logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2021
46m 43s

19. Licensed to Kill: The Couple that In...

Justin Black
About this episode

It's Mason, Peter Mason. Today, guest Dr. Richard Wooldridge dives into the interesting lives of talented MI6 agents Prudence and Peter Mason. Part of a specialized unit called the Baker Team that sought to even the score with war criminals who had faced no repercussions following World War II, Peter Mason was literally licensed by the British government to kill. Speculation suggests that Peter--who knew Ian Fleming himself--is the chief inspiration for the most famous fictional intelligence agent in our cultural lexicon: James Bond. And what about Prudence? Despite a slim information available, we know she played a formative part in many missions abroad (in high-stakes locations like British Palestine) thanks to her impressive linguistic skills.

Check out the Combined Military Services Museum, founded by Dr. Wooldridge, here.

https://cmsm.co.uk/

Connect with Spycraft 101:
IG: @spycraft101
Patreon: Spycraft 101
Buy the book: here on Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Spy-Shots-Tales-World-Espionage/dp/B09BY3WH71/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1628473373&sr=1-2

Support the show

Up next
Today
210. From Hollywood to Corporate Espionage with Robert Kerbeck
This week Justin sits down with Robert Kerbeck. Robert is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and has worked extensively in theater, film, and television, appearing in lead roles in major shows, and earning several awards. He is a lifetime member of the Actor's Studio. H ... Show More
1h 6m
Aug 18
209. Europe, Mossad, and Operation Wrath of God with Dr. Aviva Guttmann
Today Justin sits down with Dr. Aviva Guttmann. Aviva has worked as a visiting researcher in war studies in King's Intelligence and Security Group, and a Marie Curie senior researcher at the Center for War Studies at Southern Denmark University. She's also worked for the Swiss Em ... Show More
51m 11s
Aug 11
208. From Cold War Counterintelligence to Project Star Gate with Bill Ray
This week Justin's guest is William "Bill" Ray. Bill is a retired army major and a Department of Defense civilian with more than 50 years of service as an intelligence and counterintelligence officer, including 20 years in Europe. During his career, he spent over three and a half ... Show More
1h 17m
Recommended Episodes
May 2023
The Spy Who Fooled the FBI
May 10, 2002. Former FBI agent Robert Hanssen is sentenced to life in prison without parole. His crime? Selling scads of top-secret information to the Soviets – and later, the Russians – over 22 years. How did Hanssen get away with his deception for so long, which led to the deat ... Show More
33m 52s
Feb 2022
380 Ian Fleming | PLUS The Black James Bond
Ian Fleming (1908-1964) always wanted to be a writer. Not an "author," as he put it, and not someone in the "Shakespeare stakes," but someone who wrote for money and pleasure. In developing his enduring character James Bond, he managed to accomplish both. In this episode, Jacke t ... Show More
51m 52s
Mar 2024
CLASSIC: Agent 355: Washington's Secret Spy
Spies aren't just relegated to the Cold War and James Bond -- in fact, spycraft played a crucial role in the Revolutionary War. One of the government's most effective spies was so accomplished that, even in the modern day, their identity remains a mystery. Join the guys as they u ... Show More
45 m
Apr 2024
Hollywood Spy: The British WW1 Hero Who Helped Japan Attack Pearl Harbour
Frederick Rutland was one of Britain's finest naval pilots and a celebrated hero of the First World War. And yet in the interwar period, he would become a turncoat, feeding information to Japanese intelligence whilst living undercover in the glitz and glamour of 1930s Hollywood. ... Show More
25m 28s
Oct 2021
The Sociopathic Spy
Location - unknown. Time period - classified. Hero? You decide. Jim Lawler is one of the CIA's most successful recruiters of foreign spies. But even he had to start somewhere. Vanessa Kirby joins Jim on his first foreign posting. His mission? To enlist a crucial intelligence asse ... Show More
46m 55s
Jun 2024
Crafting Realistic Spy Thrillers - Merle Nygate Reveals More About Honour Among Spies
Welcome to another thrilling episode of the Spybrary Spy Book Podcast! Today, we have the exceptional Merle Nygate joining us to dive deep into her latest espionage novel, Honour Among Spies, the highly anticipated sequel to The Righteous Spy. Tune in as host Shane Whaley commend ... Show More
45m 59s
Jan 2021
Introducing: I Spy
We're excited to introduce you to I Spy, a production of Foreign Policy. Each week on I Spy, a former intelligence operative from somewhere around the world tells the story of a single mission. They've featured guests from the CIA, Mossad, MI5, the KGB, and more. The host is thre ... Show More
28m 54s
Mar 2021
37. Spies, with Ben MacIntyre
History is littered with stories of espionage and its capacity to change the course of events. But does spying truly matter and has the human operative finally been replaced by the computer?Ben MacIntyre, author of books including Agent Zigzag and The Spy and the Traitor, joins T ... Show More
46m 41s
Nov 2023
The Queen's Soviet Spy
Sir Anthony Blunt, esteemed art historian and a favourite of the Royal family, was publicly revealed as a Soviet spy on 15th November, 1979, when Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher confirmed he had been part of the "Cambridge Five", a group of double agents who secretly passed sens ... Show More
11m 56s