The Spy Who Raised Me Podcast

Jane Craigie
  • 4.0 (4)
  • PERSONAL JOURNALS
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The Spy Who Raised Me Podcast

Conversations between a daughter, Jane Craigie, and her father, Iain Craigie. Iain spent a career in Intelligence from the late 1950s until the early 2000s, living in the UK, Cyprus, India, Turkey, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia and Labuan. The podcast covers the technology used, the methods of spying, the targets, the relevance of place and time and the historical context. The observations and intrigues of a life in surveillance make compelling listening, as well as what it was like having an adventurous ‘spy’ as a Dad.

  1. 07/19/2024

    Revisiting Cyprus after 50 years

    Send us a text Iain Craigie and daughter Jane revisit Cyprus after over 50 years.  The island is now divided between the Greek and Turkish ruled areas, after separation in 1974. The island remains strategically hugely important, given its location in the middle of the Mediterranean sea and the unrest in the middle east. Iain and Jane, also visited Famagusta, where the Craigies lived in the late 1960s. As part of one of these visits they went to Varosha, the ghost town where Greek families fled in 1974. A haunting place.  Please note, this was recorded when President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was still in power.

    39 min

  2. 09/04/2022

    Diplomacy, Ukraine and the consequences of Putin

    Send us a text In this episode, Jane Craigie and her Dad, Iain Craigie, look back into Iain's career in intelligence to hear his take on what is happening following the upheaval and displacement caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.  This was recorded at the height of this summer's UK heatwave before Russia permitted the first shipment of grain from Ukraine.

    39 min

  3. 12/29/2021

    The early years - the life & natural world of Kingston on Spey

    Send us a text In this episode, Iain Craigie remembers his early life - in the 1940s and ‘50s in a little North Eastern Scottish village,  Kingston-on-Spey. The rich conversation with his daughter, Jane Craigie, covers a young boy’s relationships with nature, the long-lost shopkeepers and the ebb and flow, and immense freedom of living in a coastal village at the end, and immediately after World War II. If you love conversation, our natural environment and Scotland, we hope that you’ll enjoy this episode.

    58 min

  4. 06/08/2021

    Ankara, Turkey - 1989-91

    Send us a text In this episode, Jane asks her Dad, Iain about his time in Ankara working for GCHQ. His post was senior, he was responsible for staff at the British Embassy in Ankara, and also 100 staff at the Black Sea site at Sinop. The posting was at a pivotal time for the Middle East, just ahead of the first Gulf War. Arguably, the start of the current wave of unrest in the region. A key responsibility for Iain was regular liaison with the General of the Turkish Army. There’s a lengthy delay between this and our last podcast... due to technology and the lack of support for Dad to fathom Zoom during the pandemic. But we’re back now...

    1h 5m

  5. 10/25/2020

    Reflections on Hong Kong, China, politics, community and life

    Send us a text A rich conversation between Jane Craigie and her father, Iain Craigie covering Iain’s two postings in Hong Kong in the late 1950s and late 1980s.  Not only does the discussion delve into China’s might in our world, it also covers the power of politics, community and health. The podcast is fascinating and also gives inspiration to anyone thinking that old age should diminish a person. Iain proves that it clearly doesn’t.

    52 min

  6. 07/24/2020

    Unlikely connections - the Hindu Kush and Pine Gap

    Send us a text In this episode, Jane Craigie talks to Iain Craigie about the instability of Afghanistan and Pakistan and the coming together of the international intelligence community to create the facility at Pine Gap in Australia to understand and mitigate this threat.  The discussion also covers Iain's views on how power might shift towards countries like China as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. "China is in a very strong position," he said.  Iain talks about the value of diplomats and international intelligence community. terrorism, about truly feeling for a country, its land and its people.  "Terrorists are looking to bring humanity to  a standstill."

    54 min

  7. 06/07/2020

    Turkey in the 1970s - Istanbul, Gallipoli and the Black Sea coast

    Send us a text This episode capture the conversation between Jane Craigie and her father, Iain Craigie, about three precious years based in Istanbul in the 1970s. Iain’s time was as a more senior intelligence manager with GCHQ, their ‘target’ was Russia. Iain explains the start of using satellites for intelligence gathering - courtesy of the Americans who owned them. Discussions include how the British diplomatic service viewed British intelligence in postings like Turkey where there was so much of interest and at stake.

    54 min

  8. 05/17/2020

    India 1969-70 And 2020 and Holidaying in Afghanistan

    Send us a text In this episode, father and daughter, Iain and Jane Craigie talk about life in India from 1969-72, holidaying in India’s hill stations, into the Hindu Kush and Afghanistan. Their return to India in February 2020, and why GCHQ had, and still has, an interest in the region.  The conversation spans who the intelligence ‘targets’ were - India and Russia - and how the terrain made ‘listening’ extremely challenging. Iain and Jane also talk through the Indian caste system, the religious tensions, which still exist, and how you identify a spy at a cocktail party! NB - addendum - East Pakistan became Bangladesh (not West as Jane said in the podcast).

    44 min
See All (13)

Ratings & Reviews

4
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

Conversations between a daughter, Jane Craigie, and her father, Iain Craigie. Iain spent a career in Intelligence from the late 1950s until the early 2000s, living in the UK, Cyprus, India, Turkey, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia and Labuan. The podcast covers the technology used, the methods of spying, the targets, the relevance of place and time and the historical context. The observations and intrigues of a life in surveillance make compelling listening, as well as what it was like having an adventurous ‘spy’ as a Dad.

Information

  • Creator
    Jane Craigie
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2024
  • Episodes
    13
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 The Spy Who Raised Me Podcast
  • Show Website
    The Spy Who Raised Me Podcast

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