Today Justin sits down with Sue Dobson. Sue grew up in Pretoria, South Africa during the apartheid era and witnessed firsthand the brutality and oppression of the government at that time. As a young woman, she decided to take action and join the outlawed African National Congress to do her part to improve the lives of Black South Africans. She was eventually sent to Moscow for nearly a year of training in surveillance, intelligence gathering, and weapons before returning to South Africa as a spy...
May 15, 2023•1 hr 25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Today Justin sits down with Marine Corps and US Army Intelligence veteran Erick Miyares. Erick spent nearly 30 years in the US service, deployed to some of the most dangerous corners of the world. Now that he's transitioned out of the military, he has found a new mission helping members of the very same units he served with face the personal challenges brought on by so many years of unrelenting combat and separation from their families. Today he shares his experiences in the War on Terror, ...
May 08, 2023•1 hr 24 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this solo episode, Justin dives into a failed professional hit on a businessman in Irvine, California in the 1980s. The botched job involved the CIA, FBI, ATF, and the Apartheid government of South Africa and ultimately uncovered a cache of buried machine guns, stockpiles of biological weapons, and a conspiratorial relationship between an American doctor and South Africa's illicit biological warfare program known as Project Coast. Connect with Spycraft 101: Check out Justin's latest...
May 01, 2023•39 min•Ep 93•Transcript available on Metacast This week Justin sits down with author Norman Ridley. Today they discuss a counterespionage incident that occurred at the beginning of World War II. Two senior members of British Intelligence were ensnared in a German trap in Venlo, Netherlands in November, 1939. This was a devastating blow to MI6, just as the largest war in history was beginning. Check out Norman's book, The Venlo Sting , here . https://www.amazon.com/Venlo-Sting-MI6s-Deadly-Fiasco/dp/1636242073 Connect with Spycraft 101: ...
Apr 24, 2023•1 hr 25 min•Ep 92•Transcript available on Metacast This week, Justin shares another solo episode. He covers a brief history of espionage and covert operations run by or against North Korea. These stories involve other power players like Russia, Japan, and more. Connect with Spycraft 101: Check out Justin's latest release, Covert Arms , here . spycraft101.com IG: @spycraft101 Shop: spycraft-101.myshopify.com Patreon: Spycraft 101 Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One , here . Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative&a...
Apr 10, 2023•52 min•Ep 91•Transcript available on Metacast This week, Justin sits down with journalist and Vietnam veteran Jack Chappell. After leaving active duty, he covered the Western White House during the Nixon administration. Jack is also the son of Howard Chappell, an OSS officer who served in Northern Italy at the end of WWII. Howard's story is told in the book The Brenner Assignment by Patrick O'Donnell. Justin met Jack in person last fall at Arlington National Cemetery during the unveiling of the OSS Memorial in section two of the c...
Apr 03, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Transcript available on Metacast Today, Justin sits down with return guest Toby Harnden. Toby served as an officer in the British Royal Navy, graduated from Oxford University, worked as a foreign news correspondent in 33 different countries, and has focused on terrorism and war throughout his career. Toby is back on the podcast to talk discuss the IRA and South Armagh. It's an examination of the troubles of Northern Ireland, focusing on just a single county i and the incredible violence, strife, and human tragedy that occu...
Mar 27, 2023•1 hr 17 min•Ep 89•Transcript available on Metacast Today Justin sits down with Chad Millman, Chief Content Officer of the Action Network and the host of the very popular sports betting podcast, The Favorites. Before founding the Action Network, Chad was the editorial director for ESPN Digital and Editor-in-Chief of ESPN Magazine. Chad also an author with seven books published. Most of Chad's work has centered around sports, but today he discusses one that tells the story of German sabotage operations inside the United States during World Wa...
Mar 20, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Ep 88•Transcript available on Metacast Today Justin sits down with Bradley Hope, an author and reporter who has covered topics like the The Arab Spring. He's also written several books along with his co-authors. Bradley's latest book is the story of an incredible confrontation between an activist organization and the Kim regime in North Korea, which culminated in an incident at the North Korean Embassy in Madrid, Spain in 2019. The fallout from this event was heard and seen around the world and led to enormous consequences ...
Mar 13, 2023•1 hr 29 min•Ep 87•Transcript available on Metacast Today Justin chats with Dr. Frederick H. White. Dr. White is professor of Russian and Integrated Studies at Utah Valley University. He's also a fellow of the UVU Center for National Security. He's published eight books and more than 45 academic articles on Russian literature, film, and culture. Dr. White onto the podcast has done extensive research into the life of Ernest Hemingway, one of America's most famous authors and cultural figures. But did you know he also spent time work...
Mar 06, 2023•1 hr 13 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, Justin answers more listener questions from Instagram. He dives into the USS Halibut and Operation Ivy Bells and takes us to Spain to dissect Operation Mincemeat. Then, he shifts to the Pacific Theater of World War II to discuss the role Japanese Americans played in the war. To close out, Justin shares the true story behind the Netflix series The Spy . Connect with Spycraft 101: Check out Justin's latest release, Covert Arms , here . spycraft101.com IG: @spycraft101 Shop: spycraf...
Feb 27, 2023•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this solo episode, Justin shares his research into a question that haunted America for decades after the end of the Vietnam War: whether any living prisoners of war were left. It's a subject that has spawned many books, articles, and films, and it has evoked a lot of passion from people whose husbands, fathers, brothers and sons went off to war but never came home. Listen an learn why it was believed that somewhere left behind and what efforts went into finding them in the months and yea...
Feb 20, 2023•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week Justin chats with Pate McMichael. Pate is the Associate Director of the School of Journalism at the University of Arizona and worked as a freelance magazine journalist in Georgia for 15 years. He's also written two books. Today, Pate is here to discuss the murder of an OSS officer named Major William Holohan, who was killed by his own men while serving behind enemy lines in northern Italy in 1944. Connect with Pate: patemcmichael.com IG: @patemcmichael Check out Pate's book, ...
Feb 13, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week just sits down with Jim Popkin, former senior investigative reporter and producer at N NBC News and on air correspondent. Jim's articles have appeared in publications like Washington Post Magazine, Wired, Newsweek, Slate, The Guardian, Washingtonian, and on National Public Radio. Jim is also an author, and today he's here to talk about Anna Montez, a Cuban spy who spent more than 16 years as an intelligence analyst with the Defense Intelligence Agency. Anna had already been r...
Feb 06, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week Justin is joined by Colonel Rose Mary Sheldon, previous history professor at Virginia Military Institute world-renowned expert on intelligence and espionage in the ancient world. She earned her PhD from the University of Michigan and has published several books and many articles over the years, as well as serving as an editor for the International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence , Small Wars and Insurgencies , and The Journal of Military History . Today, she discusses i...
Jan 30, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Today Justin speaks with with journalist and documentary filmmaker Justin Webster. Justin was a business reporter in the 90s before the release of his debut film on soccer team FC Barcelona in 2004. Since then, he's directed several more award-winning documentaries. Today he's here to discuss a six part series he created on the life and death of Alberto Nisman, a federal prosecutor in Argentina who was found dead at home in January, 2015. Nisman died hours before he was scheduled to te...
Jan 23, 2023•1 hr•Transcript available on Metacast Today Justin sits down with author and retired FBI special agent John Whiteside III. Since leaving the FBI after working 30 years of Cold War counterintelligence cases, John has worked as a private investigator and as a government consultant. Today, John discusses one of the highest profile cases of his career: the discovery and arrest of Robert Steven Lipka. Lipka was an Army solider assigned to the NSA who spent the mid 60s passing classified documents to the Soviet government. His acts of esp...
Jan 16, 2023•1 hr 18 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, Justin brings on journalist and author Howard Blum. Howard studied at Stanford University where he received both his bachelor's and master's degree and has worked as a reporter for the New York Times where he was nominated twice for the Pulitzer Prize. More recently, he was a contributing editor for Vanity Fair. He's also the author of several best selling non-fiction books, several of which have been optioned for films. Today, Howard tells the story of the mysterious d...
Jan 09, 2023•41 min•Ep 78•Transcript available on Metacast This week, Justin answers questions you've submitted via Instagram. He dives into the deaths of Spanish espionage agents in Iraq and covers the story an American revolutionary. Tune in to hear about the weapons real spies carry every day, how Hollywood adapts real espionage events, and more. Keep a look out on Instagram for your next chance to submit your biggest questions about clandestine work. Connect with Spycraft 101: Check out Justin's latest release, Covert Arms , here . spycraf...
Jan 02, 2023•46 min•Ep 77•Transcript available on Metacast In this solo episode, Justin dives into some of the most intriguing and suspicious deaths related to espionage in the last 80 years. While the USA and the USSR never saw combat with each other during the Cold War, their clandestine operations resulted in many casualties and fatalities over the years. Apparent suicides, murders without explanation, and plane crashes abound. Some of these deaths appear straightforward, but become suspicious when an informed eye takes a closer look. Connect with Sp...
Dec 26, 2022•56 min•Ep 76•Transcript available on Metacast This week, Justin has his first repeat guest. Lee Gossett is back to talk CIA missions. Lee first joined us for episode 13. In his last episode, Lee and Justin dove into Lee's time as a smoker jumper and the years he spent working for Air America in the Secret War in Laos, and this time Lee is sharing stories of his time flying all over the world for the CIA after Air America went under. From Laos to El Salvador, Columbia, Honduras, and more, Lee has seen it all and lived to tell the tale. ...
Dec 19, 2022•58 min•Ep 75•Transcript available on Metacast This week, Justin chats with author and Air Force intelligence veteran Brian Morra. Brian was an intelligence officer in the US Air Force and Air Force Reserve for 15 years before shifting his focus to the aerospace and defense industry, where he spent many years managing intelligence programs. Brian finally retired as a senior Vice President at the end of 2016 and began writing his debut novel. Today, we focus on a pivotal event that took place 1983, what some historians call the most dangerous...
Dec 12, 2022•2 hr 30 min•Transcript available on Metacast Today Justin sits down with anonymous source known as Sarah. Sarah is veteran member of the special operations and intelligence community, having served as an NCO with the US Air Force for more than 10 years. She has also worked as an Arabic linguist, spending much of her time in the Middle East and Africa. She is a reputable source Justin knows personally, and has requested anonymity in the episode due to privacy concerns. For the first time, we'll really dive in to 21st century intelligen...
Dec 05, 2022•1 hr 12 min•Ep 73•Transcript available on Metacast This week, Justin speaks with Kimberly Muse, daughter of Kurt Muse. Kim grew up in Panama, where her father was became the leader of a group of activists in protesting against General Manuel Noriega via radio transmissions. Their work caught the attention of the CIA, and they even received support from the agency for their efforts. In spring of 1989, Kurt was suddenly arrested at Panama City Airport as he was returning from a trip to the United States. His family and cohorts fled to the US, but ...
Nov 28, 2022•2 hr 36 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week Justin sits down with former police officer, Navy officer, and US Secret Service special agent Stephen Monteiro. Steve spent 20 years in the Secret Service, where he was a member of the Presidential Protective Division at the Clinton White House, among other assignments. After retiring from federal service and continuing on as a contractor, Steve was tasked with a mysterious case that would become a year's long journey to track down and retrieve a Iraqi microbiologist and anthrax ...
Nov 21, 2022•1 hr 7 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, Justin sits down with historian and author Ann Todd. From working at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, Virginia, to writing and consulting for the National Geographic Society and giving presentations for the National Park Service on the history of the OSS, Ann is an expert. Ann joins us today to discuss OSS action in the "forgotten theater" of WWII, China-Burma-India, as well as the people who made it possible. Principally, Elizabeth "Betty" P. M...
Nov 14, 2022•57 min•Transcript available on Metacast Today, Justin sits down with author and researcher, Dr. Andrew Jeffrey. Alongside his historical books, Andrew has made on-air contributions for British, Dutch and French documentaries and is a former Royal Navy Reservist, and a volunteer Lifeboatman with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Andrew's latest book tells the tale of a Scottish civilian Mary Curran, who spotted the suspicious activity of Nazi spy Jessie Jordan. Mary's quick wit, alertness, and instincts broke down a lo...
Nov 07, 2022•2 hr 34 min•Ep 69•Transcript available on Metacast This week, Justin chats with investigative reporter and author Bryan Denson. Focusing on true crime, scandals, and government corruption, Bryan has spent his career reporting for publications like The House Post, Reader's Digest, Newsweek, The Los Angeles Tomes, and the Oregonian. He's also written three nonfiction book series on infamous criminals like Aldrich Ames and the Unibomber, as well as other historical nonfiction. Today, Bryan and Justin discuss the story of notorious CIA tra...
Oct 31, 2022•1 hr 27 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, Justin chats with Alejandra Suárez Barcala Ogorodnik. Alejandra was born in Madrid in 1975 and currently works in Spain in the medical industry as a disease area specialist. She never knew her father growing up, and her mother told her he was a German mathematician who was killed in an automobile accident when Alejandra was a baby. When she was a teenager, she slowly began to uncover and unravel the truth of her father's identity--and what happened to him. Alejandra's father...
Oct 24, 2022•1 hr 10 min•Ep 67•Transcript available on Metacast Today, Justin sits down with retired FBI special agent Raymond J. Batvinis, who served in the FBI for 25 years, from 1972 until 1997. Raymond worked primarily in counterterrorism and counterintelligence, and shortly after the 9/11 attacks, he returned to teach the Basic Counterintelligence course at the FBI Academy at Quantico. During his career, he worked on several very high profile espionage cases, including the investigations into Ronald Pelton and the Walker spying. Since retiring, Raymond ...
Oct 17, 2022•2 hr 35 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
