State Secrets

In this episode of the State Secrets podcast, we’re talking with Cipher Brief Expert, Nick Fishwick, a former senior member of the British Foreign Office, about his column in The Cipher Brief titled, “The Lights are Going Out all over Europe”.  Fishwick is talking about Europe’s relationship with Russia as it considers the possibility of war after Moscow’s illegal invasion of Ukraine in 2022.  The decline of the relationship between Moscow and western governments which, until recently, still cooperated on issues ranging from counterterrorism to athletic competitions, is leading many in Europe to face the reality that war in Europe may be closer than they think. 

Retired General Frank McKenzie, former commander of U.S. Central Command and author of "The Melting Point," shares gripping insights from his 42 years in the military. He discusses the complexities of military leadership, including the balance of civilian oversight during critical operations. McKenzie reflects on the implications of Qasem Soleimani's assassination and the future of U.S.-Iran relations. He also dives into the significance of a potential Saudi-US deal, the evolving cyber threat landscape, and the strategic challenges posed by global powers like China and Russia.

Former Senior CIA Officer Ed Bogan spent a decades-long career at CIA focused on the most urgent issues of our time ranging from counterterrorism to Russia in Ukraine.  In this episode of State Secrets, Bogan shares his journey from law school to joining the CIA and his experiences in counterterrorism and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.  He emphasizes the importance of addressing the underlying causes of terrorism and the need to counter Russian disinformation.  Bogan’s mission now – with a new 501c(3) – is focused on studying how leader’s use and misuse ‘states of emergency’ and the need for informed decision-making and action.

“Havana Syndrome” - reported by hundreds of U.S. officials, diplomats, CIA Officers, FBI Agents and White House staff - as well as some members of their families – is described as including severe headaches accompanied by loss of balance and often followed by cognitive issues. Some doctors have concluded that the likely source is a directed energy weapon that uses microwave or ultrasound waves to attack the brain and inner ear. In this episode, Cipher Brief Managing Editor Tom Nagorski talks with Christo Grozev, a journalist who served as a lead investigator on Havana Syndrome for a publication called The Insider and Insider Editor Michael Weiss as well as former senior CIA officer and Cipher Brief Expert Marc Polymeropoulos, who says that he himself was struck during a visit to Moscow. Grozev and Weiss also share the findings of their recent investigation conducted in cooperation with 60 Minutes and the German news magazine Der Spiegel that indicates who is behind Havana Syndrome, saying they have uncovered evidence that members of a special Russian military intelligence unit may be to blame. The revelations of their investigation have called into question findings by U.S. intelligence agencies that found – in their own investigations - that the “Anomalous Health Incidents” as they call them - are not the result of a coordinated effort by Russia or anyone else. Full reports of the government’s findings can be found online.  This podcast focuses on another side of this continuing story. 

The Cipher Brief made its first reporting trip to Ukraine in February of 2022.  That’s when we first met Tymofiy Mylovanov, the President of the Kyiv School of Economics. When we sat down with him then, Ukraine was preparing to mark one year since Russia’s brutal invasion. Mylovanov was sober at the time about what it would take to win the war and rebuild the country.  Just over a year later, with an aid package that has been held up for months in Washington - I sat down with him again to talk about what it will take to rebuild Ukraine even as the war rages on - and why he still has hope even amid the challenges – for what lies ahead. 

Dave Pitts was the CIA’s last man on the ground in Afghanistan as U.S. troops pulled out of the country in 2021. Even though he began his career as a humble private in the U.S. military, he quickly moved into special operations and eventually, to the CIA where he retired last October as the Assistant Director of CIA for South and Central Asia.  In his first podcast interview, Dave talks with State Secrets Podcast host Suzanne Kelly about how much the world has changed since his early days of fighting terrorism in the military and why it’s more important than ever for the U.S. to be leading in today’s world.

Retired Rear Admiral Mike Studeman is the former Commander of the Office of Naval Intelligence. He has extensive experience in intelligence, foreign policy, defense and China.  So, it wasn’t a surprise when Taiwan’s Vice President-Elect Hsiao – someone he had briefed along with President Tsai when he was the Navy’s Indo-Pacom Director for Intelligence – invited him back to Taiwan, this time for a series of high-level visits. Studeman met with the chief of the general staff in Taiwan as well as the chief of the Navy.  He visited shipbuilding centers and met with leaders of think tanks and when we met up with him, he and his delegation had just returned from the Kinman Islands.  Those are the off-shore islands, just a few miles from the coast of China where there have been a series of confrontations as Chinese Coast Guards have flexed their ability to enter the restricted waters.

Former Director of CIA’s Center for Cyber Intelligence (and Cipher Brief Expert) Andrew Boyd talks to State Secrets about the dynamic relationship between villains, victims and vendors operating in cyberspace. The CIA, he says, has been paying close attention to cyberspace “since the dawn of IP”, so what lessons can he share about how spies, thieves and nation states are using the domain to find and exploit victims and how the private sector and government are partnering to track them down.

Recent U.S strikes against Iranian proxy groups in Syria and Iraq may be just the beginning of a multi-tier response by the U.S. after the killing of three service members in Jordan last month and it’s raising questions about just how far the U.S. should go in limiting Iran’s ability to use these groups to launch attacks against Americans. Former CIA Deputy Assistant Director of the Near East Mission Center and former Chief of Analysis in the Iran Mission Center Andy Dunn talks to State Secrets about what it will take to deter Iran.

Former CIA officer Marc Polymeropoulos recently wrote an article exploring the intriguing dynamics of Gen Z in the CIA workplace, sparking a controversial debate. While research suggests Gen Z may display slower independence behaviors and cause tension with older workers in professional environments, they're redefining things like work-life balance and what it takes to succeed in the workplace. We wanted to hear more from Marc about why he felt compelled to take up this issue and what he learned.