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With Rory Bremner
Major Hollywood storytellers and top international spies break down what we see on screen, to separate the fact from the fiction and shine a light on extraordinary characters and skills. Hosted by Rory Bremner.
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Cribs, Codes and Cairo
Emily Anderson was the best codebreaker you've never heard of. Fiercely devoted to secrecy, she served Britain's interests in two world wars - mastering five languages along the way. In this remarkable True Spies story, Sophia Di Martino and historian Jackie Ui Chionna give Anderson a much-deserved moment in the limelight.
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Tradecraft Part 8
The tools in a spy's arsenal are more varied than you might think. But they all come under one name: Tradecraft. In our eighth round of insights from the world of espionage, Sophia Di Martino looks back on lessons drawn from masters of disguise, daring civilian spycraft, and nail-biting undercover work.
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Tradecraft Part 7 
The tools in a spy's arsenal are more varied than you might think. But they all come under one name: Tradecraft. In our seventh round of insights from the world of espionage, Sophia Di Martino revisits an audacious gambit in Iraq, evades surveillance behind the Iron Curtain, and learns how to create a convincing cover story in Canada.
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Operation Ajax
In the early 1950s, Iran elected a forward-thinking new leader. But where previous regimes had played ball with British and American oil companies in the country, Mohammed Mossadegh refused. In response, Western intelligence services mounted a deadly coup. Sophia Di Martino and historian Ervand Abrahamian unpick the shocking downfall of Iran's last democratic leader.
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Escaping ISIS
As ISIS sweeps through the Middle East, the regions' minority groups face brutal oppression. In Northern Iraq, ex-CIA officers Michele Rigby Assad and her husband, Joseph Assad, feel compelled to do what they can to help. Michele joins Sophia Di Martino to recount the steps that led to a dramatic evacuation of Iraqi Christians from Erbil in 2015.
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The Wilderness of Mirrors
In the dying days of the Cold War, the West is on the verge of victory but the Soviet Union's feared secret service, the KGB, won't give up without a fight. Sophia Di Martino and former US Army Intelligence officer Aden Magee tell the story of a mind-bending game of cat-and-mouse, played out on the streets of 1980s Munich.
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The Swinging Spies
Karel 'Karl' Koecher always knew he was destined for greatness. At the height of the Cold War, he arrived in New York City - a Communist sleeper agent, hell-bent on infiltrating the highest echelons of American society. And with the help of his beautiful young wife, the American dream was well within reach. Sophia Di Martino and author Benjamin Cunningham tell the story of two glamorous Czech spies in swinging NYC - charting their unlikely rise and inevitable fall from grace.
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Mr. Wristwatch
Truck driver, entrepreneur, womanizer - spy. Sophia Di Martino joins journalist Sean O'Driscoll to tell the story of one of the most unusual and effective moles in modern American history. When David Rupert met a woman in an Irish bar in Florida, the meeting sparked an unlikely chain of events that would lead him to infiltrate a deadly Irish Republican terrorist group on behalf of the FBI, MI5, and the Irish state - and put several key players behind bars. But the 'Big Yank' would pay a heavy price for his success.
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The Old Man and the CIA, Part 2: Dulles’ Downfall
In this two-part True Spies miniseries, journalist and author of The Devil's Chessboard, David Talbot, joins Sophia Di Martino to uncover a hidden history of the United States - a history penned by a man who made an outsized impact on the way we live today: Allen Dulles. In Part 2, the seeds of Dulles's ruin are sown on a beach in Cuba.
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The Old Man and the CIA, Part 1 - American Gestapo
Some men make headlines. Others make history. A subtle few mold the future of nations in their image - and you'd never even know it. In this two-part True Spies miniseries, journalist and author of The Devil's Chessboard, David Talbot, joins Sophia Di Martino to uncover a hidden history of the United States. A history penned by a man who made an outsized impact on the way we live today: Allen Dulles. In Part 1, Talbot documents the rise of the CIA's longest-serving director - and the first civilian to hold the post.
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Howard Hunt Unleashed, Part 2: Watergate - Project Gemstone
In this True Spies special, Daisy Ridley presents a dramatized encounter with Everette Howard Hunt Jr, based on our own historical research and Hunt's own writings. In Part 2 - the unbelievable story of the political scandal of the century: Watergate.
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Howard Hunt Unleashed, Part 1: The CIA & Animal Farm
In this special two-part True Spies miniseries, Daisy Ridley presents a dramatized encounter with Everette Howard Hunt Jr, based on our own historical research and Hunt's own writings. In Part 1, Hunt explains his role in one of the CIA's most unusual PsyOps - the backing of 1954's animated version of George Orwell's Animal Farm.
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Beware the Men in Suits Part 2: Justice For Yvonne
In 1984, when Police Constable Yvonne Fletcher was shot outside the Libyan Embassy in London , John Murray swore he would bring her killers to justice. Decades later, he's about to come closer than ever before - but mysterious elements inside the British establishment seem determined to stop him in his tracks. Daisy Ridley joins Murray, and author Matt Johnson, to recount an epic mission for the truth. A mission that will take Murray to the ends of the Earth - and the limits of his endurance.
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Beware the Men in Suits, Part : Stray Dogs
April, 1984 - London. Police Constable Yvonne Fletcher has been shot dead by a pro-Gaddafi gunman at the Libyan Embassy. The UK looks on in sorrow and disgust. One man vows to bring her killer to justice - no matter who stands in his way. Daisy Ridley joins Fletcher's colleague, John Murray, and author Matt Johnson, to recount an epic mission for the truth. A mission that will take Murray to the ends of the Earth - and the limits of his endurance.
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The Unwanted Spy
In 2015, former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison for violating the Espionage Act by leaking details of a top-secret operation to a journalist - a charge he has always denied. Jeffrey believes that during his time at the Agency, he was discriminated against for the color of his skin - and that his complaints made him a target. The US government's position is clear. In this episode of True Spies, Daisy Ridley hears Jeffrey's side of the story.
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The Impeccable Spy
For a womanizing Soviet spy, wartime Tokyo is both playground and prison. Surrounded by the enemy, he's got to keep his wits about him - and with an increasingly paranoid leader in the Kremlin, the line between friend and foe is thin indeed. Daisy Ridley joins author Owen Matthews to tell the story of one the USSR's most formidable spies - Richard Sorge. A communist true-believer, he provided crucial intelligence to Moscow before and during World War II. But for Stalin's top spies, loyalty comes with no guarantee of reward.
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Terror on the Line
It's 2007, and Iraq is in a state of chaos. Factions of armed insurgents clash with Coalition forces, and the US is looking for an exit strategy. Thirty-two-year-old Egyptian-American CIA officer Joseph Assad is a new face in Baghdad's Green Zone. He's got an idea that could help to end the slaughter - one so crazy, it just might work. Daisy Ridley joins Joseph as he tells his story publicly for the very first time in a True Spies exclusive.
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The Alphabet Boys
When an informant leaks the location of an arms deal between a Romanian-American fixer and a Colombian rebel group, the DEA come down hard on both parties. But in a world of double-dealing, secrets ,and lies, is anyone truly who they say they are? Daisy Ridley joins investigative journalist Trevor Aaronson to tell the story of Flaviu Georgescu - who claims that he was working undercover for the CIA when he was arrested by federal law enforcement. Could the US government be creating the criminals they're supposed to catch?
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The Gehlen Organization, Part 2: Peter and Paul
In this two-part special, True Spies tells the story of a clandestine German intelligence network that sprang from the ashes of the Third Reich. Led by former Nazi Reinhardt Gehlen, the group was sponsored by the US to fight communism in post-war Europe. In Part 2, the cracks start to appear in the Gehlen Organization as the Cold War freezes over. Daisy Ridley and Professor Norman Goda unpack a tale of incompetence, double dealing and subterfuge.
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The Gehlen Organization, Part 1: Dr. Schneider
In this two-part special, True Spies tells the story of a clandestine German intelligence network that sprang from the ashes of the Third Reich. Led by former Nazi Reinhardt Gehlen, the group was sponsored by the US to fight communism in post-war Europe. In Part 1, Daisy Ridley joins historians Norman Goda and Gerald Steinacher to reveal the beginnings of the American government's shocking co-operation with those who it had defeated only months before.
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Ten Episodes Not To Miss
Ready to unlock the secrets of the spying game? Here's a quick intro to our True Spies series.
Howard Hunt Unleashed, Part 1: The CIA & Animal Farm
In this special two-part True Spies miniseries, Daisy Ridley presents a dramatized encounter with Everette Howard Hunt Jr, based on our own historical research and Hunt's own writings. In Part 1, Hunt explains his role in one of the CIA's most unusual PsyOps - the backing of 1954's animated version of George Orwell's Animal Farm.
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HAVANA SYNDROME SPECIAL
Debilitating neurological symptoms have affected US officials worldwide. Former CIA officer Marc Polymeropoulos has been suffering since 2017 - he joins Russia expert and former CIA Station Chief John Sipher, and Dr. James Giordano to analyze Havana Syndrome.
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GRAY SUIT & THE GHOST
Eric O’Neill describes the hunt for the infamous FBI mole Robert Hanssen, who he was tasked with catching. Eric needs to get Hanssen into a hire car so his own car can be searched for evidence of his betrayal... but the hire car isn’t there and Hanssen is getting suspicious. What would you do in O'Neill's position?
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THE ILLEGAL
'Jack Barsky' was a New York computer programmer for a well-known insurance firm. In real life, he was Albrecht Dittrich, a highly-trained Soviet sleeper agent dropped behind enemy lines in 1970s America. When the KGB recalled him to Europe, Barsky had a difficult choice to make: Should he leave his wife and 18-month-old baby behind or betray his country?
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INSIDE NAMBLA
Bob Hamer had a colorful career as an undercover FBI agent but nothing prepared him for infiltrating Nambla, the North American Man/Boy Love Association. If he was going to put the pedophiles behind bars, Bob would have to hide his hatred and disdain - even if it ripped at the very fabric of his being. (Warning: This episode contains graphic details.)
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WHITE TRAITOR
Sue Dobson was a white woman who wanted to spy for the African National Congress - making her a minority within a minority in apartheid-era South Africa. Dobson spent seven months training in the USSR to learn her tradecraft. Now she wasn’t just a traitor, she was a turncoat with the training to kill.
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PSYCHIC SPIES
Dr. Edwin May is an unusual scientist, a physicist who researches psychic phenomena. For decades he worked with psychics who believed they could ‘foresee’ events like potential terrorist attacks, which raised an interesting question: If you can see the future, are you condemned to experience it?
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THE SOCIOPATHIC SPY
Working as a lawyer is one path to success, but Jim Lawler wanted adventure. He ditched his job in Texas and joined the CIA. On his first tour abroad, Jim had to recruit a spy working for a hostile government knowing she’d be killed if her cover was blown. That’s when Jim realized he was born with the type of sociopathic personality that would ensure success.
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ME AND THE MULLAH
Shawnee Delaney was a key part of the US team hunting Osama bin Laden in the wake of 9/11. One of her contacts was a Mullah with close ties to al-Qaeda but how could she win his trust? There was a language barrier and the Mullah refused to accept money for intelligence. This was shaping up to be Shawnee’s most challenging assignment yet.
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THE IRISHMAN
Sean Hartnett grew up in Ireland during the 'Troubles'. His family was Republican so they were shocked when Hartnett talked about joining the British Armed Forces. In fact, Hartnett went a step further. He joined the British Army’s most secretive covert counterterrorist unit in Northern Ireland, Joint Communications Unit Northern Ireland aka ‘The Det’.
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And, if you're into covert operations and intelligence gathering, check out these episodes:
EPISODE 71
RISE AND KILL FIRST
Ronen Bergman is an investigative journalist specializing in the dark arts of espionage and Mossad. In the early ‘80s, he stumbled on the scoop of a lifetime involving PLO chairman Yasser Arafat.
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TEAM ALPHA PART 1: THE TIP OF THE SPEAR
October 17, 2001. The dust of 9/11 has barely settled. America and the world are reeling. In Afghanistan, eight CIA officers - a crack team of linguists, tribal experts, and paramilitaries - are the first Americans to infiltrate Taliban territory after the attacks. Their mission is to ensure that al-Qaeda does not strike again.
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EPISODE 87
STALIN'S ROMEO SPY
As a young Soviet journalist, Emil Draitser stumbled on a story that changed his life. He was summoned by Dmitri Bystrolyotov to hear the deep secret that he was a ‘Stasi Romeo’ spying on Germany for Moscow, taking advantage of vulnerable women to steal state secrets. It was a fascinating tale, but it could also land Draitser in prison.
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ALDRICH AMES PART 1: THE ULTIMATE DOUBLE AGENT - SELLING SECRETS
The CIA is only as strong as the weakest link. And in the waning years of the Cold War, weak links were in ready supply. A number of trusted Agency officers were caught selling secrets to the Russian regime. And the most notorious traitor? Aldrich Hazen Ames.
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EPISODE 43
PUTIN'S PALACE?
Former Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny released a film in 2021 that sent shockwaves through the country. Part exposé, part-psychological portrait, his investigation claimed to reveal a culture of corruption within the Kremlin - with President Putin at its heart. The Kremlin and Putin deny everything.
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LISTEN TO ALL TRUE SPIES EPISODES Find us on Apple Podcasts
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Spy Sisters
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CIA Secrets
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FBI Secrets
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Russian Secrets
Spying Game: Teaser
Major Hollywood storytellers and top international spies join host Rory Bremner to break down what we see on screen, to separate the fact from the fiction and shine a light on extraordinary characters and skills.
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Episode 9
The Real Americans
Joe Weisberg, the Emmy Award-winning creator of The Americans and a former CIA operative, meets Jack Barsky, who was a genuine Soviet "Illegal" operating undercover inside the United States. Host Rory Bremner hears about the amazing real-life inspiration for The Americans, why Joe’s life as an agent was cut short and what happened to Jack when the FBI moved in next door.
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Episode 8
Hiding In Plain Sight
Philippe Sands, leading international law and human rights barrister, Professor of Law at UCL and presenter of The Ratline, is joined by Dave Butler BEM, a former British spy active in Berlin during the Cold War. In an episode that covers Nazi plots, the redrawing of boundaries and incursions over enemy lines, we also hear from the Spymaster himself, David John Moore Cornwell, AKA John le Carré, thanks to archive audio recorded by his neighbour Philippe.
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Episode 7
The Enemy Within
The American Spy author Lauren Wilkinson, hailed by none other than President Obama, talks to former Jihad supporter turned undercover Canadian counterterrorism operative Mubin Shaikh. Host Rory Bremner hears about everything from how to foil a terrorist plot and AK-47 envy to the moment you realize you’ve made a terrible error of judgment.
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Episode 6
The Bodyguard: How to Protect the Lives That Matter
Former presidential close protection officer and medal of valor recipient Evy Poumpouras is joined by Jed Mercurio the man behind Line of Duty, Bodyguard, Trigger Point and Bloodlands. Rory Bremner hosts a deep dive into the reality behind protecting high-profile targets, from mind games and meticulous planning through to the importance of how to get off the ‘X’.
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Episode 5
Double Agents in the Middle East
Nadav Schirman is the multi-award-winning filmmaker behind The Green Prince, The Champagne Spy and April 7, 1980. She is joined by the former Mossad agent Gad Shimron who was part of Operation Moses, otherwise known as The Red Sea Diving Resort plot, which led to the rescue of thousands of Ethiopian Jews via Sudan. Presenter Rory Bremner hears about the psychology behind human intelligence and gets a crash course in the powers of persuasion. 
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Episode 4
Sex and Special Agents
Former clandestine CIA operative Amaryllis Fox and screenwriter, producer, and director Simon Kinberg, the man behind The 355, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and the Sherlock and the X-Men franchise, talk about gender representation in spy fiction. They also discuss the real-life pitfalls of sex and special agents. Host Rory Bremner hears about what motivates spies to do their work, where to smuggle audio recordings, and what it is really like working with Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, and Jessica Chastain.
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Episode 3
From Russia with... Love?
The Spy and the Traitor author Ben Macintyre meets former Russian FSB officer turned whistle-blower Janosh Neumann to discuss the truth behind the Cold War spies and life inside Vladimir Putin’s Russia. In an episode recorded before the crisis in Ukraine, host Rory Bremner hears about everything from nuclear secrets hidden in a suburban shed and the Salisbury poisonings, to life-or-death escapes over international borders.
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Episode 2
Hooray for Hollywood
How closely do the silver screen and the spying game overlap? Alistair Petrie, star of Deep State, Star Wars Rogue One, The Mark of Cain, and The Night Manager, meets former field agent and CIA chief of disguise Jonna Mendez. Presenter Rory Bremner hears it all, from Jonna’s recollections of the real Argo operation, to the spy tactics used to protect props on Star Wars and how The Planet of the Apes helped the CIA go full Ethan Hunt. 
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Episode 1
A Question of Deception
Ben Macintyre - author of Operation Mincemeat - meets former British Intelligence Operative Julian Fisher as they unpack the real story behind the Netflix movie Operation Mincemeat, starring Colin Firth. Presenter Rory Bremner uncovers a world of daring do, bluff, and bluster which featured some of the biggest names in spy history including an early outing for James Bond author Ian Fleming. 
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Preview Episode
Anthony Horowitz & Shawnee Delaney
Alex Rider, James Bond and Sherlock Holmes author Anthony Horowitz meets former DIA Intelligence Officer Shawnee Delaney. Rory Bremner presents.
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Preview Episode
Anthony Horowitz & Shawnee Delaney
Episode 1
A Question of Deception
Released May 11, 2022
Episode 2
Hooray for Hollywood
Released May 18th
Episode 3
From Russia with... Love?
Released May 25th
Episode 4
Sex and Special Agents
Released June 1
Episode 5
Double Agents in the Middle East
Episode 6
The Bodyguard: How to Protect the Lives That Matter
Episode 7
The Enemy Within
Episode 8
Hiding In Plain Sight
Episode 9
The Real Americans
www.spyscape.com/podcast/the-real-americans
Spying Game: Teaser

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