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SpyCast

SpyCast, the official podcast of the International Spy Museum, is a journey into the shadows of international espionage. Each week, host Sasha Ingber brings you the latest insights and intriguing tales from spies, secret agents, and covert communicators, with a focus on how this secret world reaches us all in our everyday lives. Tune in to discover the critical role intelligence has played throughout history and today. Brought to you from Airwave, Goat Rodeo, and the International Spy Museum. 

The Spy Museum does not endorse, approve, or support the opinions stated by guest speakers. Statements made by speakers do not represent the position or opinion of the International Spy Museum.

It's November of 1983, the closest the world came to nuclear war, some may argue even closer than the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Yet the Able Archer 1983 exercise incident is relatively unknown by comparison. A series of events that started with the Soviet shootdown of a Korean Air Lines plane, ended with not one but two almosts, when it came to accidental nuclear war. This included a simulated nuclear release authority request that may have been seen in Moscow as the prelude to a first strike. How these events unfolded was a result of heightened Cold War tension, antagonism, and miscommunication. Brian Morra was a US Air Force intelligence officer who had a front row seat to this, and sits down with guest host Dr. Mark Jacobson to discuss how the world came to the brink of nuclear war. 

Subscribe to Sasha's Substack, HUMINT, to get more intelligence stories:

https://sashaingber.substack.com/

For more information about the International Spy Museum, visit: 

https://www.spymuseum.org/

And if you have feedback or want to hear about a particular topic, you can reach us by email at spycast@spymuseum.org.

This show is brought to you by N2K Networks, Goat Rodeo, and the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC. This episode was produced by Flora Warshaw and the team at Goat Rodeo. At the International Spy Museum, Mike Mincey and Memphis Vaughan III are our video editors. Emily Rens is our graphic designer. Joshua Troemel runs our SPY social media. Amanda Ohlke is our Director of Adult Education and Mira Cohen is the Vice President of Programs.

Closer than Cuba: the Able Archer Nuclear Crisis of 1983

Since its emergence in 2014, the Wagner Group operated as the Kremlin's shadow army, deploying mercenaries across Africa and the Middle East. It gave Vladimir Putin plausible deniability, expanding Moscow's geopolitical influence by propping up leaders through military assistance and securing Moscow's economic interests through weapons deals and access to natural resources. UN experts and human rights organizations accused the mercenaries of disappearances, torture, executions, mass graves, rape, and pillaging. Three years ago this week, its financier and leader Yevgeny Prigozhin launched a failed rebellion. He then died an untimely death, and Putin's security services moved to assert direct control of the paramilitary. This week, Sasha sits down with expert Candace Rondeaux to discuss Wagner's successor, Africa Corps, which has kept the expeditionary force in Africa and Ukraine. The author of Putin's Sledgehammer: The Wagner Group and Russia's Collapse into Mercenary Chaos, she discusses Africa Corps' struggles and conquests as it helps keep Putin's war machine churning.

Subscribe to Sasha's Substack, HUMINT, to get more intelligence stories:

https://sashaingber.substack.com/

For more information about the International Spy Museum, visit: 

https://www.spymuseum.org/

And if you have feedback or want to hear about a particular topic, you can reach us by email at spycast@spymuseum.org.

This show is brought to you by N2K Networks, Goat Rodeo, and the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC. This episode was produced by Flora Warshaw and the team at Goat Rodeo. At the International Spy Museum, Mike Mincey and Memphis Vaughan III are our video editors. Emily Rens is our graphic designer. Joshua Troemel runs our SPY social media. Amanda Ohlke is our Director of Adult Education and Mira Cohen is the Vice President of Programs.

Putin’s Paramilitary 2.0

The FBI won’t discuss exactly how Chinese spy Xu Yanjun came to the attention of special agents. Xu was handling a GE Aviation engineer in Ohio who specialized in composite fan-blade technology. That engineer, David Zheng, had been approached by an official from Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, on LinkedIn with a request to give a presentation. So Zheng ended up traveling from his home in Ohio to China in the summer of 2017. Zheng delivered a talk on aviation technology and met officials from China’s Ministry of State Security. That meeting included Xu, who paid Zheng’s travel expenses and gave him a stipend. U.S. officials found Zheng carrying thousands in cash on his way back. Over the next year, Cincinnati-based FBI Special Agent Bradley Hull was part of a team that flipped Zheng to lure Xu out of China and, ultimately, into an American prison cell. Xu was the first Chinese spy to be extradited to the United States to stand trial.

Subscribe to Sasha's Substack, HUMINT, to get more intelligence stories:

https://sashaingber.substack.com/

For more information about the International Spy Museum, visit: 

https://www.spymuseum.org/

And if you have feedback or want to hear about a particular topic, you can reach us by email at spycast@spymuseum.org.

This show is brought to you by N2K Networks, Goat Rodeo, and the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC. This episode was produced by Flora Warshaw and the team at Goat Rodeo. At the International Spy Museum, Mike Mincey and Memphis Vaughan III are our video editors. Emily Rens is our graphic designer. Joshua Troemel runs our SPY social media. Amanda Ohlke is our Director of Adult Education and Mira Cohen is the Vice President of Programs.

Tricked and Extradited: Inside the First FBI Operation to Lure a Chinese Spy to the US

Now that drug cartels can be labeled foreign terrorist organizations, how do you dismantle one? As part of his 26 years at the Drug Enforcement Administration, retired Special Agent Chris Feistl was on a team that brought the demise of the Cali Cartel in Colombia. One of the world’s biggest crime syndicates, the cartel earned billions each year. From selling marijuana in the 1970s, to harder drugs in the decades that followed, the so-called “Godfathers of Cali” bribed judges, lawmakers, police commanders, and military officers. They used Boeing 727s to haul drugs outside of Colombia, and they even funneled millions to a candidate who won the 1994 presidential election, effectively buying the race. The details are told in Chris’ book After Escobar and Season 3 of Netflix’s Narcos.

Subscribe to Sasha's Substack, HUMINT, to get more intelligence stories:

https://sashaingber.substack.com/

For more information about the International Spy Museum, visit: 

https://www.spymuseum.org/

And if you have feedback or want to hear about a particular topic, you can reach us by email at spycast@spymuseum.org.

This show is brought to you by N2K Networks, Goat Rodeo, and the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC. This episode was produced by Flora Warshaw and the team at Goat Rodeo. At the International Spy Museum, Mike Mincey and Memphis Vaughan III are our video editors. Emily Rens is our graphic designer. Joshua Troemel runs our SPY social media. Amanda Ohlke is our Director of Adult Education and Mira Cohen is the Vice President of Programs.

The Flip That Broke the Cali Cartel

"If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt, it is mine alone." This is the end of the announcement Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight David Eisenhower had prepared in June 1944 in case the D-Day landings failed. He never had to deliver it, but the fact that he wrote it tells you all you need to know about how precarious the success of the invasion really was. And at the center of that uncertainty was something no army could control: the weather. This is the premise of the new major motion picture Pressure, the story of the small team of meteorologists trying to predict the unpredictable. Guest host Dr. Mark Jacobson sits down with the screenwriter of Pressure, David Haig, and the film's co-writer and director, Anthony Maras, to discuss how a simple weather forecast proved to be a critical piece of intelligence.

*Note: It is Joan Clarke, not Joy.

Subscribe to Sasha's Substack, HUMINT, to get more intelligence stories:

https://sashaingber.substack.com/

For more information about the International Spy Museum, visit: 

https://www.spymuseum.org/

And if you have feedback or want to hear about a particular topic, you can reach us by email at spycast@spymuseum.org.

This show is brought to you by N2K Networks, Goat Rodeo, and the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC. This episode was produced by Flora Warshaw and the team at Goat Rodeo. At the International Spy Museum, Mike Mincey and Memphis Vaughan III are our video editors. Emily Rens is our graphic designer. Joshua Troemel runs our SPY social media. Amanda Ohlke is our Director of Adult Education and Mira Cohen is the Vice President of Programs.

The Weather Report that Changed History

Karen Schaefer retired from the CIA in 2019, after 26 years of service. She started out in Latin America and ended with a stint at the FBI. In between, she earned numerous intelligence awards and held key positions that spanned operational, supervisory, and policy roles. Her many job titles included Chief of Base in Iraq and Director of Intelligence Programs in the White House's National Security Council. But what was it all really like? Sasha sat down to talk about how Karen's career began, how she navigated being one of the few women in the room, and how she brought different intelligence agencies together.

Subscribe to Sasha's Substack, HUMINT, to get more intelligence stories:

https://sashaingber.substack.com/

For more information about the International Spy Museum, visit: 

https://www.spymuseum.org/

And if you have feedback or want to hear about a particular topic, you can reach us by email at spycast@spymuseum.org.

This show is brought to you by N2K Networks, Goat Rodeo, and the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC. This episode was produced by Flora Warshaw and the team at Goat Rodeo. At the International Spy Museum, Mike Mincey and Memphis Vaughan III are our video editors. Emily Rens is our graphic designer. Joshua Troemel runs our SPY social media. Amanda Ohlke is our Director of Adult Education and Mira Cohen is the Vice President of Programs.

From Cartels to Terrorists, the CIA, FBI, and White House: The Vast Career of Karen Schaefer

In 1947, a new civilian intelligence agency was established: the CIA. But a series of intelligence failures undermined its credibility. The White House and Congress were up in arms, and a new mission was formed- to recruit Ivy League professors with uncanny skills. Leaving their so-called Ivory Tower, the academics brought new ways of thinking about national security to the CIA, helping the United States navigate the complexities of the Cold War. In one year, the academics' analysis revolutionized the service, cementing the CIA as one of America's finest agencies. Political scientist Peter Grace, author of The Intelligence Intellectuals, sits down with Sasha to unpack how these bright minds shaped the Agency.

Subscribe to Sasha's Substack, HUMINT, to get more intelligence stories:

https://sashaingber.substack.com/

For more information about the International Spy Museum, visit: 

https://www.spymuseum.org/

And if you have feedback or want to hear about a particular topic, you can reach us by email at spycast@spymuseum.org.

This show is brought to you by N2K Networks, Goat Rodeo, and the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC. This episode was produced by Flora Warshaw and the team at Goat Rodeo. At the International Spy Museum, Mike Mincey and Memphis Vaughan III are our video editors. Emily Rens is our graphic designer. Joshua Troemel runs our SPY social media. Amanda Ohlke is our Director of Adult Education and Mira Cohen is the Vice President of Programs.

From Ivory Tower to Iron Curtain: The Academics Who Reshaped the CIA

It’s 1864, and against the backdrop of the US Civil War- a war the Confederacy is losing- a group of spies and saboteurs have set up a base in Montreal, Canada. Today we would call this a sanctuary or a safe haven. Canada would become home to several infamous Confederate missions, some of which are detailed in Tim Wendel's novel Rebel Falls. While this book is fictional, it's grounded in several real-life stories. Guest host Dr. Mark Jacobson sits down with Tim Wendel as he takes us across the border into the world of Civil War espionage.

Subscribe to Sasha's Substack, HUMINT, to get more intelligence stories:

https://sashaingber.substack.com/

For more information about the International Spy Museum, visit: 

https://www.spymuseum.org/

And if you have feedback or want to hear about a particular topic, you can reach us by email at spycast@spymuseum.org.

This show is brought to you by N2K Networks, Goat Rodeo, and the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC. This episode was produced by Flora Warshaw and the team at Goat Rodeo. At the International Spy Museum, Mike Mincey and Memphis Vaughan III are our video editors. Emily Rens is our graphic designer. Joshua Troemel runs our SPY social media. Amanda Ohlke is our Director of Adult Education and Mira Cohen is the Vice President of Programs.

The Civil War Spies and Saboteurs Across the Canadian Border

In 2009, Bowe Bergdahl walked away from his Army post in eastern Afghanistan, only to be abducted and held hostage until 2014. He was captured by the Taliban and then handed to the Haqqani network, an aligned terrorist group. US officials said they kept Bergdahl locked in a metal cage in total darkness after he tried to escape. By 2012, the US government was turning to Tony Shaffer for help. The retired military intelligence officer had directed several special mission task forces that conducted black operations. Now, Tony was asked to create a track-two, non-official scheme to help secure Bergdahl's release. This was a ploy that pulled in Congress, backchannels in Pakistani intelligence, and British and American media outlets.

Subscribe to Sasha's Substack, HUMINT, to get more intelligence stories:

https://sashaingber.substack.com/

For more information about the International Spy Museum, visit: 

https://www.spymuseum.org/

And if you have feedback or want to hear about a particular topic, you can reach us by email at spycast@spymuseum.org.

This show is brought to you by N2K Networks, Goat Rodeo, and the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC. This episode was produced by Flora Warshaw and the team at Goat Rodeo. At the International Spy Museum, Mike Mincey and Memphis Vaughan III are our video editors. Emily Rens is our graphic designer. Joshua Troemel runs our SPY social media. Amanda Ohlke is our Director of Adult Education and Mira Cohen is the Vice President of Programs.

How Far the US Went to Rescue Hostage Bowe Bergdahl

One of the more notorious German spies of the 20th century, Lothar Witzke lived a life of intrigue: from escaping the death penalty in the First World War to joining the Nazi party in the Second. It's a story that Robert Hornick and Paul Friedland stumbled on by chance. With help from Witzke's grandchildren and by digging through archives, these lawyers pieced together Witzke's story, sifting fact from fiction and figuring out what made this infamous figure tick. Citizen of the Shadows: The Lives and Lies of Lothar Witzke is out now.

Subscribe to Sasha's Substack, HUMINT, to get more intelligence stories:

https://sashaingber.substack.com/

For more information about the International Spy Museum, visit: 

https://www.spymuseum.org/

And if you have feedback or want to hear about a particular topic, you can reach us by email at spycast@spymuseum.org.

This show is brought to you by N2K Networks, Goat Rodeo, and the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC. This episode was produced by Flora Warshaw and the team at Goat Rodeo. At the International Spy Museum, Mike Mincey and Memphis Vaughan III are our video editors. Emily Rens is our graphic designer. Joshua Troemel runs our SPY social media. Amanda Ohlke is our Director of Adult Education and Mira Cohen is the Vice President of Programs.

Tricked and Extradited: Inside the First FBI Operation to Lure a Chinese Spy to the US

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