Your weekly briefing from the HQ of secrets

Beta testers needed this Friday!

We have some last systems to test and WE NEED YOU! Come to SPYSCAPE for just $1 per person this Friday only to help us test our brand new ‘touchless’ experience. We have VERY limited availability of testing slots - click now to book yours or forward this to friends!

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A female Bond alternative

Gal Gadot is set to star in Heart of Stone - a new female-led spy thriller movie series going up against Mission: Impossible and 007. Gadot is fresh from reprising her role as the Amazon Princess in the DC’s sequel Wonder Woman 1984. Slated for 2021, Heart of Stone is produced by David Ellison’s Skydance Media who are also producing a new father-daughter spy series with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Monica Barbaro.

Queen Latifah is The Equalizer

Brand new CBS drama The Equalizer, starring Queen Latifah, has landed a post-Super Bowl slot for its series premiere. This crime drama series tells the story of Robyn McCall, a mysterious former special-ops agent, who uses her particular set of skills to help those in need. As well as starring in the lead role, Latifah is an executive producer on the show.

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Black women in Bond

Over the many years of 007, black women from Grace Jones to Halle Berry have left their mark on the Bond franchise. Trina Parks was the first black woman to be cast in a Bond film, starring as Thumper in Diamonds Are Forever. Following this, Gloria Hendry became the first black woman to play Bond’s love interest in Live and Let Die and in the upcoming Bond film, Lashana Lynch will be the first black female 007.

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It's never too late to become a spy!

Maite Alberdi’s The Mole Agent puts a unique twist on the ‘spy thriller’ genre. Despite feeling like a thriller, it’s actually based on the true story of an 83-year-old man going undercover as a resident in a Chilean nursing home, to see if he can find signs of abuse. Alberdi accumulated more than 300 hours of footage to create this award-winning documentary.

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Bringing women in intelligence to the fore

We love podcasts - our own True Spies being the ultimate insight into all things spies and secrets! Another pod worth checking out is the excellent Iron Butterfly, produced by our friends at the Amazing Women of the IC and National Security Institute, which brings real stories from women in Intelligence.

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The Librarian who spied on the Nazis

Born in Illinois in 1899, Florence Mendheim was a Jewish librarian for the New York Public Library, and in 1933 she went undercover to spy on Nazi-associated groups in the United States. Her collection, featuring a large amount of antisemitic propaganda is an invaluable window into the spread of fascist propaganda in America leading up to World War II.