SpyTalk
113 episodes - English - Latest episode: 5 days ago -SpyTalk lives at the intersection of intelligence operations, foreign policy, homeland security, and military strategy. Hosted by veteran national security journalist Jeff Stein, the podcast features exclusives by SpyTalk’s roster of longtime reporters, news and profiles of US and foreign spymasters, and interviews with policymakers and expert authors. There’s nothing quite like it—a place for experts and laypersons alike, who enjoy national security scoops and insights by SpyTalk's subject matter experts.
For more SpyTalk go to: https://www.spytalk.co/
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Episodes
‘Everybody knows somebody’
June 16, 2021 22:09 - 39 minutes - 35.9 MBTerrorism expert Gina Ligon tells Jeanne Meserve that the Biden administration’s initiative on domestic extremism represents a ‘sea change’ in policy but doesn’t address the root causes of populist violence. Israeli counterterrorism dramas do, an American ex-pat writer in Jerusalem tells Jeff Stein, because so many involved have served in spy units. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Follow Jeff Stein on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SpyTalker Follow SpyTalk on Tw...
Meeting of the Minds
June 11, 2021 22:36 - 22 minutes - 20.6 MBAhead of presidents Putin and Biden meeting in Geneva, a psychiatrist puts the leader of Russia on the couch. Dr. Kenneth Dekleva, who served in the US embassy in Moscow, joins co-host Jeanne Meserve for a special edition of SpyTalk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Follow Jeff Stein on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SpyTalker Follow SpyTalk on Twitter: https://twitter.com/talk_spy Subscribe to SpyTalk on Substack https://www.spytalk.co/ Take our listener sur...
That Was Then
June 09, 2021 23:18 - 47 minutes - 43.3 MBChinese espionage poses a mortal threat to the US, former counterintelligence boss Bill Evanina tells Jeanne Meserve. And author Kai Bird talks with Jeff Stein about a clandestine plot with Iran by Reagan campaign manager and future CIA Director Bill Casey to deny Jimmy Carter re-election. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Follow Jeff Stein on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SpyTalker Follow SpyTalk on Twitter: https://twitter.com/talk_spy Subscribe to SpyTalk o...
Cyber Counterpunch
June 04, 2021 20:13 - 13 minutes - 12.2 MBOn this special edition of SpyTalk, co-host Jeanne Meserve speaks with William Evanina, former Director of the United States National Counterintelligence and Security Center about the recent spate of ransomware attacks. Evanina says President Biden should threaten to pull out of the upcoming summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and that the US should demonstrate it is willing and able to shut down Russian infrastructure. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. ...
The Gathering Storms
June 02, 2021 23:17 - 51 minutes - 47 MBFormer top FBI domestic extremist specialist Tom O’Connor tells co-host Jeanne Meserve in a startling interview that he’s worried about another Timothy McVeigh plotting something big. And Jeff Stein talks with veteran intelligence reporter Bill Arkin about a vast Pentagon secret army combatting our enemies that no one’s heard about. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Follow Jeff Stein on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SpyTalker Follow SpyTalk on Twitter: https://...
Spies in the Soup
May 26, 2021 23:52 - 57 minutes - 52.3 MBJean Meserve talks with former Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Juliette Kayyem about the mess in DHS’ intelligence shop, and Jeff Stein interviews Barry Meier about his new book, “Spooked: The Trump Dossier, Black Cube, and the Rise of Private Spies.” See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Follow Jeff Stein on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SpyTalker Follow SpyTalk on Twitter: https://twitter.com/talk_spy Subscribe to SpyTalk on Substack https://www.spytalk.co...
Panetta’s Regret
May 19, 2021 22:44 - 56 minutes - 51.8 MBFormer CIA Director and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta was praised in a multitude of articles and broadcasts marking the 10th anniversary of the elimination of Osama Bin Laden earlier this month. But in an hour long interview with Jeff Stein, he described a major failing of US intelligence during his watch. Listen to it here. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Follow Jeff Stein on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SpyTalker Follow SpyTalk on Twitter: https://twit...
Has the CIA Lost Its Grip on the Middle East?
May 19, 2021 19:08 - 33 minutes - 30.5 MBCIA clandestine services veteran and longtime Middle East hand Marc Polymeropoulos tells Jeff Stein that the CIA no longer prizes regional expertise, instead opting for spy corps “generalists” who can be shifted from region to region. In this Special Edition of the SpyTalk podcast, Polymeropoulos laments the passing of Charlie Seidel, who he calls the CIA’s “last great Arabist.” See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Follow Jeff Stein on Twitter: https://twitter.com/S...
Crisis and Confusion
May 13, 2021 05:26 - 1 hour - 55.8 MBIn the fourth edition of the SpyTalk podcast, former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen talks with co-host Jeanne Meserve about combatting “psychological warfare” disinformation attacks from Russia, China, Iran and even Venezuela, and former top CIA analyst Mathew Burrows tells her that US intelligence is so busy coping with immediate threats they “can’t see the forest for the trees.” Leading off the show, Jeff Stein talks with Janis Shinwari, an Afghan interpreter for US intellige...
Shots in the Dark
May 05, 2021 20:56 - 55 minutes - 51.2 MBJeanne Meserve looks into the mysterious directed-energy attacks on officials in Washington with Mark Zaid, lawyer for CIA and State Department victims. Then Ronen Bergman, author of a groundbreaking book on Israeli assassination operations, talks with Jeff Stein about the effect of Mossad’s hits on Iran’s nuclear scientists and uranium facilities. Last but hardly least, Jeanne talks at length with technology venture capitalist Gilman Louie about his work with the CIA and the perils of losin...
Fire and Ice
April 29, 2021 01:51 - 57 minutes - 52.3 MBIn this week’s edition of the SpyTalk podcast, Jeff Stein goes deep on the CIA’s looming eviction from Afghanistan with Lisa Curtis, a longtime former CIA, State Department and White House National Security Council expert on the region. And then co-host Jeanne Meserve conducts a lively interview with a former senior CIA and NSA analyst, Alma Katsu, about her new, post-government-service thriller, Red Widow, which features a gutsy female spy heroine. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and op...
A CIA Spy in Syria, and US Responses to Russian, Chinese and Other Adversary Hacking
April 22, 2021 04:00 - 54 minutes - 49.7 MBThis week, in the debut edition of the SpyTalk podcast, co-host Jeff Stein talks to the Washington Post’s Joby Warrick about an extraordinary CIA operation in Syria, as told in his new book, Red Line. Jeff and co-host Jeanne Meserve also discuss the Biden administration’s recent expulsion of suspected Russian spies, then Jeanne talks with former NSA Director and Cyber Command chief Admiral Mike Rogers about Chinese, Russian and other hackers’ infiltration of U.S. computer networks. See aca...
Spy Talk - Trailer
March 24, 2021 21:58 - 4 minutes - 4.21 MBSpyTalk lives at the intersection of intelligence operations, foreign policy, homeland security and military strategy. Co-hosted by veteran national security journalist Jeff Stein and former star CNN homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve, the podcast will feature exclusives by SpyTalk’s roster of longtime reporters, news and profiles of US and foreign spymasters and interviews with policymakers and expert authors. There’s nothing quite like it—a place for experts and lay persons ali...