Ep 93: Soviet Union (Part 4)

Ep 93: Soviet Union (Part 4)

From Solving JFK by Matt Crumpton

April 15, 2026 · 28 min · Season 3 · Episode 93

About this episode

The episode discusses Kennedy's efforts for peace with Khrushchev and examines conspiracy theories surrounding his assassination.

We wrap up the Cold War context by looking at Kennedy's push for peace with Khrushchev in the final months of his life, including the American University speech, the Limited Test Ban Treaty, and a secret Khrushchev letter proposing further cooperation that the State Department never even showed to the President. Then we stress-test former CIA Director James Woolsey's claim in "Operation Dragon" that Oswald killed Kennedy on Khrushchev's direct orders after meeting with Soviet assassination chief Valeriy Kostikov in Mexico City. The problem? FBI Director Hoover told LBJ the day after the assassination that the man at the Soviet Embassy was not Oswald. A suspicious letter to the Soviets contained information Oswald couldn't have known. And LBJ himself clearly didn't buy the Soviet conspiracy angle, but he used the threat of one to strong-arm Earl Warren into chairing the Commission and steering it toward the lone gunman conclusion. Patreon - Patreon.com/solvingJFK Twitter - https://twitter.com/solvingjfk Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/solvingjfk Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/solvingjfkpodcast Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@solvingjfk Transcripts and Sources…

People in this episode

Host: Matt Crumpton

Topics covered

  • Cold War
  • Kennedy
  • Khrushchev
  • CIA
  • assassination
  • conspiracy

Keywords

  • Cold War
  • Kennedy
  • Khrushchev
  • assassination
  • CIA
  • conspiracy
  • James Woolsey
  • Lee Harvey Oswald
  • Lyndon B. Johnson
  • Valeriy Kostikov

Sponsors

Mood, Rosetta Stone

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: CIA, FBI, State Department, Warren Commission

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