SPYCRAFT 101

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

This week Justin talks with Rick Yell. Rick served as a civilian agent with the Naval Investigative Service, later renamed the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. In 1986, he was assigned to the resident agency at Fort Amador, Panama. He was present along with his family before, during, and after Operation Just Cause, when the U.S. military ousted Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega. Rick is featured as one of the primary subjects of the new book, Ghosts of Panama by Mark Harmon and Leon Carroll Jr and he's here today to discuss his time in Panama as relations with the United States deteriorated and both nations prepared for war, and what it is like to live through a chaotic invasion right in your own backyard. Check out the book, Ghosts of Panama, here.https://a.co/d/fVVKiAEConnect 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 Justin interviews Andreas Krieg. Andreas is a senior lecturer at the School of Security Studies at King's College London and at the Royal College of Defense Studies. He spent more than 10 years living, studying, and working across the Middle East and North Africa, including in Lebanon, Syria, and Qatar. He is a co-author of the book, Surrogate Warfare: The Transformation of War in the 21st Century, which was published in 2019. He also works as a geo strategic consultant through his own private firm, Mina Analytica limited based in London. He's here on the podcast to discuss his newest book, Subversion: She Strategic Weaponization of Narratives.Connect with Andreas:Check out the book, Subversion, here.https://a.co/d/ca9MoIZConnect 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.Grayman Briefing ClassifiedUse code GBCSpycraft to save 20% on 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 sits down with Rob Phayre. Rob served for seven years in the British Army as a helicopter pilot and commander.  After leaving the service, he moved to Kenya and opened his own business before moving into a second career in security and crisis management a few years later. Much of his time involved responding to Somali piracy and hostage taking in East Africa.  He's helped resolve nearly 40 hostage incidents, both on and offshore, across Africa. Two of those ransoms have held the Guinness World Records for the largest ransoms ever paid for the release of hostages at sea. Rob has also published three novels and a series of short stories just since 2021.  He's here to discuss his newest book, How to Deliver a Ransom. It's a handbook for understanding, preventing, and surviving some of the most dangerous situations that take place around the world every day, including hijackings and kidnappings for ransom. Connect with Rob:robphayre.comhowtodeliveraransom.comTwitter/X: @robphayreIG: @robertphayreCheck out the book, How To Deliver A Ransom, here.https://howtodeliveraransom.com/Transform your career using spy skills from OC Strategic:https://academy.ocstrategic.com/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.Grayman Briefing ClassifiedUse code GBCSpycraft to save 20% on 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 sits down with Andrew Kirsch. Andrew grew up in Toronto, Canada, and is a graduate of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. He worked as an investment advisor in London before applying for a position with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service or CCIS. He spent nearly 10 years as an intelligence officer working in several positions, including analyst, investigator, and as a special operations team leader. He now runs the Kirsch Consulting Group, a risk advisory firm based in Toronto. He's here to discuss his career, which he wrote about in his book,. Andrew's memoirs, which were published in 2022, and was the first autobiography ever written by a former CSIS employee.Connect with Andrew:kirschgroup.comYouTube: youtube.com/@AS_KirschCheck out he book, I Was Never Here, here.https://amzn.to/42Tcf8QConnect 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 talks to retired Special Agent Joe Navarro. Joe spent 25 years with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, primarily working on counterintelligence investigations. He is also a founding member of the National Security Division Behavioral Analysis Program, which focused on the behavior of spies, terrorists, and criminals. During his career, Joe developed tremendous expertise in nonverbal communication and body language, and after retiring, went on to write the international bestseller, What Everybody Is Saying, which teaches anyone how to improve their own nonverbal communication skills and situational awareness. Since then, he's also written several other books on body language, interview techniques, and human psychology, among other subjects. He's here to discuss a case from his time with the FBI, on which he's also written a book. In 1988, an interview with a U.S. soldier named Rod Ramsay led Joe and his fellow agents deep into a case of Cold War espionage now known as the Conrad Spy Ring.Connect with Joe:jnforensics.comCheck out the book, Three Minutes to Doomsday, here.https://a.co/d/gqKDCZHConnect 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's guest is Kit Turner. Kit has worked as an anthropologist and archeologist in the U. S., Polynesia, and Southwest Asia. He later joined the Central Intelligence Agency where he spent 25 years working in East Asia, South Asia, and Europe, running sensitive operations against high priority objectives. He's been awarded the Intelligence Star, a commendation for valor after a dangerous deployment. He's also the author of a nonfiction book, four novels, and has published articles on intelligence activities which have appeared in The Journal of Intelligence, Propaganda, and Security Studies and The Cypher Brief. He's even been featured in an article from Watches of Espionage, one of my own favorite newsletters.  I invited Kit onto the podcast to discuss his career along with his newest novel on the Cuban revolution.Connect with Kit:Check out his latest book, The Children of Outer Darkness, here.https://amzn.to/3WsDe6PConnect 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's guest is David Axe. David is a journalist and filmmaker. His work has appeared in The Daily Beast, Vice, Reuters, Wired.com, The Washington Post, Forbes, and many other publications. He's published several books including fiction, nonfiction, and graphic novels. He's also written, produced, or directed several independent films. David is here to discuss the origins of American battlefield drones and how their early successes and failures helped inform the continued development of drone warfare through the decades all the way to the global war on terror.Connect with David:forbes.com/sites/davidaxeCheck out the book, Drone War Vietnam, here.https://amzn.to/4jnjhICConnect 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.Grayman Briefing ClassifiedUse code GBCSpycraft to save 20% on 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