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.

Episodes

Wind of Change, coming May 11

April 25, 2020 • 3 mins

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 an Original Series from Pineapple Street Studios, Crooked Media and Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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1. My Friend Michael

May 11, 2020 • 45 mins

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 rumor from a trusted source: the Scorpions didn’t write the song. The CIA did. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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2. You Call It An Operation, We Call It A Performance

May 18, 2020 • 47 mins

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 you come right out and ask about the agency’s connection to the band? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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3. America’s Secret Weapon

May 25, 2020 • 45 mins

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 Gritty Dirt Band was picked to tour behind the Iron Curtain in 1977, was an undercover CIA officer planted among their entourage? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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4. The KGB Rock Club

June 1, 2020 • 47 mins

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 Dayton, Ohio to try to make contact. Plus, a former CIA clandestine officer suggests there may be other musical acts still collaborating with the agency. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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5. I Follow The Moskva

June 8, 2020 • 42 mins

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 Osbourne, cocaine, fireworks, fist fights, the KGB -- Patrick takes you step by step through the wildest music festival in Russian history. But something about the concert doesn’t add up. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastcho...

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6. The Doctor Is In

June 15, 2020 • 58 mins

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 (and Panamanian dictator) Manuel Noriega. Nearly everyone went to prison. But Doc didn’t serve a day. Patrick heads to Naples, Florida, to find out why Doc threw a rock festival in Moscow instead of going to prison. Learn more about your a...

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7. Rorschach

June 22, 2020 • 46 mins

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 by the successors to the KGB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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8. Hello, Klaus

June 29, 2020 • 51 mins

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Out Now: Bonus Episodes

July 6, 2020 • 1 min

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 them with you. Both episodes are only available exclusively on Spotify. The first one is available right now. It’s called "The Love Song of Joanna Stingray." And next Monday, July 13, we’ll drop another episode, called "Rocking Venezuela....

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An Avocado Revolution | Introducing 544 Days

October 14, 2021 • 29 mins

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 Iran’s notorious Evin prison. This is the first episode of 544 Days, a new podcast from Gimlet, Crooked Media, and A24. Find the rest of story for free at gimlet.media/544days. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/...

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Special Preview: "Rogues" by Patrick Radden Keefe

July 21, 2022 • 10 mins

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 from the audiobook, narrated by Patrick, about the flamboyant, un-catchable arms trafficker known as the Prince of Marbella. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Bonus #3 - Scorpions Live from New York | Fundraiser For Ukraine

October 11, 2022 • 19 mins

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, and they headed to UBS Arena on Long Island, microphones in hand. Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine earlier this year, the song Wind of Change has taken on new meaning -- and new lyrics, courtesy of lead-singer Klaus Meine. Patrick wa...

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Introducing Dreamtown: The Story of Adelanto

June 7, 2023 • 33 mins

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 make Adelanto great again: Become the first city in Southern California to legalize commercial weed cultivation. Subscribe to Dreamtown to hear episode two right now, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

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Wind of Change

Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Wind of Change, coming May 11

.css-r6mb8g{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:1;overflow:hidden;}1. My Friend Michael

2. You Call It An Operation, We Call It A Performance

3. America’s Secret Weapon

4. The KGB Rock Club

5. I Follow The Moskva

6. The Doctor Is In

7. Rorschach

8. Hello, Klaus

Out Now: Bonus Episodes

An Avocado Revolution | Introducing 544 Days

Special Preview: "Rogues" by Patrick Radden Keefe

Bonus #3 - Scorpions Live from New York | Fundraiser For Ukraine

Introducing Dreamtown: The Story of Adelanto

Popular Podcasts

Wind of Change, coming May 11

1. My Friend Michael