Spybrary Spy Podcast

Brush Pass is back and so is Matthew Bradford from Double O Section who tells us more about Matt Helm. Episode 49 sees the return of Matthew Bradford, a man who has watched more spy movies and read more spy novels than I have had hot dinners! He returns to Brush Pass to tell us more about the character of Matt Helm and in particular the novel The Interlopers. (Check out Matthew's Spy Blog and add it to your bookmarks.) Some of you may remember the Matt Helm movies from the 60's and Matthew gives you the low down on those too.

Thrilling, evocative and hugely controversial, Codename: Hero blows apart the myths surrounding one of the Cold War's greatest spy operations and potentially it's greatest spy Oleg Penkovsky In the late 1950s the USSR appeared to be winning the arms race: their 1949 nuclear test  signaled a direct challenge to the West, changing the face of the Cold War overnight. In 1961 Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space, and fear escalated in the US and UK. Amidst this climate, KGB Colonel, Oleg Penkovsky desperate to defect, came knocking on the doors of the CIA and MI6. The information he provided as a double operative would change the course of history. Pour the whiskey, get cozy, and buckle up for an eye-opening, mind-blowing look at Oleg Penkovsky, the KGB Colonel-turned-double-agent. Author Jeremy Duns, taking break from writing fiction, has penned a reinvestigation of the Penkovsky Operation, titled Dead Drop in the UK and Code Name: Hero in the US. Those of us unfamiliar with this 'spy who saved the world' are in for a wild ride as Spybrary Host Shane Whaley and Jeremy Duns consider a world without Penkovsky's aid to the West: Would we have descended into nuclear war? What would the outcome of the Bay of Pigs and Cuban Missile crisis have been without Penkovsky's crucial information? Those of us well-versed in Cold War history will thrill to hear Duns' original take on the Cold War's most dangerous operation. In fact, Penkovsky's information was so good, the CIA had to convince President Kennedy it came from multiple sources, lest the Commander-in-Chief worry that they were relying too heavily on one agent. This episode is satisfyingly chock-full of juicy information, including: Penkovsky's deft use of spycraft: learn how he circumvented surveillance to pull of the most famous brush pass in espionage history. How the Penkovsky trial has influenced popular culture: from 1960’s TV spy series to the Avengers. The balancing act the CIA and MI6 had in dealing with Penkovsky's difficult personality. Other double agents of the time: the sad, lonely life of Greville Wynne; and Pyotr Popov, who turned double agent for the KGB to save his life after being caught, and who, like Penkovsky, was ultimately arrested, tried, and executed by the Soviets. How the CIA tried to prevent Jeremy Duns from publishing some details of his book.  

Forever and a Day review by the Spybrary Podcast. Listen to our round table of Bond fans who give you their review of the latest Anthony Horowitz 007 novel 007 is dead. Long live 007. The heavily anticipated James Bond prequel, “Forever and a Day” by Anthony Horowitz is finally out, and Shane has brought together two Bond super-fans to discuss it. If your copy hasn’t arrived yet, fear not! Sit back, relax, and enjoy a spoiler-free round table chat with David Craggs, who joined Shane for Episode #23's Dead Drop 5, and Tom, who runs literary007.com, and featured in one of Spybrary’s earliest episodes, appropriately, #007. In exploring this latest edition to the Bond canon, David provides an in-depth comparison of Horowitz's Bond continuation novels to several previous authors of the series. Who captures Fleming’s tone and character the best? Find out why Tom thinks Fleming’s style is so hard to capture. Does the book follow ‘Bond lore’ accurately?  Shane suggests author Mr Horowitz should hire David to be his Bond expert fact checker as David reveals details that don’t quite match up with established Bond facts! In true Spybrary fashion, David and Tom are not afraid to critique the book's weaknesses at the same time extolling its strengths, which are far more numerous. With the depth and breadth of knowledge worthy of true Bond aficionados, our panelists take a seriously deep dive into Fleming as an author, intelligence official, and human being. Why are Fleming and le Carre so often compared? How does the character of Bond hold up in today's #metoo era?

On today's episode of the Spybrary Spy Podcast, Jeff Quest of Spywrite joins us to reveal the results of our Spybrary Shelf of Fame 2018. Which 7 spy books made it on the shelf? The categories were: Pre Cold War Spy Novels Cold War Spy Books Post Cold War Spy Books. Hit play and listen in as Jeff shares the voting results.   (The books themselves will appear hear soon - we do not want to ruin the suspense before you listen in.) Links and Resources to follow.

Tom Colgan is our special guest on episode 44 of the Spybary Spy Podcast with Shane Whaley Tom is an Editorial Director of Berkley Books which is an imprint of Penguin Random House. Over a thirty year (actually 33 but who's counting?) publishing career he has worked with many authors including Tom Clancy, Mark Greaney and Janet Evanovich. He's edited numerous books that have been bestsellers and won Edgar, and Anthony Awards as well. Now Shane gets to turn the tables and interview this veteran book editor! What is Dead Drop 5? Agent Tom Colgan finds himself embedded deep in Communist-controlled East Berlin, and has asked his handler to leave him 5 of his favorite spy books at their Dead Drop location in Friedrichshain Park. What will he choose to help him cope with life undercover? Having edited thousands of books in a 30+year career which books will Tom pick out? Listen to Episode 44 of the Spybrary Spy Podcast to find out what he picks out and why!

This week, Spybrary Spy Podcast Host Shane Whaley welcomes author and travel writer August Thomas to speak about her debut novel, Liar’s Candle.   Liar’s Candle is set against the backdrop of a terror attack in Ankara, Turkey. In the aftermath, protagonist Penny Kessler embarks upon a pan-European adventure to uncover the perpetrators. Living by her wits, Kessler teams up with Connor Beauregard, a former naval officer with something to prove, as they try to crack the case. In a delightful, wide-ranging conversation, August and Shane discuss the rarity of women in spy literature, both as authors and substantive characters. They also highlight authors, films, and characters to look out for who buck this trend – not least of which is August herself! Stay tuned to hear more.

Today’s guest finds himself embedded deep in Communist-controlled East Berlin, and has asked his handler to leave him 5 of his favorite spy books at their Dead Drop location in Friedrichshain Park. What will he choose to help him cope with life undercover?   Author, Spy Fan and Political Editor of the Sunday Times, Tim Shipman, joins Shane for an epic edition of Dead Drop 5. Tim has been a national newspaper journalist since 1997, and in that time has covered two wars, an historic presidential election, and was the Sunday Telegraph’s Washington, DC correspondent. Shortlisted three years in a row (2015-2017) for Political Journalist of the Year at the National Press Awards (UK), Tim Shipman has covered movers and shakers all over the globe. Now Shane gets to turn the tables and interview this veteran journalist. Tim’s 2000-book library in his London home is dominated by spy books. But a spy must travel light: how will he carve it down to just 5? …this is DEAD DROP FIVE on the Spybrary Spy Podcast.

On Episode 41 of the Spybrary Spy Podcast we serve up a recorded Spybrary panel discussion from Spycon 2018. On the panel, host Shane Whaley was joined by authors Mike Brady (Into the Shadows) and C.G.Faulkner (The Edge of Reality.) The Michael Brady File Lieutenant Colonel Michael Brady, USA, (RET), earned his MS in Strategic Intelligence from the National Intelligence University in Washington, DC in 2003. His classified thesis focused on the current and emerging issues confronting China and Taiwan and Taiwan’s ability to retain sovereignty into the future. He has performed a wide variety of tactical and strategic intelligence functions including long-range surveillance, interrogation, intelligence analysis, collection management, emergency operations, and intelligence production. He served as the Director, Presidential Emergency Operations Center in the White House from January 2001 until July 2002 under President George W. Bush. LTC Brady is a 1990 graduate of The Citadel, Marine Corps Command and General Staff College, Joint Forces Staff College, US Army Airborne School and US Army Ranger School. His areas of expertise and research include threats to the homeland, intelligence collection systems and programs, intelligence analysis, and intelligence support to national policy making. The C.G.Faulkner File C.G. Faulkner has been writing stories since childhood. He has, so far, published a Western Trilogy about Captain Tom Fortner; as well as a Spy Trilogy about Tom’s descendant, C.I.A. Agent Jeff Fortner. He has published a story for younger readers, ‘The Adventures of the Home for Supper Kids’, and now ‘The Unexpected-Tales of Mystery and Suspense’. Other stories are being written for future publication. Mr. Faulkner lives on a small farm in Georgia with his wife and children. In addition to writing, he enjoys reading, (His favorite authors are Bernard Cornwell, John Jakes, Jeff Shaara, Elmore Leonard and Ian Fleming, among others) studying history and genealogy, watching classic movies and television, doing farmwork, helping his wife homeschool their children, and the great outdoors. We riff all over the place on this along with audience participation. Some of the topics we cover included: How authors with full time jobs find time to write. How Mike and CG research locations for their books. Who are their literary heroes Which writer inspired Mike Brady to join the Intelligence Services. What makes a great fictional spy character Shane shares what kind of spy fiction he doesn't enjoy What the audience are reading right now Does the government/military have to approve Mike Brady's novels before publication And Much More including CG Faulkner's interrogation in the Quick Fire Round.

What are your favorite Spy Books? Spybrary is holding a vote for the Spybrary Shelf of Fame, choose from over 100 spy books suggested by our listeners Spybrary needs you to vote for your favorite Spy novels. What Spy Books would make your shelf of fame? Spybrarian in Chief – Jeff Quest of SpyWrite canvassed Spybrary listeners for their 5 favorite spy books. He has channeled his inner ‘Connie Sachs’ to index the hundreds of spy book suggestions and categorize them as follows:   – Pre-Cold War set novels – Cold War set novels – Post-Cold War novels. The top Pre-Cold War spy book, top five Cold War spy books, and top spy Post-ColdWar book will be inducted into the Spybrary Shelf of Fame.

On Episode 39, Spybrary Spy Podcast host Shane Whaley brings you interviews from the inaugural Spy Con. Shane caught up with former Spybrary Podcast guests Lt Col Michael Brady (author of Into the Shadows) and Matthew Kresal. He also got to chat Ian Fleming books with RC Layton who owns over 400 Ian Fleming related 007 books and James Strickland the owner of several James Bond tribute cars. Shane talks about his experience on various Spy Con panels including defending John le Carre on the Ian Fleming versus John le Carre 'debate.' Listen in as Shane reveals who he thinks the match up on the debate should have been between. Episode 40 of Spybrary will be a full recording of the Spy Con Spybrary Panel with authors CG Faulkner and Michael Brady.