"Venice’s Secret Service" – with Ioanna Iordanou

Marie Mitchell is an FBI agent sent by the CIA to spy on the “African Che Guevara,” leftist president of Burkina Faso, Thomas Sankara. Inspired by real events, he became president in 1983 at the age of 33, this week’s guest takes what is best about the spy fiction genre and gives it her own unique je ne sais quoi (if most of what you know about this land-locked West African country can be written on a business card, guess the official language?). The week of Martin Luther King Jr. Day seemed like an opportune moment to introduce Lauren Wilkinson to the SpyCast community: for a spy thriller written by a black female author, featuring a black female protagonist, set in an African country is a triple rarity for the genre. Join Andrew and Lauren as they talk about her debut novel, which managed to make it on to summer reading list of a former US president – to find out which one you will have to listen – and about some of her favourite spy novels. Her book is now available One reviewer said it is “like the best of John le Carré.” Need I really say more? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

19 Jan 202153min

January 6, 2021. What to say. Former president George W. Bush, 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell all used the term “insurrection.” As these momentous events unfolded – I watched it on TV although I can literally see the US Capitol from my rooftop – I was constantly thinking about the intelligence implications. Long story short, I reached out to Diana Bolsinger and Mark Stout and voila! welcome to a SpyCast Special. Diana’s background includes service in the National Counterterrorism Center, at the CIA and in the U.S. Department of State. Mark had an equally well-rounded career at INR, the CIA, and the Army Staff at the Pentagon. Both “formers” now teach and research intelligence and national security. Grab a brew, or something stronger, and mull this one over. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

7 Jan 20211h 8min

This is the second in our two-parter with Dr. Matthew Brazil, a historian of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intelligence operations. Andrew and Matt discuss everything from recruitment, ideology, and foreign tourism, to modern history and contemporary politics – all the biggies really. Ever wondered about the “century of humiliation” or the “Great Firewall of China”? This might be the episode for you (but don’t forget Part 1!). Matt spent over twenty years working in East and South Asia. Even better, the book is based on an engagement with hundreds of Chinese language sources. Well, whatddayaknow? 谢谢 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

5 Jan 202147min

Edward Snowden is back in the news. I know what you are thinking: shocker! As we move into the new year from the annus horribilis that was 2020, however, one of the main intelligence stories is will Snowden receive a presidential pardon. Come to think of it, does he even deserve one? Back in what now seems like the mists of time, 2013, Mark Stout sat down with one of the nation’s top national security lawyers, Mark Zaid, for a legal perspective on the then recent Snowden case. Like a smoky 8 year old single malt, this one lingers on the palate (which depending on your taste may be a good or a bad thing). At the very least, we provide some context on today’s headlines in the run down to Hogmanay. Wishing you and yours all the best. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

29 Des 202046min

Nothing makes me happier than a conversation with whip smart people on the past, present or future of intelligence: enter Heather Williams, a senior policy researcher at RAND, and Zachery Tyson Brown, a strategic futurist and founder of Consilient Strategies. With decades of experience at multiple agencies, multiple deployments overseas, advanced degrees from the National Intelligence University and a network of contacts that would do any Rolodex proud, they have oodles to offer. We talk the information revolution, generational change, institutional reform, a variety of -ologies and of course the pandemic and the incoming presidential administration. Basically, just the entire future of intelligence.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

22 Des 20201h 1min

Bet you are wondering which adversary caused him the most sleepless nights, right? From the Red Army to New Jersey street gangs, from terrorists to the Taliban – Dean Barrata has analyzed them all. During a 30+ year career in intelligence, Dean has been everywhere from West Germany to Afghanistan, from the Pennsylvania National Guard to a New Jersey Police Street Gang Unit. If you have ever wondered if there was life beyond the three letter agencies (CIA, NSA, DIA), this just might be the episode for you. He now works for GitHub and teaches at a flagship college. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Dean Barrata. Did I mention that he thinks Millennials and Centennials make great intelligence analysts? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

15 Des 20201h 5min

The second in a double-header on Israeli intelligence. This week we walk the story up to the present day – including the election of Joe Biden and the recent assassination of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. We also hear how Israeli intelligence is retooling for the twenty-first century. Andrew is joined by journalist Yossi Melman, a reporter for Haaretz and advisor on the Netflix Series Inside the Mossad, and Dan Raviv, who was at CBS for over 40 years. They are the authors of Every Spy a Prince and Spies Against Armageddon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

8 Des 202059min

Mossad. Shin Bet. Aman. Legendary names from the world of secret intelligence. Adolf Eichmann. Wrath of God. Stuxnet. Israel’s intelligence agencies never seem to be far from the history books…or the headlines. Were they behind the recent killing of the so-called Iranian Robert Oppenheimer, nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh? To provide some context, best-selling author Dan Raviv spoke about his co-authored book Spies Against Armageddon, back in 2012. Hear about the history of Israeli intelligence from the birth of the country in 1948 through to the end of Netanyahu’s second term. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1 Des 20201h 3min