In the early 1950s, Iran elected a forward-thinking new leader. But where previous regimes had played ball with British and American oil companies in the country, Mohammed Mossadegh refused. In response, Western intelligence services mounted a deadly coup. Sophia Di Martino and historian Ervand Abrahamian unpick the shocking downfall of Iran's last democratic leader. From SPYSCAPE, the home of secrets. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Series producer: Joe Foley. Produced by Morgan Childs. Music by N...
Dec 18, 2023•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast As ISIS sweeps through the Middle East, the regions' minority groups face brutal oppression. In Northern Iraq, ex-CIA officers Michele Rigby Assad and her husband, Joseph Assad, feel compelled to do what they can to help. Michele joins Sophia Di Martino to recount the steps that led to a dramatic evacuation of Iraqi Christians from Erbil in 2015. From SPYSCAPE, the home of secrets. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Series producer: Joe Foley. Produced by Ashley Clivery. Music by Nick Ryan. Learn more...
Dec 11, 2023•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast In the dying days of the Cold War, the West is on the verge of victory. But the Soviet Union's feared secret service, the KGB, won't give up without a fight. Sophia Di Martino and former US Army Intelligence officer Aden Magee tell the story of a mind-bending game of cat-and-mouse, played out on the streets of 1980s Munich. From SPYSCAPE, the home of secrets. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Series producer: Joe Foley. Produced by Ashley Clivery. Music by Nick Ryan. Learn more about your ad choices....
Dec 04, 2023•46 min•Ep 189•Transcript available on Metacast Karel Koecher always knew he was destined for greatness. At the height of the Cold War, he arrived in New York City – a Communist sleeper agent, hell-bent on infiltrating the highest echelons of American society. And with the help of his beautiful young wife, the American dream was well within reach. Sophia Di Martino and author Benjamin Cunningham tell the story of two glamourous Czech spies in swinging NYC - charting their unlikely rise and inevitable fall from grace. From SPYSCAPE, the home o...
Nov 27, 2023•46 min•Ep 188•Transcript available on Metacast Truck driver, entrepreneur, womanizer - spy. Sophia Di Martino joins journalist Sean O'Driscoll to tell the story of one of the most unusual and effective moles in modern American history. When David Rupert met a woman in an Irish bar in Florida, the meeting sparked an unlikely chain of events that would lead him to infiltrate a deadly Irish Republican terrorist group on behalf of the FBI, MI5 and the Irish state - and put several key players behind bars. But the 'Big Yank' would pay a heavy pri...
Nov 20, 2023•40 min•Ep 187•Transcript available on Metacast Some men make headlines. Others make history. A subtle few mold the future of nations in their image - and you'd never even know it. In this 2-part True Spies miniseries, journalist and author of The Devil's Chessboard, David Talbot, joins Sophia Di Martino to uncover a hidden history of the United States. A history penned by a man who made an outsized impact on the way we live today - Allen Dulles. In Part 2, the seeds of Dulles's ruin are sown on a beach in Cuba. From SPYSCAPE, the home of sec...
Nov 13, 2023•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Enigma Machine. The B2 stealth bomber. The poisoned-tipped umbrella. Napoleon’s Briefcase of Secrets. As long as there has been conflict, there have been spies, and as long as there have been spies, there have been incredible gadgets and iconic objects. These are the stories of the tools that power the world of espionage, told by historian Alice Loxton. Coming soon to the Spyscape Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 08, 2023•4 min•Transcript available on Metacast Some men make headlines. Others make history. A subtle few mold the future of nations in their image - and you'd never even know it. In this 2-part True Spies miniseries, journalist and author of The Devil's Chessboard, David Talbot, joins Sophia Di Martino to uncover a hidden history of the United States. A history penned by a man who made an outsized impact on the way we live today - Allen Dulles. In Part 1, Talbot documents the rise of the CIA's longest-serving director - and the first civili...
Nov 06, 2023•45 min•Ep 185•Transcript available on Metacast In this True Spies special, Daisy Ridley presents a dramatized encounter with Everette Howard Hunt Jr, based on our own historical research and Hunt's own writings. In Part 2 - the unbelievable story of the political scandal of the century. Watergate. From SPYSCAPE, the home of secrets. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Series producer: Joe Foley. Produced by Justin Trefgarne. Howard Hunt is voiced by Ian Porter. Music by Nick Ryan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 30, 2023•44 min•Ep 184•Transcript available on Metacast In this special True Spies miniseries, Daisy Ridley presents a dramatized encounter with Everette Howard Hunt Jr, based on our own historical research and Hunt's own writings. In Part 1, Hunt explains his role in one of the CIA's most unusual PsyOps - the backing of 1954's animated version of George Orwell's Animal Farm. From SPYSCAPE, the home of secrets. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Series producer: Joe Foley. Produced by Justin Trefgarne. Howard Hunt is voiced by Ian Porter. Music by Nick Rya...
Oct 23, 2023•39 min•Ep 183•Transcript available on Metacast In 1984, when Police Constable Yvonne Fletcher was shot outside the Libyan Embassy in London , John Murray swore he would bring her killers to justice. Decades later, he's about to come closer than ever before - but mysterious elements inside the British establishment seem determined to stop him in his tracks. Daisy Ridley joins Murray, and author Matt Johnson, to recount an epic mission for the truth. A mission that will take Murray to the ends of the Earth - and the limits of his endurance. Fo...
Oct 16, 2023•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast April, 1984 - London. Police Constable Yvonne Fletcher has been shot dead by a pro-Gaddafi gunman at the Libyan Embassy. The UK looks on in sorrow and disgust. One man vows to bring her killer to justice - no matter who stands in his way. Daisy Ridley joins Fletcher's colleague, John Murray, and author Matt Johnson, to recount an epic mission for the truth. A mission that will take Murray to the ends of the Earth - and the limits of his endurance. For the full story, pick up a copy of No Ordinar...
Oct 09, 2023•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast In 2015, former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling was sentenced to 3 and a half years in prison for violating the Espionage Act by leaking details of a top-secret operation to a journalist - a charge he has always denied. Jeffrey believes that during his time at the Agency, he was discriminated against for the color of his skin - and that his complaints made him a target. The US Government's position is clear. In this episode of True Spies, Daisy Ridley hears Jeffrey's side of the story. From SPYSCAP...
Oct 02, 2023•50 min•Ep 180•Transcript available on Metacast It's 2007, and Iraq is in a state of chaos. Factions of armed insurgents clash with Coalition forces, and the USA is looking for an exit strategy. 32 year-old Egyptian-American CIA officer Joseph Assad is a new face in Baghdad's Green Zone. He's got an idea that could help to end the slaughter - one so crazy, it just might work. Daisy Ridley joins Joseph as he tells his story publicly for the very first time in a True Spies exclusive. From SPYSCAPE, the home of secrets. A Cup And Nuzzle producti...
Sep 25, 2023•48 min•Ep 179•Transcript available on Metacast For a womanizing Soviet spy, wartime Tokyo is both playground and prison. Surrounded by the enemy, he's got to keep his wits about him - and with an increasingly paranoid leader in the Kremlin, the line between friend and foe is thin indeed. Daisy Ridley joins author Owen Matthews to tell the story of one the USSR's most formidable spies - Richard Sorge. A Communist true-believer, he provided crucial intelligence to Moscow before and during World War 2. But for Stalin's top spies, loyalty comes ...
Sep 18, 2023•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast When an informant leaks the location of an arms deal between a Romanian-American fixer and a Colombian rebel group, the DEA come down hard on both parties. But in a world of double-dealing, secrets and lies, is anyone truly who they say they are? Daisy Ridley joins investigative journalist Trevor Aaronson to tell the story of Flaviu Georgescu - who claims that he was working undercover for the CIA when he was arrested by federal law enforcement. Could the US government be creating the criminals ...
Sep 11, 2023•44 min•Ep 177•Transcript available on Metacast In this two-part special, True Spies tells the story of a clandestine German intelligence network that sprang from the ashes of the Third Reich. Led by former Nazi Reinhardt Gehlen, the group was sponsored by the USA to fight Communism in post-war Europe. In Part 2, the cracks start to appear in the Gehlen Organization as the Cold War freezes over. Daisy Ridley and Professor Norman Goda unpack a tale of incompetence, double dealing and subterfuge. From SPYSCAPE, the home of secrets. A Cup And Nu...
Sep 04, 2023•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this two-part special, True Spies tells the story of a clandestine German intelligence network that sprang from the ashes of the Third Reich. Led by former Nazi Reinhardt Gehlen, the group was sponsored by the USA to fight Communism in post-war Europe. In Part 1, Daisy Ridley joins historians Norman Goda and Gerald Steinacher to reveal the beginnings of the American government's shocking co-operation with those who it had defeated only months before. From SPYSCAPE, the home of secrets. A Cup ...
Aug 28, 2023•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast The year is 1971, and deep in the marshy mangrove forests of East Pakistan, a crack team of Bangladeshi commandos move silently through the Ganges Delta. Backed by the recently-formed Indian secret service, they're on a mission that will strike a crippling blow against their enemies. A mission that could help to decide the future of a nation. Daisy Ridley joins authors and screenwriters Anusha Nandakumar and Sandeep Saket to reveal the details of a daring sabotage operation in the lead-up to the...
Aug 21, 2023•47 min•Ep 174•Transcript available on Metacast For teenage genius Ted Hall, the opportunity to work alongside the great minds of his time was too great to turn down. But during his time on the Manhattan Project - the WW2 nuclear development program headed by J. Robert Oppenheimer - Ted grew uneasy about the world-shattering power he had helped to unleash. In this episode of True Spies, documentarian Steve James joins Daisy Ridley to tell Hall's story - the life of a man who spied, not for personal gain, but out of compassion for the world an...
Aug 14, 2023•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast It's the 1980s, and Bruno Breguet is one of international super-terrorist Carlos the Jackal's most trusted operatives. But in a paranoid world of violence and subterfuge, what is loyalty really worth? In this 2-part True Spies story, intelligence historian Adrian Hänni joins Daisy Ridley to uncover the life of a little-known, but fascinating figure. In Part 2, the strength of Breguet's revolutionary ideals come up against the mercenary reality of the Jackal's world - and is found wanting. Gunpla...
Aug 07, 2023•45 min•Ep 172•Transcript available on Metacast In June 1970, a young man is arrested at the Israeli port of Haifa. On his person, police officers discover pro-Palestine propaganda, a Super-8 video camera, and 2 kilograms of high explosive. His name is Bruno Breguet - and his story only gets stranger from here. In this 2-part True Spies story, intelligence historian Adrian Hänni joins Daisy Ridley to uncover the life of a little-known, but fascinating figure. In Part 1, you'll follow Bruno's journey from sleepy southern Switzerland to the fro...
Jul 31, 2023•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast A new season of True Spies kicks off with Daisy Ridley as the Narrator and Edward Norton as Lee Harvey Oswald - the alleged assassin behind the killing of President John F Kennedy. The Oswald Project tells the shocking story of Oswald and his relationship with the CIA. Was he being trained by the Agency to become a KGB double-agent – or to take the fall for JFK's murder? Was he, as he claimed just before his own assassination, “a patsy”? Featuring expert insight from Professor John Newman and in...
Jul 24, 2023•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast A new season of True Spies kicks off with Daisy Ridley as the Narrator and Edward Norton as Lee Harvey Oswald - the alleged assassin behind the killing of President John F Kennedy. The Oswald Project tells the shocking story of Oswald and his relationship with the CIA. Was he being trained by the Agency to become a KGB double-agent – or to take the fall for JFK's murder? Was he, as he claimed just before his own assassination, “a patsy”? Featuring expert insight from Professor John Newman and in...
Jul 17, 2023•46 min•Ep 169•Transcript available on Metacast A Scottish hairdresser, a wannabe actor-slash-stunt pilot, and a Nazi spy ring spanning both sides of the Atlantic. Three different shows? No. One True Spies special. In this two-part story, intelligence historian Andrew Jeffrey joins Sophia Di Martino to tell a story that has to be heard to be believed. In the 1930s, a resurgent Germany was determined to steal Allied secrets to gain an advantage in the coming war. Through a series of improbable twists, turns, and intelligence coups, MI5 and the...
Jul 10, 2023•46 min•Ep 168•Transcript available on Metacast A new season of True Spies kicks off with Daisy Ridley as the Narrator and Edward Norton as Lee Harvey Oswald. The Oswald Project tells the shocking story of Oswald – the alleged assassin of President John F. Kennedy – and his relationship with the CIA. Was he being trained by the CIA to become a KGB double-agent – or to take the fall for JFK’s murder? Or was he, as he claimed just before his own assassination, “a patsy”? Subscribers to SPYSCAPE+ – via Apple Podcasts – will have exclusive access...
Jul 06, 2023•3 min•Transcript available on Metacast A Scottish hairdresser, a wannabe actor-slash-stunt pilot, and a Nazi spy ring spanning both sides of the Atlantic. Three different shows? No. One True Spies special. In this two-part story, intelligence historian Andrew Jeffrey joins Sophia Di Martino to tell a story that has to be heard to be believed. In the 1930s, a resurgent Germany was determined to steal Allied secrets to gain an advantage in the coming war. Through a series of improbable twists, turns, and intelligence coups, MI5 and the...
Jul 03, 2023•51 min•Ep 167•Transcript available on Metacast In the late 1980s, change is in the air in Eastern Europe. For a young journalist like Mark Baker, Czechoslovakia is an interesting place to be. But Mark has attracted some unwanted attention - a fact that he'll only discover several decades later. Sophia Di Martino joins Mark to travel through the True Spies looking-glass, and discover what it's like to become the target of a recruitment effort by an intelligence agency - whether you know it or not. From SPYSCAPE, the home of secrets. A Cup And...
Jun 26, 2023•45 min•Ep 166•Transcript available on Metacast In 1970, Captain James Bradley had a daydream - a daydream that inspired one of the most audacious aquatic espionage missions of all time. Operation Ivy Bells gave the USA unprecedented access to Soviet undersea communications cables, and hastened the end of the nuclear stand-off between the two nations. Sophia Di Martino joins journalists Christopher Drew and Sherry Sontag for a thrilling and often claustrophobic tale of covert submarine warfare. From SPYSCAPE, the home of secrets. A Cup And Nu...
Jun 19, 2023•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast When two CIA officers were captured in an ambush on Chinese territory, it seemed as though their story was over. In fact, their ordeal had only just begun. Two decades later, their fates still hung in the balance between the power-players of Beijing and Washington. Professor John Delury, a historian of China and US-China affairs, joins Sophia Di Martino to discuss one of the great forgotten stories of the Cold War. A tale of resilience, complex political gamesmanship, and the transforming power ...
Jun 12, 2023•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
