AFIO Podcast

Former CIA Division Chief and National Intelligence Manager for ODNI, Norman Roule provides an update to his March 2021 interview by reporting on the state of Iran today and how current and future administrations should approach the regime. Recorded 11 Nov 2022.  Host: James Hughes, AFIO President and former CIA Operations Officer.

In this episode, Bruce Henderson - author of "Bridge to the Sun: The Secret Role of the Japanese Americans Who Fought in the Pacific in World War II" - discusses the selfless military service by Japanese Americans who participated in numerous dangerous operations assisting the US and its Allies in winning WWII, all while knowing they had another battle to win back home in the US as their friends a...

In this episode, former CIA historian and author Nicholas Reynolds discusses his recently released book "Need to Know: World War II and the Rise of American Intelligence" which details the birth of the first American spy service and the role of the original US codebreakers. Dr. Reynolds also reveals how WWII histories are researched and written and examines their continuing popularity. Recorded 11...

In her third AFIO Now episode, Shelby Pierson - now the NGA Deputy Director for Source Operations & Management Directorate - reveals how the processing and availability of commercial imagery has grown and fundamentally changed the landscape for satellite imagery. She describes the newest (unclassified) imagery capabilities and how they have impacted the GEOINT Team, including how they help uncover...

In this episode, Col. Itai Shapira, a former Deputy Head of Analysis for the Israeli Defense Intelligence Service, discusses the Israeli national intelligence culture - including the system of beliefs, values, and approaches which are unique to Israeli intelligence and the themes that are shared with other intelligence services across the world. Recorded 26 August 2022. Interviewer: Jim Hughes, AF...

In this episode, Chris Rasmussen, Founder and Program Manager of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency's "Tearline Project," discusses the  unique NGA program which delivers unclassified, original GEOINT content to a customer’s mobile device. The remarkable program also engages universities, nonprofit agencies, think tanks, and other entities -- public and private -- with unique public-facin...

In his second episode, senior National Security Reporter for The Washington Post Shane Harris gives an update on the dangerously fluctuating situation in Ukraine - from Putin's sudden conscription of 300,000 unwilling troops, to nuclear weapons threats, and the mysterious sabotage of the Nordstream Pipeline. Recorded 4 Oct 2022. Interviewer: Jim Hughes, AFIO President and former CIA Operations Off...

In this episode, author Nathalia Holt discusses her newest release, "Wise Gals: The Spies Who Built the CIA and Changed the Future of Espionage" which illuminates the lives and careers of four trailblazing women who served in the early days of OSS and CIA. Recorded 05 Aug 2022. Interviewer: Jim Hughes, AFIO President and former CIA Operations Officer. 

AFIO Now presents Eliot Jardines, former Assistant Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Open Source (ADDNI/OS).  In this episode, Jardines discusses Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) and how publicly available information can provide actionable intelligence and directly impact current events. Recorded 29 June 2022. Interviewer: Jim Hughes, AFIO President and former CIA Operations Officer. 

AFIO Now presents Alex Finley, former CIA operations officer, author, and the owner of the wildly popular Twitter feed #YachtWatch.  In this episode, Finley discusses her career, her three satirical novels about the CIA, and her her expertise in Russian intelligence and influence which informs her Twitter account that tracks the international movements of the mega-yachts owned by Russian oligarchs...

In this episode, Ron Estes - a former senior CIA Operations Officer - reflects on his career and remembers his friend and colleague, Dick Welch, the CIA Chief of Station in Athens, Greece who was assassinated in 1975 by the Revolutionary Organization 17 November (17N). Recorded 10 May 2022. Interviewer: Jim Hughes, AFIO President and former CIA Operations Officer. 

In this episode, Enrique 'Ric' Prado - a former senior CIA operations and paramilitary officer - discusses his memoir, "Black Ops: The Life of a CIA Shadow Warrior," which reveals the covert wars that America has fought since the Vietnam era and sheds light on the elite officers who are often the tip of the spear. Recorded 19 April 2022. Interviewer: Jim Hughes, AFIO President and former CIA Opera...

In this episode, Carol "Rollie" Flynn - former Senior CIA operations officer and current President of the Foreign Policy Research Institute - discusses her ground-breaking 30-year career as one of the first women operating abroad as a Clandestine Services Officer and later as Chief of Station. Also covered are the wide variety of career opportunities available at CIA and the traits, interests, lan...

In this episode, Andrew Hammond - former Royal Air Force officer and current Historian and Curator at the International Spy Museum - discusses the Soviet-Afghan War which ran from December 1979 – February 1989 and was a period that produced major shifts in Cold War geopolitics. Recorded 17 Mar 2022. Interviewer: Jim Hughes, AFIO President and former CIA Operations Officer. 

In his second AFIO Now interview, Bruce Riedel, former CIA analyst and current Director of the Brookings Intelligence Project at the Center for Middle East Policy, discusses Jordan and America's enduring friendship. Recorded 3 March 2022. Interviewer: Jim Hughes, AFIO President and former CIA Operations Officer. 

In this episode, Melvin Gamble, a 40-year career CIA Senior Intelligence Officer, discusses Havana Syndrome - the mysterious set of symptoms experienced by a number US government employees overseas. Mr. Gamble also explains the need - and benefits - of diversity in the intelligence community. Recorded 15 Feb 2022. Interviewer: Jim Hughes, AFIO President and former CIA Operations Officer. 

In this episode, senior National Security Reporter for The Washington Post Shane Harris discusses his extensive reporting on the Ukraine-Russia War and the unusual role the US Intelligence Community is playing in the current conflict. He also reveals how reporters are selected for posting overseas in dangerous war zones, the training they receive, and the career steps he took on the path to becomi...

In this episode, prize-winning investigative journalist Margaret Coker discusses her book "The Spymaster of Baghdad: A True Story of Bravery, Family, and Patriotism in the Battle against ISIS." It tells the dramatic yet intimate account of how a covert Iraqi intelligence unit called “the Falcons” came together against all odds to defeat ISIS. Recorded 9 Feb 2022. Interviewer: Jim Hughes, AFIO Pres...

In this episode, Mike Howard discusses his leadership journey, first as a police officer in Oakland, CA, then as an operations officer with the CIA, and finally as chief of security for the Microsoft Corporation and Bill Gates. He highlights the elements required to develop a successful leadership style and his book, "The Art of Ronin Leadership." Recorded 3 Feb 2022.  Interviewer: Ralph Mariani,...

In this episode, James Lawler discusses his book "Living Lies: A Novel of the Iranian Nuclear Weapons Program."  Lawler, a former CIA operations officer who spent most of his career focused on counterproliferation, weaves a story about espionage, human frailty, and loyalty within the backdrop of Iran's nuclear weapons program. Recorded 26 Jan 2022. Interviewer: Jim Hughes, AFIO President and forme...

In this episode, Doug Ollivant, Senior National Security Studies Fellow at New America, discusses the war in Iraq from his perspective first as an Army officer serving in-country and then as Director for Iraq on the National Security Council under the Bush and Obama administrations. Recorded 13 Jan 2022. Interviewer: Jim Hughes, AFIO President and former CIA Operations Officer. 

Bryan Denson, author of the 2015 book "The Spy's Son: The True Story of the Highest-Ranking CIA Officer Ever Convicted of Espionage and the Son He Trained to Spy for Russia" tells the riveting story of the Nicholsons—father and son co-conspirators who deceived their country by selling national secrets to Russia. Recorded 10 Jan 2022. Interviewer: Jim Hughes, AFIO President and former CIA Operation...

In this episode, journalist and author Toby Harnden discusses his book "First Casualty," the true story of the secret mission of CIA’s Team Alpha, the first Americans to be dropped behind enemy lines in Afghanistan after 9/11. Recorded 6 Dec 2021. Interviewer: Jim Hughes, AFIO President and former CIA Operations Officer. 

John Lenczowski PhD, former NSC Staff Expert and current Chancellor of the Institute of World Politics, discusses Chinese influence operations in the US and how the Chinese expertly use the media, academic institutions, think tanks, businesses, politicians, and Hollywood to steal intellectual property and advance their propaganda operations. Recorded 12 Nov 2021. Interviewer: Jim Hughes, AFIO Pres...

Steve Vogel, a veteran journalist who reported for The Washington Post for more than two decades, offers a deep-dive into the double agent George Blake, featured in his 2019 book, "Betrayal in Berlin: The True Story of the Cold War's Most Audacious Espionage Operation." Recorded 10 Nov 2021. Interviewer: Jim Hughes, AFIO President and former CIA Operations Officer.