Espionage & Tradecraft
Spy agencies, covert operations, intelligence history, tradecraft
16 episodes
#2215: How Spies Publish Secrets
Sherman Kent built a field around classified information—then published it. How intelligence studies became a rigorous academic discipline while ke...
#2131: In-Q-Tel's Open-Source Wargames
In-Q-Tel is on GitHub. Explore the IC's strategic investment arm and its use of open-source AI for wargaming.
#2077: The Tip of the Spear: How Special Forces Actually Work
From WWII's fish oil raids to modern Green Beret teams, discover the real mechanics of elite military units.
#2058: How Stuxnet's Code Physically Broke Iran's Centrifuges
Stuxnet didn't just infect computers—it rewrote PLC logic to spin uranium centrifuges into self-destruction while faking normal readings.
#2000: Why Intelligence Agencies Slice the World into Desks
How the CIA and State Dept slice 195 countries into bureaucratic boxes—and why that creates dangerous seams.
#1984: Fluent in Arabic, Suspected as a Spy
Why fluency in Arabic can make you a suspect in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
#1889: When Spies and Cops Share a Target
How the FBI and CIA share secrets without burning sources, and why "parallel construction" keeps classified intel out of court.
#1888: The Undercover’s Paradox: Admitting Evidence
Why can’t a prosecutor use a mountain of evidence gathered by an undercover cop? The gap between intelligence gathering and courtroom admissibility.
#1886: Spies Are Middle Managers, Not Action Heroes
Forget Bond and Bourne—real espionage is a logistical nightmare of spreadsheets, coffee, and psychological manipulation.
#1885: How Spies Hand Off Intel to Cops
Mossad intercepts a terror plot in Berlin. They can't act. Here's how they pass the lead to German police without burning their sources.
#1884: How Sleeper Cells Actually Work (and How They're Caught)
From compartmentalized networks to AI surveillance, discover the hidden mechanics of sleeper cells and the intelligence game to find them.
#1859: Anteaters Are Russian Spies
A sloth explains why his anteater cousins are actually Russian psyops agents scanning for brain waves.
#1823: The NSA Is a Corporate Campus
The NSA isn’t a Bond villain lair—it’s a corporate campus with a Starbucks, hoodies, and a massive workforce.
#1785: The FBI's Dual Identity: Cop and Spy
The FBI is unique among global intelligence agencies, blending high-stakes spy work with federal law enforcement in a single hybrid model.
#1706: Hollywood Hacking vs. Real Airgap Sabotage
Why the "lone operative" trope breaks down when you look at the physical reality of nuclear facility security.
#1699: Does Killing Terror Leaders Actually Work?
Decapitation strikes or whack-a-mole? We unpack the data on whether eliminating leaders degrades terrorist networks or just creates martyrs.