From Intel Officer to White House Adviser: A Chat with The Museum’s Executive Director
SpyCast15 Heinä 2025

From Intel Officer to White House Adviser: A Chat with The Museum’s Executive Director

This week we spoke with the International Spy Museum's Executive Director, Colonel Chris Costa. His decades-long career in the intelligence community spanned multiple continents, running sensitive operations in Panama, Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan, where he earned two Bronze stars for his human intelligence contributions. Later, Costa advised Navy Seals as a civilian and eventually assumed the role of Executive Director here at the International Spy Museum. In this interview, we zeroed in on 2017 when he was detailed to the White House as the Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counterterrorism. Looking for more thoughtful analysis of contemporary intelligence issues? Check out our program Spy Chat – Each month, Chris sits down with a special guest for a live online discussion of the latest intelligence, national security, and terrorism issues in the news. Check our program calendar to register! If you liked this episode, check out these links: Spy Chat with Chris Costa | Special Guest: Tal Sullivan An Evening with H.R. McMaster Operación Jaque - The Daring Rescue Mission That Freed 15 Hostages Prefer to watch your podcasts? Find us on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@IntlSpyMuseum/podcasts. Subscribe to Sasha's Substack, HUMINT, to get more intelligence stories: https://sashaingber.substack.com/ And if you have feedback or want to hear about a particular topic, you can reach us by E-mail at SpyCast@Spymuseum.org. This show is brought to you from Goat Rodeo, Airwave, and the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC.

Jaksot(737)

Fake Shahs and Exfiltrations: Memories from CIA's Former Disguise Chief

Fake Shahs and Exfiltrations: Memories from CIA's Former Disguise Chief

Jonna Mendez knows how to blend in and when to stand out. Starting out as a secretary at the CIA, she left as its Chief of Disguise. Her career took her into denied areas, where her special abilities ...

24 Maalis 39min

When the CIA Lost a Nuclear Device in India

When the CIA Lost a Nuclear Device in India

In the 1960s, the CIA lost a plutonium-fueled generator on top of a mountain in India. The generator was supposed to power an unmanned listening station, intended to pick up signals from China’s missi...

17 Maalis 40min

AI Companions May Be China's Next Recruitment Tool

AI Companions May Be China's Next Recruitment Tool

When you’re sitting alone, and you want company or advice, have you ever turned to Artificial Intelligence? Chip Usher, who spent 32 years in the CIA, has been looking at AI companions. The tech compa...

10 Maalis 40min

Roald Dahl: The Spy Behind the Storyteller

Roald Dahl: The Spy Behind the Storyteller

Children grew up reading Roald Dahl’s tales of giant peaches and chocolate factories. Adults know about the controversy surrounding the antisemitic statements he made in his later years. But before be...

3 Maalis 39min

In Bed With Beijing: The Double Agent Who Seduced Her FBI Handler

In Bed With Beijing: The Double Agent Who Seduced Her FBI Handler

Katrina Leung, code name Parlor Maid, received nearly two million dollars from the FBI for being their top China informant. But little did the Bureau know… she was a double agent, collecting intellige...

24 Helmi 41min

Exfiltrating María Corina Machado from Venezuela

Exfiltrating María Corina Machado from Venezuela

Before Delta Force captured Nicolás Maduro, Bryan Stern went on a secret mission in Venezuela. The veteran and Purple Heart recipient was there to extract opposition leader María Corina Machado, who h...

17 Helmi 33min

Hezbollah’s Long Game in Latin America

Hezbollah’s Long Game in Latin America

A 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Argentina opened the world’s eyes to Hezbollah’s presence in Latin America. But the Iranian proxy, a US-designated terrorist group, has operated in the r...

10 Helmi 36min

Building the US’s First Known Gang Intelligence Database in Latin America

Building the US’s First Known Gang Intelligence Database in Latin America

As an agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) who later embedded with the CIA, Wes Tabor worked to dismantle criminal networks in Central and South America - think gangs like MS-13, the S...

3 Helmi 35min

Suosittua kategoriassa Politiikka ja uutiset

uutiscast
aikalisa
politiikan-puskaradio
rss-ootsa-kuullut-tasta
ootsa-kuullut-tasta-2
tervo-halme
rss-vaalirankkurit-podcast
rss-podme-livebox
otetaan-yhdet
rss-asiastudio
the-ulkopolitist
viisupodi
et-sa-noin-voi-sanoo-esittaa
rikosmyytit
aihe
rss-tasta-on-kyse-ivan-puopolo-verkkouutiset
radio-antro
rss-kaikki-uusiksi
rss-hyvaa-huomenta-bryssel
rss-sanna-ukkola-show-verkkouutiset