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Justin Black

SPYCRAFT 101

Today Justin speaks with Luis Baptistella. Luis is a specialist in intelligence and counterintelligence, and a retired officer of the Brazilian Navy, where he attained the rank of captain during a distinguished 35-year career. He also served on a US Navy ship in the late 1990s during the conflict in the Balkans, studied at the National Defense University in China, and served as a military attaché in West Africa.

In November 2020, he founded Bravus Consultoria, a consulting firm focused on business intelligence and corporate counter intelligence for the Brazilian market. He’s here to discuss his career in the Navy and his later work as a private intelligence consultant. He has also written about intelligence threats, history, and strategies in his book, which is available now.

Connect with Luis:
IG:@luisfernandobaptistella
LinkedIn: Luis Fernando Baptistella
Check out the book, Counter & Intelligence 4.0, here.
https://a.co/d/06Pk1jOb

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.

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

249. From the Brazilian Navy to Strategic Intelligence with Luis Fernando Baptistella

This week Justin talks with Rory Cormac. Rory is a professor of International Relations at the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom, specializing in covert action and secret statecraft. He's also given presentations at Number 10 Downing Street, the UK Ministry of Defense, the US State Department, and the Pentagon. Besides his teaching career, he has authored or co-authored many books focusing on British history, covert action, and statecraft. You might remember Rory from his first appearance here on the podcast when we discussed his book Disrupt and Deny. Now, Rory is back to talk about his newest book, Fakers, which covers the British government's Information Research Department, a Cold War era organization dedicated to producing and disseminating black propaganda worldwide.

Check out Rory's first appearance in Ep 107: British Covert Action.

Connect with Rory:

LinkedIn: Rory Cormac

Check out his book, Fakers, here.

https://a.co/d/08lUc74v

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.

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

248. The Secrets of British Black Propaganda with Rory Cormac

Today Justin sits down with Kirillo Alexandrov. Kirillo grew up in the United States, but moved to Kherson, Ukraine in 2018. In April 2022, following the Russian invasion and occupation of eastern Ukraine, Kirillo was taken prisoner. He was held for 37 days on charges of espionage, but was rescued by a small privately funded team led by Brian Stern. After a harrowing 20-hour journey across Ukraine, Kirillo crossed into Poland before safely returning to the United States. He’s here to discuss his capture, detention, and rescue, which resulted in indictments of four Russian service members by the Department of Justice on charges of war crimes.

Connect with Kirillo:
Instagram: @thecactuswatch
Substack: @thecactuswatch

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.

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

247. Captured by Russians in Ukraine with Kirillo Alexandrov

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.

247. Captured by Russians in Ukraine with Kirillo Alexandrov

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