Spies, Policymakers, and Nuclear Weapons: An Interview with Gregg Herken (Part 2)

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is the radical force behind the nation’s most revolutionary, high-tech military initiatives over the past half century. To write the first definitive history of the world’s most powerful and productive military science agency, bestselling author Annie Jacobsen tracked down DARPA scientists, past and present, including current neuroscientists building an artificial brain, cell biologists working on limb regeneration, and even the Nobel Laureate who invented the laser. From conflict-tested science experiments, like Agent Orange and electronic barriers on the battlefield during Vietnam, to War on Terror insect drones, smart rockets, camera-filled war zones and advanced computer programs, she tracks DARPA from its Cold War inception to present day research controversies. Jacobsen shared her journey to the heart of the military-industrial complex—a place where science fiction and military science collide—and revealed a future that is fascinating and potentially frightening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

29 Sep 20151h 1min

In Part 3 of this three-part series, SPY Historian Dr. Vince Houghton sat down with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Greg Miller, who covers intelligence and national security for the Washington Post. Houghton and Miller discuss the difficulties in reporting on this most secret of topics, the dangers – and benefits – of using anonymous sources, and the ever-changing nature of intelligence and national security journalism. Part 1 of this series was with Mark Mazzetti of the New York Times, and Part 2 was with Ali Watkins of the Huffington Post. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

15 Sep 201539min

In Part 2 of this three-part series, SPY Historian Dr. Vince Houghton sat down with Ali Watkins, who covers intelligence and national security for the Huffington Post. Houghton and Watkins discuss the difficulties in reporting on this most secret of topics, the dangers – and benefits – of using anonymous sources, and the ever-changing nature of intelligence and national security journalism. Part 1 of this series was with Mark Mazzetti of the New York Times, and Part 3 will be with Greg Miller of the Washington Post. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

15 Sep 201545min

In Part 1 of this three-part series, SPY Historian Dr. Vince Houghton sat down with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Mark Mazzetti, who covers intelligence and national security for the New York Times. Houghton and Mazzetti discuss the difficulties in reporting on this most secret of topics, the dangers – and benefits – of using anonymous sources, and the ever-changing nature of intelligence and national security journalism. Part 2 of this series will be with Ali Watkins of the Huffington Post, and Part 3 will be with Greg Miller of the Washington Post. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

8 Sep 201546min

SPY Historian Dr. Vince Houghton sat down with career US Foreign Service Officer J. Andrew Plowman to discuss his book, Climate Change and Conflict Prevention. Plowman uses the Darfur conflict as a case study to examine how the effects of climate change might lead to future violent conflicts, and he assesses the best way to prevent these conflicts. Mr. Plowman’s service with the State Department has included assignments to Peru, Panama, Kazakhstan, and Brazil, as well as Washington assignments with the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs and the Economics, Energy, and Business Affairs Bureau. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1 Sep 201523min

SPY Historian Dr. Vince Houghton sat down with Cuban-exile-turned-CIA-officer Felix Rodriguez to discuss his extraordinary intelligence career. As a teenager, Rodriguez joined the effort to overthrow (and kill) Fidel Castro. After that mission failed, he trained and led the team that hunted – and captured – the guerilla Che Guevara in Bolivia. By the late 1960s, he took his counterinsurgency experience and applied it in covert operations against America’s enemies in Vietnam. This, and much more. Warning: This podcast contains some salty language. Consider it PG-13. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

25 Aug 20151h 8min

SPY Historian Dr. Vince Houghton sat down with Cuban-exile-turned-CIA-officer Felix Rodriguez to discuss his extraordinary intelligence career. As a teenager, Rodriguez joined the effort to overthrow (and kill) Fidel Castro. After that mission failed, he trained and led the team that hunted – and captured – the guerilla Che Guevara in Bolivia. By the late 1960s, he took his counterinsurgency experience and applied it in covert operations against America’s enemies in Vietnam. This, and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

18 Aug 201538min

SPY Historian Dr. Vince Houghton sat down with Cuban-exile-turned-CIA-officer Felix Rodriguez to discuss his extraordinary intelligence career. As a teenager, Rodriguez joined the effort to overthrow (and kill) Fidel Castro. After that mission failed, he trained and led the team that hunted – and captured – the guerilla Che Guevara in Bolivia. By the late 1960s, he took his counterinsurgency experience and applied it in covert operations against America’s enemies in Vietnam. This, and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

11 Aug 201539min