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SpyCast

SpyCast, the official podcast of the International Spy Museum, is a journey into the shadows of international espionage. Each week, host Sasha Ingber brings you the latest insights and intriguing tales from spies, secret agents, and covert communicators, with a focus on how this secret world reaches us all in our everyday lives. Tune in to discover the critical role intelligence has played throughout history and today. Brought to you from Airwave, Goat Rodeo, and the International Spy Museum. 

The Spy Museum does not endorse, approve, or support the opinions stated by guest speakers. Statements made by speakers do not represent the position or opinion of the International Spy Museum.

Russian drones and warplanes have been increasingly breaching the airspace of NATO countries. Admiral Joachim Rühle, (ret.) is the former Chief of Staff of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, the headquarters of Command Operations - including defense, deterrence, and training to Ukrainians - in Belgium. He talked about Moscow’s incursions, its acts of sabotage, and how to manage this complex alliance.

Prefer to watch your podcasts? Find us on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@IntlSpyMuseum/podcasts. 

Subscribe to Sasha's Substack, HUMINT, to get more intelligence stories: https://sashaingber.substack.com/ 

And if you have feedback or want to hear about a particular topic, you can reach us by E-mail at SpyCast@Spymuseum.org. 

This show is brought to you from Goat Rodeo, Airwave, and the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Russian Sabotage Operations and NATO’s Complex Alliance

Jessica Brandt knows a lot about influence. She was the director of the Foreign Malign Influence Center, which served as intermediary between the U.S. intelligence community and the public. It alerted private citizens and the public to disinformation operations orchestrated by adversaries overseas. Jessica explains how the toolkit has gotten larger, more sophisticated, and is being wielded by more countries than ever before.

Prefer to watch your podcasts? Find us on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@IntlSpyMuseum/podcasts. 

Subscribe to Sasha's Substack, HUMINT, to get more intelligence stories: https://sashaingber.substack.com/ 

And if you have feedback or want to hear about a particular topic, you can reach us by E-mail at SpyCast@Spymuseum.org. 

This show is brought to you from Goat Rodeo, Airwave, and the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Opening the Foreign Influence Toolkit

Keith Melton is a historian who’s been an advisor to the US Intelligence Community for decades. An avid collector and board member at The International Spy Museum, Keith has donated thousands of artifacts, and one of the most historically important is the axe used to assassinate Leon Trotsky. Keith found the weapon after decades of searching. In 2007, he spoke with Peter Earnest, the founding executive director of the International Spy Museum, about Trotsky’s assassination and tracking down the weapon used for the job.

Subscribe to Sasha's Substack, HUMINT, to get more intelligence stories:

https://sashaingber.substack.com/

And if you have feedback or want to hear about a particular topic, you can reach us by E-mail at SpyCast@Spymuseum.org, 

"This show is brought to you from Goat Rodeo, Airwave, and the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From the SpyCast Vault: An Assassination in Mexico

Vinny Troia is at home on the Dark Web. The veteran hacker has developed relationships with cyberactors who have quietly stolen sensitive data from the far corners of the world. Vinny sells that data to law enforcement and intelligence agencies, like the CIA. His book, Grey Area: Dark Web Data Collection and the Future of OSINT, is out this October.

Prefer to watch your podcasts? Find us on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@IntlSpyMuseum/podcasts. 

Subscribe to Sasha's Substack, HUMINT, to get more intelligence stories: https://sashaingber.substack.com/ 

And if you have feedback or want to hear about a particular topic, you can reach us by E-mail at SpyCast@Spymuseum.org. 

This show is brought to you from Goat Rodeo, Airwave, and the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Dark Web Broker

Keith Bulfin was a banker, not a spy. But then came a special client–a supposed coffee importer who was actually a banker for Mexican and Colombian drug cartels. Soon, U.S. authorities were knocking on Keith’s door. He ended up behind bars in a maximum security prison. While in prison, Bulfin ended up befriending leaders of drug cartels and eventually became their private banker, while secretly feeding intelligence to the U.S. government. It was a descent into a world few see and fewer survive.

Prefer to watch your podcasts? Find us on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@IntlSpyMuseum/podcasts. 

Subscribe to Sasha's Substack, HUMINT, to get more intelligence stories: https://sashaingber.substack.com/ 

And if you have feedback or want to hear about a particular topic, you can reach us by E-mail at SpyCast@Spymuseum.org. 

This show is brought to you from Goat Rodeo, Airwave, and the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To Catch a Drug Cartel

This Thursday marks the 24th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks, which spawned a decade-long search for the man behind them – Osama Bin Laden. Ed Bogan was the Chief of Operations for the CIA Counterterrorism Center’s Pakistan / Afghanistan Department. He takes us into agency headquarters, where he oversaw the raid on Bin Laden’s compound, and tells us what lessons can be learned from The Global War on Terror. 

Prefer to watch your podcasts? Find us on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@IntlSpyMuseum/podcasts. 

Subscribe to Sasha's Substack, HUMINT, to get more intelligence stories: https://sashaingber.substack.com/ 

And if you have feedback or want to hear about a particular topic, you can reach us by E-mail at SpyCast@Spymuseum.org. 

This show is brought to you from Goat Rodeo, Airwave, and the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Retracing the Hunt for Bin Laden

It’s been 50 years since the assassination of the CIA’s former Station Chief in Athens, Richard Welch. At the time, he was the agency’s highest level officer killed in the line of duty. A Greek, Marxist terrorist group called 17 November claimed responsibility for his death, but that was just the beginning. Former senior operations officer Ralph Mariani remembers that time and carries on Welch’s memory.

Prefer to watch your podcasts? Find us on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@IntlSpyMuseum/podcasts. 

Subscribe to Sasha's Substack, HUMINT, to get more intelligence stories: https://sashaingber.substack.com/ 

And if you have feedback or want to hear about a particular topic, you can reach us by E-mail at SpyCast@Spymuseum.org. 

This show is brought to you from Goat Rodeo, Airwave, and the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An Assassination in Athens and a CIA Officer’s Legacy

We return to November, 1979 when radical Iranian students seized the US Embassy in Tehran and took dozens of Americans hostage. 

Mark and Cora Lijek were two American officials stuck in Tehran, and in 2008 they shared their story with the late Peter Earnest, the founding director of the International Spy Museum. And this time they were joined by retired CIA officer Tony Mendez, who passed away in 2019. Tony helped plan and execute an elaborate deception and disguise operation, exfiltrating the diplomats before the Iranians figured it out.

Prefer to watch your podcasts? Find us on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@IntlSpyMuseum/podcasts. 

Subscribe to Sasha's Substack, HUMINT, to get more intelligence stories: https://sashaingber.substack.com/ 

And if you have feedback or want to hear about a particular topic, you can reach us by E-mail at SpyCast@Spymuseum.org. 

This show is brought to you from Goat Rodeo, Airwave, and the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From the SpyCast Vault: Escaping Tehran with The CIA Pt. 2

We'll go back in time to November, 1979 when radical Iranian students seized the US Embassy in Tehran and took dozens of Americans hostage. Six US officials managed to find refuge with Canadian embassy staff, and 11 weeks later, the CIA led a daring operation to sneak them out of Iran disguised as a Hollywood film crew. Mark and Cora Lijek were two of those officials, and in 2008 they shared their story with the late Peter Earnest, the founding director of the International Spy Museum.

Prefer to watch your podcasts? Find us on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@IntlSpyMuseum/podcasts. 

Subscribe to Sasha's Substack, HUMINT, to get more intelligence stories: https://sashaingber.substack.com/ 

And if you have feedback or want to hear about a particular topic, you can reach us by E-mail at SpyCast@Spymuseum.org. 

This show is brought to you from Goat Rodeo, Airwave, and the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From the SpyCast Vault: Escaping Tehran with The CIA

Reza Olangian, a dual US-Iranian citizen, left behind his life in Silicon Valley to spy for Iran in the capital. And by the time DEA special agent Jeffrey James Higgins found out about him in 2011, Olangian was trying to acquire hundreds of surface-to-air missiles. That kicked off an elaborate, multi-country sting operation… and a 25-year prison sentence. Jeffrey believes the Iranians are using more surrogates to acquire weapons today. 

Prefer to watch your podcasts? Find us on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@IntlSpyMuseum/podcasts. 

Subscribe to Sasha's Substack, HUMINT, to get more intelligence stories: https://sashaingber.substack.com/ 

And if you have feedback or want to hear about a particular topic, you can reach us by E-mail at SpyCast@Spymuseum.org. 

This show is brought to you from Goat Rodeo, Airwave, and the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Catching an Iranian-American Missile Broker

During the Vietnam War, perhaps the US Army’s most secretive unit was the Studies and Observations Group (SOG). This unit conducted reconnaissance missions, captured enemy prisoners for interrogation and rescued American POWs. It also ran teams of clandestine agents, and conducted psychological operations. The leader of this group in the mid-1960s was a legendary Army officer, Donald Blackburn. Listen to author Mike Guardia describe Blackburn’s colorful life in this event which took place on 16 February 2012.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author Debriefing: Shadow Commander: The Epic Story of Donald D. Blackburn-Guerrilla Leader and Special Forces Hero

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