Cover Stories: Spies, Books & Entertainment

Long-time CIA officer Marty Petersen is an acknowledged expert on Asia. He is a current Cipher Brief exert  who writes frequently on Asian matters.  But rather than focusing on modern day China policy for once, he has just published his first novel: City of Lost Souls which is set in 1932 Shanghai and tells of a private detective who helps a young woman search for her missing brother. We’ll ask him about what attracted him to writing fiction and particularly this region and era.  We’ll also discuss how writing a novel requires a different skill set from that required of a top Asia analyst for the CIA and if there are lessons and insights that can be derived from his novel that can be applied to current U.S. - China relations. After listening to the podcast – be sure an check out the review of City of Lost Souls in The Cipher Brief.

Admiral Jim Stavridis (Ret.) is out with his fourteenth book, The Restless Wave -  a tale of historical fiction taking place during World War II. Cover Stories co-host Suzanne Kelly caught up with the retired Admiral for a Cipher Brief Book Club virtual meeting to talk about just how much of ‘himself’ was written into his main character – about what inspired his writing and then, she couldn’t help but ask about those love scenes. 

Tom Straw is a former Top 40 radio disc jockey, TV weathercaster, and someone who has written and executive produced prime time and late night TV shows.  He is also a best-selling writer of crime novels (under the pseudonym “Richard Castle,”) so friends like to say he can’t keep a job. For his latest gig he has served up a spy novel called “The Accidental Joe”about a maverick celebrity chef whose travel TV series ends up as cover for a dangerous CIA espionage mission. Former CIA officer Rodney Faroan’s review of the book for The Cipher Brief called it a “refreshing, rip-roaring tale of a spy operation gone awry.”  We talk with Straw about his multifaceted career, his process of cooking up tasty plots – and how writing spy thrillers differs from detective novels and TV comedies.

We talk with retired Navy Rear Admiral Mike Studeman about his book “Might of the Chain: Forging Leaders of Iron Integrity about why trust in leaders in the public and private sector has sunk to all-time lows and his formula for restoring and keeping that trust.Drawing on his naval experience (and heritage) Studeman explains how every person in an organization must pull their share of the load – because one weak link may sink the enterprise.The book has great value for sailors and non-sailors alike, giving readers insights on how to harden their own leadership mettle.

Jack Downey was an up and coming young Yale student.  When he graduated in 1951, like a surprising number of his fellow Elis, he signed up to work for the CIA looking to serve and for adventure. A little more than a year later, during the Korean War, he found himself on a transport airplane attempting an “agent extraction” over China.  The plane was shot down and Downey spent the next 21 years in captivity – the longest serving prisoner in an undeclared war in U.S. history. But his story does not end with his release in 1972. Downey went to law school, married a Chinese-American classmate and became a juvenile court judge in Connecticut.  We will talk with author Barry Werth whose new book: Prisoner of Lies: Jack Downey’s Cold War has just been published. After listening to the podcast: check out The Cipher Brief’s review of the book.

Julia Davis joins us to discuss her new book: “In Their Own Words: How Russian Propagandists Reveal Putin’s Intentions.”  Davis regularly monitors Russian state TV and posts videos and writes columns providing translations and context about some of the crazy things are being fed to Russian viewers.  We talk with her about the odd collection of TV hosts, commentators and pundits who over the past several years have spun wild tales regarding the Kremlin’s intentions regarding Ukraine, paranoia over NATO, musing about possible Russian intervention in U.S. elections and amazingly – why nuclear war might be a good thing.  Davis’ motto on X is “I watch Russian state TV so you don’t have to.” We ask her what she has learned from her immersion in that swamp.  

David Ignatius is an award-winning columnist for the Washington Post, a frequent national security commentator on cable TV, and the author of New York Times bestselling novels.  His twelfth novel, Phantom Orbit, like all the previous ones - reveals a deep understanding of the way governments and espionage agencies work. Many of his novels have presciently foreshadowed real-world threats. We’ll talk to him about what his latest page-turner reveals about the vulnerability of the satellites that the world relies so heavily on.  We’ll also discuss his process for writing books which are consistently praised for their fidelity to the real world of espionage and how he balances his journalistic duties with that of his second-calling as a novelist. After listening to the podcast, be sure to check out the review of Phantom Orbit in The Cipher Brief by former National Reconnaissance Office Director Jeffrey Harris.

Stuart Eizenstat is one of the most experienced diplomats in U.S. history. In this episode we talk with him about his new book “The Art of Diplomacy” in which he discusses some of the most important international agreements over the past 50 years. For his book, Ambassador Eizenstat interviewed about 150 key U.S. and foreign officials ranging from Presidents, Secretaries of State and Defense and many more. We’ll ask him what he learned over the course of his career about why diplomacy did (and sometimes did not) work. And what these lessons might mean for current crises like the ongoing one between Israel and Hamas.  After listening to the podcast - be sure to check out the review of “The Art of Diplomacy” in The Cipher Brief by Jonathan Winer.

Arnold Punaro spent 24 years as a U.S. Senate staffer including 14 years as the Staff Director of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Since leaving government in 1997 he has advised the Senate, Department of Defense and other Executive Branch agencies on navigating the complex process of getting Senate approval for Presidentially appointed positions. We’ll talk with him about why getting a nominee confirmed takes so long, what candidates can do to increase their chances of success and systemic improvements that the executive and legislative branch should take to help ensure that the best possible candidates get through the process more quickly. If Confirmed: An Insider’s View of the National Security Confirmation Process.

ABC News journalist George Stephanopoulos joins us to discuss his new book “The Situation Room: The Inside Story of President in Crisis.” As someone who became intimately familiar with the SITROOM during the Clinton administration, Stephanopoulos is our guide with stories about the crisis management center came to be created under JFK and shares dramatic stories of hinge points in history that were seen within the walls of this small but pivotal part of the Executive Mansion.