634 episodes

TOP SECRET
Personal Attention, SpyCast Listeners
Known to be the podcast real spies listen to -(STOP)- eavesdrop on conversations with high level sources from around the world -(STOP)- spychiefs molehunters defectors covert operators analysts cyberwarriors and researchers debriefed by SPY Historian Hammond -(STOP) stories secrets tradecraft and technology discussed -(STOP)- HUMINT SIGINT OSINT IMINT GEOINT and more -(STOP)- rumored to be professional education internal communication and public information -(STOP)- entire back catalog available online for free -(STOP)- please investigate this claim with all possible haste -(STOP)- SPY Historian Hammond said to have a Scottish accent -(STOP)- is this a countermeasure or a hearts-and-minds campaign?
(END TELEGRAM)

SpyCast SpyCast

    • History
    • 4.7 • 103 Ratings

TOP SECRET
Personal Attention, SpyCast Listeners
Known to be the podcast real spies listen to -(STOP)- eavesdrop on conversations with high level sources from around the world -(STOP)- spychiefs molehunters defectors covert operators analysts cyberwarriors and researchers debriefed by SPY Historian Hammond -(STOP) stories secrets tradecraft and technology discussed -(STOP)- HUMINT SIGINT OSINT IMINT GEOINT and more -(STOP)- rumored to be professional education internal communication and public information -(STOP)- entire back catalog available online for free -(STOP)- please investigate this claim with all possible haste -(STOP)- SPY Historian Hammond said to have a Scottish accent -(STOP)- is this a countermeasure or a hearts-and-minds campaign?
(END TELEGRAM)

    Telling Americans About China (and Intelligence) – with Sara Castro

    Telling Americans About China (and Intelligence) – with Sara Castro

    Summary
    Dr. Sara Castro (LinkedIn, Bio) joins Andrew (X; LinkedIn) to discuss the history of US-China diplomacy. Sara is an Associate Professor of History at the United States Air Force Academy. 

    What You’ll Learn
    Intelligence

    The Dixie Mission 

    The history of US-China relations dating back to the Opium Wars

    China’s involvement with the OSS during WWII

    How Mao Zedong & Chiang Kai-shek built modern China

    Reflections

    Understanding and empathy

    Knowledge is power 

    And much, much more …

    Resources 
    SURFACE SKIM
    *Spotlight Resource*

    Mission to Mao: US Intelligence in China during World War II, Sara B. Castro, (Georgetown University Press, 2024) 
    *SpyCasts*


    Making Sense of China, Taiwan, & America Pacific Intelligence with Bonny Lin (2023)


    China’s Corporate Spy War with CNBC’s Eamon Javers (2023)


    Trafficking Data: The Digital Struggle with China with Aynne Kokas (2022)

    *Beginner Resources*


    Beyond the Balloon: The Complicated History Behind US-China Relations, Voice of America, YouTube (2023) [8 min. video]


    China’s Overlooked Role in World War II, C. Klein, The History Channel (2022) [Short article]


    Secret Agents, Secret Armies: The Short Happy Life of the OSS, The National World War II Museum (2020) [Short article]

    DEEPER DIVE
    Books


    Spies and Lies: How China's Greatest Covert Operations Fooled the World, A. Joske (Hardie Grant, 2022) 


    The Hundred-Year Marathon: China's Secret Strategy to Replace America as the Global Superpower, M. Pillsbury (St. Martin’s Griffin, 2016) 


    Forgotten Ally: China's World War II, 1937–1945, R. Mitter (Mariner Books, 2013)

    Primary Sources 


    Dixie Mission Remembered in Beijing (2004)


    U.S.-PRC Political Negotiations, 1967-1984 (1985)


    CIA Intelligence Report: Mao’s “Cultural Revolution” (1967)


    War Report: Office of Strategic Services: Operations in the Field (1949) 


    Madame Chiang Kai-Shek Address to the U.S. House of Representatives (1943)


    Treaty Of Tianjin (1858)


    Treaty Of Wangxia (1844) 

    *Wildcard Resource*

    After the signing of the SACO Treaty in 1942, Chinese spymaster Dai Li took command of the US-China intelligence cooperation during World War II. 

    Six decades later in 2005, Nickelodeon premiered the now immensely popular American anime series Avatar: The Last Airbender. In the series, the elite secret police agency of fictional capital city Ba Sing Se are appropriately named, The Dai Li. 


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    • 1 hr 13 min
    The James Bond Collector - with Mike VanBlaricum

    The James Bond Collector - with Mike VanBlaricum

    Summary
    Mike VanBlaricum (X; LinkedIn) joins Andrew (X; LinkedIn) to discuss his journey as a James Bond fanatic and collector. Mike is the President of the Ian Fleming Foundation.
    What You’ll Learn
    Intelligence

    How Mike became an obsessive James Bond collector with 10,000 artifacts

    Mike’s favorite Bond cars, movies, and books

    How From Russia with Love was one of John F Kennedy’s favorite books

    Mike’s tips on the best place to start if you want to read the Bond novels

    Reflections

    The passion of a collector

    Pop culture influencing the “real” world

    And much, much more …
    Quotes of the Week
    “I've always been fascinated about the study of creativity. And so, between wanting to understand spy craft and that whole human side as well as creativity, creativity like Fleming – How one person can change popular culture, you know, ultimately, something that came out of his mind can change popular culture is just fascinating to me.” – Mike VanBlaricum
    Resources
    SURFACE SKIM
    *SpyCasts*


    70th Anniversary of James Bond, Special with Alexis Albion on 007, Part 1 of 2 (2023)


    70th Anniversary of James Bond, Special with Alexis Albion on 007, Part 2 of 2 (2023)


    CIA Officers Turned Authors with David McCloskey and James Stejskal (2022)


    My Life Looking at Spies and the Media with Paul Lashmar (2022)

    *Beginner Resources*


    How to Watch All the James Bond 007 Movies in Order, P. Saperstein, Variety (2023) [Short article]


    Bond In Motion Exhibition at the International Spy Museum! International Spy Museum (2024) [2 min. video]


    Ian Fleming Life Timeline, Ian Fleming Publications (n.d.) [Timeline]


    DEEPER DIVE
    Books


    For Your Eyes Only: Ian Fleming + James Bond, B. Macintyre (Bloomsbury USA, 2008)


    Licence to Thrill: A Cultural History of the James Bond Films, J. Chapman (I.B. Tauris, 2008)


    Ian Fleming, A. Lycett (St. Martin’s Press, 1995)

    Primary Sources 


    FBI Targeted a Fictional Spy (1980)


    E. Germany Brands 007 As ‘Fascist’ (1965)


    Memorandum For the Record from Marshall S. Carter (1964)


    Our Spy-Boss Who Loved Bond by Allen Dulles (1964)


    A Spy’s Spy, a Knight vs. Dragon – That Was the Image of James Bond (1964)

    *Wildcard Resource*
    Who’s The Deadliest Bond? Pierce Brosnan – And by a high margin! Brosnan’s 007 had an average of 27 kills per movie. His runner-up, Roger Moore, clocked in an average of 16.6.
    o Read the stats by movie here. License to Kill indeed...
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    • 1 hr 14 min
    A CIA Psychologist on the Minds of World Leaders, Pt. 2 with Dr. Ursula Wilder

    A CIA Psychologist on the Minds of World Leaders, Pt. 2 with Dr. Ursula Wilder

    Summary
    Dr. Ursula Wilder (LinkedIn) joins Andrew (X; LinkedIn) to discuss the intersections between psychology and intelligence. Ursula is a clinical psychologist with over two decades of experience working at the Central Intelligence Agency. 

    What You’ll Learn
    Intelligence

    How psychology can be useful to national security

    Historical examples of leadership analysis 

    Leadership personality assessments & the Cuban Missile Crisis

    Psychoanalytic theory and espionage 

    Reflections

    Human nature throughout history

    History repeating itself 

    And much, much more …

    Quotes of the Week
    “Together, these documents are quite powerful. The psych assessments are very, very carefully, tightly held and are classified at a high level. Every intelligence officer has this fantasy about seeing the file that's kept on them by the opponents.” – Dr. Ursula Wilder.

    Resources 
    SURFACE SKIM
    *SpyCasts*


    Agent of Betrayal, FBI Spy Robert Hanssen with CBS’ Major Garrett and Friends (2023)


    The North Korean Defector with Former DPRK Agent Kim, Hyun Woo (2023)


    SPY@20 – “The Spy of the Century” with Curators Alexis and Andrew on Kim Philby (2022)


    “How Spies Think” – 10 Lessons in Intelligence with Sir David Omand (2020)

    *Beginner Resources*


    What is Psychoanalysis? Institute of Psychoanalysis, YouTube (2011) [3 min. video]


    Psychologists in the CIA, American Psychological Association (2002) [Short article]


    7 Reasons to Study Psychology, University of Toronto (n.d.) [Short article]

    DEEPER DIVE
    Books


    Freud and Beyond, S. A. Mitchell (Basic Books, 2016)


    Narcissism and Politics: Dreams of Glory, J. M. Post (Cambridge University Press, 2014)


    The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, E. Hoffer (Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2010) 


    Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, D. K. Goodwin (Simon & Schuster, 2004)


    Leaders, Fools, and Impostors: Essays on the Psychology of Leadership, M. F. R. Kets de Vries (iUniverse, 2003) 

    Primary Sources 


    Charles de Gaulle to Pamela Digby Churchill (1942) 


    Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat (1940)


    Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant (1885)


    Gettysburg Address (1863) 


    House Divided Speech (1858)


    Excerpt on Cleopatra from Plutarch's Life of Julius Caesar (ca. 2nd century AD)


    Plutarch’s The Life of Alexander (ca. 2nd century AD) 

    Appian’s The Civil Wars (ca. 2nd century AD) 


    Virgil’s The Aeneid (19 B.C.E) 

    *Wildcard Resource*


    On Dreams by Sigmund Freud (1901)

    In this simplified version of the father of psychoanalysis’ seminal book The Interpretation of Dreams, you can get a small taste for Freudian philosophy. Freud believed that dreams were a reflection of the subconscious mind and that studying a person’s dreams can elucidate their inner wants and needs. What are your dreams telling you? 


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    • 1 hr 9 min
    A CIA Psychologist on the Minds of World Leaders, Pt. 1 with Dr. Ursula Wilder

    A CIA Psychologist on the Minds of World Leaders, Pt. 1 with Dr. Ursula Wilder

    Summary
    Dr. Ursula Wilder (LinkedIn) joins Andrew (X; LinkedIn) to discuss the intersections between psychology and intelligence. Ursula is a clinical psychologist with over two decades of experience working at the Central Intelligence Agency. 

    What You’ll Learn
    Intelligence

    How psychology can be useful to national security

    Historical examples of leadership analysis 

    Leadership personality assessments & the Cuban Missile Crisis

    Psychoanalytic theory and espionage 

    Reflections

    Human nature throughout history

    History repeating itself 

    And much, much more …

    Quotes of the Week
    “Together, these documents are quite powerful. The psych assessments are very, very carefully, tightly held and are classified at a high level. Every intelligence officer has this fantasy about seeing the file that's kept on them by the opponents.”

    Resources 
    SURFACE SKIM
    *SpyCasts*


    Agent of Betrayal, FBI Spy Robert Hanssen with CBS’ Major Garrett and Friends (2023)


    The North Korean Defector with Former DPRK Agent Kim, Hyun Woo (2023)


    SPY@20 – “The Spy of the Century” with Curators Alexis and Andrew on Kim Philby (2022)


    “How Spies Think” – 10 Lessons in Intelligence with Sir David Omand (2020)

    *Beginner Resources*


    What is Psychoanalysis? Institute of Psychoanalysis, YouTube (2011) [3 min. video]


    Psychologists in the CIA, American Psychological Association (2002) [Short article]


    7 Reasons to Study Psychology, University of Toronto (n.d.) [Short article]

    DEEPER DIVE
    Books


    Freud and Beyond, S. A. Mitchell (Basic Books, 2016)


    Narcissism and Politics: Dreams of Glory, J. M. Post (Cambridge University Press, 2014)


    The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, E. Hoffer (Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2010) 


    Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, D. K. Goodwin (Simon & Schuster, 2004)


    Leaders, Fools, and Impostors: Essays on the Psychology of Leadership, M. F. R. Kets de Vries (iUniverse, 2003) 

    Primary Sources 


    Charles de Gaulle to Pamela Digby Churchill (1942) 


    Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat (1940)


    Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant (1885)


    Gettysburg Address (1863) 


    House Divided Speech (1858)


    Excerpt on Cleopatra from Plutarch's Life of Julius Caesar (ca. 2nd century AD)


    Plutarch’s The Life of Alexander (ca. 2nd century AD) 

    Appian’s The Civil Wars (ca. 2nd century AD) 


    Virgil’s The Aeneid (19 B.C.E) 

    *Wildcard Resource*


    On Dreams by Sigmund Freud (1901)

    In this simplified version of the father of psychoanalysis’ seminal book The Interpretation of Dreams, you can get a small taste for Freudian philosophy. Freud believed that dreams were a reflection of the subconscious mind and that studying a person’s dreams can elucidate their inner wants and needs. What are your dreams telling you? 


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    • 1 hr 13 min
    CIA Director, Defense Secretary, Gentleman with Leon Panetta

    CIA Director, Defense Secretary, Gentleman with Leon Panetta

    Summary
    Leon Panetta (Panetta Institute) joins Andrew (X; LinkedIn) to discuss his lifetime of American public service. Secretary Panetta was the 2023 recipient of SPY’s William H. Webster Award. 

    What You’ll Learn
    Intelligence

    Directing the Central Intelligence Agency

    Intelligence & the Abbottabad Raid

    Working within the Clinton Administration 

    A life’s dedication to the safety of the American public

    Reflections

    The power of patience and the ability to listen

    Handing immense pressure and responsibility

    And much, much more …

    Resources 
    SURFACE SKIM
    *SpyCasts*


    My Life in American Intelligence with Barry Zulauf (2023)


    David Petraeus on Ukraine & Intelligence with the former CIA Director & 4* General (2023)


    Intelligence, Special Operations, and Strategy with Michael Vickers (2023)


    The 75th Anniversary of the CIA with former Director Robert Gates (2022)

    *Beginner Resources*


    What Does the Secretary of Defense Do? MasterClass (2022) [Short article]


    How did the US find and kill Osama bin Laden? 60 Minutes Australia, YouTube (2018) [4 min. video]


    Leon E. Panetta, Panetta Institute for Public Policy (n.d.) [Short biography]

    DEEPER DIVE
    Books


    The Spymasters: How the CIA Directors Shape History and the Future, C. Whipple (Scribner, 2021)


    The Gatekeepers: How the White House Chiefs of Staff Define Every Presidency, C. Whipple (Crown, 2018) 


    Worthy Fights: A Memoir of Leadership in War and Peace, L. Panetta & J. Newton (Penguin Books, 2014)


    SECDEF: The Nearly Impossible Job of Secretary of Defense, C. A. Stevenson (Potomac Books, 2007) 

    Primary Sources 


    Statement on Syria before the Senate Armed Services Committee (2012)


    Nomination of Hon. Leon E. Panetta to be Secretary of Defense (2011) 


    Statement to Employees by CIA Director Leon Panetta on the Death of Usama Bin Ladin (2011) 


    Nomination of Leon Panetta to be Director, Central Intelligence Agency (2009)


    Memorandum for Leon Panetta on POTUS’ Time Investment (1996)


    Letter from Brown to Panetta Regarding Fiscal Year 1994-1997 (1993)


    Letter to the Honorable Leon E. Panetta from George Bush (1977)

    *Wildcard Resource*

    Secretary Panetta now lives on a lovely vineyard in sunny California. Speaking of wine and spies, check out Vint Hill Winery in Warrenton, Virginia. 

    In 1942 the US Army set up top-secret SIGINT operations at the now-vineyard after the farm’s owner, a Ham Radio enthusiast, set up a wire on the roof of the barn that could reach signals from Berlin. The farm was the site of The Signal Corps cryptographic school, which famously intercepted messages from Hiroshi Oshima in 1943. 


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    • 1 hr 19 min
    “The British Monarchy and Secret Intelligence” with Rory Cormac and Richard Aldrich

    “The British Monarchy and Secret Intelligence” with Rory Cormac and Richard Aldrich

    Summary
    Rory Cormac (X) and Richard Aldrich join Andrew (X; LinkedIn) to discuss intelligence and the British Monarchy. The links between the royals and espionage prove the Crown to be far more than just a figurehead.  

    What You’ll Learn
    Intelligence

    Prince William’s internship with British Intelligence

    How Elizabeth II knew perhaps more secrets that anyone else in history

    King Charles' love of intelligence  

    Queen Victoria as Spymaster

    MI5, MI6, and the Diana conspiracies

    Reflections

    Secrets within secrets 

    Power and knowledge

    And much, much more …

    Quotes of the Week
     ”What struck me the most was how much access Queen Elizabeth II had, how much she knew … And I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that she probably knew more state secrets than any human being who has ever walked the history of the earth, because she had access to everything for 70 odd years.” – Rory Cormac 

    Resources 
    SURFACE SKIM
    *Spotlight Resource*

    Crown, Cloak, and Dagger: The British Monarchy and Secret Intelligence from Victoria to Elizabeth II, R. Cormac & R. J. Aldrich (Georgetown University Press, 2023) 
    *SpyCasts*


    Rise of Devils: The Origins of Modern Terrorism with James Crossland (2024)


    British Defence Attaché, U.S.A. with Rear Admiral Tim Woods (2023)


    St. Ermin’s Hotel, London: The History of a Legendary Spy Site with Stephen Duffy (2023) 


    Espionage and the Two Queens with Kent Tiernan (2023)

    *Beginner Resources*


    UK Royal Family: What does the King do? Jennifer Clarke, BBC (2024) [Short article]


    An Average Day in the Life of Queen Elizabeth II, The Infographics Show, YouTube (2020) [9 min. video]


    Kings and Queens of England & Britain, Ben Johnson, Historic UK (n.d.) [Brief bios of all Monarchs]

    DEEPER DIVE
    Primary Sources 


    Operation Paget Report (2006)


    CIA Confirms Official Met With LaRouche (1984)


    Anthony Blunt, 75, Dies; Was Soviet Spy in Britain (1983)


    More Cloak Than Dagger – An 18th Century Spy (1965)


    The Queen Delivering her speech to the House of Lords (1838)


    Popay the Spy Political Cartoon (1833) 

    *Wildcard Resource*

    Have a sweet tooth? So did many queens. Several delectable desserts have been named by or for British royals. Try these recipes: 


    Victoria Sponge, named for Queen Victoria’s favorite afternoon tea accompaniment


    Charlotte Cake, supposedly named after Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz


    Queen Elizabeth Cake, first published in the 1953 Coronation Cook Book and served at Elizabeth II’s coronation 


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    • 1 hr 12 min

Customer Reviews

4.7 out of 5
103 Ratings

103 Ratings

Poolboy999 ,

Thanks!

Each episode is interesting and professionally produced!

Twoshoes66 ,

Brilliant!

Really enjoy listening to this podcast. It always leaves me wanting to learn more about a particular topic. Fascinating to hear different perspectives and personal histories.

Canuckdesz ,

Can't stop listening!

From Vince Houghton to the current brains Andrew Hammond, this podcast has maintained a high quality of episode for years. I love the deep dives into the "behind the scenes" espionage that's gone into some of historys most notable (and obscure) events, and hearing directly from agents who were directly involved. Keep up the great work!

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