Spies Like Us

To prove that three old guys - ok, in Neil's case old-ish - are with it and hip with technology we go video this week! You can actually hear AND see us - how cool is that? Phil learns that the Shanghai sweetheart on LinkedIn may not be who she claims to be, Canada drops the terrorist ball once again on removing threats to public safety - what else is new? And a good news by the five eyes to sh...

As Phil sips on a "Lumbersexual" IPA - whatever that means - and jet-lagged Al is barely comatose (and Neil is, well, Neil) - the lads weigh in on why should NOT bring ISIS terrorists home, including those who go to a firing range on their wedding day, why legal access challenges for security intelligence and law enforcement agencies are looming, and why a jihadi impersonating a woman (h...

With Al's triumphant return from wherever he was - don't ask, don't tell! - the lads weigh in on Canada's joke of a citizenship removal system despite obvious fraud and terrorism links, the US counter-terrorism ?strategy? that somehow missed all the right-wing wankers down south, and CT czar Sebastian Gorka's obsession with low-hanging fruit. Always on topic, never boring. It&#...

After a short hiatus the Al-less boys - does this make us a duet? - are back and it's all about China. Neil and Phil talk with Canada's top Sinologist (that means China watcher for you non-China watchers) Charles Burton about why exactly the Canadian government under Prime Minister Mark Carney is kowtowing (how's that for a Chinese term??) to the PRC and ignoring the obvious national s...

Yes, another week with the lads in the virtual bar as they delve into the details of yet another counter terrorism unit in Canada, why a wanker Liberal MP is questioning Chinese use of forced Uyghur labour, and why can the Canadian government not look into problematic foreign student applications? Pull up a stool, order a pint (except for Neil!) and join in the conversation

What happens when three ex-spies talk about national security? You get in-depth, insider views of what's happening including why two morons shoot up an empty diplomatic presence at o-dark-hundred, why Canada is level-headed when it comes to threat and an ode to Emperor Cheetoh. Pony up at the bar and have a listen!

In this week's bar chat (ok, the bar is virtual but the beer is real and Al is enjoying a "Juicy Ass" - please don't pursue why!) the lads look at various aspects of the war ("Don't mention the war" - classic John Cleese in Fawlty Towers!), why the Persian Gulf is more of a swamp, and why President Trump may not want to distort his face with anger. Join us and hoist...

This week the boys weigh in on a new report on transnational repression (TNR) in Canada, co-authored by one of us (hint: not Neil and not Al), why it is so hard to use intelligence in court cases, and ask whether the Hells Angels owned a shipping line. Three spies, three beers (well two since Al was drinking something called 'water'), and a virtual bar - what more can one ask for?

In yet another chat in a virtual bar, the boys look into why a couple of Western University students were arrested on possible national security charges, why Canadians make great targets for Cuban spies, and why hiding behind a snowman is a great way to spy on someone (and so Canadian!).

The boys in the virtual bar celebrate Friday with a variety of real beers and have reason to cheer! Canada's Public Safety Minister Gary "the recuser" Anandasangaree finally announces a head of the soon-to-be-created Foreign Influence Transparency Registry! It may have been a long time in coming, but they needed to choose a wall colour first (enquiring minds want to know: was it Pant...

After a short hiatus, the boys are back...and they have a guest! Andrew Kirsch is a former CSIS intelligence officer, an author and willing to talk to us! This is so cool, more people to listen to!

Happy New Year fans!! Like many sites Spies Like Us can have a look ahead episode. Here the lads prognosticate on what we can expect to happen in 2026. Oh, and advice from the Hardy Boys on how to use a cut out operative if you are a foreign state sowing mayhem in another country.

As 2025 draws to a close, Al, Phil and Neil look back at what made national security headlines this year, wonder why Gary Anandasangaree is still Canada's Public Safety Minister, and figure out why Neil can't be host of the podcast. Despite a lack of good news, we end with a note of holiday cheer!

The boys are back - with Al having returned from a Top Secret mission to Casablanca where he ate and drank too much - and just in time to weigh in on a whole bunch of foiled and successful terrorist attacks! With Grizzly Bear's reappearance Phil no longer has to ?sing? the musical intro but he does get to mark a special birthday!

While Al is AWOL - didn't he just get back from vacation? - Neil and Phil fill (!) in ably and are joined by former FBI Agent Lauren Anderson to talk about what the heck if happening at the FBI.  No fake guns or challenge coins were harmed in this recording by the way.

An Al-less trio - which makes Neil and Phil a dynamic duo! - weighs in on CSIS Director Dan Rogers first ?annual? threat overview speech and what Canadians should take away from it. From terrorism to foreign interference to transnational repression to the Canadian Arctic, we look at the landscape but refrain from singing Celine Dion's 'My heart will go on' for obvious reasons.

To mark Remembrance Day, an important time to pay their respects to the Canadian women and men who paid the ultimate sacrifice, the lads talk about the role that intelligence played in the Afghan conflict.

After attending an early Remembrance Day ceremony at the National Beechwood Cemetery, the guys keep the serious tone by looking at why the UAE is sponsoring genocide in Sudan, why India is sponsoring assassinations abroad and why the world's greatest game show was sponsored by a Canadian.

In a special (post) Hallowe'en edition of 'Spooks Like Us', your favourite ex-spies weigh in why the Brits are frightfully good at prosecuting sabotage, why Canada is horror-ible at removing threats to national security, and whether anyone can trust US intelligence under the abomination that is Emperor Cheetoh. Prepared to be scared out of your comfort zone!

Why tulips are better than one in intimate intelligence sharing This week your favourite Canadian ex-spies weigh in on why the Dutch are not paying for their dates with the US, yet again why Canada cannot decide on the paint colour for the walls of the Foreign Register and why moxie matters (a la Nancy Drew).

After the Thanksgiving break, the lads are back to talk about 'eternal' peace in the Middle East thanks to Emperor Cheetoh, why are Canadian spy agencies subject to so much review and would you go to an Indian crime syndicate for community relations? As usual, the boys in the virtual bar share their views in a candid fashion.

This week the lads delve into the increasing challenge of encryption, Canada's addiction to listing everyone as a terrorist group and wonder why Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree did not say anything daft this week.

In episode 3 of season 3 the lads weigh in on the implications of the Canadian government's recognition of Palestine, why Canada kneed an Irish hip hop band in the...knee, and what has Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said now?

While drug-addled Al deals with a centipede from the seventh layer of hell, the boys (sober for once) delve into the rhetoric over the far left/far right in the West, why labeling organised crime groups terrorists is a 'terror-ible' idea and offer some great advice to crooks from Frank and Joe Hardy.

The guys are back in the virtual bar for another season! After two months of R&R they delve into the arrest of a self-appointed ‘Queen of Canada/World”, counselling sessions for ISIS terrorists (‘couch jihadis’?) and why ‘native extremist’ investigations were warranted. Oh, and another poem by Phil where he finds rhymes for ‘ISIS’.