A History of the World in Spy Objects

What secrets are hiding under the bed?For the Portuguese artist and sculptor, Joana Vasconcelos, a troubling inheritance of deceit lay lurking in wait in her late grandparents’ apartment. Here, she and host Alice Loxton discuss the dark journey that her discovery sent her on – and the powerful work of art it inspired.From SPYSCAPE, the home of secrets. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Series produced by Alex Burnard, Morgan Childs, Claire Crofton, Joe Foley, Frank Palmer, Kellie Redmond and Isabel Sutton. Music by Nick Ryan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do you solve a problem like a Russian radar?That question lies at the heart of one of the most innovative and intricate planes ever to be made: the SR-71 Blackbird. Acclaimed industrial designer and artist Marc Newson and host Alice Loxton tell the story of an aircraft born out of an impossible brief.From SPYSCAPE, the home of secrets. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Series produced by Alex Burnard, Morgan Childs, Claire Crofton, Joe Foley, Frank Palmer, Kellie Redmond and Isabel Sutton. Music by Nick Ryan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What official secrets hide inside that battered red leather box?Popular historian Dan Snow and host Alice Loxton peer inside a Victorian Prime Minister’s despatch box, and speculate on the world-changing intelligence that such a storied case once contained.From SPYSCAPE, the home of secrets. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Series produced by Alex Burnard, Morgan Childs, Claire Crofton, Joe Foley, Frank Palmer, Kellie Redmond and Isabel Sutton. Music by Nick Ryan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What did George Orwell and the CIA have in common?Perhaps more than the great socialist writer would have cared to admit. The groundbreaking visual artist Daniel Arsham and host Alice Loxton bring us inside the CIA-sponsored production of Animal Farm.From SPYSCAPE, the home of secrets. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Series produced by Alex Burnard, Morgan Childs, Claire Crofton, Joe Foley, Frank Palmer, Kellie Redmond and Isabel Sutton. Music by Nick Ryan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To whom do retired spies turn after the collapse of their mission?Los Angeles’ Wende Museum holds one of the most impressive Cold War collections in the world – and has become something of an amnesty box for old agents seeking to preserve a piece of their former lives. The Wende’s director Justin Jampol and host Alice Loxton explore highlights from the collection and peer into the history of tradecraft.From SPYSCAPE, the home of secrets. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Series produced by Alex Burnard, Morgan Childs, Claire Crofton, Joe Foley, Frank Palmer, Kellie Redmond and Isabel Sutton. Music by Nick Ryan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does it take to betray your country?Less than you might think. Dr. Elizabeth Bruton and host, Alice Loxton, break down the surprisingly humble tool kit of one of the most destructive espionage networks in British history – the Portland Spy Ring.From SPYSCAPE, the home of secrets. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Series produced by Alex Burnard, Morgan Childs, Claire Crofton, Joe Foley, Frank Palmer, Kellie Redmond and Isabel Sutton. Music by Nick Ryan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How many secrets weigh 1500 lbs, cost $100 million, and travel at 600 mph?Only one that we can think of. Acclaimed actor Jason Isaacs and host Alice Loxton take us inside the cockpit of Northrop Grumman’s legendary B-2 Spirit – the iconic stealth bomber that epitomized late Cold War ingenuity.From SPYSCAPE, the home of secrets. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Series produced by Alex Burnard, Morgan Childs, Claire Crofton, Joe Foley, Frank Palmer, Kellie Redmond and Isabel Sutton. Music by Nick Ryan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mathematician James Grime and host, Alice Loxton delve into the fascinating world of the Enigma machine, exploring its intricate encryption mechanisms and the pivotal role it played in World War II. From the complex circuits to the efforts of codebreakers like Alan Turing, the podcast sheds light on the secrets of this iconic spy object.

For how long could you keep a secret?In the case of Joan Bright Astley, the answer was ‘To the grave.’ Acclaimed novelist and screenwriter Anthony Horowitz and host Alice Loxton offer up a gift from the real-life Miss Moneypenny – a formidable woman who protected the secrets of the notorious Special Operations Executive for as long as she lived.From SPYSCAPE, the home of secrets. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Series produced by Alex Burnard, Morgan Childs, Claire Crofton, Joe Foley, Frank Palmer, Kellie Redmond and Isabel Sutton. Music by Nick Ryan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How can a button save your life? It depends on who your tailor is.Military history expert Lynette Nusbacher and host Alice Loxton discuss an ingenious piece of covert pathfinding technology, designed for RAF pilots stranded behind enemy lines in World War Two.From SPYSCAPE, the home of secrets. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Series produced by Alex Burnard, Morgan Childs, Claire Crofton, Joe Foley, Frank Palmer, Kellie Redmond and Isabel Sutton. Music by Nick Ryan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices