SpyTalk

Former CIA director of Technical Services Office and current Chief Information Security Officer at Rubrik, Michael Mestrovich, discusses the rise of cyber intrusions, recent attacks, Chinese infiltration of OMB files, weight loss solutions, foreign influence campaigns on social media, and the importance of cybersecurity education.

Retired former CIA Al Qaeda expert Cindy Storer discusses the challenges faced by CIA officers in counter-terrorism, dealing with trauma, teaching intelligence issues, border protection, and recognizing the efforts of women in preventing 9/11 attacks.

CIA operations veteran Laura Thomas discusses women's gains and losses at the spy agency, debunking the argument that women can't operate in certain regions. They explore challenges faced by women in the CIA and society, gender equality in institutions, and CIA concerns about threats and accountability. They also touch on policy-making struggles and promote a guest's sub-stack page and the spy talk news site.

John Hadden, author of "Conversations with a Masked Man: My Father, the CIA, and Me," discusses his father's role in investigating Israel's nuclear bomb program, the theme of truth and deceit in their lives, reflections on covert activities and intelligence work, the impact of the Cold War on families, the destructive nature of war, and their personal project working with their dad on a book.

Kai Bird, co-author of “American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer,” discusses the FBI's intelligence failure in recognizing Soviet spies, Oppenheimer's advocacy for tactical nuclear bombs, the current red scare in the U.S., and the potential scenario of Trump establishing an authoritarian regime.

David Ignatius talks about his new thriller “The Tao of Deception.”Follow David Ignatiushttps://twitter.com/IgnatiusPostRead “The Tao of Deception”https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/interactive/2023/tao-of-deception-david-ignatius/Follow Jeff Stein on Twitter:https://twitter.com/SpyTalkerFollow SpyTalk on Twitter:https://twitter.com/talk_spySubscribe to SpyTalk on Substackhttps://www.spytalk.co/Take our listener survey:http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=BffJOlI7qQcF&ver=short Follow Jeff Stein on Twitter:https://twitter.com/SpyTalkerFollow Michael Isikoff on Twitter:https://twitter.com/isikoff Follow SpyTalk on Twitter:https://twitter.com/talk_spySubscribe to SpyTalk on Substackhttps://www.spytalk.co/Take our listener survey where you can give us feedback.http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=BffJOlI7qQcF&ver=short

Former CIA Russia hand, John Sipher, discusses the challenges faced by CIA personnel in Moscow amidst political uncertainty. They explore the importance of surveillance agents and all-source intelligence, as well as the quality of US intelligence analysis on Russia. The podcast also covers operations against Russians outside of Russia and the increasing appetite for spy stories in entertainment.

Jeff talks with Calder Walton, author of 'Spies: The Epic Intelligence War Between East and West'. They discuss the possibility of a Russian spy whale, the evolution of espionage and the threat of Putin's Russia, the unpreparedness of intelligence services at the start of WWII, the game-changing role of code-breaking, the intelligence wars and the Cold War, and Chinese espionage and technological advances.

Journalist James Risen discusses Sen. Frank Church's investigation of CIA misdeeds, including assassination plots, LSD mind-control experiments, and spying on Americans. The podcast explores the Church Committee hearings, the controversial MK Ultra program, the transformation of the CIA after 9/11, the Discord leak controversy, and the importance of in-depth reporting on national security and intelligence institutions.

Former CIA and DoD Chinese espionage expert, Nicholas Eftimiades, talks about China's aggressive covert campaigns against pro-democracy activists in the US. Topics include China's covert operations, previous collaboration between Zoom and the Chinese government, lack of accountability in handling unregistered Chinese agents, China's use of artificial intelligence for surveillance, and the importance of promoting American values and national security.