Cover Stories: Spies, Books & Entertainment

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.

Dmitri Alperovitch likes to sound alarm bells when it comes to global security. He -- like many others -- started piecing together what was happening along the Russian border with Ukraine in late 2021 and predicted that Russia would indeed invade Ukraine. In his new book, World on the Brink, Dmitri shares his thoughts on how World War III might begin ... and no surprise, Taiwan is at the heart of it. Here's my conversation with Silverado Policy Accelerator Executive Chairman and Cyber Initiatives Group Principal, Dmitri Alperovitch on his new book, World on the Brink: How America Can Beat China in the Race for the 21st Century.

Long-time New York Times correspondent joins us to his new book: “New Cold Wars: China’s Rise, Russia’s Invasion, and America’s Struggle to Defend the West”  In the book, Sanger talks about the perilous times the United States finds itself – and the world of trouble presented by Russia, China  - and their military, economic, and technological challenges. Read The Cipher Brief print review of the book here.

CNN anchor and Chief National Security Analyst Jim Sciutto is out with a new book called “The Return of Great Powers: Russia, China and the Next World War.” Drawing on his reporting from current hot spots like Ukraine, Taiwan and the Middle East - and in depth interviews with top U.S. and foreign leaders, Sciutto has written about the precarious nature of global security and how developments in each of these hot spots impacts the other.  We’ll talk to him about how Chinese President Xi and Russian President Putin have similar views about their destinies in expanding their countries borders.

Cipher Brief Expert Retired Admiral Jim Stavridis has witnessed today’s complicated national security environment firsthand while he served in the Navy and now, as he helps others navigate it from the private sector. He has teamed up with author and former Marine Elliott Ackerman – who served in Iraq and Afghanistan - to foreshadow what national security threats are lurking around the corner and they’re using fiction to do it.  In the pair’s first book together, 2034: A Novel of the Next World War, they examine - in page-turning fashion - how the U.S. might stumble into war with China.  In their new novel 2054, they revisit some of their favorite characters to examine how technology and civil conflict can be used as a weapon as great nations vie for power.