Aimen Dean talks Raza Jaffrey through the highs and lows of his eight years as an undercover agent and why he chose to spy for the British rather than the Americans. He also describes how he felt after his cover was blown when an American writer disclosed his identity with details that could only be sourced to Dean; and what his life has been like since. And Raza gets his chance to find whether the spy movies and TV series he's been involved in have anything to do with real life. Have you got a ...
Jan 21, 2025•46 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast A deadly plot threatens the New York Subway and Dean is on a mission to thwart it. But when his British spymasters decide to alert the U.S. to the threat, Dean’s deception begins to unravel. Have you got a spy story you’d like us to tell? Email your ideas to thespywho@wondery.com See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Jan 21, 2025•40 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast Dean is working undercover, posing as a loyal jihadi in Afghanistan, while actually spying for British intelligence. He knows that one mistake is all it will take to wind up dead. But that’s not his only worry because the sense is growing that al-Qaeda has a major plot in the works. Have you got a spy story you’d like us to tell? Email your ideas to thespywho@wondery.com See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info...
Jan 14, 2025•39 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast Aimen Dean is trapped. He wants out of al-Qaeda and Afghanistan, but no one gets to leave the jihadi training camps without permission. So when a missile strike hands him the perfect excuse to leave he seizes the chance to break free. Have you got a spy story you’d like us to tell? Email your ideas to thespywho@wondery.com See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Jan 07, 2025•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast It’s 1994 and 16-year-old Aimen Dean wants to die. He’s heading to war-torn Bosnia to join the Mujahideen and save fellow Muslims. He hopes to become a martyr so that he can be reunited with his dead parents in paradise. Instead, he’s about to be confronted by a bloody reality. Have you got a spy story you’d like us to tell? Email your ideas to thespywho@wondery.com See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Dec 31, 2024•41 min•Transcript available on Metacast Amory Lumumba was born long after the 1961 assassination of his grandfather. Yet the impact continues to ripple through his family today. Actor and spy novelist Charlie Higson speaks with Amory about the heavy responsibility of carrying the Lumumba name, and the enduring, inspirational legacy that Patrice Lumumba left behind. Plus, Amory tells Charlie why he's convinced the United States were involved in the killing. Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or...
Dec 24, 2024•24 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast Each Christmas, a giant tree lights up London’s Trafalgar Square. Behind the custom: 007 author Ian Fleming and a secret mission to Norway. This is the story of how wartime espionage gave Britain its most spectacular festive tradition. Have you got a spy story you’d like us to tell? Email your ideas to thespywho@wondery.com. Listen to The Spy Who on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or...
Dec 19, 2024•35 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast New Prime Minister Joseph Mobutu’s grip on power is shaky. It’s Patrice Lumumba who has the people’s support. So the CIA and MI6 start plotting to oust him using any means necessary. Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now. Have you got a spy story you’d like us to tell? Email your ideas to thespywho@wondery.com . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and Californi...
Dec 17, 2024•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast While Patrice Lumumba battles to control his country, MI6 officer Daphne Park and CIA officer Larry Devlin are secretly battling to stop him turning to the Soviets for help. Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now. Have you got a spy story you’d like us to tell? Email your ideas to thespywho@wondery.com . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy...
Dec 10, 2024•48 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast Newly independent Congo is spiralling into disorder. Disorder the Communists could be quick to exploit. MI6 officer Daphne Park needs to act, and fast. Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now. Have you got a spy story you’d like us to tell? Email your ideas to thespywho@wondery.com . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art...
Dec 03, 2024•40 min•Transcript available on Metacast When MI6 sends officer Daphne Park to help stop a communist takeover in Congo, it kickstarts one of the darkest operations in MI6 and CIA history. Because security services either need to win the trust of Congo’s first prime minister, or remove him. Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now. Have you got a spy story you’d like us to tell? Email your ideas to thespywho@wondery....
Nov 26, 2024•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast In a groundbreaking investigation into the poisoning of Sergei Skripal, journalism group Bellingcat exposed previously unknown details of the Salisbury Poisonings that blew the case wide open. Journalist and Bellingcat founder Elliot Higgins and host Charlie Higson explore where the responsibility to protect covert operations ends and the public's right to be informed begins. Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visitin...
Nov 19, 2024•33 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast As hospital medics battle to save the first victims of the Salisbury poisonings, police hunt the perpetrators. And while they're searching, the spy war between Russia and the West heats up, with an eventful call between Prime Minister Theresa May and President Donald Trump. Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Priv...
Nov 12, 2024•39 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast In a top-secret Russian laboratory, a terrifying chemical weapon called Novichok is about to be hauled out of storage, and will soon reach the streets of British city Salisbury. Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Nov 05, 2024•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast Sergei Skripal is easing into retirement with a side hustle as a MI6 agent, and enjoying the Spanish seaside. Meanwhile, the KGB’s successor, the FSB, is on the hunt for traitors after a tip-off from a mole inside Spain’s intelligence service. Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com...
Oct 29, 2024•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast When the USSR falls apart, GRU officer Sergei Skripal finds himself adrift in the new Russia, having never asked for the country's new democracy. So when he meets a shadowy wine dealer, he leaps at the chance to make some money, without a clue how the deal would lead him to Salisbury. Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and Cali...
Oct 22, 2024•39 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast Why did Fuchs take such a huge gamble by sharing US nuclear secrets with the Soviets? Was Oppenheimer's fellow physicist seeking peace - or war? Charlie Higson talks to Frank Close, an author and physicist, about Fuchs' decision and its impact on the course of history. Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy N...
Oct 15, 2024•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast MI5 is closing in on Klaus Fuchs. But they can't seem to catch him in the act of spying. There’s only one option. They need a confession. Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Oct 08, 2024•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast Klaus Fuchs is sure his espionage has gone undetected. So when authorities unearth a similar spy ring in Canada’s nuclear project, Fuchs doesn’t consider that he could be next. Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Oct 01, 2024•38 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast Fuchs’ plan to feed secrets to the Soviets is in jeopardy. The atomic bomb project is closely guarded. That means little contact with the outside world, especially his handlers. Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Sep 24, 2024•41 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast It’s the 1940s. Robert Oppenheimer is creating plans for the first atomic bomb. And his colleague is stealing them. Klaus Fuchs is a traitor in Oppenheimer's ranks. A German-born physicist secretly working for the Soviet Union. Oppenheimer will change the world with science; Fuchs with espionage. Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/priv...
Sep 17, 2024•42 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast Why was Carlin considered Thatcher's favourite spy? What difference did he really make? And how did he cope when he became an exile? To find out more about Carlin's life and significance, Charlie Higson is joined by Aaron Edwards, the author of 'Agents of Influence: Britain’s Secret Intelligence War Against the IRA'. Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now. See Privacy Policy at h...
Sep 10, 2024•40 min•Transcript available on Metacast With IRA hardliners losing ground and Sinn Féin on the up, Willie Carlin’s feeling confident about his spying. But loose talk is about to put him on a kill list. Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Sep 03, 2024•36 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast When Willie Carlin makes an alarming discovery in an IRA safe house, he must choose between preserving his cover or conscience. Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Aug 27, 2024•43 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast Stuck with a wayward handler, MI5 agent Willie Carlin hunts for a way out, only to get sucked deeper into the Irish republican movement. Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Aug 20, 2024•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast When Willie Carlin quits the British Army to return to Northern Ireland during The Troubles, he gets an unusual job offer: to spy on his own catholic community. Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Aug 13, 2024•42 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast Few spies have motives as hard to decipher as those of Oleg Penkovsky. Was he a hero, an egotist or a madman? The Spy Who's Tristan Donovan sits down with Jack Basu-Mellish, host of the LSE Cold War Podcast, to discuss Penkovsky’s actions, plus the lessons to learn from the events of the Cold War. Can the history books really be trusted? Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now.&nb...
Aug 06, 2024•39 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast It’s 1962 and Oleg Penkovsky has gone to ground after spotting a KGB surveillance team tracking his MI6 contact Janet Chisholm. But when the British Embassy in Moscow invites him to a cocktail party, he sees a chance to reconnect with Western intelligence. Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice a...
Jul 30, 2024•41 min•Transcript available on Metacast Oleg Penkovsky is back in the USSR, ready to feed Soviet secrets to his new MI6 contact: a pram-pushing mother of three. But with the Berlin Crisis about to boil over, his intel could be the difference between war and peace. But with the KGB lurking everywhere smuggling these secrets out of Moscow will demand nerves of steel. Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now. See Priv...
Jul 23, 2024•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast After months of missed opportunities, the CIA and MI6 are about to meet Penkovsky. But with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev squaring up to the US President John F. Kennedy over West Berlin, his information could have thermonuclear consequences. Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://a...
Jul 16, 2024•40 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
