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Justin Black

SPYCRAFT 101

Today Justin is joined by repeat gues Trevor Barnes, who writes on national security issues for the London Standard Newspaper and is a former senior reporter for the British Broadcasting Corporation. He is the author of Dead Doubles The Extraordinary Worldwide Hunt for One of the Cold War's Most Notorious Spy Rings. That was the story of the infamous KGB Portland spying, which operated in England in the 1950s. If you're a longtime listener, you may remember Trevor from his previous appearances here on the podcast for episode 33 when we discussed the Portland spying, and more recently in episode 192 when we discussed the recent trial of a Bulgarian spy ring operating in the UK and elsewhere in Europe. He's here to discuss a very recent and serious case of Russia-linked sabotage in London, directed by the Wagner Private Military Corporation that targeted a warehouse shipping supplies to Ukraine. That trial just ended in the sentencing of five defendants, and Trevor attended the trial in person. 

Check out Trevor's previous appearances on episode 33: The True Story of the Portland Spy Ring here and episode 192: Inside the Bulgarian Spy Ring here.

Connect with Trevor:
Twitter/X: @trevorwbarnes
LinkedIn: Trevor Barnes

Connect with Spycraft 101:
Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.
spycraft101.com
IG: @spycraft101
Shop: shop.spycraft101.com
Patreon: Spycraft 101

Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.
Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.
Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.

Support the show

222. Russian Sabotage: Inside The Wagner Trial with Trevor Barnes

Today Justin talks with Dr. Brad Williams. Brad is an associate professor in the Department of Asian and International Studies at the City University of Hong Kong. He has studied, taught and conducted research in Australia, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Myanmar, Taiwan, and the United States. He is the author of Resolving the Russo-Japanese Territorial Dispute, which was published in 2007 and has published on a diverse range of issues in Japanese politics and foreign policy such as arms procurement, civil society, humanitarian assistance, human security, north Korean abductions, nuclear proliferation and secrecy laws. He's here today to discuss the development of Japan's counterintelligence community from the immediate aftermath of World War II up through the early 2020s.

Connect with Brad:

scholars.cityu.edu.hk/en/persons/bwilliam/

Check out the book, Japanese Foreign Intelligence and Grand Strategy: From the Cold War to the Abe Era, here.

https://a.co/d/e4ohfPV

Connect with Spycraft 101:
Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.
spycraft101.com
IG: @spycraft101
Shop: shop.spycraft101.com
Patreon: Spycraft 101

Subtack: spycraft101.substack.com

Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.
Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.
Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.

Kruschiki
The best surplus military goods delivered right to your door. Use code SPYCRAFT101 for 10% off!

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Support the show

221. Japan's Intelligence Journey in the Modern Era with Dr. Brad Williams

Today Justin talks with Chris Feistl. Chris worked for 26 years as a special agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration. He spent much of his career in Columbia beginning in 1994. Since then, he's been featured in several different documentaries, including the Discovery series Finding Escobar's Millions, plus German Cocaine Cowboy and Narco Wars. He's here today to discuss his book, After Escobar. It's the story of his time in Columbia in the mid 1990s, working with his partner, Dave Mitchell, to dismantle the Cali cartel led primarily by the brothers, Gilberto and Miguel Rodriguez. Chris and Dave's work in Columbia was the basis for season three of the Netflix series, Narcos. 

Connect with Chris:

afterescobar.com

IG: @afterescobar

Check out the book here. 

https://a.co/d/6p7V6jq

Connect with Spycraft 101:
Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.
spycraft101.com
IG: @spycraft101
Shop: shop.spycraft101.com
Patreon: Spycraft 101

Subtack: spycraft101.substack.com

Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.
Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.
Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.

Kruschiki
The best surplus military goods delivered right to your door. Use code SPYCRAFT101 for 10% off!

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Support the show

220. Real Life Narcos: Toppling the Cali Cartel with Chris Feistl

Today Justin sits down with Aidan Raney. Aidan is the founder of Farnsworth Intelligence, a digital intelligence service, which he founded after unmasking a phishing network online which was harvesting credentials from unwitting Facebook users on a massive scale. Aidan is here to discuss his work at the forefront of digital intelligence, and in particular, his interactions with North Korean IT workers attempting to infiltrate American companies employing remote workers. 

Connect with Aidan:

farnsworthintelligence.com

alerts.bar - Darknet monitoring for infected computers and stolen data

Get the OSINT Newsletter: osintinsider.com

Connect with Spycraft 101:
Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.
spycraft101.com
IG: @spycraft101
Shop: shop.spycraft101.com
Patreon: Spycraft 101

Subtack: spycraft101.substack.com

Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.
Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.
Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.
Kruschiki
The best surplus military goods delivered right to your door. Use code SPYCRAFT101 for 10% off!

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Support the show

219. Digital Intelligence, Phishing Scams, and North Korea with Aidan Raney

Today's guest is Peggy Wirgau. Peggy is a graduate of Michigan State University and George Mason University. She's an active member of American Christian Fiction Writers, The Historical Novel Society, and The Colorado Authors League. Her debut novel, The Stars in April, was published in 2021. She's also written for Appleseeds, Insight, Learning through History, and more. She's here today to discuss the story of Agent 355, the only female spy from the Culper Ring, which was a network of American colonial spies who operated in and around the New York area during the American revolutions. 

Connect with Peggy:

peggywirgau.com

IG: @peggywirgau

Check out the book, To Outwit Them All, here.

https://a.co/d/8SQpI6u

Connect with Spycraft 101:
Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.
spycraft101.com
IG: @spycraft101
Shop: shop.spycraft101.com
Patreon: Spycraft 101

Subtack: spycraft101.substack.com

Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.
Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.
Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.

Support the show

218. Who Was Agent 355? A Revolutionary Spy Story with Peggy Wirgau

This week Justin talks with Kati Marton. Kati is an author, journalist, and correspondent who has worked with National Public Radio and later with ABC News where she was the bureau chief in Germany. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Times of London, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Vanity Fair, and many other publications. She's also published nine books and has served as an advocate for human rights all over the world, including as the chair of the International Women's Health Coalition and on the board of Directors for the International Rescue Committee. You might remember Kati from her first appearance on the podcast for episode 132 when they discussed her book, True Believer: Stalin's Last American Spy. Now she's back to discuss her own life and family. Kati's parents were journalists in Hungary who were both arrested and imprisoned as spies prior to the 1956 revolution. 

Check out Kati's first appearance in ep 132 here. https://www.buzzsprout.com/1780478/episodes/14395405

Connect with Kati:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kati_Marton
Check out Kati's book, Enemies of the People, here.

https://a.co/d/4XTcC7l

Connect with Spycraft 101:
Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.
spycraft101.com
IG: @spycraft101
Shop: shop.spycraft101.com
Patreon: Spycraft 101

Subtack: spycraft101.substack.com

Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.
Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.
Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.

Support the show

217. Journalists Imprisoned Behind the Iron Curtain with Kati Marton

Today Justin sits down with Laken Pavan. Laken is a 19-year-old student from Vancouver, Canada. In April, 2024, he left Vancouver and traveled to Eastern Ukraine to join a volunteer group there called InterBrigade. Shortly after arriving, he was confronted by agents from the Russian FSB Federal Security Service, who recruited him to work on their behalf gathering information elsewhere in Europe. He first traveled to Denmark and later to Poland, communicating with his handlers online. Laken was arrested not long afterwards in Warsaw and sentenced to 20 months in prison for espionage. He's only recently been released and returned home to Vancouver and is telling his story here now for the first time.

Connect with Laken:

IG: @laken.ca

Connect with Spycraft 101:
Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.
spycraft101.com
IG: @spycraft101
Shop: shop.spycraft101.com
Patreon: Spycraft 101

Subtack: spycraft101.substack.com

Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.
Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.
Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.

Support the show

216. A Canadian Teen Recruited to Spy For Russia with Laken Pavan

Today Justin speaks with Dr. David Tuch. David is a technology entrepreneur and author. His writing uncovers overlooked stories at the intersection of organized crime and espionage. David is originally from New York and has lived in England and France, but now resides in Brookline, Massachusetts with his wife and children. He's here to discuss his new book about Harold Derber, a merchant sailor and radio operator during World War II who was later involved in some of the most pivotal events of the early Cold War and became one of the earliest kingpins of international drug trafficking. 

Connect with David:

davidtuch.com

Check out the book, The Wireless Operator, here.

https://a.co/d/8wTJnqx

Connect with Spycraft 101:
Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.
spycraft101.com
IG: @spycraft101
Shop: shop.spycraft101.com
Patreon: Spycraft 101

Subtack: spycraft101.substack.com

Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.
Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.
Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.
Kruschiki
The best surplus military goods delivered right to your door. Use code SPYCRAFT101 for 10% off!

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Support the show

215. From World War II Radio Operator to the OG Drug Kingpin with Dr. David Tuch

Today Justin sits down with Tim Willasey-Wilsey Tim is a visiting professor of War Studies at King's College London, and Senior Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute. He served for many years as a foreign office diplomat in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and Europe. He has also published numerous articles and reviews in the national and international press, and for academic institutions and think tanks. He's here today to discuss the story of William de Ropp, who successfully earned the trust of members at the highest levels of the Nazi party in the 1930s, including Hitler himself prior to the beginning of World War II.

Connect with Tim:

kcl.ac.uk/people/tim-willasey-wilsey-cmg

Check out the book, The Spy and the Devil, here.

https://a.co/d/3kfZJoK

Connect with Spycraft 101:
Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.
spycraft101.com
IG: @spycraft101
Shop: shop.spycraft101.com
Patreon: Spycraft 101

Subtack: spycraft101.substack.com

Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.
Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.
Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.
Grayman Briefing Classified
Use code GBCSpycraft to save 20% on your subscription.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Support the show

214. The MI6 Spy at the Heart of the Nazi Regime with Tim Willasey-Wilsey

Today Justin speaks with Reality Winner. Reality enlisted in the US Air Force after high school and served as a cryptolinguist assigned to the National Security Agency where she translated audio recordings in Pashtu and Dari from Afghanistan. Following her first enlistment, she was hired as a private contractor working at a different NSA facility in Augusta, Georgia. In June, 2017, she was arrested after leaking a classified report to The Intercept media outlet. Her story became a media sensation, and since then, she has been the subject of a 2021 documentary, as well as two film adaptations released in 2023 and 2024. She's here today to discuss her life, her arrest, and her incarceration, which she wrote about in her new memoir titled, I Am Not Your Enemy.

Connect with Reality:

IG: @reazlepuff 

Check out the book, I Am Not Your Enemy, here.

https://a.co/d/7WPCba5

Connect with Spycraft 101:
Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.
spycraft101.com
IG: @spycraft101
Shop: shop.spycraft101.com
Patreon: Spycraft 101

Subtack: spycraft101.substack.com

Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.
Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.
Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.
Grayman Briefing Classified
Use code GBCSpycraft to save 20% on your subscription.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Support the show

213. Beyond the Leak: Life, Justice, and Redemption with Reality Winner

This week, Justin has a conversation with Nicholas Reynolds. After graduating from Oxford University in the 1970s, he served in the US Marine Corps as an infantry officer, and later as a historian. Nick retired from the Reserves as a colonel and the officer in charge of field history. He also served with the Central Intelligence Agency, including as the historian for the Agency's museum at their headquarters in Langley. Today, Nick dives into the origins of the modern intelligence community in the months leading up to, and then during American's involvement in WWII He gives an overview of the key decisions made along the way and the key personalities that would shape the intelligence community for decades to come.

Connect with Nick:
nicholasreynoldsauthor.com

Check out Nick's book, Need to Know, here.

https://www.amazon.com/Need-Know-World-American-Intelligence/dp/0062967479

Connect with Spycraft 101:
Check out Justin's latest release, Covert Arms, here.
spycraft101.com
IG: @spycraft101
Shop: spycraft-101.myshopify.com
Patreon: Spycraft 101

Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.
Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.
SLNT
Protect your data and devices. Use code SPYCRAFT101 to save 10% off your order.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Support the show

102. The Rise of American Intelligence with Nicholas Reynolds

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