AFIO Podcast

In this episode, Trum Soule, retired Senior NSA Officer discusses SIGINT – Signals Intelligence, which refers to electronic transmissions that can be collected by ships, planes, ground sites, or satellites. The conversation centers on the role, challenges, and evolving landscape of SIGINT, blending personal career insights with overarching policy and analytic considerations.  Interview date Tuesda...

In this episode, Danny McGlynn, former Principal Deputy Asst Secretary (PDAS) of Treasury Office of Intelligence and Analysis (OIA) discusses FININT - Financial Intelligence. He shares how investigators use financial records, suspicious activity reports, bank-account information, and transaction patterns to map terrorist and criminal networks. McGlynn explains that following the money provides a p...

In this episode, Sarah Valentine, PhD discusses her book “Decoding the Devil: Black Women Codebreakers and the Secret War Against Stalin’s Bomb”. The book tells the true story of two segregated codebreaking units racing to unlock Stalin’s atomic secrets in the face of a rapidly expanding Soviet nuclear threat at the dawn of the Cold War. It pays tribute to these little-known Black cryptologists’ c...

In this episode, Nicholas Reynolds, Col. USMCR (Ret.) and former CIA officer, discusses his book, co-authored with Katie S. Sanders, Ortiz’s War: The Allies’ Secret Weapon Against the Nazis in France. As the New York Times describes it, Ortiz’s War tells “the almost unbelievable—but entirely true—story of one of America’s most renowned warriors.” Deeply researched and deftly written, it is a remar...

In this episode, Brittany Butler, Former CIA Officer and Author, discusses her novel "The Patriot's Daughter". In the novel, she tells the story of a young woman’s quest to uncover the truth about her mother, a decorated intelligence officer accused of being a double agent for Russia. As past and present collide, the novel explores betrayal, legacy, and the cost of loyalty in the shadowy world of...

In this episode, Stephan Talty, NY Times bestselling author, discusses his newest book “The American School of Spies: The Archaeologists Who Fought the Nazis and Saved the Treasures of Ancient Greece”. The book shares how the OSS used a group of unlikely spies in Greece during World War II to fight the Nazis and protect their homeland. Led by Rodney Young, the “Greek Desk” used their knowledge and...

In this episode, Jeffrey Rogg, PhD, Senior Fellow at the National Security Institute at the University of Florida- discuss his book The Spy & the State - The History of American Intelligence. A novel and comprehensive narrative based on original research and a new interpretation of US history, this masterful book offers a complete history of American intelligence from the Revolutionary War to...

In this episode, Farid Moussa, Former SES NSA Officer and VP for Business Development, Babel Street, joins us to discuss the influence of the American University of Beirut [AUB] on its role on shaping Lebanon, the region, and the political movements of the region. The Lebanese Civil War in 1975 which involved some kidnappings of official from AUB principals. It included the killing of the AUB Pres...

In this episode, Josh Dean—journalist, author, and podcaster—joins us to discuss his book, The Impossible Factory: The Remarkable True Story of Kelly Johnson and the Lockheed Skunk Works, America's Innovation Machine. Discover the fascinating story behind the radical innovation hub that designed some of the greatest aircraft of the 20th century and the visionary leader who made it all possible. In...

In this episode, James Wolff, former British Intelligence officer, discusses his book, “Spies and Other Gods”. In this cat-and-mouse spy thriller, an anonymous whistleblower sends British Intelligence into a frenzy, threatening to reveal secrets that could bring the establishment to its knees.   Interview date Thursday, 30 April 2026. Interviewer James Hughes, President Emeritus, AFIO.

In this episode, Lorraine Cosgrove, former CIA Officer, discusses her book, "Still Living It Up!: Housemothers, Spies, and Soulmates". The book explores Lorraine's life at the Agency as one of the earliest women employees from the time she arrived there and her many outside - and inside - adventures throughout her life. Hiding liquor in the car under her seat at the German checkpoint…five polygrap...

In this episode, Sean M. Wiswesser, former CIA Operations Officer, discusses his latest book, "Tradecraft, Tactics, and Dirty Tricks: Russian Intelligence and Putin's Secret War". The book explores the covert world of Russian espionage and how the Russian Intelligence Services (RIS) - the SVR, GRU, and FSB, including their use of double agents, surveillance, and “street work,” honeytraps, sabotage...

In this episode, Leon Carroll Jr, former NCIS Special Agent discusses the "Ghosts of Sicily", set for release today April 14, 2026. The book uncovers the true story of the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) forming an alliance with the Mafia, including Charles "Lucky" Luciano, during WWII to protect U.S. waterfronts from Nazi spies and U-boats. It follows ONI agents on missions in America and Ital...

In this episode, retired CIA Clandestine Service officer and former Marine Barry Broman discusses his 2026 novel The Spy from Golden Valley. This latest historical novel continues the story from Broman’s first two novels, The Spy from Place Saint-Sulpice and The Spy from Sukhumvit Road. Protagonist CIA Case Officer and ace recruiter Richard "Rick" Blayne is back and this time as a chief of station...

Part 2 of the Kim Brothers Interview. In this second episode the author, Robert Kim, and two members of the Kim Brothers family, Art and Richard Kim, talk with AFIO's James Hughes about "Victory in Shanghai: A Korean American Family’s Journey to the CIA and the Army Special Forces" This 2-part interview provides vignettes of US, Korean, Chinese history through eyes of five pre-WWII “undocumented”...

 Part one of the AFIO Now interview with author Robert Kim on the Five Kim Brothers. In this episode the author, Robert Kim, and two members of the Kim Brothers family, Art and Richard Kim, talk with AFIO's James Hughes about "Victory in Shanghai: A Korean American Family’s Journey to the CIA and the Army Special Forces" This 2-part interview provides vignettes of US, Korean, Chinese history throu...

In this episode retired CIA Officer and author, Stephen Mercado, shares insights from his book Japanese Spy Gear and Special Weapons: How Noborito's Scientists and Technicians Served in the Second World War and the Cold War. After World War I, Japan created the Noborito Research Institute-a secretive hub of scientists and technicians tasked with advancing both overt and covert warfare. Interview d...

In this episode Alexander Rose, PhD, renowned author and historian, shares insights from his book Phantom Fleet: The Hunt for Nazi Submarine U-505 and World War II’s Most Daring Heist. The book draws on long-classified encrypted documents and intercepted German transmissions to reveal how an owlish egghead and a glory-seeking buccaneer teamed up to score the richest prize on the high seas during W...

Author and journalist Bruce Henderson discusses his book Midnight Flyboys: The American Bomber Crews and Allied Secret Agents Who Aided the French Resistance in World War II. The untold story of a top-secret operation in the run-up to D-Day in which American flyers and Allied spies carried out some of the most daring cloak-and-dagger operations of World War II.  Interview of Thursday, 2 October 20...

Author, producer, and photographer Barry Broman on his new novel: The Spy from Sukhumvit Road. The former Marine, CIA Clandestine Service Officer, Station Chief, and Diplomat, discusses this captivating historical novel with AFIO President James Hughes. His latest historical novel continues the story from Broman’s first novel, "The Spy from Place Saint-Sulpice." Protagonist CIA Case Officer Richar...

Mark M. Lowenthal PhD, Former Dep Asst SecState for Intelligence, discusses his new book, "Vigilance Is Not Enough: A History of United States Intelligence" [Yale Univ Press, May 2025] with AFIO President James Hughes. The interview runs 23 minutes and includes several Q&As. Interview of Tuesday, 15 July 2025. Hosted by AFIO President James Hughes. 

Sheetal Patel, Former Assistant Director for CIA’s Transnational and Technology Mission Center discusses Counterintelligence and Technology challenges facing the U.S. with AFIO board member, Fran Moore, Former CIA Senior Executive in Intelligence Analysis and Counterintelligence.  Interview of Monday, 14 July 2025. Interviewer: Fran Moore, Former CIA Senior Executive in Intelligence Analysis and C...

David Robarge PhD, CIA Chief Historian, on "The History of U.S. Intelligence 1975-2025" with AFIO President, James Hughes. He joined CIA in 1989 and worked as an analyst in the Directorate of Intelligence. After earning a PhD in American History from Columbia, teaching at Columbia and working for banker David Rockefeller and at the Gannett Center for Media Studies at Columbia, he moved to CIA's Hi...

Mike Mears, former CIA Chief of HR, discusses "Intelligence Community Reform" with AFIO president, James Hughes. The questions discussed are: "Why can't we ever seem to get IC reform right?" "What is the meaning of 'the culture of a work environment'?" "Why are bad bosses so important?" Types of reformers: 1) people that want procedural reform; 2) people we urge we get back to mission or change ou...

David Robarge PhD, CIA Chief Historian, on "The Soldier-Statesman in the Secret World: George C. Marshall and Intelligence in War and Peace" George C. Marshall is best known as the Allies’ “organizer of victory” during World War II and steward of the namesake economic recovery program in postwar Western Europe. Far less well-known is Marshall’s extensive engagement with the world of intelligence d...