SpyMasters

Nov 20 2024 23 ep. 46 mins 14

SpyMasters Podcast artwork

Writer and journalist Antonia Senior interviews all the best writers on espionage. Each episode will bring you fascinating stories on spies, covert action and more - delving in to fact and fiction, past and present.

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Trump, Foreign Policy and Intelligence, with Michael Smith

Nov 20 2024 46 mins

Michael Smith, intelligence expert, talks to Oliver Webb-Carter, editor of Aspects of History, about Trump, Foreign Policy and Intelligence. Michael talks about how the re-election of Trump will effect the special relationship between British and American intelligence services. Oliver and Michael discuss the prospects for the Middle East, Ukraine and more, under the new Trump adm

Putin's Spooks. Inside the FSB, with Dr Kevin Riehle

Nov 06 2024 63 mins

Kevin Riehle is the author of The Russian FSB, A Concise History of the Federal Security Service. Dr Riehle spent 30 years working for the US Government in various intelligence roles before switching to academia. The Russian FSB is the first English history book to trace the rise of Putin's Security Service. We talk about Putin, corruption and succession. What place does the FSB

From Spy to Writer, with IS Berry

Oct 23 2024 45 mins

Antonia Senior talks to IS Berry about her debut novel The Peacock and the Sparrow. It has garnered rave reviews, and has won the Edgar Award for best first novel. It's set in Bahrain during the Arab Spring, and follows the misadventures of disillusioned CIA officer Shane Collins. IS Berry was in the CIA for six years, and she writes with thrilling authenticity about life as a spy.

Spies, Istanbul and the 1930s, with Alec Marsh

Oct 10 2024 40 mins

In this episode of the Spymasters podcast, Antonia Senior talks to Alec Marsh, author of the Drabble and Harris series of historical thrillers. The talk ranges from Istanbul, to the peculiar atmosphere of the 1930s, espionage and beyond. Buy the book here: https://amzn.eu/d/eoCm7PZ Follow Alec Marsh: https://www.alecmarsh.co.uk/ on X: @alecmarsh Learn more about your ad choices.

To Catch a Spy. The Spycatcher Affair, with Tim Tate

Sep 26 2024 65 mins

The SpyMasters podcasts interviews all the best writers about spying: fact and fiction, historical and contemporary. In this episode, Antonia Senior talks to the brilliant journalist, writer and documentary maker Tim Tate about the Spycatcher Affair. We talk about the culture of secrecy at MI5, about Thatcher's involvement, about Peter Wright, the molecatcher turned whistleblower.

Midnight in Vienna, with Jane Thynne

Sep 12 2024 54 mins

Antonia Senior talks to acclaimed novelist Jane Thynne about her new book Midnight in Vienna. Set in London and Vienna in 1938 it follows a young unemployed English tutor called Stella Fry and a disgraced MI5 watcher called Harry Fox, as they unite to investigate the murder of a celebrated detective novelist. We talk Nazis, the parallels between the 1930s and the present day, and,

Spycraft. Tricks and tools of the dangerous trade from Elizabeth 1 to the Restoration. With Nadine Akkerman and Pete Langman

Aug 28 2024 50 mins

Antonia Senior interviews Nadine Akkerman and Pete Langman about their fascinating new book Spycraft. What did it mean to be a spy in Early Modern England? What tips and tricks of the trade were employed against England's enemies? And who was the mysterious 'Q' of the Elizabethan spy trade? We talk secret ink, cyphers, and much more Buy the book: https://amzn.eu/d/jj62Dzm Follow

Honour Among Spies, with Merle Nygate

Aug 15 2024 35 mins

Spymasters meets Merle Nygate, the author of Honour Among Spies. The second in Merle's books about Eli Amiram, Mossad's top spy runner, it was a Times thriller of the month. Eli is now chief of Mossad's London operation. He needs an audacious coup to cement his position. Merle and your host, Antonia Senior talk fiction, Mossad and the challenges to writing. Buy the book: https:/

The CIA. An Imperial History. With Hugh Wilford

Jul 31 2024 59 mins

Hugh Wilford joins SpyMasters to talk about his brilliant new book: The CIA, An Imperial History. Hugh is Professor of United States History at California State University, and a leading expert on the history of the CIA. His new book is a groundbreaking study of the history of the world's most famous intelligence agency. The book places the history of the CIA into a global context

Read spies; Watch spies. With Oliver Webb-Carter, Editor, Aspects of History.

Jul 17 2024 48 mins

Oliver Webb-Carter, the editor of Aspects of History, picks his top 5 books and his top 3 films about espionage. Some left-field options here from Oliver! Let us know what you think on X @spymasters We talk about the new SpyMasters anthology of top spy writing. And Ollie's picks: RISE and Kill First, Ronan Bergman. Buy. Operation Chiffon, Peter Taylor. Buy The Sympathiser, Viet