Secrets and Spies Podcast: Espionage | Global Issues | Current Affairs

David Tuch, author of The Wireless Operator , joins Chris to tell the stranger-than-fiction story of Harold Derber—a wartime wireless operator who later ran blockade-busting weapons to Israel before reinventing marijuana smuggling in the 1970s. David explains how a loophole created by the 1970 Contr...

Former chief technology officer of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Dr. Anthony Vinci, joins Matt to explain why intelligence has broken out of the classified world—and why everyday citizens are now on the front lines. Anthony walks through three past “intelligence revolutions” and argue...

In this episode, Chris speaks with Dr Taras Kuzio about the deeper forces shaping Russia’s war against Ukraine and the faltering U.S.-Russia-Ukraine peace talks. Kuzio explores Vladimir Putin’s obsession with history and identity, the existential stakes the war now holds for the Kremlin, and the pol...

In our final Espresso Martini of the year, Chris and Matt reflect on the DC National Guard shooting, the alleged Afghan CIA-linked gunman, and what the case says about how America treats its wartime partners once the war ends. They then turn to Trump’s latest “final” Ukraine peace offer and growing ...

Former FBI Special Agent Jim Gaylord joins Matt to discuss Chasing Chi , his inside account of the multi-year hunt for Chi Mak, the low-key Southern California engineer at the center of a major Chinese spy ring inside America’s Navy industrial base. They walk through how a vague tip evolved into a f...