If like me, you are a big fan of audiobooks then it is highly likely that you have listened to today's guest Scott Brick narrating one of your favorite thriller audiobooks. In this conversation, Shane finds out more about life behind the mic with Scott Brick. We learn how he got started in the business plus some of his tips and tricks for delivering engaging audio and top drawer storytelling. Scott Brick also answers Spybrary listener questions such as: You recorded an excellent new version of T...
Jan 16, 2022•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 171
Jason King returns to the Spybrary Podcast for his annual appearance to share his best espionage novels of 2021. This is the most requested feature of Spybrary, requested by spouses, friends, and relatives who purchase Birthday and Holiday presents for loved ones based on the Jason King picks. (I kid you not!)
Jan 08, 2022•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 170
In this New Year’s Eve episode of Spy Rewind Matthew and Jeff welcome a special guest. Oscar winner and Man From U.N.C.L.E. superfan Robert Short join them to take a look at "The Adriatic Express Affair" a New Year’s Eve-themed episode of the classic 60’s spy show. They discuss how Bob would explore the sets of U.N.C.L.E. as a kid, his family connection to the show, and some of the ways U.N.C.L.E. broke new spy tv ground. Plus we talk about terrible double entendres, questionable spy gadgets and...
Dec 31, 2021•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 169
In this episode of Spybrary Jeff dives into some of the most serious and silly questions faced by spy fans. He is joined by an all-star panel of guests - Jeremy Duns, Hannah Cooper and Shane Whaley. They tackle a wide range of espionage enigmas. Some of the questions covered are - From now on either every spy novel must be set in Berlin or no spy novels can ever be set in Berlin again. Which do you choose? Would you use your kid as camouflage while doing spy activity? Volcano lair vs underwater ...
Dec 26, 2021•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 168
Welcome to Episode 167 of the Spybrary Spy Book podcast. Today, we bring you a spy author interview. Spybrary host Shane Whaley finds out more about How to Betray Your Country with spy writer, author James Wolff Something I want to address with you all before we get into the conversation, the elephant in the room, James Wolff is not the author's real name. James Wolff reveals he has worked for the British government but does not reveal which branch nor where he was based. As a Spybrarian, natura...
Dec 17, 2021•46 min•Ep. 167
London Station has fizzed into action, Sunday Times journalist and Spybrary contributor Tim Shipman chats with spy author Matthew Richardson. They discuss Matthew's spy novels, his writing style, his literary influences plus they pay tribute to the new generation of spy writers. And much more!!
Dec 11, 2021•41 min•Ep. 166
Spy Rewind is back with Matthew and Jeff taking a look at the currently airing spy comedy starring David Schwimmer and Nick Mohammed - Intelligence. They discuss whether GCHQ is held in less esteem than MI5 or MI6, why spying is the perfect setting for a workplace comedy, and how Intelligence has more laughs than Ted Lasso. Plus, why Nick Mohammed was more interested in the GCHQ cafeteria than the eavesdropping and when the computer asks you to delete those files, think twice! All that and more ...
Nov 28, 2021•55 min•Ep. 165
In this episode of the Spybrary Spy Podcast Jeff Quest speaks to the former director of CIA’s Technical Service Robert Wallace about his time in the CIA and the various non-fiction books he has co-authored since leaving the agency. They discuss how the CIA is similar to all other bureaucracies, why spy tech is so important for successful spy operations and how hard it can sometimes be to get past the CIA Publications Review Board. Plus, we talk about the spy that pulled the “Reverse Beatles” man...
Nov 13, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 164
Spy Rewind is back! Matthew Bradford and Jeff Quest go deep on an episode of Spy TV show Get Smart! Shownotes at www.spybrary.com/163 Please consider subscribing to Spybrary so you don't miss out on future episodes.
Oct 23, 2021•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 163
Author CP Bennison gives us her thoughts on the spy novel Transcription by Kate Atkinson on the Spybrary Spy Book Podcast. Brush Pass Review. Transcription is a spy novel by British novelist Kate Atkinson, published in September 2018. The novel focuses on the activities of British orphan Juliet Armstrong throughout World War II and afterwards, and how she begins a career as a low-level transcriptionist for MI5, before rising through the ranks.
Oct 20, 2021•8 min•Ep. 162
Author Andy Onyx shares the 5 spy books, movies and tv shows he would want to be stashed in his dead drop. (our riff on desert island discs with a spy twist!) Check out our Facebook group for more spy discussions and chat!
Oct 12, 2021•58 min•Ep. 161
Author Andy Onyx gives us the lowdown on G K Chesterton's The Man Who Was Thursday on the Spybrary Spy Book Podcast.
Oct 03, 2021•11 min•Ep. 160
In this episode of Spy Rewind, Double O Section's Matthew Bradford and SpyWrite's Jeff Quest take a look at the globetrotting cable spy tv show Covert Affairs. They discuss whether all spies need to meet at the Berlin listening station, the benefits of location shoots and how to be a “fashion-forward” spy. Plus, Bowie in Berlin, R.E.M., cliff diving white Jaguars, and Jeff makes another failed attempt at an accent, this time German! All that and more in this episode of Spybrary....
Aug 01, 2021•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 159
Guest host Steven Minegar chats with author Ralph Hope about his latest book. What do you do with a hundred thousand idle spies? By 1990 the Berlin Wall had fallen and the East German state security service folded. For forty years, they had amassed more than a billion pages in manila files detailing the lives of their citizens. Almost a hundred thousand Stasi employees, many of them experienced officers with access to highly personal information, found themselves unemployed overnight. This is th...
Jul 29, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 158
Mission France tells the full story of the thirty-nine female SOE agents who went undercover in France. We interview the author, historian Dr. Kate Vigurs to find out more.
Jul 26, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 157
In this episode of Spy Rewind - Matthew and Jeff take a look at the groundbreaking 1960 TV series Danger Man, specifically the episode - Time to Kill. They discuss whether John Drake is the JFK of spies, why you should always keep your bullets in loaves of bread, and the proper attire for an assassin. Plus, rock out to Jeff’s rendition of the song Secret Agent Man! All that and more in this episode of Spybrary. links at www.spybrary.com/156
Jul 18, 2021•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 156
We talk with one of the foremost collectors of John le Carré, Steven Ritterman, whose collection of pristine le Carré editions numbers over 300 items. We learn about the Haycroft-Queen list, rare signed editions and Steve’s undercover mission to meet le Carré himself. All that plus talk on champagne toasts with Otto Penzler, meeting Eric Ambler, literal juggling balls and a little Silverview talk from a couple of le Carré collectors.
Jul 04, 2021•59 min•Ep. 155
Jeff and Matthew are back with the latest Spy Rewind where they take a look at a specific episode of a Spy tv show and talk about that episode plus a bit about the series as a whole. This week they discuss the 1980’s show Scarecrow and Mrs. King
Jun 11, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 154
Spybrary Spy Podcast Host Shane Whaley gives us his brush pass spy book review of The Alpha List by Ted Allbeury. 'Truly a classic writer of espionage fiction' - Len Deighton Dave Marsh and Charlie Kelly grew up together on the backstreets of Birmingham. Now Charlie is a Labour MP and Dave an Intelligence agent. When Charlie comes under suspicion of passing secrets to the Russians, Dave is given the task of investigating his old friend. He seems to be able to prove his case soon enough, but as C...
Jun 06, 2021•15 min•Ep. 153
In this episode of Spy Rewind Matthew and Jeff take a look at the 1985 TV series Mr Palfrey of Westminster, specifically series two episode - Official Secret. They discuss the joy of seeing London in all it’s 80’s glory, the alarming decline of walking stick/umbrella shops, and whether there really were Soviet moles hiding under every MI5 couch cushion. Plus, revel in Jeff’s terrible English and Russian accents! All that and more in this episode of Spybrary.
May 31, 2021•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 152
Jeremy Duns and Jeff Quest talk through some of the in’s and out’s of research, and especially spy research, in the hopes of encouraging others to do research too. We talk about the lost Pinkerton manuscript, the time Jeremy nearly got kicked out of an interview before it even started, how Jeff got the title of an author’s book wrong within 30 seconds of starting an interview and why you should turn every page. All that and more in this episode of Spybrary.
May 20, 2021•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 151
A special message to Spybrary listeners around the world to celebrate episode 150!
May 12, 2021•9 min•Ep. 150
Today, we bring you another spy author interview on the Spybrary Podcast. We are chatting with author James Stejskal who has just penned his first-ever spy fiction novel titled A Question of Time. Some of you may know James from his non-fiction books, especially an absolute cracker - Special Forces Berlin. James draws on his time serving in Cold War Berlin and even weaves the head of the Stasi Erich Mielke and East Germany spymaster Markus Wolf into the story in a credible fashion. And I know wh...
Apr 23, 2021•45 min•Ep. 149
Today we decode a brush pass transmission, a spy book review of Eric Von Lustbader's Black Heart. Author and Spy Book fan, Andy Onyx gives us his brush pass spy book review of Black Heart by Eric Von Lustbader.
Apr 11, 2021•14 min•Ep. 148
Spy Rewind time - Jeff and Matthew take a look back at the early 2000’s spy show Alias. Starring Jennifer Garner it was one of the first spy shows to air after 9/11 and catapulted numerous people both in front of and behind the camera to further success. The guys talk about the effect of 9/11 on spy shows, the changing look at gender roles for spies, whether it’s a good or bad thing to have a mystery box and how hard it must be to spy in a belly shirt.
Apr 02, 2021•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 147
From acclaimed spy novelist Paul Vidich comes a taut new thriller following the attempted exfiltration of a KGB officer from the ever-changing—and always dangerous—USSR in the mid-1980s. Shane Whaley finds out more in this interview with author Paul Vidich. In Episode 146 of Spybrary with spy author Paul Vidich we discuss: What was Paul Vidich's inspiration for writing The Mercenary. What kind of reader The Mercenary appeals to? (Actioneers v Realistic) What drew Paul to write an espionage thril...
Mar 26, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 146
It is 1955 and we review the latest Ian Fleming James Bond 007 novel, Moonraker With David Craggs, author Simon Conway and Spybrary Host Shane Whaley. Episode is also available on YouTube. Details at www.spybrary.com/145
Mar 23, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 145
Today's episode of Spybrary is all about collecting spy books. This episode is also available on YouTube. We talk James Bond book trivia and see some of Tim’s amazing Fleming novels. There are some beautiful association copies of Adam Hall books, Matthew shares details on how to collect an elusive Clancy first edition and a signed copy of one of Jimmy Sangster’s spy novels with a great back story. All that plus tips and tricks from three folks who can’t stop collecting books....
Mar 16, 2021•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 143
On today's Spybrary Spy Podcast, we turn our attention to Spy TV and the third and sadly final season of the British spy tv series The Sandbaggers starring Roy Marsden and created by Ian Mackintosh. Our panel are back to run the rule over The Sandbaggers Season 3.We are joined by Spybrary Podcast listeners, Hannah Cooper, Jeffrey Westhoff, and Paul Hodges of The Sandbaggers Facebook Group.
Mar 13, 2021•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 141
Today we are joined by author Mark Edlitz the author of the Lost Adventures of James Bond: Timothy Dalton’s Third and Fourth Bond Films, James Bond Jr., and Other Unmade or Forgotten 007 Projects. He is expertly interviewed by James Bond Radio contributor Jack Lugo. Since this episode was recorded, Jack has launched his own 007 podcast - Bond and Banter. The James Bond universe is greater than you might think. Even if you have seen all the movies and devoured Ian Fleming's books, there is much m...
Feb 27, 2021•57 min•Ep. 140
