logo
episode-header-image
Apr 2020
28m 4s

The CIA Paid War Spies with Stuff From t...

iHeartPodcasts
About this episode

When CIA agent Jon Wiant began growing a spy operation in Vietnam, he ran into a pickle: the locals he wanted to hire lived in rural areas along the boarder with Laos, and they existed primarily in a barter economy -- they wanted some sort of payment, but they didn't want currency. What's a spymaster to do? Listen in to learn how Jon Wiant used the famous Sears catalog to create a barter system of his own.

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Up next
Oct 9
The Dumbest Mobster Ever Tried To Steal Ruby Slippers
There are few pieces of film history more iconic than Dorothy's magic ruby slippers from 1939's The Wizard of Oz. Yet, at first, the studio had no idea how valuable these would become. The multiple pairs of slippers languished in obscurity until costume department worker named Ke ... Show More
40m 23s
Oct 7
The Ridiculously Disturbing History of North Korea
As one of the most isolated countries on the planet, it's no surprise the Democratic People's Republic of Korea remains mysterious in the modern day. So, how did it become a thing? In today's episode, Ben, Noel and Max explore the bizarre origin story of the "Hermit Kingdom," a t ... Show More
48m 25s
Oct 4
CLASSIC: The Forty Elephants: London’s All-Female Jewel Thieves
For at least 200 years, part of London’s criminal underground was ruled by a gang of brilliant, all-female jewel thieves. In this week's classic episode, Ben, Noel and Max explore the rise and fall of the notorious Forty Elephants.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informati ... Show More
42m 7s
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2020
Inside the CIA: How the Intelligence Agency Help Shape History
Author Chris Whipple pulls back the curtain on the CIA and its often secretive directors in his new book, "The Spymasters: How the CIA Directors Shape History and the Future," published by Scribner an imprint of Simon & Schuster a division of ViacomCBS. Having spoken to almost ev ... Show More
30m 1s
Feb 2021
CIA Agent and Former Spy - John Braddock
John Braddock is a former CIA officer and spy and was responsible for recruiting and handling sources on weapons proliferation, counter-terrorism and political-military issues. In this interview, he gives us an insider's guide into what it takes to be a spy, what it took to track ... Show More
49m 7s
Mar 2021
The Cassandra
Frank Snepp was a CIA analyst based in Saigon during the Vietnam War. In April of 1975, he discovered that Communist forces were preparing a large-scale attack on Saigon—but the higher ups refused to believe it. When the attack began later that month, the Americans conducted a fr ... Show More
26m 21s
Sep 2022
"Wild" Bill Donovan, Super Spy Extraordinaire
On this episode of Our American Stories, Drew Newman, of JC Newman Cigars, tells the story of cigars in the United States, a story his family played a big part in. “Wild Bill" Donovan was one of America’s most exciting and secretive generals—the man President Franklin Roosevelt m ... Show More
38m 16s
Jun 2022
The Skeptic
Long before Joe Weisberg created the award-winning television show The Americans, he served in the CIA. His brief period in the agency informed story lines in the show and helped shape Weisberg's views on espionage. Eventually, he came to believe that spying does more harm than g ... Show More
35m 3s
Jan 2022
Selects: Project Azorian: The CIA's Super 70s Mission To Steal A Sunken Soviet Sub
In 1974 the CIA undertook one of its most brazen operations – secretly raising a sunken Soviet submarine lost in the middle of the Pacific Ocean right under the noses of the Russian Navy. With the help of billionaire recluse Howard Hughes, obviously. Learn all about it in this cl ... Show More
51m 2s
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
Nov 2019
Episode 1: The Spy
Igor Ostrovskiy is a private investigator in New York. In 2017, he was contracted to surveil Ronan Farrow on behalf of a secret client. Igor would eventually learn that the secret client was Black Cube, an Israel-based agency with roots in the Mossad, and they were working on beh ... Show More
35m 35s