SpyCast
SpyCast, the official podcast of the International Spy Museum, is a journey into the shadows of international espionage. Each week, host Sasha Ingber brings you the latest insights and intriguing tales from spies, secret agents, and covert communicators, with a focus on how this secret world reaches us all in our everyday lives. Tune in to discover the critical role intelligence has played throughout history and today. Brought to you from Airwave, Goat Rodeo, and the International Spy Museum.
626
Dropping Spies from the Sky during the Korean War
During the Korean War, US military intelligence worked with anti-communist Korean agents and partisans to collect information from behind North Korean lines. SPY Historian Mark Stout interviews Colonel Douglas Dillard, USA (Ret.) who led AVIARY operat...
29 min
627
Social Media: Tools of Liberation or Repression?
Social media—Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and others—are held up as powerful tools for peoples trying to overthrow police states. Iran’s “Twitter Revolution” electrified the world and the Egyptian government shut off Internet access as demonstrations sw...
28 min
628
Intelligence and Analysis in the National Footb...
In 2007, the New England Patriots were caught videotaping the New York Jet’s sideline defensive signals. That was illegal, but it’s remarkable what is allowed, even routine. From surveillance films, to secure communications, to briefing books, and dece...
22 min
629
Spying on the Soviet Army in East Germany
During the Cold War, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France each had a “military liaison mission” authorized to roam East Germany. While the fiction was that they existed to coordinate military affairs with the Soviets in Germany, the realit...
35 min
630
A Young Woman on the Front Lines of the Cold War
Shirley Perry was recruited to join the CIA in 1951, a time when applications were handed out “under the counter” at the university job office, and when the CIA lived in rodent-infested temporary buildings on the National Mall. What was it like to be a...
23 min
631
David Kahn on Codebreaking from Ancient Times t...
David Kahn is the author of the classic book The Codebreakers. When it was first published in 1967, the National Security Agency was concerned that the book might reveal sensitive secrets. Over the years, however, NSA changed from perceiving Kahn as ...
20 min
632
The Real History of MI6
Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service, better known as MI6, is James Bond’s home agency and one of the world’s most secretive organizations. The British government did not even admit that it existed until the 1990s. Yet, in connection with its centenni...
30 min
633
Escape from Tehran, 1979: Part II
American diplomats Mark and Cora Lijek were hiding at the home of a Canadian diplomat as the Iranian Revolution swirled around them. Peter continues his discussion with the Lijeks and also welcomes Tony Mendez, the CIA officer who led the daring operat...
24 min
634
Escape from Tehran, 1979: Part I
When Iranian militants stormed the US Embassy in Tehran, Mark and Cora Lijek and four other American diplomats slipped out a side exit and found themselves on the run in a hostile country. Before long, Canadian diplomats gave them shelter but now they ...
26 min
635
From the Vault: The Cuban Missile Crisis - Peer...
Today Peter converses with Dino Brugioni, a pioneer of the art of photo interpretation and a living legend of the US Intelligence Community. Dino shares his personal experiences briefing Presidents and describes the role that he and overhead photograph...
36 min
636
A Spy in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard
A young student in the US when the Iranian Revolution happened in 1979, Reza Kahlili rejoiced and hurried back to his native country, but he soon found that "every promise that Khomeini had made was vividly a lie." In the early 1980s, he made contact w...
29 min
637
An Army of Illegals: Assessing the Russian Spy ...
Two weeks ago on 27 June, the FBI arrested a network of 10 Russian "deep cover" spies. Peter sits down with former KGB Major General Oleg Kalugin to discuss this remarkable case and the historic spy swap which took place last Friday. Kalugin, who on...
28 min
638
Son of Hamas, Spy for Israel
Mosab Hassan Yousef was the nearest thing to royalty in the terrorist group Hamas: the son of one of its founding members. He was also a spy for Shin Bet, Israel's internal security agency, which dubbed him the "Green Prince." Today Mosab and his Shi...
48 min
639
Caught by the KGB
Martha Peterson, a 32 year CIA veteran, was the first female case officer assigned to Moscow. Today she talks with Peter about her sudden capture by the Soviet KGB while executing a covert operation in Moscow.
31 min
640
Military Intelligence from the Cold War to Cybe...
In 1973 Captain Gail Harris became the first woman to hold a combat intelligence job in the U.S. Navy. Her 28 year career included hands-on leadership in the intelligence community during every major conflict from the Cold War to Desert Storm to Kosovo...
22 min
641
Evolution of Government Surveillance Programs
Shane Harris is a staff correspondent for National Journal and the former technology editor of Government Executive magazine. In his new book, The Watchers, he chronicles the government’s efforts to create a computer system capable of analyzing data a...
25 min
642
Tales from the OSS, part II
Elizabeth Macintosh continues to offer her insights into OSS. This time, she talks about the many fascinating and colorful people she met at OSS, including Director William “Wild Bill” Donovan and Virginia Hall.
23 min
643
Cyber Security and Covert Action
Dr. Herbert Lin is chief scientist at the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board, National Research Council of the National Academies. An expert on cyber security, Herb discusses various aspects of cyber attacks, including ways in which cyber we...
24 min
644
Intelligence in a War Zone (Melissa Mahle)
Melissa Mahle served from 1988-2002 at the CIA, much of the time as a case officer dealing with terrorist issues in the Middle East, running agents and gathering intelligence. Today, she discusses with Peter her perspective on the recent suicide bombin...
28 min
645
The Terrorist Challenge
The U.S. authorities' failure to prevent a Nigerian suicide bomber from boarding a Detroit-bound plane on Christmas Day, and the suicide bombing at a CIA base in Afghanistan have roiled the intelligence community. International Spy Museum historian Dr....
17 min
646
Tales from the OSS, Part I
Elizabeth Macintosh served in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during World War II. Today, she discusses her personal experience working for OSS, the role of women in it, as well as some of the agency’s most exciting operations.
23 min
647
The MI5 Centenary
This year, Britain’s domestic security service, MI5, celebrates its 100th anniversary. Cambridge University professor Christopher Andrew, the author of MI5’s official history, Defend the Realm, reveals the agency’s strengths and weaknesses, and relates...
26 min
648
Cyber Threats: Challenges and Solutions
Melissa Hathaway served as acting senior director for cyberspace for the National Security Council, heading a 60-Day Cyberspace Policy Review for President Obama that resulted in a comprehensive report with recommendations for action. Today, she discus...
29 min
649
The Changing Face of Al Qaeda
How has the sustained U.S. effort to destroy Al Qaeda affected the terrorist organization, and how important is the current struggle against the Taliban in Afghanistan for the future of Al Qaeda? A former Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Na...
25 min
650
Intelligence and 9/11 with Amy Zegart
Could intelligence have prevented the terrorist attacks of 9/11, and has the Intelligence Community been sufficiently reformed to deal with current and future threats? These are the questions that Amy Zegart discusses on the eighth anniversary of 9/11....
22 min