On today’s Espresso Martini, Matt & Chris look at a coup in Niger and Gabon, Prigozhin’s death, his legacy haunting us from the grave and a Russian pilot involved in a dramatic defection to Ukraine with his Mil Mi-8 helicopter.

On "Extra Shot", immediately following this show on Patreon, Chris & Matt take a look at concerns of a NATO collapse if Donald Trump is re-elected as President, a mysterious submarine sinking off the coast of Taiwan, a new security agreement between China and Fiji and an update on the GCHQ stabbing story. Plus some spy entertainment news as legendary documentary filmmaker Erroll Morris has a new film about the life of spy author John Le Carré.

— Extra Shot —

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Links to articles discussed in Espresso Martini

Recent coups in Niger & Gabon

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/what-is-going-on-with-the-coup-in-niger-and-why-it-matters

https://apnews.com/article/coup-niger-jihadis-extremist-violence-a7ae8b8f3954cdf838692b074f9cd4e8

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-66652015

https://theintercept.com/2023/07/27/niger-coup-leader-us-military/

Prigozhin’s death and Putin’s ambitions in Africa

https://theconversation.com/russia-in-africa-prigozhins-death-exposes-putins-real-motives-on-the-continent-212707

https://kyivindependent.com/prigozhins-death-latest-in-a-series-of-unsolved-murders-in-putins-russia-whats-next/

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/prigozhin-wagner-dead-news-disinformation

Russian pilot defects with Mil MI8 Helicopter
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/defected-russian-helicopter-pilot-details-his-flight-to-ukraine

Laugo Arms Alien pistol
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/super-gucci-alien-pistol-in-use-with-zelensky-security-detail

Find out more about Matt and his book “Active Measures.”
https://mattfulton.net/

Check out Chris’s short spy film “THE DRY CLEANER” which is now available to buy on Apple TV & Amazon Prime. Watch the trailer here: https://youtu.be/j_KFTJenrz4

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S8 Ep1: Espresso Martini: Coups in Africa, Prigozhin’s death and a Russian pilot defects.