The Man Behind John le Carré
SpyCast23 Des 2025

The Man Behind John le Carré

John le Carré, born David Cornwell in 1931, was a British novelist renowned for his morally complex spy fiction. Writing under a pen name gave him the freedom to publish while he worked in both MI5 and MI6, but after the breakthrough success of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, he left the intel community world for good. Le Carré’s work spanned the globe, covering terrorism and drug networks, private banking and pharmaceutical exploitation, arms trades and resource plundering- often drawing on the people and places he knew firsthand. Le Carré’s vast personal archive is all on display in the new John le Carré: Tradecraft exhibition at the University of Oxford’s Bodleian Library. Historian and curator Jessica Douthwaite joins Sasha to talk about the exhibition and what it reveals about his life and work. Subscribe to Sasha's Substack, HUMINT, to get more intelligence stories: https://sashaingber.substack.com/ For more information about the International Spy Museum, visit: https://www.spymuseum.org/ 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. This episode was produced by Flora Warshaw and the team at Goat Rodeo. At the International Spy Museum, Mike Mincey and Memphis Vaughan III are our video editors. Emily Rens is our graphic designer. Joshua Troemel runs our SPY social media. Amanda Ohlke is our Director of Adult Education and Mira Cohen is the Vice President of Programs.

Episoder(737)

Intelligence and the WMD Fiasco - Part II

Intelligence and the WMD Fiasco - Part II

Looking further into the U.S. intelligence community’s faulty assessment of Iraq’s WMD program, Peter interviews Bob Drogin, author of Curveball: Spies, Lies and the Conman Who Caused a War. Bob revea...

5 Mar 200825min

Intelligence and the WMD Fiasco

Intelligence and the WMD Fiasco

Today, Peter interviews Tyler Drumheller, the former chief of CIA covert operations in Europe. In the run-up to the Iraq war, Tyler consistently questioned affirmative intelligence on the existence of...

1 Feb 200825min

Valerie Plame Speaks

Valerie Plame Speaks

Peter’s guest today is Valerie Plame, a covert CIA officer who recently left the Agency after her name was leaked to the press. Valerie discusses her time at the CIA, the controversy surrounding her c...

2 Jan 200823min

On Assignment to Congo

On Assignment to Congo

Today, Peter chats with Larry Devlin, the CIA’s legendary station chief in Congo during the 1960s. Larry reflects on his reasons for joining the CIA, the political situation in Congo at the time, and ...

3 Des 200727min

Intelligence and the Middle East with Robert Baer

Intelligence and the Middle East with Robert Baer

Peter’s guest today is Robert Baer who served for many years as a CIA operative in the Middle East. Among other things, Bob talks about his tour of duty in Lebanon, the psychology of suicide bombers, ...

1 Nov 200726min

The Polygraph — Science or Art?

The Polygraph — Science or Art?

Peter interviews John Sullivan, the CIA’s longest serving polygrapher. The lie detector has supporters and detractors, and John confronts the controversy surrounding it head-on. He frankly discusses t...

1 Okt 200730min

Leon Trotsky — Murder in Mexico

Leon Trotsky — Murder in Mexico

Peter’s guest today is H. Keith Melton, renowned intelligence historian and owner of the largest collection of espionage artifacts. Keith sheds new light on one of the most notorious intelligence oper...

1 Sep 200731min

Cuban Intelligence and the Ana Montes Spy Case

Cuban Intelligence and the Ana Montes Spy Case

Peter’s guest this month is Scott Carmichael of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). As the DIA’s senior counterintelligence investigator, Scott identified one of the most damaging spies in recent U...

1 Aug 200727min

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