SPYCRAFT 101

Today Justin sits down with Geri Spieler. Geri is a graduate of the University of California in Los Angeles and is a journalist and investigative reporter whose work has appeared in The San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, Huffington Post, and other publications. Geri is also a former president of the California Writers Association and has worked as the research director at Gartner Group advising major corporations on emerging technology. Today she's here to tell the story of Sara Jane Moore, a suburban housewife who fired a shot at President Gerald Ford in 1975. Geri's work uncovered the many twists and turns of Sara Jane's life from housewife to mother to political activist to FBI informant to would-be assassin. Connect with Geri:gerispieler.comFacebook: facebook.com/LiveSanFranciscoValues/Check out the book, Housewife Assassin, here.https://a.co/d/7T2rdA2Connect with Spycraft 101:Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.spycraft101.comIG: @spycraft101Shop: shop.spycraft101.comPatreon: Spycraft 101Find 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.OC Strategic AcademyLearn spy skills to hack your own reality. Use code SPYCRAFT101 to get 10% off any course!Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

Today Justin talks with Dr. Frank Close. Frank is Professor Emeritus of Theoretical Physics and Fellow Emeritus at Exeter College at the University of Oxford. He was formerly the head of the Theoretical Physics Division at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Vice President of the British Science Association, and Head of Communications and Public Understanding at CERN. He is a fellow of the Royal Society and won their Michael Faraday Medal for Excellence in Science Communication in 2013. He received the order of the British Empire for Services to Research and the public understanding of science in 2000. He's also the author of 22 books about science. This week here's here discuss the story of Dr. Bruno Pontecorvo, a pioneer in the field of nuclear physics who worked on atomic research before, during and after World War II, and who was also a devoted communist ideologue. Bruno and his family disappeared behind the Iron Curtain in 1950, setting up a decades long mystery as to whether or not he'd been a Soviet spy all along. Connect with Frank:Twitter/X: @CloseFrankCheck out the book, Half Life, here.https://a.co/d/3u0VPsPConnect with Spycraft 101:Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.spycraft101.comIG: @spycraft101Shop: shop.spycraft101.comPatreon: Spycraft 101Find 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.History by MailWho knew? Not me! Learn something new every month. Use code JUSTIN10 for 10% off your subscription.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

This episode contains particularly graphic descriptions of violence and gore. Know your own limits and proceed accordingly.Today Justin sits down with Steven Schofield. Steve enlisted into the US Army and completed training as an 18 Delta Special Forces Medic in 1967. He then deployed to Okinawa and later to Vietnam, where he served with Military Assistance Command, Vietnam - Studies and Observations Group. Afterwards, he left the US Army to join the US Agency for International Development and spent nearly six years working in Laos, providing medical services to the local population, and supporting the Secret War effort in the region. He's here to discuss his years in Southeast Asia and his lifelong support of the Hmong population, both in Laos and now in the United States, all of which he detailed in his book.Check out the book, Secret War in Laos, here.https://www.amazon.com/Secret-War-Laos-Green-Berets/dp/1694374114Connect with Spycraft 101:Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.spycraft101.comIG: @spycraft101Shop: shop.spycraft101.comPatreon: Spycraft 101Find 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.History by MailWho knew? Not me! Learn something new every month. Use code JUSTIN10 for 10% off your subscription.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

This week Justin talks with Emanuele Midolo. Manu is a journalist based in London and writing for The Times and The Sunday Times. His work has appeared in Forbes, Wired UK, and publications across the United Kingdom, France, and Italy. Today he's here to discuss his new book, which he co-authored with Peter Gillman. It was just published last month and is the story of the previously unsolved murder of British journalist David Holden, who was killed just hours after arriving in Cairo to pursue a story in December, 1977. Emanuele and Peter pursued this story relentlessly and found not only several different possible motives and murderers, but also that David had been keeping many secrets of his own. Connect with Emanuele:Twitter/X: @manumidoloBlueSky: @manumidolo.bksy.socialCheck out the book, Murder in Cairo, here.https://timesbookshop.co.uk/murder-in-cairo-9781785907029/Connect with Spycraft 101:Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.spycraft101.comIG: @spycraft101Shop: shop.spycraft101.comPatreon: Spycraft 101Find 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.History by MailWho knew? Not me! Learn something new every month. Use code JUSTIN10 for 10% off your subscription.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

Today just sits down with Trevor Barnes, a former senior reporter and producer for the British Broadcasting Corporation and retired attorney you're a longtime listener. You may remember Trevor from his first appearance here on the podcast for episode number 33. Today he's here to discuss another spy ring operating in the UK and throughout Europe that was only just uncovered. Very recently, six Bulgarians were arrested as members of a ring operating at the behest of the Russian FSB and GRU. And unlike many similar cases in the past, three of these spies were tried publicly, which offered some amazing insights into modern espionage, operations, and techniques, as well as the pitfalls that led to their discovery and subsequent arrests. Check out Trevor's first appearance on episode 33: The True Story of the Portland Spy Ring here.Connect with Trevor:Twitter/X: @trevorwbarnesLinkedIn: Trevor BarnesConnect with Spycraft 101:Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.spycraft101.comIG: @spycraft101Shop: shop.spycraft101.comPatreon: Spycraft 101Find 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.History by MailWho knew? Not me! Learn something new every month. Use code JUSTIN10 for 10% off your subscription.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

Today Justin interviews Kevin Bryant. Kevin graduated from the University of California - Santa Cruz with a B.A. in History and graduated with top honors from American Military University with an M.A. in Intelligence Studies and an M.S. in Sports Management. He served more than 20 years with the United States Army both as a soldier and civilian, during which he conducted national security investigations and trained federal agents. He's here to discuss the story of how NFL teams have used intelligence collection techniques for decades to give themselves the edge over their opponents, and how sometimes those techniques have backfired spectacularly. Connect with Kevin:kevinbryantauthor@gmail.comTwitter/X: @kevinbryantauthorIG: @kevinbryantauthorLinkedIn: Kevin Bryant AuthorCheck out the book, Spies on the Sidelines, here.https://a.co/d/hE9JFEKConnect with Spycraft 101:Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.spycraft101.comIG: @spycraft101Shop: shop.spycraft101.comPatreon: Spycraft 101Find 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.Support the show

Today Justin speaks with Thomas Maier, an award-winning investigative journalist who has worked at Newsday since 1984. Thomas has written several books over the years, including When Lions Roar about the Churchills and the Kennedys and Masters of Sex, which was produced as a series on Showtime for four years. This is Thomas's second time here on the podcast. You may remember him from episode number 65 when we discussed his book, Mafia Spies: The Inside Story of the CIA, gangsters, JFK, and Castro, which has been since then been made into a documentary series on the Paramount Network. Today he's back to tell us about his newest book, the story of Ernest Cuneo, a member of the Roosevelt administration before and during World War II, who became the liaison officer to the British Security Coordination Office located in New York City. The BSC was running intelligence operations inside the United States, and Cuneo was directly involved almost from the start.Check out Thomas' first appearance in episode 65: Killing Castro: The Unlikely Alliance between the CIA and the Mob with Thomas Maier. Connect with Thomas:thomasmaierbooks.comCheck out the book, The Invisible Spy, here.https://a.co/d/00uBwEvConnect with Spycraft 101:Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.spycraft101.comIG: @spycraft101Shop: shop.spycraft101.comPatreon: Spycraft 101Find 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.OC Strategic AcademyLearn spy skills to hack your own reality. Use code SPYCRAFT101 to get 10% off any course!Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

Today Justin sits down with Janet Wallach. Janet attended New York University and her work has been published in The Washington Post Magazine, Smithsonian Magazine, and other periodicals. She's the author of 10 books and has written extensively about notable women in history, including Queen Noor of Jordan, Coco Chanel, and Gertrude Bell, among others. Janet is here today to discuss Marguerite Harrison, dubbed the socialite spy, and the story of her double life as a reporter and a spy for U.S. Army intelligence in Berlin and Moscow shortly after the Russian Revolution, and what happened to her when she was caught in the act by Soviet intelligence.Connect with Janet:janetwallach.comFacebook: Janet WallachLinkedIn: Janet WallachIG: @flirtingwdangerCheck out the book, Flirting with Danger, here.https://a.co/d/cJlz2A5Connect with Spycraft 101:Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.spycraft101.comIG: @spycraft101Shop: shop.spycraft101.comPatreon: Spycraft 101Find 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.OC Strategic AcademyLearn spy skills to hack your own reality. Use code SPYCRAFT101 to get 10% off any course!Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

This week's guest is Frank Villafana. Frank was born in Havana, Cuba, and moved to the United States after graduating high school to attend the University of Alabama, where he earned his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in engineering. He spent the next three decades working in various positions in the field of engineering before retiring in 1998. Afterwards, he devoted himself to writing and is now the author of 10 books, primarily dealing with Cuban history and themes.  Today he's here discuss the story of the little known Makassi operation, which saw Cuban exiles and veterans of the Bay of Pigs invasion fighting for their freedom in an unconventional war against Simba rebels in the Congo, where they eventually crossed paths with deployed Cuban soldiers led by Che Guevara himself. Connect with Frank:Check out the book, Cold War in the Congo, here.https://a.co/d/hNQeVtyConnect with Spycraft 101:Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.spycraft101.comIG: @spycraft101Shop: shop.spycraft101.comPatreon: Spycraft 101Find 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.OC Strategic AcademyLearn spy skills to hack your own reality. Use code SPYCRAFT101 to get 10% off any course!Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

Today Justin talks to John Lechner. John graduated from Georgetown University with a master's degree in foreign service. He speaks several languages, including Russian, French, Turkish, and Georgian. He now works as an independent journalist and his reporting has been featured in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, BBC, and many more. He's here to discuss the story of the rise of the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary private military company that grew in a few short years from just a handful of fighters to a combined arms force large enough to become a threat to the Russian government itself.Connect with John:johnlechnerauthor.comIG: @johnalechnerTwitter/X: @JohnLechner1Check out the book, Death is Our Business, here.https://a.co/d/9kJATQDConnect with Spycraft 101:Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.spycraft101.comIG: @spycraft101Shop: shop.spycraft101.comPatreon: Spycraft 101Find 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.OC Strategic AcademyLearn spy skills to hack your own reality. Use code SPYCRAFT101 to get 10% off any course!Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show