I Spied

With Michelle on a mission in Melbourne and David wallowing in the sea of information flowing out of Ukraine, this week we are taking the opportunity to bring your our interview with Melbourne journo Greg Muller. Greg is the brains behind the podcast "Motherlode", an examination of how a group of Melbourne teenagers back in the 90s, using nothing more Commodore 64s and dial-up-modems, nearly broug...

As the old saying goes "The first casualty of war is the truth" and nothing highlights that more than the information war we are witnessing in Ukraine. What is the difference between disinformation and misinformation? How is it being weaponised? How can you avoid falling into its thrall? And what is the number one question David is asked in the street? Nothing but the facts in this week's ep... or...

With the hot war in Ukraine dragging on and the new cold war between East and West growing, we look at one of the most mysterious aspects of global brinkmanship and the latest two-edged sword of the intelligence world - Grey Zone Warfare. What is it? How do we combat it? And what can we expect from it in the future? And just how does David get that gravelly tone to his voice? If you find yourself...

With Ukraine president Zelenskyy welcoming foreign fighters to join the struggle in Ukraine, we look at Australia's checkered history of citizens travelling abroad to distant shores in search of glory. What is legislation is there to stop them? Why might they be dangerous when they get home? And what could Sexpo possibly have to do with any of this? This week, remember the 1st rule of (Freedom) Fi...

As promised this week we dig into one of the more disturbing and largely overlooked revelations of the ASIO Annual Threat Assessment: the radicalisation of ordinary Australians. From the protests at Parliament House to the school yards of suburbia, people are losing faith in the democracy and turning to extremism. How is it happening? What are they angry about? And what is the story with INCELs? M...

After multiple requests from listeners, this week we tackle ASIO chief Mike Burgess' Annual Threat Assessment. What dangers is Australia facing in the future? How will foreign influence shape the coming federal election? What is the government doing that is drawing Burgo and former ASIO DGs out of the shadows to front the media? And just how bad could it be to "swipe right"? Check under the bed fo...

With Australia set to re-open its borders, a lot of us are facing that most onerous task of international travel - renewing our passports. So what is it about this little booklet that makes it so special? Why are they so coveted by intelligence services and terrorist groups? And why aren't we allowed to smile in our passport photos? And why aren't we allowed to smile on in our passport photos? Mak...

A Russian naval exercise recently escalated to a full blown war and the Russians lost... to a bunch of fishermen. But this isn't the first time the Russians have run into trouble with a fishing fleet. This week we look at the Russian Navy's problem with anglers and how the Chinese have weaponised the fishing industry in their ongoing campaign to control the South China Sea. An episode chock full o...

SPOILER ALERT At long last we've finally watched the latest Bond instalment "No Time to Die", despite not getting tickets to the premier. How does it stack up in the 007 pantheon? What were our favourite moments? And is nitpicking a Bond film just an exercise in futility? Be sure to watch the movie first before we ruin it for you! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So who had military conflict in Eastern Europe on their 2022 bingo card? With global tensions rising we try to unpack the seething mess around the Ukraine. What's Putin up to? How is NATO going to respond? And is the president of the Ukraine really a former comedian? In an accent packed episode, Michelle and David promise by the end you'll be pronouncing "Kyiv" like a local. Budmo! See omnystudio....

Michelle is back! And considering she has to recover from her sojourn into the wilds of NSW, we thought we’d look back at one of our favourite episodes, where journalistic wünderkind and proud Novocastrian Matt Bevan joined us for a chat about everyone’s favourite KGB-hard-man-turned-world-leader, Vladimir Putin. With Russian troops massing on the Ukraine border, it’s time w...

With the country in the grips of the Omicron outbreak, tennis players being imprisoned for entering the country unjabbed and Michelle still missing after being extraordinarily rendered to an unknown bucolic location for an intense barrage of government-sanctioned relaxation, we're presenting you a repeat of one the oldie but goodie episodes about women in intelligence. Plus it comes with a bonus f...

Would you believe that ASIO has a file on Santa? Welcome back to the snackable I Spied episodes to listen to over your Christmas break.  When you consider Santa’s criminal abilities, technology, obviously far-reaching surveillance capabilities, constant flouting of sovereign borders and his obviously socialist ideology of giving every child a present, why wouldn’t they? We look at...

In this year’s final episode we delve deep into the world spies: couples sent to act as sleepers in foreign lands, living among the locals until called on to act. How are they selected, are they match-made or recruited as couples, and what are the pitfalls of life as an “Illegal”? And what does David know about a surfing sleeper cell on the Northern beaches? Dust off your wedding...

In this year's penultimate episode are joined by journalistic genius and all around great guy Matt Bevan to look at the perennial problem: China. What is Xi's end game, will there be a war over Taiwan, what can Australia do to repair the relationship, and just how did David get his hands on one of the most controversial telexes about Tiananmen Square? From Grey Zone warfare to those AUKUS subs, we...

This week a listener request has us looking at how you actually join ASIO. What is ASIO looking for in an applicant? What can you be expected to reveal about yourself? And just how did David manage to get through such a rigorous selection criteria and wind up working in one of the most sensitive organisations in the country? Double check your former addresses and be sure to remember your mother's...

With protestors taking to the streets with nooses, politicians baying for each others’ blood, and extremists literally weaponising this anger online, this week we look at what it takes to protect our elected officials. How does VIP protection work, what are the difficulties a detail can face, and what sort of person would take a bullet for a PM? And just how did David draw the attention of a...

This week we delve into the least clandestine tool in a spy's arsenal - OSINT. From newspapers and research papers to the rise of social media, open source information has long been the backbone of intelligence gathering, and never more so than now. How did OSINT evolve, how important is it and what does it mean to personal privacy? And how was OSINT instrumental in a mysterious phone call David r...

David attended a boozy lunch with a bunch of old spies last week and we expect he'll be offloaded from the shipping container he's trapped in somewhere in East Africa very soon. As such, this week we're revisiting one of our earliest episodes - The Full Minsky. Not only is the episode a bizarre tale of surveillance, the KGB and the perils of lunchtime stripping, but it's also a great entrè...

If you thought Morrison's falling out with Macron was bad, just look at the French's own diplomatic disaster from the 1980s. In a story that includes undercover agents, frogmen, limpet mines, submarine escapes and intrigue that went all the way to the Presidential Palace of Versailles, the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior in Auckland harbour was a piece of state-sponsored terrorism that shocked the...

This week we are joined by investigative humourist and the billboarding bad boy of climate activism, A Rational Fear's Dan Ilic to talk about the security threats of climate change. What are the threats? What should our response be? Are our military and intelligence services prepared for what is to come? And can David use a chunk of rainforest and an abandoned marijuana plantation to help save the...

DG of Security Mike Burgess recently submitted the annual ASIO Report to Parliament, and like the dutiful guardians of the Australian intelligence community that we are, we’re having a good, hard look at how the year has been for our plucky internal security service. How is espionage and terrorism shaping up as threats, who are the hot targets for 2022, and how does ASIO rate its own perform...

Another in the bite size anthology of real life spies that inspired Ian Fleming in a futile effort to get Universal to give us tickets to No Time To Die. This week, we have found someone quintessentially Bond - an educated playboy with a penchant for fast cars, faster women and a dab hand at double crossing. And Fleming first met him in a casino in Portugal playing baccarat!  A man who spent...

Clear your dead drops and check your six for a tail as this week we look at the arrest by the FBI of nuclear physicist Jonathon Toebbe and his school teacher wife Diana for attempting to sell secrets to a “foreign government”.  Who might that “foreign government” be, how did a peanut butter sandwich figure in this story, and what could have motivated the Toebbes to see...

In their continued desperate attempt to get tickets to No Time To Die, David and Michelle look at the members of MI6 that inspired Fleming in his creation of James Bond. From a backwards skiing crack shot who saved a Norwegian village, to a Russian speaking schoolboy with a penchant for pretty women and fast cars, this bite size ep goes to show that however fantastic fiction may be, it doesn&rsquo...