logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2023
42m 11s

Plain Sight

CBS News
About this episode

How did the FBI allow a spy to operate in its midst for more than 20 years and do such devastating damage? Robert Hanssen’s tradecraft was good, but far from perfect. In fact, the FBI missed several chances to nab him.

Drop us a line: agentofbetrayal@cbsnews.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Up next
Oct 2023
Wrong Man
The intelligence community knew it had a mole problem. It couldn’t account for lost assets and blown operations. So the FBI and CIA set out on another mole hunt – and this time, there was one suspect who fit better than the rest. He was a career CIA officer who had been around im ... Show More
42m 40s
Oct 2023
Plain Sight
How did the FBI allow a spy to operate in its midst for more than 20 years and do such devastating damage? Robert Hanssen’s tradecraft was good, but far from perfect. In fact, the FBI missed several chances to nab him. Drop us a line: agentofbetrayal@cbsnews.com To learn more abo ... Show More
40m 11s
Oct 2023
Priscilla
Priscilla Sue Galey was a dancer at a strip club about a 15 minute walk from the White House. Robert Hanssen told her that he'd never seen such grace and beauty. He gave her sapphires and diamonds, a Mercedes, a trip around the world. But what did Hanssen want in return? Even mor ... Show More
45m 34s
Recommended Episodes
Jun 2024
The Spy Who Betrayed Bin Laden | Twin Towers | 3
Aimen Dean is now working undercover posing as a loyal jihadi in Afghanistan, while actually spying for the British intelligence service MI6. And he knows that one mistake is all it will take to wind up dead. But that’s not his only worry because the sense that al-Qaeda’s got a m ... Show More
38m 44s
Jan 2025
The Spy Who Betrayed Bin Laden (Encore) | Twin Towers | 3
Dean is working undercover, posing as a loyal jihadi in Afghanistan, while actually spying for British intelligence. He knows that one mistake is all it will take to wind up dead. But that’s not his only worry because the sense is growing that al-Qaeda has a major plot in the wor ... Show More
38m 51s
Jan 2025
The Spy Who Betrayed Bin Laden (Encore) | Aimen Dean talks about his time as MI6's Top Spy Inside Al-Qaeda | 5
Aimen Dean talks Raza Jaffrey through the highs and lows of his eight years as an undercover agent and why he chose to spy for the British rather than the Americans. He also describes how he felt after his cover was blown when an American writer disclosed his identity with detail ... Show More
46m 21s
Jul 2024
Hoover | Guns, Gangsters and G-Men | 2
Rumours about Hoover's sexuality threaten to overshadow his work building the FBI into a credible crime fighting force. And although he's obsessed with information, he misses a key piece of intelligence, which could have changed the path of the Second World War.Listen to Legacy o ... Show More
48m 4s
Oct 2024
The Spy Who Started the Cold War | Lost Control | 4
MI5 is closing in on Klaus Fuchs. But they can't seem to catch him in the act of spying. There’s only one option. They need a confession.Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/th ... Show More
42m 34s
Jul 1
The Spy Who Saved MI5 (Encore) | No Return | 3
There’s panic at MI5 headquarters. Oleg Lyalin, their man inside the KGB, has just been arrested for drunk driving putting Operation Foot in jeopardy. But as MI5 races to reach him before the KGB can, Lyalin is working out a daring new plan that will force the British security se ... Show More
33m 27s
Jul 15
The Spy Who Saved MI5 (Encore) | How the Cambridge Five Changed MI5 | 5
Why was the Cambridge Five scandal so embarrasing to MI5? And how significant was Oleg Lyalin's success in restoring faith in British Intelligence? Tristan Donovan discusses the notorious spy-ring and its lasting impact with Andrew Lownie, the author of Stalin's Englishman.See Pr ... Show More
37m 36s
Feb 2025
The Spies Who Invaded Suburbia | Coming To America | 1
It's 1999 and a mole reveals that deep-cover Russian spies are lurking in American suburbia. The FBI finds itself walking a tightrope to keep these spooks in check without exposing its man in Moscow. But the longer the Bureau watches, the more dangerous and numerous the fake Amer ... Show More
54m 18s
Jun 17
The Spy Who Saved MI5 (Encore) | The Spider and the Fly | 1
MI5 is on its knees at the dawn of the 1970s: Soviet spies are running free around the country and the government won’t boot them out for fear of upsetting Moscow. But the danger from inaction is growing because a spy from the KGB’s most-secret department has just been posted to ... Show More
36m 51s
Jan 2025
The Spy Who Betrayed Bin Laden (Encore) | Death Sentence | 4
A deadly plot threatens the New York Subway and Dean is on a mission to thwart it. But when his British spymasters decide to alert the U.S. to the threat, Dean’s deception begins to unravel. Have you got a spy story you’d like us to tell? Email your ideas to thespywho@wondery.com ... Show More
40m 7s
Listen to millions of songs and podcasts on Anghami