In this episode of the Spybrary Spy Podcast Jeff Quest speaks to the former director of CIA’s Technical Service Robert Wallace about his time in the CIA and the various non-fiction books he has co-authored since leaving the agency. They discuss how the CIA is similar to all other bureaucracies, why spy tech is so important for successful spy operations and how hard it can sometimes be to get past the CIA Publications Review Board. Plus, we talk about the spy that pulled the “Reverse Beatles” maneuver and some Chicago spies! All that and more in this episode of Spybrary.

Spy Rewind is back! Matthew Bradford and Jeff Quest go deep on an episode of Spy TV show Get Smart! Shownotes at www.spybrary.com/163 Please consider subscribing to Spybrary so you don't miss out on future episodes.

Author CP Bennison gives us her thoughts on the spy novel Transcription by Kate Atkinson on the Spybrary Spy Book Podcast. Brush Pass Review. Transcription is a spy novel by British novelist Kate Atkinson, published in September 2018. The novel focuses on the activities of British orphan Juliet Armstrong throughout World War II and afterwards, and how she begins a career as a low-level transcriptionist for MI5, before rising through the ranks.

Author Andy Onyx shares the 5 spy books, movies and tv shows he would want to be stashed in his dead drop. (our riff on desert island discs with a spy twist!) Check out our Facebook group for more spy discussions and chat!

Author Andy Onyx gives us the lowdown on G K Chesterton's The Man Who Was Thursday on the Spybrary Spy Book Podcast.

In this episode of Spy Rewind, Double O Section's Matthew Bradford and SpyWrite's Jeff Quest take a look at the globetrotting cable spy tv show Covert Affairs. They discuss whether all spies need to meet at the Berlin listening station, the benefits of location shoots and how to be a “fashion-forward” spy. Plus, Bowie in Berlin, R.E.M., cliff diving white Jaguars, and Jeff makes another failed attempt at an accent, this time German! All that and more in this episode of Spybrary.

Guest host Steven Minegar chats with author Ralph Hope about his latest book. What do you do with a hundred thousand idle spies? By 1990 the Berlin Wall had fallen and the East German state security service folded. For forty years, they had amassed more than a billion pages in manila files detailing the lives of their citizens. Almost a hundred thousand Stasi employees, many of them experienced officers with access to highly personal information, found themselves unemployed overnight. This is the story of what they did next. Former FBI agent Ralph Hope uses present-day sources and access to Stasi records to track and expose ex-officers working everywhere from the Russian energy sector to the police and even the government department tasked with prosecuting Stasi crimes. He examines why the key players have never been called to account and, in doing so, asks if we have really learned from the past at all. He highlights a man who continued to fight the Stasi for thirty years after the Wall fell, and reveals a truth that many today don’t want spoken. The Grey Men comes as an urgent warning from the past at a time when governments the world over are building an unprecedented network of surveillance over their citizens. Ultimately, this is a book about the present.

Mission France tells the full story of the thirty-nine female SOE agents who went undercover in France. We interview the author, historian Dr. Kate Vigurs to find out more.

In this episode of Spy Rewind -  Matthew and Jeff take a look at the groundbreaking 1960 TV series Danger Man, specifically the episode - Time to Kill. They discuss whether John Drake is the JFK of spies, why you should always keep your bullets in loaves of bread, and the proper attire for an assassin. Plus, rock out to Jeff’s rendition of the song Secret Agent Man! All that and more in this episode of Spybrary. links at www.spybrary.com/156

We talk with one of the foremost collectors of John le Carré, Steven Ritterman, whose collection of pristine le Carré editions numbers over 300 items. We learn about the Haycroft-Queen list, rare signed editions and Steve’s undercover mission to meet le Carré himself. All that plus talk on champagne toasts with Otto Penzler, meeting Eric Ambler, literal juggling balls and a little Silverview talk from a couple of le Carré collectors.