SpyCast

In the 1960s, the CIA lost a plutonium-fueled generator on top of a mountain in India. The generator was supposed to power an unmanned listening station, intended to pick up signals from China’s missile tests. But when mountaineers ascended the near 26,000-ft Nanda Devi – under the guise of studying the environment – weather got in their way. They left the nuclear device behind and months later, when they returned, it was gone. New York Times reporter Jeffrey Gettleman reconstructed this event with a team of journalists. The story took about seven years, thousands of miles, and earning the trust of many men who had grown old and have since passed away. Subscribe to Sasha's Substack, HUMINT, to get more intelligence stories: https://sashaingber.substack.com/ For more information about the International Spy Museum, visit:  https://www.spymuseum.org/ And if you have feedback or want to hear about a particular topic,  you can reach us by email at [email protected]. This show is brought to you by N2K Networks, Goat Rodeo, and the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC. This episode was produced by Flora Warshaw and the team at Goat Rodeo. At the International Spy Museum, Mike Mincey and Memphis Vaughan III are our video editors. Emily Rens is our graphic designer. Joshua Troemel runs our SPY social media. Amanda Ohlke is our Director of Adult Education and Mira Cohen is the Vice President of Programs. 

When you’re sitting alone, and you want company or advice, have you ever turned to Artificial Intelligence? Chip Usher, who spent 32 years in the CIA, has been looking at AI companions. The tech companies behind them claim they offer comfort and reliability. Chip says they mostly come from China, and eventually they will be used to collect personal data on users, building a roadmap for recruiting and influence. Chip has conducted research on the threat through his role as the Senior Director for Intelligence at a nonprofit called the Special Competitive Studies Project.  Subscribe to Sasha's Substack, HUMINT, to get more intelligence stories: https://sashaingber.substack.com/ For more information about the International Spy Museum, visit:  https://www.spymuseum.org/ And if you have feedback or want to hear about a particular topic,  you can reach us by email at [email protected]. This show is brought to you by N2K Networks, Goat Rodeo, and the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC. This episode was produced by Flora Warshaw and the team at Goat Rodeo. At the International Spy Museum, Mike Mincey and Memphis Vaughan III are our video editors. Emily Rens is our graphic designer. Joshua Troemel runs our SPY social media. Amanda Ohlke is our Director of Adult Education and Mira Cohen is the Vice President of Programs.

Children grew up reading Roald Dahl’s tales of giant peaches and chocolate factories. Adults know about the controversy surrounding the antisemitic statements he made in his later years. But before becoming one of the most successful children’s authors of all time, Dahl worked for MI6, seducing Washington socialites and cozying up to the First Family. He did this to gather intelligence and exert influence for Winston Churchill in the early days of World War II. Writer Aaron Tracy delves into Dahl’s complicated life in his new podcast, The Secret World of Roald Dahl, and sat down with Sasha to discuss Dahl’s forays into espionage. Subscribe to Sasha's Substack, HUMINT, to get more intelligence stories: https://sashaingber.substack.com/ For more information about the International Spy Museum, visit:  https://www.spymuseum.org/ And if you have feedback or want to hear about a particular topic,  you can reach us by email at [email protected]. This show is brought to you by N2K Networks, Goat Rodeo, and the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC. This episode was produced by Flora Warshaw and the team at Goat Rodeo. At the International Spy Museum, Mike Mincey and Memphis Vaughan III are our video editors. Emily Rens is our graphic designer. Joshua Troemel runs our SPY social media. Amanda Ohlke is our Director of Adult Education and Mira Cohen is the Vice President of Programs.

Katrina Leung, code name Parlor Maid, received nearly two million dollars from the FBI for being their top China informant. But little did the Bureau know… she was a double agent, collecting intelligence for China’s Ministry of State Security. Not only that, she was also sleeping with her FBI handler, James J. Smith (J.J.). For nearly two decades, J.J. covered up reports that raised red flags about her. That’s where retired FBI agent Steven Conley comes in. He worked for J.J. in the LA field office and then became Katrina’s new handler, and soon realized she wasn’t exactly providing useful information. Ultimately, he helped extract two painful confessions in a case that damaged the FBI’s reputation for years.  Subscribe to Sasha's Substack, HUMINT, to get more intelligence stories: https://sashaingber.substack.com/ For more information about the International Spy Museum, visit:  https://www.spymuseum.org/ And if you have feedback or want to hear about a particular topic,  you can reach us by email at [email protected]. This show is brought to you by N2K Networks, Goat Rodeo, and the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC. This episode was produced by Flora Warshaw and the team at Goat Rodeo. At the International Spy Museum, Mike Mincey and Memphis Vaughan III are our video editors. Emily Rens is our graphic designer. Joshua Troemel runs our SPY social media. Amanda Ohlke is our Director of Adult Education and Mira Cohen is the Vice President of Programs. 

Before Delta Force captured Nicolás Maduro, Bryan Stern went on a secret mission in Venezuela. The veteran and Purple Heart recipient was there to extract opposition leader María Corina Machado, who had been living in hiding for her own safety. Bryan was trying to get María to Oslo to accept her Nobel Peace Prize. This daring operation – named Operation Golden Dynamite after Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite – involved land, sea, and air. This is just one of many high-stakes evacuations Bryan has conducted through his nonprofit organization, Grey Bull Rescue. Sasha and Bryan sat down to discuss the operation, just a few days after he returned from Venezuela. Subscribe to Sasha's Substack, HUMINT, to get more intelligence stories: https://sashaingber.substack.com/ For more information about the International Spy Museum, visit: https://www.spymuseum.org/ And if you have feedback or want to hear about a particular topic, you can reach us by email at [email protected]. This show is brought to you by N2K Networks, Goat Rodeo, and the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC. This episode was produced by Flora Warshaw and the team at Goat Rodeo. At the International Spy Museum, Mike Mincey and Memphis Vaughan III are our video editors. Emily Rens is our graphic designer. Joshua Troemel runs our SPY social media. Amanda Ohlke is our Director of Adult Education and Mira Cohen is the Vice President of Programs.