logo
episode-header-image
Mar 2025
40m 46s

The Spies Who Invaded Suburbia | Former ...

Wondery
About this episode

Jack Barsky was arguably one of the most successful and enduring of the "Illegals”. These were the Soviet and Russian operatives who seamlessly integrated into American society while covertly serving their handlers in Moscow. But as Jack started a family in his new country, the weight of his double life began to take its toll. Talking to actor and spy novelist Charlie Higson, Jack delves into his remarkable journey from Soviet KGB agent to devoted American family man, taking us inside his daring decision to fake his own death to escape his handlers.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Up next
Oct 7
The Spy Who Colluded with Castro | In This Building | 2
When intelligence analyst Ana Montes is briefed on one of the USA’s greatest military secrets, she is torn. Should she pass the intel to Cuba to alter the global balance of power, or is this one secret too far?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy ... Show More
42m 22s
Sep 30
The Spy Who Colluded with Castro | The A Traitor in the Making | 1
In the heart of the Cold War, student Ana Montes is angered by US meddling in Central America. So when a mysterious Cuban offers her a chance to do more than protest, she’s pulled into a dangerous new world.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy No ... Show More
40m 28s
Sep 7
The Spy Who is Back Soon | 6
Hosts Indira Varma and Raza Jaffrey return, unveiling three gripping stories of espionage that changed history: a Cuban mole inside US intelligence, an IRA infiltrator and a KGB colonel turned British asset. New episodes coming to your feed at the end of September.See Privacy Pol ... Show More
1m 17s
Recommended Episodes
Dec 2024
Jack Barsky On Lies, Sex and Spying | Real KGB Agent
Many people have told their stories on Piers Morgan Uncensored, but none have had a story to tell quite like Jack Barsky. Born Albrecht Dittrich in East Germany in 1949, he became a Russian spy who defected to America and now has a lifetime of secrets and close calls sitting in h ... Show More
1 h
May 2025
49. The Man Who Tried To Kill The KGB: A Traitor in the Kremlin (Ep 1)
The Cold War may have ended, but the hunt for dangerous secrets never truly stops. What happens when a disillusioned KGB archivist decides to betray his masters? How did he manage to steal masses of top-secret files from the heart of the Soviet Union? And what did the CIA miss th ... Show More
47m 48s
Jan 2025
14. Crossing the Iron Curtain: The CIA’s Mole In Moscow (Ep 1)
How did the CIA recruit a Russian asset in Moscow during the height of the Cold War? Why would someone be so determined to defect from the Soviet Union and spy for the US? And what would happen if the KGB found out they had a traitor in their midst? Adolf Tolkachev had a vendetta ... Show More
52m 42s
Nov 2024
A CIA Man in China: 20 Years Imprisoned
This is the story of America's longest held prisoner of war. John 'Jack' Downey, an American CIA operative, was imprisoned by the Chinese for 21 years during the Cold War. Don speaks to Barry Wirth, author of 'Prisoner of Lies: Jack Downey's Cold War.' They explore why the CIA we ... Show More
40m 26s
Jan 2025
15. Crossing the Iron Curtain: The Cold War’s Most Valuable Spy (Ep 2)
Was it possible to avoid KGB surveillance in Moscow as a CIA agent at the height of the Cold War? What motivates someone to spy on their country for an opposing power? And how did Adolf Tolkachev manage to smuggle out the top secret documents the CIA needed to defeat the USSR? Ad ... Show More
46m 58s
May 2025
50. The Man Who Tried To Kill The KGB: On the Run from Russia (Ep 2)
He risked everything to expose the KGB's darkest secrets, but Vasily Mitrokhin had two non-negotiable demands: his family's safety and his archive's publication. How did MI6 navigate these unprecedented requests? What secret deal was struck with the Americans to fund his resettle ... Show More
46m 46s
Feb 2025
17. ⁠Crossing the Iron Curtain: Revenge in Russia (Ep 4)
Will Tolkachev fall at the final hurdle and land in the hands of the KGB? How do the CIA go about protecting their assets in the field? And, does it really take a spy to catch a spy? As we reach the final instalment of the story of Adolf Tolkachev, the plot reaches its dramatic c ... Show More
45m 58s
Sep 25
EXCLUSIVE: The Spy Who Smuggled Gordievsky Out of Russia
*Declassified Club exclusive: SUBSCRIBE to listen to the full interview* What does it take to smuggle the West’s most valuable Russian agent out of the Soviet Union, under the noses of the KGB? How do you lose a KGB surveillance team on the road from Moscow, while hiding a defect ... Show More
5m 30s
Apr 2025
NEW SERIES: The Redefector
It was 1985, the so-called “Year of the Spy”. The CIA had been losing Soviet assets left and right; the first loss seemed like bad luck, but four in a row? That wasn't a coincidence— it was a deadly leak. And just as the Agency was scrambling to find answers, across the world, a ... Show More
2m 58s
Apr 2025
NEW SERIES: The Redefector
It was 1985, the so-called “Year of the Spy”. The CIA had been losing Soviet assets left and right; the first loss seemed like bad luck, but four in a row? That wasn't a coincidence— it was a deadly leak. And just as the Agency was scrambling to find answers, across the world, a ... Show More
2m 58s