Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Sunday, Aug 31, 2025

New Investigative Podcast Explores The Fall Of The Soviet Union Through The Song ‘Wind Of Change’

Can Rock N’ Roll change the world? Did the song Wind of Change by the band Scorpions written by the CIA and cause the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991?
That’s the conjecture of the podcast of the same name, Wind of Change, a bonkers new eight-part investigative podcast premiering May 11 as a co-production of Crooked Media, Pineapple Street Media, and Spotify.

The genesis of the tale is that Scorpions played as part of a packed lineup at the historic Moscow Peace Festival in Lenin Stadium August 1989 and shortly thereafter lead singer Klaus Meine was inspired to write the song Wind of Change about the changing political climate in Eastern Europe.

The fervor over the song grew immediately, and it became a worldwide hit and the unofficial anthem of the fall of the Berlin Wall with its sweeping hooks and power ballad riffs and lyrics about the Moskva River and Gorky Park.

In case you’re too young to remember the song, here it is preserved in all of its rock out glory.

In the podcast, Wind of Change, Patrick Radden Keefe, staff writer at the New Yorker, and multiple book award winner reveals the results of a ten-year investigation as a result of a claim by his friend that the CIA wrote the song and gave it to Scorpions in order to spur on the fall of the Soviet Union.

The press release and the audio trailer out today reveal that it’s more than just a bizarre story of American propaganda but a history of American propaganda in pop music. Throughout the series, we are promised “exclusive interviews with former CIA officers, music industry legends, and on-the-ground reporting in four countries.”

Additionally, we are told that the series “relies as much on the little known histories of government collaboration with legendary jazz artists Nina Simone and Louis Armstrong, as it does on conversations with current and former spies.”

I don’t know how they meld these seemingly disparate elements together, but history tells us that our American government has always been very interested in popular music.

Billy Holiday, for instance, was supposedly framed by Harry Anslinger, the first commissioner for the Federal Bureau of Narcotics for refusing to stop playing Strange Fruit, a song about the lynching of a black man. Trumped up heroin charges resulted in her being imprisoned for 18 months.

The fall of the Soviet Union was truly a triumphant moment in world history, and the idea of world peace seemed closer than ever. It would not be out of character to find out that the United States government had something to do with it.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
×