SpyCast

 Summary Mike Burgess (Website; Twitter) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss his agency and the enduring strength of Australia’s alliances. ASIO is the second intelligence agency he has directed. What You’ll Learn Intelligence The Australian idea of “mateship” in the intelligence context The Australian intelligence landscape  The United States as its most important strategic alliance The e...

Summary Paul Lashmar (Twitter, Website) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss investigative journalism and intelligence. He is a former UK Reporter of the Year.  What You’ll Learn Intelligence The similarities and differences between spooks and journalists  The role Watergate played for his generation of journalists  Intelligence overseers as “Ostriches,” “Cheerleaders,” “Lemon-suckers,” or...

Summary Admiral Hernando Wills Velez (Twitter) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss intelligence in Colombia. He is the former professional head of the Colombian Navy. What You’ll Learn Intelligence What it is like to be the head of an entire Navy Intelligence from the point of view of a senior military officer The unique set of challenges Colombia faces – insurgents, terrorists, paramilita...

Summary Peter Earnest spent 35 years in the CIA as a case officer and retired as its chief spokesman. He was the founding Executive Director of the International Spy Museum. What You’ll Learn Intelligence Losing a friend in the line of duty vs. betrayal by a colleague  Using affability to your advantage Thoughts on the shift from classic espionage to counterterrorism for the CIA  The relationship...

Summary Lis Wiehl (Twitter, Website) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss the FBI Agent Robert Hanssen. His espionage for the Russians was described as the “worst intelligence disaster in U.S. history.”  What You’ll Learn Intelligence The many contradictions of this fragmented personality The criminal sworn FBI Agent The sexual fetishist in Opus Dei The anti-communist Soviet spy Hanssen’s i...

Summary Mike Susong (Website; LinkedIn) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss CIA, cyber and corporate intelligence. He won the Intelligence Star for Heroism in the Field. What You’ll Learn Intelligence Applying aspects of Mike’s training to the private sector using “competitive intelligence”  Mike’s role co-founding a pioneering company in the field of Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI) The ro...

Summary Mike Susong (Website; LinkedIn) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss CIA, cyber and corporate intelligence. He won the Intelligence Star for Heroism in the Field. What You’ll Learn Intelligence The outgrowth of “intelligence” from a nation-state activity to a corporate activity Recruiting and running agents as a CIA case officer His shift from tactical intelligence to strategic inte...

Summary Noah Hurowitz (Twitter; LinkedIn) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss infamous drug kingpin El Chapo. A weak link in his cybersecurity set-up would help bring him down.  What You’ll Learn Intelligence El Chapo’s internal surveillance operation The cartel’s use of cryptography to keep communications covert How cybersecurity enabled then brought down El Chapo The role of the infamous...

Summary Daniel Milton (Website; Twitter) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss the former Caliph of the Islamic State. Al Mawla was killed in a U.S. raid in February 2022.  What You’ll Learn Intelligence The origin of the term “Canary Caliph” The mythology of Islamic State and the reality Battlefield intelligence and understanding an enemy The Combating Terrorism Center being on the radar of...

Summary Daniel Milton (Website; Twitter) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss Tactical Interrogation Reports of the former Caliph of the Islamic State. Al-Mawla was killed in a U.S. raid in February 2022.  What You’ll Learn Intelligence The ideological feud between Islamic State and Al Qaeda  Islamic State's retreat from a quasi-state centered to a shadowy insurgency Battlefield intelligenc...

Summary Thomas Leahy (Website; LinkedIn) and Eleanor Williams (Website; Twitter) join Andrew to discuss the intelligence war during “the Troubles.” Thomas lives in Cardiff and Eleanor lives in Belfast.  What You’ll Learn Intelligence The Troubles through the lens of intelligence Some key intelligence players in the Northern Ireland conflict How the IRA and the British Army adapted organizationally...

Summary Sean Maloney (Website) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss the secret history of emergency war plans and the nuclear doomsday machine. He was the first Canadian civilian historian to go into combat since WWII.  What You’ll Learn Intelligence Top secret emergency war plans for WWIII The role of human intelligence operations in nuclear doomsday planning Some key terms you need to und...

Summary Volko Ruhnke (Website; Twitter) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss his life and career in the CIA as an analyst and designer of board games. He is a former World Board Game Champion. What You’ll Learn Intelligence Designing board games to teach CIA analysts Moonlighting as an award-winning board game designer while working at CIA Similarities and differences between intelligence a...

Summary Hans Holmer (LinkedIn) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss his time as a CIA operations officer and his transition to a cyber strategist. He served on every continent except South America and won a CIA Intelligence Star. What You’ll Learn Intelligence The advantages for a case officer growing up in two cultures and speaking multiple languages before joining the IC The tech person t...

Summary Enrique “Ric” Prado (LinkedIn) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss his new memoir “Black Ops.” One of the most renowned CIA officers of his generation tells his story. Book You can buy Ric’s book, Black Ops, and support the International Spy Museum’s mission here. What You’ll Learn Intelligence His time as CIA Counterterrorist Chief of Operations which included 9/11 His career batt...

Summary J. Scott Cameron (LinkedIn) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss the National Intelligence University (NIU). He is the President of this unique “skiffed” institution. What You’ll Learn Intelligence o  The NIU – what it is, what it does, and what it does differently. o  NIU’s position within the American intelligence ecosystem o  How NIU “banks knowledge” without compromising intelli...

Summary David Fricker (Website; LinkedIn) had the No.2 job at Australia’s security and intelligence agency ASIO. He sat down with Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss the relationship between this role and his most recent one as Director-General of the National Archives of Australia. What You’ll Learn… Intelligence o  ASIO, the Australian intelligence landscape and the region o  His role as CIO a...

Summary Joe Weisberg (Twitter) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss his new book on Russia. Joe is the creator of award-winning TV drama The Americans and a former CIA officer. What You’ll Learn Intelligence o  His past experience as a hardliner who loved to hate the “evil empire” o  His thoughts on a trip through the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe in the twilight of the Cold War, especial...

Summary David Cattler (Twitter; LinkedIn) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss how intelligence functions at NATO. He is the NATO Assistant Secretary General for Intelligence and Security. What You’ll Learn o  What it is like to be the leader of intelligence and security across the largest peacetime alliance in history? o  How does intelligence come together at NATO – who are the key-player...

"The Wright Brothers of the U.S. Drone Warfare Program." That is how some people have referred to this week's guests, Alec Bierbauer and Mark Cooter. Andrew sat down with them to dig into drones and their intelligence implications.

This was the most popular episode of 2020. Apparently, people are interested in the views of former GCHQ Director, Joint Intelligence Committee Chair, and first UK Security and Intelligence Coordinator on, well - how spies think. I am sure David – now a Visiting Professor at Kings College, London – has a few thoughts on the subject. Hear Andrew debrief this week’s guest on the insights derived fro...

Alexis Albion – star of our 500th episode anniversary special – is a very good friend of the current Undersecretary for Arms Control & International Security, Bonnie Jenkins. Way back when, they were both on the 9/11 Commission Report – while Alexis’ focus was on the CIA and counterterrorism before the attacks, Bonnie’s was on the DOD and counterterrorism – tiny subjects, I know. In this week’s ep...

Spook. Warrior. Author. This week’s guest is one helluva interesting guy. He was in a clandestine Special Forces unit in Berlin during the Cold War, “stay behinds” who would sabotage, subvert and generally wreak havoc should World War III break out. He was badly wounded after driving over a land-mine in Somalia in 1992, almost losing his entire leg and suffering a serious head injury. In a subsequ...

Project Prometheus. In the words of ex-Delta Force author Brad Taylor, “Super Double Daddy Bad Classified.” If you’re looking to find a podcast that helps break down the complexities of Chinese foreign policy through the vehicle of a page-turner written by a NYT Bestselling Author, you’ve arrived at the right doorstep my friend. Brad does serious research. He is also funny, down-to-earth, and supe...

I was really good at buying drugs, which is how I got recruited into narcotics. Apparently, I make a really good crackhead.” “Frankly, fact-checking doesn’t matter in today’s world.” Intrigued? You should be. Avril and Lisa are absolutely fascinating! Avril built an intelligence team for the Attorney General’s Office in Pennsylvania, from scratch. Her unit collected strategic intel on narcotics tr...