SpyTalk

Tom LoBianco answered an ad for a writer and then things went south.  Tom LoBianco is a veteran national politics reporter and editor of 24sight News, the independent news site on Substack. 24sight's scoops have been featured in The New York Times, CNN, ABC News, the Reddit front page, the Columbia Journalism Review and many other outlets. Tom LoBianco https://www.24sight.news/   Follow Jeff S...

Seeing-eye bombs were supposed to limit civilian casualties. Jeffrey Stern, author of “The Warhead,” explains why they didn’t.  Jeffrey Stern The Warhead https://www.jeffreyestern.com/books   Follow Michael Isikoff | https://x.com/isikoff     Follow Karen Greenberg on Twitter | https://x.com/KarenGreenberg3   Follow Jeff Stein on Twitter | https://x.com/SpyTalker    Subscribe to SpyTalk on Substac...

New York Times Intelligence Reporter Julian Barnes on the Rise of Bill Pulte. More from Julian Julian E. Barnes   Writes about the American intelligence community, including the Central Intelligence Agency, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and other spy agencies, as well as broader national and international security issues. His stories seek to break news about what intelligence...

Former senior CIA analyst David Kanin on the crises in US intelligence. David Kanin is a retired CIA senior analyst and member of the Senior Intelligence Service. https://commonsensecoalition.net/about-csc/ Follow Michael Isikoff | https://x.com/isikoff  Follow Karen Greenberg | https://x.com/KarenGreenberg3 Follow Jeff Stein on Twitter | https://x.com/SpyTalker   Subscribe to SpyTalk on Substack...

Former Gitmo prosecutor Michael Lebowitz takes us inside the nuclear plot that never was. Mike Lebowitz is one of America’s few war-crimes prosecutors with front-line counterterrorism experience. A former senior attorney at the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, he spent nearly a decade prosecuting cases at Guantanamo Bay, including the 9/11, USS Cole , and top Al Qaeda commander...

Former Obama speechwriter Tommy Vietor talks about energizing Dems on vital US foreign policy issues. Tommy Vietor | https://x.com/TVietor08 | https://crooked.com/podcast-series/pod-save-the-world/ Follow Michael Isikoff on Twitter | https://x.com/isikoff         Follow Karen Greenberg on Twitter | https://x.com/KarenGreenberg3      Follow Jeff Stein on Twitter | https://x.com/SpyTalker      Follo...

Cuba intervention expert Peter Kornbluh joins SpyTalk to discuss Trump’s pressure campaign. Peter Kornbluh | National Security Archive   Peter Kornbluh, Senior Analyst, has worked at the Archive since April 1986. He currently directs the Archive's Cuba and Chile Documentation Projects. He was co-director of the Iran-Contra documentation project and director of the Archive's project on U.S....

Ex-CIA operative Jerry Watson and journalist Bob Drogin tell the disastrous story of Curveball and its relevance to today’s war against Iran. The US invaded Iraq after the based on bogus intel. Much of that intel was fabricated by Rafid Ahmed Alwan al-Janabi an Iraqi defector codenamed "Curveball." More from our guests: Bob Drogin | Los Angeles Times   A CIA Officer Returns to Iraq and Unc...

Former CIA Russia hand Sean Wiswesser assesses Putin’s grip on his security services amid rumors of coups.  Sean Wiswesser is a Russian intelligence and espionage expert, retired CIA senior ops officer, and author. His latest book, Tradecraft, Tactics, and Dirty Tricks: Russian Intelligence and Putin's Secret War , is out now. x.com/Wiswesser   https://www.instagram.com/seanwiswesser/   http:/...

Veteran journalist Jack Cheevers takes another look at President Kennedy’s ambivalent role in the overthrow and assassination of South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem. Check out Kennedy’ Coup by Jack Cheevers Subscribe to SpyTalk on Substack https://www.spytalk.co/ Follow Jeff Stein on Twitter https://x.com/SpyTalker   Follow Michael Isikoff on Twitter https://x.com/isikoff   Follow Karen Green...

A former Pakistani ambassador to the US says the more Trump bashes Iran, the more it will dig in. Husain Haqqani joins SpyTalk to discuss the state of diplomacy between Iran and the US. Follow Michael Isikoff on Twitter https://twitter.com/isikoff   Follow Karen Greenberg on Twitter https://x.com/KarenGreenberg3   Follow Jeff Stein on Twitter https://twitter.com/SpyTalker   Follow SpyTalk on Twitt...

Former CIA Iran spy recruiter Mark Fowler says the “peace deal” is not the end of the war. He shares his analysis of the recent peace talks based on his understanding of how Iranians negotiate. For more of Mark Fowler's analysis follow him on Substack | https://substack.com/@malfow5 Mark also writes espionage fiction | https://markafowler-author.com/ Michael Isikoff on Twitter | https://twitte...

Former CENTCOM commander Gen. Joseph Votel says military leaders should refuse a Trump order to bomb Iran "back to the Stone Ages"  Joseph Leonard Votel is a retired four-star general in the United States Army who was commander of United States Central Command from March 2016 to March 2019. Before that, he served as commander of the United States Special Operations Command. Follow Michael...

Trump and Netanyahu finger others for Iran war problems.   SpyTalk speaks with Yossi Melman, an investigative journalist with The Jerusalem Post about issues USA and Israel have with the methods and objectives of the war. More from Yossi Melman | Yossi Melman | The Jerusalem Post | www.yossimelman.com | (@yossi_melman) Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://...

Former CIA operative and Senior DOD Official Mick Mulroy Details Trump’s Bad Options on Iran. https://www.loboinstitute.org/ Follow Michael Isikoff on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/isikoff Follow Karen Greenberg on Twitter:  https://x.com/KarenGreenberg3 Follow Jeff Stein on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/SpyTalker Follow SpyTalk on Twitter: https://twitter.com/talk_spy Subscribe to SpyTalk on Subs...

Acclaimed Iranian American writer Hooman Majd talks about the likely future of the Islamic Republic. Hooman Majd is an Iranian-born American journalist, author, and political commentator focused on Iranian affairs.  https://x.com/hmajd Minister without Portfolio: Memoir of a Reluctant Exile Follow Michael Isikoff on Twitter: https://twitter.com/isikoff Follow Karen Greenberg on Twitter: https://x....

Ex-CIA op sees no end in sight for Iran conflict.  "What you're now looking at is perpetual war," says Reuel Gerecht, former Iran target officer in SpyTalk interview.   Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Former top intel operative David Shedd says it's now "50-50" Xi will invade next year. David Shedd The Great Heist China’s Epic Campaign to Steal America’s Secrets Follow Michael Isikoff on Twitter: https://twitter.com/isikoff Follow Karen Greenberg on Twitter https://x.com/KarenGreenberg3 Follow Jeff Stein on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SpyTalker Follow SpyTalk on Twitter: https://tw...

Trump, Iran at fateful crossroads, top Middle East expert Jon Alterman says on the SpyTalk podcast. Jon Alterman — https://www.csis.org/people/jon-b-alterman Follow Jeff Stein on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SpyTalker Follow Karen Greenberg on Twitter https://x.com/KarenGreenberg3 Follow Michael Isikoff on Twitter: https://twitter.com/isikoff   Follow SpyTalk on Twitter: https://twitter.com/talk_s...

Congressmember Mary Gay Scanlon speaks with SpyTalk's Michael Isikoff about the secretive government list of “domestic terrorist groups” Attorney General all but confirmed the existence of in her recent trip to The Hill. Then Karen Greenberg and Michael Isikoff talk with writer and retired American FBI agent, Mike German about the implications and consequences of the NSPM7 memo and the FISA co...

Former senior CIA official Larry Pfeiffer discusses the DNI’s strange behavior with SpyTalk hosts Jeff Stein, Michael Isikoff and Karen Greenberg. Larry Pfeiffer | https://www.linkedin.com/in/larrypfeiffer/ Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

How A.I. is revolutionizing the spies’—and spy catchers’—toolkits. With ex-CIA officer Aaron Brown. Aaron Brown | https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-brown-lumbra/ Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

ISIS and other Afghan-based terror groups are growing stronger, a new UN report says. Expert Colin Clarke explains why. Follow Jeff Stein on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SpyTalker Follow Karen Greenberg on Twitter https://x.com/KarenGreenberg3 Follow Michael Isikoff on Twitter: https://twitter.com/isikoff   Follow SpyTalk on Twitter: https://twitter.com/talk_spy Subscribe to SpyTalk on Substack  ...

Former senior Danish intelligence officer Jacob Kaarsbo talks about Trump’s murky designs on Greenland and NATO. https://jacobkaarsbo.substack.com/ Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Two prominent Iranian-American journalists, Jason Rezaian of the Washington Post and Hooman Majd of NBC News, say the regime may be losing its grip. Jason Rezaian  https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/jason-rezaian/ Hooman Majd https://www.hoomanmajd.com/ Follow Jeff Stein on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SpyTalker Follow Karen Greenberg on Twitter https://x.com/KarenGreenberg3 Follow Michael Isik...