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Justin Black

SPYCRAFT 101

Today’s guest is Dr. Emrah Safa Gürkan. Emrah received his bachelor's and Master's degree from Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey, and graduated with a PhD from Georgetown University in 2012. He's worked as a consultant for historical television series and co-hosted the Ottoman History Podcast with Chris Gian beginning in 2011. He also hosts the YouTube History Channel, Omnibus Live, which currently has nearly half a million subscribers. He's here today to discuss Ottoman intelligence operations throughout the Mediterranean.

Connect with Emrah:
ottomanhistorypodcast.com
YouTube: @OMNIBUSLIVE
Check out the book, Spies for the Sultan, here.
https://a.co/d/06c9iIqR

Connect with Spycraft 101:

Get Justin’s latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.

spycraft101.com

IG: @spycraft101

Shop: shop.spycraft101.com

Patreon: Spycraft 101

Find Justin’s first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.

Check out Justin’s second book, Covert Arms, here.

Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative’s Sidearm of Choice, here.

 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

246. The Ottoman Empire’s Cloak and Dagger with Dr. Emrah Safa Gürkan

Today Justin sits down with Eduardo Barreto. Eduardo is a high school teacher at Gulliver Prep School and an adjunct professor of English composition at Miami-Dade College. He's married with five children and lives in Miami, Florida. Eduardo has published several books and various subjects, including both fiction and non-fiction. He's here to discuss the life and wars of his "uncle" Angel Benitez, who he has written about in his book. Eduardo was also joined during this interview by Mercedes Benitez, Angel's wife of more than 60 years. You may hear her contribute to the conversation here and there.

Connect with Eduardo:

theteacherwriter.net

Check out the book, Rebel with a Cause: A Cuban in the Congo, here.

https://a.co/d/0cwKm2hT

Connect with Spycraft 101:

Get Justin’s latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.

spycraft101.com

IG: @spycraft101

Shop: shop.spycraft101.com

Substack: spycraft101.substack.com

Patreon: Spycraft 101

Find Justin’s first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.

Check out Justin’s second book, Covert Arms, here.

Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative’s Sidearm of Choice, here.

Kruschiki

The best surplus military goods delivered right to your door. Use code SPYCRAFT101 for 10% off!

 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

245. Tales of A Cuban Exile: The Story of Angel Benitez with Eduardo Barreto

Justin's guest for today is Sean Wiswesser. Sean is a graduate of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, where he earned a Bachelor's degree in History and Russian and Slavic Linguistics. He also has a Master of Strategic Studies degree from the Air War College. Sean is a former senior operations officer and former Chief of Station with the Central Intelligence Agency and has served multiple overseas tours, including in war zones during his career. He's here to discuss his career with CIA, working inside and against the Russian Intelligence Services, which he has written about in his new book. In it, he details lessons learned from more than 30 years in the intelligence community, working up close with Russian spies, dissidents, and defectors.

Connect with Sean:

LinkedIn: Sean Wiswesser

Check out the book, Tradecraft, Tactics, and Dirty Tricks: Russian Intelligence and Putin's Secret War, here.

https://a.co/d/0ckwvi9m

Connect with Spycraft 101:

Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.

spycraft101.com

IG: @spycraft101

Shop: shop.spycraft101.com

Patreon: Spycraft 101

Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.

Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.

Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.

 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

244. Fighting Russian Intelligence with Sean Wiswesser

Today Justin sits down with Mubin Shaikh. Mubin grew up in Toronto, Ontario in a family of Indian Muslim immigrants. As a young man, he was drawn down the path of radicalization after traveling to India and Pakistan and encountering Taliban fighters there. However, in 2004, he experienced a change of heart and soon began working with the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service to identify potential jihadis in Canada. In 2006, Mubin was the key witness in Canada's biggest ever homegrown terror investigation, which resulted in nearly 20 convictions. He's here today to discuss his experiences undercover with a terror group that later became known as the Toronto 18, which he wrote about in his book. Mubin's work was instrumental in securing convictions for the participants, but living a double life for more than two years also came at great personal cost to him.

Connect with Mubin:

parents4peace.org

LinkedIn: Mubin Shaikh

Check out the book, Undercover Jihadi: Inside the Toronto 18, here.

https://a.co/d/06jRj4HA

Connect with Spycraft 101:

Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.

spycraft101.com

IG: @spycraft101

Shop: shop.spycraft101.com

Patreon: Spycraft 101

Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.

Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.

Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.

 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

243. From Radicalization to Redemption: Undercover in the Toronto 18 with Mubin Shaikh

Today Justin talks with Dr. Damien Van Puyvelde. Damien is an associate professor and head of the Intelligence and Security Group at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs at Leiden University, Netherlands. Before joining Leiden University, he led the Scottish Center for War Studies at the University of Glasgow. He is the author or co-author of several books, and co-editor. His work has also been featured in outlets such as Le Monde and The Washington Post. He's here to discuss his newest book, The DGSE: A Concise History of France's Foreign Intelligence Service, which is available now from Georgetown University Press.

Connect with Damien:

Twitter/X: @DamienVanP

Bluesky: @dvanp.bsky.social

LinkedIn: Damien Van Puyvelde

Check out the book, The DGSE, here.

https://press.georgetown.edu/Book/The-DGSE

Connect with Spycraft 101:

Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.

spycraft101.com

IG: @spycraft101

Shop: shop.spycraft101.com

Patreon: Spycraft 101

Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.

Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.

Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.

Kruschiki

The best surplus military goods delivered right to your door. Use code SPYCRAFT101 for 10% off!

 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

242. Inside France's Spy World with Dr. Damien Van Puyvelde

Today Justin sits down with Janosh Neumann, known as Jay. Jay was born in Russia under a different name and joined the Federal Security Service, known as the FSB ,as a counterintelligence officer in 1996. Over the next few years, he investigated international money laundering and other crimes. In 2008, he and his wife, Victoria, who was also an FSB officer, traveled to the Dominican Republic where they walked into the US Embassy and offered to defect to the United States. This was the start of a years long relationship with the US government, which helped relocate the couple to the United States to start a new life with many ups and downs along the way. He's here today to discuss his life story, which has been made into a graphic novel series called Almost American by Aftershock Comics in 2022.

Connect with Janosh:

realspycomics.com

info@realspycomics.com

Twitter/X: @RealSpyComics_

Check out the comic book of his life, ALMOST AMERICAN, here.

https://a.co/d/0aTyO0lv

Connect with Spycraft 101:

Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.

spycraft101.com

IG: @spycraft101

Shop: shop.spycraft101.com

Patreon: Spycraft 101

Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.

Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.

Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.

Kruschiki

The best surplus military goods delivered right to your door. Use code SPYCRAFT101 for 10% off!

 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

241. From Russia with Secrets: The Defection of an FSB Officer with Janosh Neumann

Today Justin is joined again by Zach Dorfman. Zach is a national security reporter whose work has appeared in Politico, The Atlantic, Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, and many other publications. He received his vachelor's degree from Skidmore College and a Master's degree in International Relations and Affairs from the University of Chicago. Zach is a former senior fellow at the Carnegie Council for Ethics and International Affairs. He's also the host of the Spy Valley Podcast from Project Brazen about a Cold Wars era spy in the heart of Silicon Valley. You might remember Zach from his previous appearance when he discussed operation entering a highly successful and never before reported operation against Soviet Block Intelligence operatives targeting US technology in the early 1980s, which Zach uncovered and reported about. Now he's back to talk about another previously unknown Cold War spy story about a Czech spy living in San Francisco at the end of the Cold War, and how he navigated the collapse of the government that sent him here to spy on the US.

Check out Zach's first appearance on ep 160: How the FBI Sabotaged Soviet Tech Spies here.

Connect with Zach

thebrushpass1@protonmail.com

Twitter/X: @zachsdorfman

Spy Valley Podcast: brazen.fm/podcasts/spy-valley

Check out Zach's Politico story: "They Came to Spy on America. They Stayed to Coach Little League" here.

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2026/03/07/soviet-spy-america-cold-war-00755831

Connect with Spycraft 101:

Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.

spycraft101.com

IG: @spycraft101

Shop: shop.spycraft101.com

Patreon: Spycraft 101

Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.

Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.

Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.

Kruschiki

The best surplus military goods delivered right to your door. Use code SPYCRAFT101 for 10% off!

 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

240. A Czech Spy Turned Little League Coach with Zach Dorfman

Today Justin sits down with Allie Mellen (@hackerxbella). Allie is a leading industry analyst who advises global 2000 organizations on cybersecurity policy and practice with a focus on detecting and responding to nation state attacks. Previously she held engineering and research roles at multiple early stage technology startups. She's also spent years conducting research at MIT and Boston University and supported the University of Oxford Business Leaders Program as a cybersecurity expert. Allie is here today discuss the ever-shifting balance of power online, which she has written about in her new book.

Connect with Allie:

hackerxbella.xyz

Substack: substack.com/@hackerxbella

LinkedIn: Allie Mellen

Twitter/X: @hackerxbella

IG: @hackerxbella

Check out the book, Code War: How Nations Hack, Spy, and Shape the Digital Battlefield, here.

https://a.co/d/09dtr4sY

Connect with Spycraft 101:

Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.

spycraft101.com

IG: @spycraft101

Shop: shop.spycraft101.com

Patreon: Spycraft 101

Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.

Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.

Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.

Kruschiki

The best surplus military goods delivered right to your door. Use code SPYCRAFT101 for 10% off!

 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

239. Cyberwarfare: How Nations Hack and Spy in the Digital Age with Allie Mellen @hackerxbella

This week continues our tribute to Lee Gossett with his second Spycraft 101 episode. Not only did he appear on the podcast twice, but he and Justin were regularly in contact via email from 2021 and on. He was an avid listener to the podcast and on many occasions had some inside knowledge of the events that we discussed. Today's interview originally aired as episode 75. In late 2022, Lee came back to discuss life after Laos, including his time in Central America and Somalia, and his work with early UAV programs. Even with the many stories he has shared, we likely only know a fraction of his true adventures all over the world. Rest in peace, Lee.

Check out Lee's book, Smoke Jumper to Global Pilot: a True Odyssey, here.

https://www.amazon.com/Smokejumper-Global-Pilot-True-Odyssey/dp/0578614715

Connect with Spycraft 101:

Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.

spycraft101.com

IG: @spycraft101

Shop: shop.spycraft101.com

Patreon: Spycraft 101

Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.

Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.

Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.

Kruschiki

The best surplus military goods delivered right to your door. Use code SPYCRAFT101 for 10% off!

 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

238. [ARCHIVE] An International CIA Pilot with Lee Gossett

This week, Spycraft 101 returns to the archives to say goodbye to one of our earliest guests. Lee Gossett got his start as a smoke jumper with the US Forest Service in the late 1950s and later served with Air America and Continental Air Services during the Secret War in Laos. He worked and flew all over the world for the Central Intelligence Agency and various special operations units. He appeared twice on the podcast. Although these interviews were recorded several years ago, Lee and Justin stayed in touch on at least a monthly basis, and he's been a regular listener since that time.

He was a friend as well, and we'll miss him. But we're grateful that we had the chance to get to know him in the first place. Rest in peace, Lee.

Check out Lee's book, Smoke Jumper to Global Pilot: a True Odyssey, here.

https://www.amazon.com/Smokejumper-Global-Pilot-True-Odyssey/dp/0578614715

Connect with Spycraft 101:

Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.

spycraft101.com

IG: @spycraft101

Shop: shop.spycraft101.com

Patreon: Spycraft 101

Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.

Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.

Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.

Kruschiki

The best surplus military goods delivered right to your door. Use code SPYCRAFT101 for 10% off!

 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

245. Tales of A Cuban Exile: The Story of Angel Benitez with Eduardo Barreto

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