SpyCast

Pulitzer Prize- winning biographer Kai Bird gives the inside story of his compelling portrait of the remarkable life and death of one of the most important operatives in CIA history, Robert Ames. Through Bird’s personal connection to Ames’ family, he gained access to his personal correspondence and range of contacts. Eventually more than forty retired CIA and Mossad officers told Bird their memories of Ames. Those seasoned spies all seemed to feel that they had been waiting for someone to tell the incredible story of Bob Ames, and how he carefully cultivated his ten-year relationship with Ali Hassan Salameh, Yasir Arafat’s intelligence chief. This highly clandestine relationship between the CIA and the PLO planted the seeds for the Oslo peace process. Get the book: http://www.spymuseumstore.org/the-good-spy-book.html#.Vz3puPkrIdU Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The development of overhead reconnaissance technology is one of the most important – if not the most important – advances in the history of intelligence. Policymakers today use IMINT from spy planes and satellites in their daily assessments of global threats, but did you know that overhead reconnaissance technology predates the advent of powered flight? SPY Historian Vince Houghton is joined by Dr. Jim Green, Director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA, to discuss Civil War balloon reconnaissance. Dr. Green, an expert in the field, explains the role of balloons in the greater Union strategy, their impact on the war effort, and the numerous and significant innovations developed by Union “aeronauts” (including the first aircraft carriers!). This interview took place May 30, 2014 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SPY Historian Vince Houghton sits down with engineer Phil Pressel to discuss his role in developing the KH-9 Hexagon spy satellite. The Hexagon, which was the last US spy satellite to use film, was declassified in 2011, allowing Pressel to write his book, Meeting the Challenge: The Hexagon KH-9 Reconnaissance Satellite. Houghton and Pressel discuss the formation of the project, the daunting technological hurdles, the impact of the satellite on US national security, and the top secret mission to recover film lost in the deepest waters of the Pacific Ocean.Video of interview available on the Spy Museum youtube page. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmWlw8Ufo6Q This interview took place May 8th, 2014. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former SPY Historian Mark Stout sat down with SPY Executive Director Peter Earnest to discuss Peter’s CIA career. After his recruitment and espionage training at the Farm, Peter’s entry into the world of spying came at an important turning point in the Cold War. From his posts overseas in hot spots while living undercover, Peter’s fascinating career culminated in a very public role as the Agency’s spokesperson. Join Peter for this reflection on a life in the shadows. This interview was conducted June 1, 2012. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The world sends 3 million emails every second. How do Western intelligence agencies cope with such massive amounts of data? The Spy Museum's Executive Director Peter Earnest sits down to discuss the future of intelligence with historian Richard Aldrich, Professor of International Security at the University of Warwick (UK) and Director of the Institute of Advanced Study. With the prevalence of the internet, social media, integrated communications systems, and surveillance capabilities, everyone is now a de facto member of the intelligence community. Dr. Aldrich discusses Snowden, leakers, whistleblowers, and what he calls “the end of secrecy.” Who – and when – will be the next Snowden? This interview took place April 3, 2014. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Peter and SPY Historian Vince Houghton are joined by retired KGB Major General Oleg Kalugin. They discuss the current confrontation between Russia and Ukraine over Crimea, Crimea’s strategic place in Russian history, and the potential conflict over Ukraine’s strategic shift toward Europe and away from Russia. They then discuss the role intelligence and special operations forces might play in any future war between Russia and Ukraine. This interview took place March 14, 2014. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Intelligence historian Hugh Wilford reveals the surprising history of the CIA’s pro-Arab operations in the 1940s and 50s by tracing the work of the agency’s three most influential—and colorful—officers in the Middle East: Kermit Roosevelt, Archie Roosevelt, and Miles Copeland. With their deep knowledge of Middle Eastern affairs, the three men were heirs to an American missionary tradition that engaged Arabs and Muslims with respect and empathy. These “Arabists” propped up authoritarian regimes, attempted secretly to sway public opinion in America against support for the new state of Israel, and staged coups that destabilized the nations with which they empathized. They were fascinated by imperial intrigue, and were eager to play a modern rematch of the “Great Game,” the nineteenth century struggle between Britain and Russia for control over central Asia. This event took place January 7, 2014. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is cyber war really coming? Renowned scholar Thomas Rid of the Department of War Studies at Kings College London argues that the focus on war distracts from the real challenge of cyberspace: non-violent confrontation that may rival or even replace violence in surprising ways. In this provocative talk, the author will trace the most significant hacks and attacks and explore some key questions: What are cyber weapons? How have they changed the meaning of violence? How likely and how dangerous is crowd-sourced subversive activity? Why has there never been a lethal cyber-attack against a country's critical infrastructure? How serious is the threat of cyber-espionage? And who is most vulnerable in the cyber realm? This event took place on September 10, 2013 .http://www.spymuseumstore.org/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Six months after the 9/11 attacks, New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly initiated a straightforward, yet audacious, antiterrorist plan to be implemented in the Big Apple, dispatching a vast network of undercover officers and informants to track suspected terrorists. In Enemies Within, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalists Matt Apuzzo and Adam Goldman for Associated Press reveal the effectiveness of the domestic spying plan. Based on hundreds of previously unpublished New York Police Department internal memos and exclusive interviews with intelligence sources, including 25-year FBI veteran Don Borelli who assisted with the book, they found that many of those strategies aren’t even close to being useful, functional, or successful. As Assistant Special Agent in Charge in the New York Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), Borelli was responsible for top investigations and counterterrorism missions that spanned the globe. Join Apuzzo and Borelli for an unbridled look at the breathtaking race to avert a second devastating terrorist attack on American soil. This event took place September 26, 2013. Get the book: http://www.spymuseumstore.org/enemy-within-book.html#.Vz3rRfkrIdU Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Historian Randall B. Woods of the University of Arkansas discusses his new biography of one of the most fascinating and controversial figures of the postwar period: William Egan Colby. World War II commando, Cold War spy, CIA station chief in Saigon, and ultimately CIA director under Presidents Nixon and Ford, Colby played a critical role in some of the most pivotal events in twentieth-century history. Despite his strong commitment to global democracy and economic and social justice, he was also drawn to the shadowy world of covert action… This event took place on April 18, 2013. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices