continents-Espionage/dp/B0F1Z9CX74
Alfred W. McCoy, Harrington Professor of History https://history.wisc.edu/people/mccoy-alfred-w
Alfred McCoy at TomDispatch https://tomdispatch.com/authors/alfredmccoy
About Dr. Alfred W. McCoy
Alfred W. McCoy holds the Harrington chair in history at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and is the author of The Politics of Heroin, the classic study of global drug trafficking that the CIA attempted to suppress. Among his two dozen published books, the most recent are In the Shadows of the American Century, To Govern the Globe, and Cold War on Five Continents.
*Podcast intro music used with permission is from the song “The Queens Jig” by the fantastic “Musicke & Mirth” from their album “Music for Two Lyra Viols”: http://musicke-mirth.de/en/recordings.html (available on iTunes or Amazon)
The AI-powered Podcast Player
