Wind of Change is a podcast documentary that debuted on May 11, 2020. It was hosted by Patrick Radden Keefe and co-produced by Pineapple Street Media, Crooked Media, and Spotify.
Background The podcast is hosted by Patrick Radden Keefe and co-produced by Pineapple Street Media, Crooked Media, and Spotify. The show is composed of 8 episodes. The series is over 6 hours long. The research for his recent book Say Nothing had been gruelling, and Radden Keefe was looking for a change, so he turned to a rumor he had heard a decade earlier from a friend in the intelligence community. The podcast focuses on the rumor that the Scorpions song "Wind of Change" was written by the CIA.
The podcast discusses similar instances of the CIA using music such as the jazz ambassadors tour where Louis Armstrong visited the Congo. Similarly, the CIA front organization called the American Society of African Culture sent Nina Simone on tour in Nigeria in 1961.
The show followed Radden Keefe as he travels to Washington DC, Kiev, St Petersburg, Ohio, Moscow, Florida, and Hanover to interview various people including Klaus Meine. Klaus Meine denies that the CIA was involved in the creation of the song. Radden Keefe also interviews Doc McGhee, who was a band manager involved in drug smuggling. The series discusses how music was often distributed via samizdat cassettes in the USSR.
Radden Keefe hinted at the possibility of a season 2.
Reception The show reached the top 10 podcasts in the United States and Australia when it debuted on May 11, 2020. Nicholas Quah wrote in Vulture that the show was a "really enjoyable listen" if a little "meandering at times". Eoghan O’Sullivan criticized the show in the Irish Examiner, calling it a "bloated damp squib".
Awards AwardDateCategoryResultRef.Webby Awards2021Podcasts: Documentary (Limited-Series & Specials)Webby Awards2021Podcasts: Best Limited Series 2021Ambies2021Best Podcast HostAmbies2021Best ReportingAmbies2021Best Scriptwriting, NonfictionAmbies2021Best Production and Sound DesigniHeartRadio Podcast Awards20212020 iHeartRadio Podcast Awards WinnersDiscover Pods Awards2020Society & Culture Podcast
Adaptations The series was optioned by Hulu for a television series.
References