SPYCRAFT 101

This week just sits down with Jim Popkin, former senior investigative reporter and producer at N NBC News and on air correspondent. Jim's articles have appeared in publications like Washington Post Magazine, Wired, Newsweek, Slate, The Guardian, Washingtonian, and on National Public Radio. Jim is also an author, and today he's here to talk about Anna Montez, a Cuban spy who spent more than 16 year...

This week Justin is joined by Colonel Rose Mary Sheldon, previous history professor at Virginia Military Institute world-renowned expert on intelligence and espionage in the ancient world. She earned her PhD from the University of Michigan and has published several books and many articles over the years, as well as serving as an editor for the International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintel...

Today Justin speaks with with journalist and documentary filmmaker Justin Webster. Justin was a business reporter in the 90s before the release of his debut film on soccer team FC Barcelona in 2004. Since then, he's directed several more award-winning documentaries. Today he's here to discuss a six part series he created on the life and death of Alberto Nisman, a federal prosecutor in Argentina wh...

Today Justin sits down with author and retired FBI special agent John Whiteside III. Since leaving the FBI after working 30 years of Cold War counterintelligence cases, John has worked as a private investigator and as a government consultant. Today, John discusses one of the highest profile cases of his career: the discovery and arrest of Robert Steven Lipka. Lipka was an Army solider assigned to...

This week, Justin brings on journalist and author Howard Blum.  Howard studied at Stanford University where he received both his bachelor's and master's degree and has worked as a reporter for the New York Times where he was nominated twice for the Pulitzer Prize. More recently, he was a contributing editor for Vanity Fair. He's also the author of several best selling non-fiction books, several of...

This week, Justin answers questions you've submitted via Instagram. He dives into  the deaths of Spanish espionage agents in Iraq and covers the story an American revolutionary. Tune in to hear about the weapons real spies carry every day, how Hollywood adapts real espionage events, and more. Keep a look out on Instagram for your next chance to submit your biggest questions about clandestine work....

In this solo episode, Justin dives into some of the most intriguing and suspicious deaths related to espionage in the last 80 years.  While the USA and the USSR never saw combat with each other during the Cold War, their clandestine operations resulted in many casualties and fatalities over the years. Apparent suicides, murders without explanation, and plane crashes abound.  Some of these deaths a...

This week, Justin has his first repeat guest. Lee Gossett is back to talk CIA missions. Lee first joined us for episode 13. In his last episode, Lee and Justin dove into Lee's time as a smoker jumper and the years he spent working for Air America in the Secret War in Laos, and this time Lee is sharing stories of his time flying all over the world for the CIA after Air America went under. From Laos...

This week, Justin chats with author and Air Force intelligence veteran Brian Morra. Brian was an intelligence officer in the US Air Force and Air Force Reserve for 15 years before shifting his focus  to the aerospace and defense industry, where he spent many years managing intelligence programs. Brian finally retired as a senior Vice President at the end of 2016 and began writing his debut novel....

Today Justin sits down with anonymous source known as Sarah. Sarah is veteran member of the special operations and intelligence community, having served as an NCO with the US Air Force for more than 10 years. She has also worked as an Arabic linguist, spending much of her time in the Middle East and Africa. She is a reputable source Justin knows personally, and has requested anonymity in the episo...

This week, Justin speaks with Kimberly Muse, daughter of Kurt Muse. Kim grew up in Panama, where her father was became the leader of a group of activists in protesting against General Manuel Noriega via radio transmissions. Their work caught the attention of the CIA, and they even received support from the agency for their efforts. In spring of 1989, Kurt was suddenly arrested at Panama City Airpo...

This week Justin sits down with former police officer, Navy officer, and US Secret Service special agent Stephen Monteiro. Steve spent 20 years in the Secret Service, where he was a member of the Presidential Protective Division at the Clinton White House, among other assignments. After retiring from federal service and continuing on as a contractor, Steve was tasked with a mysterious case that wo...

This week, Justin sits down with historian and author Ann Todd. From working at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, Virginia,  to writing and consulting for the National Geographic Society and giving presentations for the National Park Service on the history of the OSS, Ann is an expert. Ann joins us today to discuss OSS action in the "forgotten theater" of WWII, China-Burma-India...

Today, Justin sits down with author and researcher, Dr. Andrew Jeffrey. Alongside his historical books, Andrew has made on-air contributions for British, Dutch and French documentaries and is a former Royal Navy Reservist, and a volunteer Lifeboatman with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Andrew's latest book tells the tale of a Scottish civilian Mary Curran, who spotted the suspicious acti...

This week, Justin chats with investigative reporter and author Bryan Denson. Focusing on true crime, scandals, and government corruption, Bryan has spent his career reporting for publications like The House Post, Reader's Digest, Newsweek, The Los Angeles Tomes, and the Oregonian. He's also written three nonfiction book series on infamous criminals like Aldrich Ames and the Unibomber, as well as o...

This week, Justin chats with Alejandra Suárez Barcala Ogorodnik. Alejandra  was born in Madrid in 1975 and currently works in Spain in the medical industry as a disease area specialist. She never knew her father growing up, and her mother told her he was a German mathematician who was killed in an automobile accident when Alejandra was a baby. When she was a teenager, she slowly began to uncover a...

Today, Justin sits down with  retired FBI special agent Raymond J. Batvinis, who served in the FBI for 25 years, from 1972 until 1997. Raymond worked primarily in counterterrorism and counterintelligence, and shortly after the 9/11 attacks, he returned to teach the Basic Counterintelligence course at the FBI Academy at Quantico. During his career, he worked on several very high profile espionage c...

 This week, Juston sits down with Thomas Maier. Thomas is an author and award-winning investigative journalist, having worked at NewDay since 1984. He has also written several historical books, including When Lions Roar about the Churchills and the Kennedys, and Masters of Sex , which was produced as a series on Showtime for four years. His latest book, Mafia Spies, details the inside story the in...

This week Justin sits down with Kathy Hogue, daughter of World War II OSS agent Doc Hogue. Her father's service includes one of the most important and least understood missions of WWII--the mining of the uranium that built the atomic bomb. Kathy herself is also very accomplished, having worked for the Department of Defense for over a decade, enrolled at the US Navy Postgraduate School, and worked...

This week, Justin sits down with author and historian Giles Milton. A fellow of the Royal Historical Society in London, Giles has written 11 nonfiction books and three novels. Today, they focus on his book Russian Roulette to tell the story of the British MI6 spies who stopped Lenin from spreading the communism on a truly global scale after the Bolshevik Revolution. Connect with Giles: gilesmilton...

This week, Justin chats with Dr. Paul. O'Hara. Paul is an associate professor at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, teaching a wide range of compelling history courses.  Paul and Justin discuss the Pinkerton Detective Agency, the most famous and most notorious detective agency in us history. From its origins to its scandals, near downfalls, and recent activities, The Pinkertons have helped sha...

This week, Justin sits down with trial lawyer Michael Pullara. Michael has faced formidable foes in the court room, from the US Department of Defense to criminals with connections to the Italian mob. But today, Michael and Justin discuss the case of CIA case officer Freddie Woodruff, who was shot and killed on assignment in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. Michael knew Freddie's family and b...

Spycraft 101 is back! In this episode, Justin sits down with former smoke jumper and Continental Air Services employee, Toby Scott. They dive in to all things smoke jumping and discuss his work in Southeast Asia during the secret war in Laos. Toby was also involved in Operation Cold Feet in the Arctic Circle, among many other daring missions and and global events. He was close friends fellow smoke...

This week, Justin releases a quick public service announcement to let listeners know of a short upcoming hiatus. Connect with Spycraft 101: Check out Justin's latest release, Covert Arms , here . spycraft101.com IG: @spycraft101 Shop: spycraft-101.myshopify.com Patreon: Spycraft 101 Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One , here . Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm...

This week, Justin talks with author Henry Schlesinger on the topic of a notorious espionage strategy: the honey traps. Honey traps utilized seduction, from male or female spies, to glean information, create scandal, or acquire money. They've been used in intelligence for centuries--perhaps even millennia. Henry shares several stories of some of the mist influential espionage seductions in history,...