True Spies: Espionage | Investigation | Crime | Murder | Detective | Politics

Shadow Games | Special Forces Berlin

Jun 22, 2020

Hayley Atwell and former Special Forces Berlin operative James Stejskal reveal the secrets of their covert unit stationed in West Berlin during the Cold War, tackling the Tehran Hostage Crisis and espionage challenges. Explore their infiltration of the German population, navigating relationships in espionage, Cold War threats, planning a high-stakes rescue mission in Tehran, and reflections on their shadowy past.

47:23

Creator website

Episode guests

Hayley Atwell

James Stejskal

AI Summary

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Special Forces Berlin operated in Berlin during the Cold War sabotaging Soviet infrastructure to delay a potential Russian attack on NATO.

The unit transitioned from unconventional warfare to counterterrorism, playing a crucial role in missions like the Iran Hostage Crisis rescue attempt.

Deep dives

Mission Behind the Iron Curtain

During the Cold War in Berlin, Special Forces Berlin operated behind enemy lines with just 100 elite soldiers tasked with sabotaging Soviet infrastructure to stall a Russian attack on NATO. Members like James Stayskau adopted European aliases, delved into the German population undercover, building trust to extract crucial information for missions.

Introduction

4min

Infiltrating the German Population

13min

Navigating Relationships and Information Gathering in Espionage

6min

Cold War Threats: From Terrorism in Europe to the Iran Hostage Crisis

4min

Planning and Reconnaissance for a High-Stakes Operation

15min

Reflections on a Life Spent in the Shadows of Cold War Europe

2min

Hayley Atwell shares the secrets of an elite clandestine unit, Special Forces Berlin, with the help of former operative James Stejskal. Stationed in West Berlin but deployed wherever their skills were needed, they found themselves at the centre of the Tehran Hostage Crisis, but no-one could know they were there. What would YOU do in their position? From SPYSCAPE, the headquarters of all things spy. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Series producer: Gemma Newby. Produced by Mariana Des Forges. Music by Nick Ryan.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Get the Snipd
podcast app

Unlock the knowledge in podcasts with the podcast player of the future.

AI-powered
podcast player

Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features

Discover
highlights

Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode

Save any
moment

Hear something you like? Tap your headphones to save it with AI-generated key takeaways

Share
& Export

Send highlights to Twitter, WhatsApp or export them to Notion, Readwise & more