Summary Ellen McCarthy (Twitter; LinkedIn) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss her career and time as head of the State Department’s intelligence agency. INR is one of the 18 U.S. intelligence agencies. What You’ll Learn Intelligence Her start as a Soviet submarine analyst in the Office of Naval Intelligence Bringing the U.S. Coast Guard intel. program into the Intelligence Community (IC) Working for DoD and Geospatial-Intelligence Why she admires the Bureau of Intelligence and Research ...
Jun 14, 2022•55 min•Ep. 543
Summary Mike Burgess (Website; Twitter) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss his agency and the enduring strength of Australia’s alliances. ASIO is the second intelligence agency he has directed. What You’ll Learn Intelligence The Australian idea of “mateship” in the intelligence context The Australian intelligence landscape The United States as its most important strategic alliance The enduring value and historical uniqueness of the FIVE EYES alliance Reflections How Man. Utd. might help...
Jun 07, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 542
Summary Paul Lashmar (Twitter, Website) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss investigative journalism and intelligence. He is a former UK Reporter of the Year. What You’ll Learn Intelligence The similarities and differences between spooks and journalists The role Watergate played for his generation of journalists Intelligence overseers as “Ostriches,” “Cheerleaders,” “Lemon-suckers,” or “Guardians” Bellingcat, Spycatcher and the “Zinoviev Letter” Reflections The long shadow of the Second ...
May 31, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 541
Summary Admiral Hernando Wills Velez (Twitter) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss intelligence in Colombia. He is the former professional head of the Colombian Navy. What You’ll Learn Intelligence What it is like to be the head of an entire Navy Intelligence from the point of view of a senior military officer The unique set of challenges Colombia faces – insurgents, terrorists, paramilitaries, drug-cartels, etc. The role intelligence played in the daring Operation Jacque Reflections The...
May 24, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 540
Summary Peter Earnest spent 35 years in the CIA as a case officer and retired as its chief spokesman. He was the founding Executive Director of the International Spy Museum. What You’ll Learn Intelligence Losing a friend in the line of duty vs. betrayal by a colleague Using affability to your advantage Thoughts on the shift from classic espionage to counterterrorism for the CIA The relationship between the CIA, the press and the public Reflections The origins of the International Spy Museum The ...
May 17, 2022•54 min•Ep. 539
Summary Lis Wiehl (Twitter, Website) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss the FBI Agent Robert Hanssen. His espionage for the Russians was described as the “worst intelligence disaster in U.S. history.” What You’ll Learn Intelligence The many contradictions of this fragmented personality The criminal sworn FBI Agent The sexual fetishist in Opus Dei The anti-communist Soviet spy Hanssen’s impact on the FBI and American Intelligence How the Hanssen case effected the FBI-CIA relationship Ref...
May 10, 2022•55 min•Ep. 538
Summary Mike Susong (Website; LinkedIn) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss CIA, cyber and corporate intelligence. He won the Intelligence Star for Heroism in the Field. What You’ll Learn Intelligence Applying aspects of Mike’s training to the private sector using “competitive intelligence” Mike’s role co-founding a pioneering company in the field of Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI) The role of technology in enabling and constraining espionage What drew Mike to an annual free-thinking soc...
May 03, 2022•40 min•Ep. 537
Summary Mike Susong (Website; LinkedIn) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss CIA, cyber and corporate intelligence. He won the Intelligence Star for Heroism in the Field. What You’ll Learn Intelligence The outgrowth of “intelligence” from a nation-state activity to a corporate activity Recruiting and running agents as a CIA case officer His shift from tactical intelligence to strategic intelligence His journey from a curious kid with a short-wave radio to an intel professional Reflections...
Apr 26, 2022•49 min•Ep. 536
Summary Noah Hurowitz (Twitter; LinkedIn) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss infamous drug kingpin El Chapo. A weak link in his cybersecurity set-up would help bring him down. What You’ll Learn Intelligence El Chapo’s internal surveillance operation The cartel’s use of cryptography to keep communications covert How cybersecurity enabled then brought down El Chapo The role of the infamous DFS – a corrupt and now disbanded intelligence agency Reflections Technology – early adopters vs. co...
Apr 19, 2022•58 min•Ep. 535
Summary Daniel Milton (Website; Twitter) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss the former Caliph of the Islamic State. Al Mawla was killed in a U.S. raid in February 2022. What You’ll Learn Intelligence The origin of the term “Canary Caliph” The mythology of Islamic State and the reality Battlefield intelligence and understanding an enemy The Combating Terrorism Center being on the radar of terrorists Reflections The presentation of “self” The relationship between organizational priorities...
Apr 12, 2022•40 min•Ep. 534
Summary Daniel Milton (Website; Twitter) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss Tactical Interrogation Reports of the former Caliph of the Islamic State. Al-Mawla was killed in a U.S. raid in February 2022. What You’ll Learn Intelligence The ideological feud between Islamic State and Al Qaeda Islamic State's retreat from a quasi-state centered to a shadowy insurgency Battlefield intelligence such as “exploitable material” and “interrogation reports” The role of the Combating Terrorism Cente...
Apr 05, 2022•49 min•Ep. 533
Summary Thomas Leahy (Website; LinkedIn) and Eleanor Williams (Website; Twitter) join Andrew to discuss the intelligence war during “the Troubles.” Thomas lives in Cardiff and Eleanor lives in Belfast. What You’ll Learn Intelligence The Troubles through the lens of intelligence Some key intelligence players in the Northern Ireland conflict How the IRA and the British Army adapted organizationally The role intelligence played in the end of the conflict Reflections The fluid nature of motivations ...
Mar 29, 2022•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 532
Summary Sean Maloney (Website) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss the secret history of emergency war plans and the nuclear doomsday machine. He was the first Canadian civilian historian to go into combat since WWII. What You’ll Learn Intelligence Top secret emergency war plans for WWIII The role of human intelligence operations in nuclear doomsday planning Some key terms you need to understand the nuclear issue The policy of “massive retaliation” versus “flexible response” Reflections ...
Mar 22, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 531
Summary Volko Ruhnke (Website; Twitter) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss his life and career in the CIA as an analyst and designer of board games. He is a former World Board Game Champion. What You’ll Learn Intelligence Designing board games to teach CIA analysts Moonlighting as an award-winning board game designer while working at CIA Similarities and differences between intelligence analysis and board-games The difference between role-play games and board-games in training national ...
Mar 15, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 530
Summary Hans Holmer (LinkedIn) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss his time as a CIA operations officer and his transition to a cyber strategist. He served on every continent except South America and won a CIA Intelligence Star. What You’ll Learn Intelligence The advantages for a case officer growing up in two cultures and speaking multiple languages before joining the IC The tech person trained to be a case officer vs. a case officer trained to be a tech person debate That no amount of ...
Mar 08, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 529
Summary Enrique “Ric” Prado (LinkedIn) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss his new memoir “Black Ops.” One of the most renowned CIA officers of his generation tells his story. Book You can buy Ric’s book, Black Ops, and support the International Spy Museum’s mission here. What You’ll Learn Intelligence His time as CIA Counterterrorist Chief of Operations which included 9/11 His career battling communist insurgents and Islamic terrorists on multiple continents His experience living in “Co...
Feb 28, 2022•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 528
Summary J. Scott Cameron (LinkedIn) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss the National Intelligence University (NIU). He is the President of this unique “skiffed” institution. What You’ll Learn Intelligence o The NIU – what it is, what it does, and what it does differently. o NIU’s position within the American intelligence ecosystem o How NIU “banks knowledge” without compromising intelligence o What it is like to be a student in a Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmentalized Information (TS-SCI...
Feb 22, 2022•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 527
Summary David Fricker (Website; LinkedIn) had the No.2 job at Australia’s security and intelligence agency ASIO. He sat down with Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss the relationship between this role and his most recent one as Director-General of the National Archives of Australia. What You’ll Learn… Intelligence o ASIO, the Australian intelligence landscape and the region o His role as CIO and then Deputy-Director General of ASIO o The role major allies & partners play including the US and F...
Feb 15, 2022•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 526
Summary Joe Weisberg (Twitter) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss his new book on Russia. Joe is the creator of award-winning TV drama The Americans and a former CIA officer. What You’ll Learn Intelligence o His past experience as a hardliner who loved to hate the “evil empire” o His thoughts on a trip through the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe in the twilight of the Cold War, especially experiencing it as an American Jew o His interpretation of the KGB and Vladimir Putin o His take on...
Feb 08, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 525
Summary David Cattler (Twitter; LinkedIn) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss how intelligence functions at NATO. He is the NATO Assistant Secretary General for Intelligence and Security. What You’ll Learn o What it is like to be the leader of intelligence and security across the largest peacetime alliance in history? o How does intelligence come together at NATO – who are the key-players, institutions, and stakeholders? o What are some of the main challenges facing the Alliance includin...
Feb 01, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 524
"The Wright Brothers of the U.S. Drone Warfare Program." That is how some people have referred to this week's guests, Alec Bierbauer and Mark Cooter. Andrew sat down with them to dig into drones and their intelligence implications. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 25, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 523
This was the most popular episode of 2020. Apparently, people are interested in the views of former GCHQ Director, Joint Intelligence Committee Chair, and first UK Security and Intelligence Coordinator on, well - how spies think. I am sure David – now a Visiting Professor at Kings College, London – has a few thoughts on the subject. Hear Andrew debrief this week’s guest on the insights derived from a career spent at the summit of British intelligence. 1 Book, 2 Glaswegians, 10 Lessons in Intelli...
Jan 18, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 522
Alexis Albion – star of our 500th episode anniversary special – is a very good friend of the current Undersecretary for Arms Control & International Security, Bonnie Jenkins. Way back when, they were both on the 9/11 Commission Report – while Alexis’ focus was on the CIA and counterterrorism before the attacks, Bonnie’s was on the DOD and counterterrorism – tiny subjects, I know. In this week’s episode, hear two old friends reminisce, reflect, and put the world to rights. Move over Saturn, get o...
Jan 11, 2022•55 min•Ep. 521
Spook. Warrior. Author. This week’s guest is one helluva interesting guy. He was in a clandestine Special Forces unit in Berlin during the Cold War, “stay behinds” who would sabotage, subvert and generally wreak havoc should World War III break out. He was badly wounded after driving over a land-mine in Somalia in 1992, almost losing his entire leg and suffering a serious head injury. In a subsequent life, James was a CIA officer in Africa when the US embassies were blown up in Kenya and Tanzani...
Jan 04, 2022•52 min•Ep. 520
Project Prometheus. In the words of ex-Delta Force author Brad Taylor, “Super Double Daddy Bad Classified.” If you’re looking to find a podcast that helps break down the complexities of Chinese foreign policy through the vehicle of a page-turner written by a NYT Bestselling Author, you’ve arrived at the right doorstep my friend. Brad does serious research. He is also funny, down-to-earth, and super-duper interesting. Por ejemplo, on his first date with his now wife, he told her he was going to j...
Dec 28, 2021•52 min•Ep. 519
I was really good at buying drugs, which is how I got recruited into narcotics. Apparently, I make a really good crackhead.” “Frankly, fact-checking doesn’t matter in today’s world.” Intrigued? You should be. Avril and Lisa are absolutely fascinating! Avril built an intelligence team for the Attorney General’s Office in Pennsylvania, from scratch. Her unit collected strategic intel on narcotics trends and went on to predict the methamphetamine trend before it even hit the Keystone State. Lisa wa...
Dec 22, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 518
Post 9/11, special operations and intelligence worked together side-by-side, shoulder-to-shoulder and hand-in-glove (or any other heavily-hyphenated term you care to mention that connotates BFFness). What will happen with the relationship now, though, and in American history how have these two important components of national security related to each other? Enter the Joint Special Operations University (JSOU), located in Tampa, Florida, and more particularly their President Isaiah “Ike” Wilson, ...
Dec 14, 2021•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 517
Beijing. New Delhi. Kathmandu. “Hang on, I thought the title said FBI, not CIA?” Well, it did. Kathy Stearman was an FBI Legat who lived and worked in all of those capital cities. “Well, I’ve heard of the Ambassador and the Station Chief, but not the Legat?” Well, that’s why you need to listen to this week’s SpyCast! Kathy Stearman is a retired FBI Special Agent and author of It’s Not About the Gun: Lessons From my Global Career as a Female FBI Agent (I know the title sounds like Lance Armstrong...
Dec 07, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 516
The Committee on Public Information (CPI) is the first and only Ministry of Propaganda the United States has ever had. It started one week after the United States entered World War I in April of 1917; in fact, there wasn't even conscription for some weeks, but the Committee on Public Information was created right away. Why? To explore this question, and to learn more about the CPI, Andrew sat down with journalist, professor and Vietnam veteran Jack Hamilton (yes, actually sat down, like face-to-...
Nov 30, 2021•59 min•Ep. 515
Doug London is thoughtful and reflective – but he doesn’t pull his punches and he candidly shares his analysis of the contemporary intelligence landscape. In this second part, Doug reflects on the path taken after 9/11, the CIA at the crossroads, and why human intelligence (HUMINT) will remain central to the vast and increasingly technologically sophisticated world of intelligence. Also, hear about a superstar counterintelligence operative Doug is currently running – although there is also a rum...
Nov 23, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 514
