logo
episode-header-image
Apr 2023
46m 33s

I spy

MONOCLE
About this episode

In this special edition of ‘The Foreign Desk’, we speak to former spies from different intelligence services serving in different eras. We’ll find out how to recruit assets, disrupt communications, adopt false identities and, if necessary, get out in a hurry. And we’ll learn how and why spies become spies.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Up next
Yesterday
Explainer 475: Why has Russia recognised the Taliban?
Russia has become the first country to recognise the Taliban as Afghanistan’s government. Andrew Mueller explains why. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
6m 44s
Jul 5
How to topple a tyrant
As last year’s rapid descent of Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad attests, when a dictator falls, they fall fast. But what are the conditions under which that fall occurs? And how can they be sparked?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
35m 32s
Jul 2
Explainer 474: Tuvalu’s climate-change escape to Australia
Andrew Mueller explains the relocation ballot being offered to Tuvaluans by Australia and what’s in it for the host nation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
6m 32s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2019
Trailer: I Spy
Spies don’t talk—it’s the cardinal rule of the business. But on Foreign Policy’s podcast I Spy, we get them to open up. We hear from the operations people: the spies who steal secrets, kill adversaries, and turn agents into double agents. Each episode features one spy’s most thri ... Show More
1m 39s
Apr 2023
Yes, We're All Being Spied On
Remember the Chinese spy balloon? Since then, we’ve seen leaked Pentagon spy documents on Discord and the discovery of fake Chinese police stations used for surveillance in the U.S. The line between espionage and everyday surveillance/data collection is more blurred than ever, th ... Show More
24m 29s
May 2020
The Widow Spy
Martha Peterson handled one of the most valuable Soviet spies of the Cold War, code-named TRIGON—until the KGB got wind of the operation. Peterson was a young undercover officer working at the American embassy in Moscow in the mid-70s. She was the first female operations officers ... Show More
31m 19s
Jun 2020
The Operative
Mubin Shaikh poses as a Muslim extremist to nab Canadians who planned to stage large-scale attacks on government targets. The group he infiltrated would come to be known as the Toronto 18.This season, there’s more I Spy with I Spy Plus. Get ad-free I Spy episodes and access to we ... Show More
33m 43s
Feb 2024
Listen Now: The Spy Who
These are stories you were never meant to hear. The invisible but vital work of the world’s intelligence services: secret operatives playing to very different rules. The Spy Who, hosted by Indira Varma and Raza Jaffrey, takes you deep inside that shadow world to meet spies who ri ... Show More
6m 23s
May 2020
The Whistleblower
Thomas Drake joined the NSA in 2001 to help deal with the glut of data created by the huge rise of Internet use around the world. But he grew increasingly troubled by something else: the way the U.S. government was targeting its own citizens for surveillance after the attacks of ... Show More
25m 29s
May 2022
The Spycatcher
On this episode, FBI agent Eric O'Neill goes undercover to catch a suspected spy in the bureau: Robert Hanssen. O'Neill is just 26 at the time. Hanssen turns out to be one of the most damaging spies in U.S. history. This is part one of a two-part story. If you haven't signed up f ... Show More
29m 51s
Apr 2011
Decoding the Mystery of Female Spies
When people think of spies, they often picture men like James Bond. Yet throughout history women have also had careers as spies. Listen in to learn more about notable female spies, sex as a espionage tactic, stereotypes and more. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.ih ... Show More
20m 35s
May 2020
The Chaperone
On this episode, CIA officer Milt Bearden helps a KGB defector make a new life in the United States. But the Russian, Vitaly Yurchenko, discovers America can be a strange and lonely place.This season, there’s more I Spy with I Spy Plus. Get ad-free I Spy episodes and access to we ... Show More
30m 27s
Oct 2019
Former Head of FBI Counterintelligence Bill Priestap on Top Spy Threats
In this episode of Intelligence Matters, Bill Priestap, the former head of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division, speaks with host Michael Morell about the evolving counterintelligence challenges facing the United States. Priestap, now a Centennial Fellow with Georgetown Univers ... Show More
44 m