AFIO Podcast

Author, Joby Warrick discusses his 2020 book "RED LINE on The Unraveling of Syria and America's Race to Destroy the Most Dangerous Arsenal in the World" with AFIO President, James Hughes.  Interview of Monday, 27 January 2025. Host: James Hughes, AFIO President 

James M. Scott, co-author with Jack Carr, of "Targeted: Beirut: The 1983 Marine Barracks Bombing and the Untold Story of the War on Terror." A behind-the-scenes account of a mission and a fight that changed America. It was the event that ushered in the War on Terror. And it shows the pitfalls of American hubris, overreach, and irresponsible military intervention. Paints the entire picture of mind-...

Michael "Mickey" Bergman, the CEO of Global Reach and the Vice President and Executive Director of the Richardson Center for Global Engagement. He is also the author (with Ellis Henican) of "In the Shadows: True Stories of High-Stakes Negotiations to Free Americans Captured Abroad." Bergman is responsible for the negotiations that brought many high-profile prisoners home, including Brittney Griner...

Author, Jesse Fink talks with AFIO President, James Hughes about his new book, "The Eagle in the Mirror: The Greatest Spy Story Never Told" on Charles Howard "Dick" Ellis, MI6's Top Agent in America During World War II. In search of war hero, master spy, and alleged traitor Charles Howard "Dick" Ellis. Interview of Tuesday, 1 Oct 2024. Host: AFIO President James Hughes, a former senior CIA Operati...

Patrick K. O'Donnell, military historian and author, on his new book "The Unvanquished: The Untold Story of Lincoln’s Special Forces, the Manhunt for Mosby’s Rangers, and the Shadow War That Forged America’s Special Operations" released 7 May 2024.  Interview of Tuesday, 3 September 2024. Host: James Hughes. 

Joseph Keogh PhD, former CIA Science & Technology Executive and Disguise Expert, discusses his new book "Creating Mission Impact: Essential Tradecraft for Innovators at CIA and Beyond" co-authored with Joe Ball and Greg Moore.  Interviewed: Thursday, 24 October 2024. Host: James Hughes. Interviewer: Christopher J. Parker.

Author Barry Werth discusses his book, Prisoner of Lies: Jack Downey's Cold War with AFIO President, Jim Hughes. They discuss the remarkable true story of the longest-held prisoner of war in American history, John Downey, Jr., a CIA officer captured in China during the Korean War and imprisoned for twenty-one years. The interview runs 28 minutes with several Q&As. Interview of Thursday, 1 Aug...

Barry Broman, author, producer, photographer, former Marine, CIA Clandestine Service Officer, Station Chief, and Diplomat discusses his career with AFIO President, James Hughes. Broman details his experience as a Marine fighting in Vietnam, joining the CIA, serving as Chief of Station, and supervising an international paramilitary project in support of the Cambodian resistance to Vietnamese invade...

MG Charles Cleveland, US Army (Ret) and former Director of Operations and Military Deputy Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, discusses his long and fascinating career in the intelligence community with former senior officer of NGA and ODNI, Jennifer Daniel.  Interview: Monday, 1 July 2024. Host: James Hughes. Interviewer: Jennifer Daniel. 

Lillian Wang, TV & Film Writer, Lawyer, Former CIA Clandestine Service Officer, discusses her impressive career trajectory with AFIO President Jim Hughes. After immigrating to the U.S. at a young age, she mastered the language and customs and excelled in school.  Lillian joined the CIA and trained as a Clandestine Services officer, serving many years here and abroad, resigning for family reaso...

Author, former NSA, and CIA officer Alma Katsu discusses her upcoming book series The Spy Who Vanished - a realistic look at where intelligence agencies are in the 21st century.  Interview: Monday, 17 June 2024. Host and Interviewer: AFIO President James Hughes. 

RADM Peg Klein speaks with AFIO board member Everette Jordan about her exceptional career at the NSA, the US Cyber Command, and the US Navy.  Interview: Tuesday, 28 May 2024. Hosted by AFIO President James Hughes, Interviewed by Everette Jordan.

 Dr Vince Houghton and Eric Driggs discuss their new book: Covert City: The Cold War and the Making of Miami (PublicAffairs Books, Apr 2024) with AFIO President James Hughes. The history of how the entire city of Miami was constructed in the image of the US-Cuba rivalry. From the Bay of Pigs invasion to the death of Fidel Castro. They discuss secret operations, corruption, crime, and a city teemin...

OSINT Defense Intelligence Senior Leader Dennis Eger and Director of Army OSINT Office Shawn Nilius discuss the Army Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) Strategy. The Army defines OSINT as a foundational intelligence discipline that plays a central role in the support of operations. Interviewed by Jennifer Daniel, former senior officer of NGA and ODNI, and hosted by AFIO President James Hughes.  Inte...

Former US Air Force Intelligence Officer and senior aerospace executive Brian J. Morra discusses his semi-fiction book "The Righteous Arrows" with AFIO President James Hughes. The book highlights the stubbornly persistent rivalry between the US and Russia in a story of international espionage and war.  Interview: Monday, 15 Apr 2024. Interviewed by James Hughes 

Former CIA Chief of Disguise, Jonna Mendez, discusses her latest book, "In True Face: A Woman's Life in the CIA, Unmasked" with Linda Millis, former CIA, NSA, and ODNI. A courageous story of being a female spy at the height of the Cold War. She began her CIA career as a "contract wife" performing secretarial duties for the Agency. Yet Mendez had a talent for espionage and soon took on more signifi...

Author and historian Alexander Rose discusses his latest book "The Lion And The Fox: Two Rival Spies and the Secret Plot to Build a Confederate Navy." In 1861, soon after the outbreak of the Civil War, two secret agents — one a Confederate, the other his Union rival — were dispatched to neutral Britain, each entrusted with a vital mission. This is the untold tale of two implacable foes and their t...

James Roth, author and former CIA Officer, on The Dead Drop: Espionage is a Dangerous Game for Amateurs, explores themes of duplicity and betrayal. The novel captures the human tension of real-world espionage with a memorable cast of characters. Former CIA Officer James Lawler wrote of the book: "...a riveting tale of spies, youthful idealism, and adult betrayal, which accelerates to a thrilling c...

In this episode, James Stejskal, Author, Military Historian, Conflict Archaeologist, former CIA, and Special Forces, discusses his book "Dead Hand" on what happens after Russia has won the war in Ukraine and is eyeing the Baltics. As the world stands on the precipice of war, a legendary CIA Officer rushes to meet a spy deep in the Kremlin, on an operation where failure could mean nuclear Armageddo...

In this episode, Ronald Drabkin, author of Beverly Hills Spy: The Double-Agent War Hero Who Helped Japan Attack Pearl Harbor, discusses the story of the WWI hero who became a fixture of high society in Golden Age Hollywood while acting as a double agent for the Japanese Empire as it prepared to attack Pearl Harbor. Recorded 01 Feb 2024. Host and Interviewer: James Hughes, AFIO President and former...

In this new episode, Jennifer Ewbank discusses her position as the Deputy Director of CIA for Digital Innovation and her responsibility for accelerating the development and integration of digital and cyber capabilities across all of CIA’s mission areas as well as building the digital acumen of the CIA workforce through training and education. Ms Ewbank retired from her CIA post shortly after this...

In this episode, BBC National Security Correspondent Gordon Corera discusses his book "Operation Columba - The Secret Pigeon Service: The Untold Story of World War II Resistance in Europe." The book reveals the fascinating, untold story of how British intelligence secretly used homing pigeons as part of a clandestine espionage operation to gather information, communicate, and coordinate with membe...

In this new episode, award-winning journalist and New York Times-bestselling author Liza Mundy discusses her newest book "The Sisterhood: The Secret History of Women at the CIA."  Recorded 10 Nov 2023. Host: Jim Hughes, AFIO President and former CIA Operations Officer. Interviewer: Linda Millis, former Senior CIA, NSA, and ODNI Executive, current Assistant Professor at Marymount University and AFI...

In this episode, former senior CIA operations officer and Naval Commander Chip Beck discusses his book "Final Days of Heroes: How a CIA Agent and his Cambodian Allies Fought, Defied, and Resisted the Khmer Rouge." Recorded 19 Oct 2023. Interviewer: Jim Hughes, AFIO President and former CIA Operations Officer. 

In this episode, Brian Morra - Former US Air Force Intelligence Officer and senior aerospace executive - discusses his book "The Able Archers," which is a work of fiction based on the 1983 Soviet nuclear war crisis wherein Soviet leaders were convinced that the U.S. was preparing to launch a surprise nuclear attack on the USSR under the cover of a NATO exercise titled “Able Archer.” Recorded 17 Oc...