SPYCRAFT 101

Mar 02 2025 190 ep. 63 mins 910
SPYCRAFT 101 Podcast artwork

Welcome to your clandestine classroom.

  History  Government  Education
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186. Defeating Noriega: Inside Operation Just Cause with Rick Yell

Mar 02 2025 84 mins  
This week Justin talks with Rick Yell. Rick served as a civilian agent with the Naval Investigative Service, later renamed the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. In 1986, he was assigned to the resident agency at Fort Amador, Panama. He was present along with his family before, during, and after Operation Just Cause, when the U.S. military ousted Panamanian dictator Manuel Norie

185. The Invisible Battlefield: Subversion in the Age of Information with Andreas Krieg

Feb 23 2025 52 mins  
This week Justin interviews Andreas Krieg. Andreas is a senior lecturer at the School of Security Studies at King's College London and at the Royal College of Defense Studies. He spent more than 10 years living, studying, and working across the Middle East and North Africa, including in Lebanon, Syria, and Qatar. He is a co-author of the book, Surrogate Warfare: The Transformation

184. How to Deliver a Ransom with Rob Phayre

Feb 16 2025 69 mins  
Today Justin sits down with Rob Phayre. Rob served for seven years in the British Army as a helicopter pilot and commander. After leaving the service, he moved to Kenya and opened his own business before moving into a second career in security and crisis management a few years later. Much of his time involved responding to Somali piracy and hostage taking in East Africa. He's helpe

183. My Life As a Canadian Spy with Andrew Kirsch

Feb 09 2025 54 mins  
Today Justin sits down with Andrew Kirsch. Andrew grew up in Toronto, Canada, and is a graduate of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. He worked as an investment advisor in London before applying for a position with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service or CCIS. He spent nearly 10 years as an intelligence officer working in several positions, including analyst, inves

182. The Most Damaging Espionage Case in History with Joe Navarro

Feb 02 2025 42 mins  
Today Justin talks to retired Special Agent Joe Navarro. Joe spent 25 years with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, primarily working on counterintelligence investigations. He is also a founding member of the National Security Division Behavioral Analysis Program, which focused on the behavior of spies, terrorists, and criminals. During his career, Joe developed tremendous expert

181. From Anthropology to Espionage and Authorship with Kit Turner

Jan 26 2025 39 mins  
Today's guest is Kit Turner. Kit has worked as an anthropologist and archeologist in the U. S., Polynesia, and Southwest Asia. He later joined the Central Intelligence Agency where he spent 25 years working in East Asia, South Asia, and Europe, running sensitive operations against high priority objectives. He's been awarded the Intelligence Star, a commendation for valor after a da

180. Evolution of Drone Warfare From Vietnam to the War on Terror with David Axe

Jan 19 2025 37 mins  
Today's guest is David Axe. David is a journalist and filmmaker. His work has appeared in The Daily Beast, Vice, Reuters, Wired.com, The Washington Post, Forbes, and many other publications. He's published several books including fiction, nonfiction, and graphic novels. He's also written, produced, or directed several independent films. David is here to discuss the origins of Ameri

179. Who Was D. B. Cooper? with Pat Boland

Jan 12 2025 77 mins  
This week Justin talks with Pat Boland. Pat has worked in several different positions in sales and marketing, including as a Portfolio Analyst, Consultant, and Senior Account Executive. She's currently working as a writer and researcher. But aside from her career, she's also devoted a great deal of time to investigating one of the most intriguing mysteries of the 20th century, the

178. Czechoslovakia's Cold War Liaisons with the Palestinian Liberation Organization with Dr. Daniela Richterova

Jan 05 2025 72 mins  
 Today Justin sits down with Dr. Daniela Richterova. Daniela received her master's degree from King's College London and her PhD from the University of Warwick. She is an associate professor of intelligence studies at the department of war studies at King's College London, as well as the co director of the King's Center for the Study of Intelligence. Her work has been published i

177. Traitor or CIA Double Agent? The Richard Craig Smith Story

Dec 29 2024 34 mins  
In this solo episode, Justin share some of his own research. Today he discusses the very unusual case of Richard Craig Smith. Craig was a former army counterintelligence agent who was arrested in April, 1984 for passing classified information to a KGB officer in Japan on several occasions. There are two very different versions of Craig's story. He did meet with a Soviet intelligenc