Cover Stories: Spies, Books & Entertainment

As Executive Producer and Showrunner for shows like Homeland and 24, Howard Gordon has shown that he understands how to take compelling national security topics and make them Hollywood hits.  While his new show on Fox, The Accused, doesn’t have a national security angle, Cover Stories caught up with Gordon to talk about what it takes to make good TV in an age of geopolitical turmoil.

As author Mark Greaney unleashes the latest novel in his Gray Man series, Cover Stories digs deep into the inspiration behind Burner and asks how that whole Netflix series thing is working out, and what’s next for Court Gentry.

Erich Schwartzel covers Hollywood for The Wall Street Journal. Last year, he published a terrific book called Red Carpet: Hollywood, China and the Global Battle for Cultural Supremacy about the power China wields over the American film industry.  The Cover Stories Podcast is about books, entertainment and national security and Schwartzel’s book covers all of that like a carpet. 

Former New York Times journalist Philip Taubman discusses his new biography of George Shultz, one of only two Americans to have held four cabinet level positions (including more than 6 years as Secretary of State during the Reagan administration), In the book Taubman quotes Gorbachev as saying “Without Reagan, the cold war would not have ended, but without Shultz, Reagan would not have ended the cold war.” In this episode – we will ask Taubman why.

Ben Griffin is the author of “Reagan’s War Stories: A Cold War Presidency.” The book examines how Ronald Reagan was shaped by books he read as a young man – and how themes from these books, such as the battle of good vs. evil, continued to influence Reagan throughout his life.  It also looks at how popular culture, like Tom Clancy’s novel “The Hunt for Red October,” became an important communications tool during the Reagan presidency. Popular culture and national security are what Cover Stories is all about.  Join us for this discussion with Ben Griffin.

Author John le Carre was an avid writer of letters as well as novels. What does a new collection of his private correspondence reveal about one of the greatest authors of our time?  Who better to ask than someone with intimate knowledge of the world of espionage, who was both irritated and entertained by le Carre’s writing?  Join us as former Senior Member of the British Foreign Office Nick Fishwick talks about the new book A Private Spy, edited by Tim Cornwell.

In this episode, Bill Harlow interviews Jim Popkin, author of the just-published: Code Name Blue Wren: The True Story of America’s Most Dangerous Female Spy - and the Sister She Betrayed. Popkin talks about his fascination with the story of Ana Montes, a long-time senior Defense Intelligence Agency analyst who was arrested in 2001 for spying for Cuba.  They discuss what might have motivated Montes to betray the United States, how she was recruited by Cuba, the tradecraft she employed and how she evaded detection for many years.  Having served the bulk of a 25 year sentence in federal prison, Montes is about to be released.

In this inaugural episode, Cover Stories co-hosts Suzanne Kelly and Bill Harlow, who once sat on opposite sides of the press room, take turns grilling each other with questions about spies and the media. Kelly, a former Intelligence Correspondent and Harlow, a former government spokesperson always knew there were limits to what could be shared.  So, what are those limits and how does the relationship between intelligence agencies and the media really work?