The Man Behind John le Carré
SpyCast23 Dec 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.

Avsnitt(741)

Caught by the KGB

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 i...

4 Juni 201033min

Military Intelligence from the Cold War to Cyber War

Military Intelligence from the Cold War to Cyber War

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 ...

7 Maj 201024min

Evolution of Government Surveillance Programs

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 ...

19 Apr 201027min

Tales from the OSS, part II

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 Vir...

1 Mars 201024min

Cyber Security and Covert Action

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 aspect...

17 Feb 201025min

Intelligence in a War Zone (Melissa Mahle)

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 wit...

20 Jan 201030min

The Terrorist Challenge

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 intelligen...

8 Jan 201019min

Tales from the OSS, Part I

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 ...

1 Jan 201024min

Populärt inom Politik & nyheter

svenska-fall
aftonbladet-krim
p3-krim
rss-krimstad
flashback-forever
politiken
blenda-2
aftonbladet-daily
rss-sanning-konsekvens
spar
rss-vad-fan-hande
motiv
dagens-eko
grans
svd-ledarredaktionen
rss-krimreportrarna
olyckan-inifran
spotlight
rss-frandfors-horna
rss-aftonbladet-krim