SpyTalk

Episoade

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  Terror’s New Faces 18.09.2026 1h

  A greater array of better-armed threats confronts the US than on 9/11. Terrorism and insurgency expert Bruce Hoffman joins the podcast to discuss the current state of Al-Qaeda and its affiliates in the world Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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  25 Years of Counterterrorism 09.09.2026 1h 11min

  Peter Bergen on the triumphs and tragedies wrought by 9/11.More from our guest:https://www.peterbergen.com/ His latest book:All the Presidents' Wars Twenty-Five Years of America's War on Terror - Bookshop.org US Follow Jeff Stein on Twitter | https://twitter.com/SpyTalkerFollow Michael Isikoff on Twitter | https://twitter.com/isikoff Follow Karen Greenberg on Twitter | https://x.com/KarenGreenberg3 Follow SpyTalk on Twitter | https://twitter.com/talk_spy Subscribe to SpyTalk on Substack | https://www.spytalk.co/ Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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  How to Recruit a Traitor 04.09.2026 55min

  Former CIA operations officer and member of CIA's Senior Intelligence Service (SIS-3) turned author, Jim Lawler joins Micheal to discuss real world espionage, spy recruitment, and his latest spy novel.The Traitor’s Tale by Jim Lawler Follow Jeff Stein on Twitter | https://twitter.com/SpyTalkerFollow Michael Isikoff on Twitter | https://twitter.com/isikoff Follow Karen Greenberg on Twitter | https://x.com/KarenGreenberg3 Follow SpyTalk on Twitter | https://twitter.com/talk_spy Subscribe to SpyTalk on Substack | https://www.spytalk.co/ Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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  U.S. Adversaries Exploit Intel Failures 28.08.2026 43min

  Former CIA Chief Learning Officer Steve Hirsch tells how Russia, China, and Iran exploit the cracks in US intelligence.More From Stephen Hirsch | https://stephenhirsch.com/ Follow Jeff Stein on Twitter | https://twitter.com/SpyTalkerFollow Michael Isikoff on Twitter | https://twitter.com/isikoff Follow Karen Greenberg on Twitter | https://x.com/KarenGreenberg3 Follow SpyTalk on Twitter | https://twitter.com/talk_spy Subscribe to SpyTalk on Substack | https://www.spytalk.co/ Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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  The World's First Super-terrorist 21.08.2026 53min

  Joby Warrick joined SpyTalk to talk about “The Jackal: The Rise and Fall of Carlos, the World’s First Super-Terrorist.”Check out the book:The JackalThe Rise and Fall of Carlos, the World's FirstMore from Joby WarrickAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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  Gunfight at the CIA Corral 17.08.2026 51min

  Political pressure on the spy agency is forcing people out, says former senior analyst Julia Curlee. More From Julia Curlee at | https://www.lawfaremedia.org/contributors/jcurlee Follow Jeff Stein on Twitter | https://twitter.com/SpyTalkerFollow Michael Isikoff on Twitter | https://twitter.com/isikoff Follow Karen Greenberg on Twitter | https://x.com/KarenGreenberg3 Follow SpyTalk on Twitter | https://twitter.com/talk_spy Subscribe to SpyTalk on Substack | https://www.spytalk.co/ Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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  Kash Patel’s Strange Trips 07.08.2026 54min

  Former FBI executive Lauren Anderson on the Director’s China, Russia outreaches.Lauren C. Anderson | https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurencandersonintl/https://laurencanderson.substack.com/Follow Jeff Stein on Twitter | https://twitter.com/SpyTalkerFollow Michael Isikoff on Twitter | https://twitter.com/isikoff Follow Karen Greenberg on Twitter | https://x.com/KarenGreenberg3 Follow SpyTalk on Twitter | https://twitter.com/talk_spy Subscribe to SpyTalk on Substack | https://www.spytalk.co/Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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  The Nord Stream Conspiracy 31.07.2026 57min

  Wall Street Journal reporter Bojan Pancevski unveils the astounding story of Ukraine’s sabotage of the Russian pipeline.Plus, Jeff and Michael discuss Jay Clayton, Todd Blanche, and more.Read Bojan’s bookThe Nord Stream Conspiracy Follow Jeff Stein on Twitter | https://twitter.com/SpyTalkerFollow Michael Isikoff on Twitter | https://twitter.com/isikoff Follow Karen Greenberg on Twitter | https://x.com/KarenGreenberg3 Follow SpyTalk on Twitter | https://twitter.com/talk_spy Subscribe to SpyTalk on Substack | https://www.spytalk.co/Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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  Who’s Running US Intelligence? 24.07.2026 41min

  Atlantic staff writer Shane Harris drills down on the changes roiling the ODNI and CIA.Follow Jeff Stein on Twitter | https://twitter.com/SpyTalkerFollow Michael Isikoff on Twitter | https://twitter.com/isikoff Follow Karen Greenberg on Twitter | https://x.com/KarenGreenberg3 Follow SpyTalk on Twitter | https://twitter.com/talk_spy Subscribe to SpyTalk on Substack | https://www.spytalk.co/ Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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  Trumpworld’s Dystopian World of Terror 18.07.2026 48min

  Terrorism expert Colin Clarke fact-checks the administration’s claims on leftwing extremism and election security. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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  The Reporter and the China Trap 03.07.2026 48min

  Tom LoBianco answered an ad for a writer and then things went south. Tom LoBianco is a veteran national politics reporter and editor of 24sight News, the independent news site on Substack. 24sight's scoops have been featured in The New York Times, CNN, ABC News, the Reddit front page, the Columbia Journalism Review and many other outlets.Tom LoBiancohttps://www.24sight.news/ Follow Jeff Stein on Twitter https://twitter.com/SpyTalker Follow Michael Isikoff on Twitter https://twitter.com/isikoff Follow Karen Greenberg on Twitter https://x.com/KarenGreenberg3 Follow SpyTalk on Twitter https://twitter.com/talk_spy Subscribe to SpyTalk on Substack https://www.spytalk.co/ Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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  War-Ender Weapons 26.06.2026 1h

  Seeing-eye bombs were supposed to limit civilian casualties. Jeffrey Stern, author of “The Warhead,” explains why they didn’t. Jeffrey SternThe Warheadhttps://www.jeffreyestern.com/books Follow Michael Isikoff | https://x.com/isikoff   Follow Karen Greenberg on Twitter | https://x.com/KarenGreenberg3 Follow Jeff Stein on Twitter | https://x.com/SpyTalker  Subscribe to SpyTalk on Substack | https://www.spytalk.co/ Jeffrey E. Stern is an award-winning journalist and the author of five books, including his newest book The Warhead, The 15:17 to Paris, which was adapted as a major motion picture by Clint Eastwood and Warner Brothers, and The Last Thousand: One School’s Promise in a Nation at War, an honorable mention for best book of the year by Library Journal. Stern co-wrote and produced the award-winning independent film Yasmeen’s Element, which premiered at the SXSW film festival and was named a “best of the fest.” He has been named a graduate fellow at the Stanford Center for International Conflict and Negotiation and a grantee of the Pulitzer Center Fellow for Crisis Reporting. Stern’s reporting has appeared in magazines such as The New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, and The Atlantic.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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  Trump's Hatchet Man Atop US Intelligence 20.06.2026 50min

  New York Times Intelligence Reporter Julian Barnes on the Rise of Bill Pulte.More from JulianJulian E. Barnes Writes about the American intelligence community, including the Central Intelligence Agency, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and other spy agencies, as well as broader national and international security issues. His stories seek to break news about what intelligence officials are thinking, and occasionally doing, and to explain the U.S. perspective on security matters.X: @julianbarnesThreads: @julianbarnesLinkedIn: Julian E. BarnesSignal: julianbarnes.99Anonymous tips: nytimes.com/tipsFollow Michael Isikoff | https://x.com/isikoff Follow Karen Greenberg on Twitter | https://x.com/KarenGreenberg3Follow Jeff Stein on Twitter | https://x.com/SpyTalker Subscribe to SpyTalk on Substack | https://www.spytalk.co/ Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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  How Trump Broke the ODNI 12.06.2026 1h

  Former senior CIA analyst David Kanin on the crises in US intelligence.David Kanin is a retired CIA senior analyst and member of the Senior Intelligence Service.https://commonsensecoalition.net/about-csc/Follow Michael Isikoff | https://x.com/isikoff Follow Karen Greenberg | https://x.com/KarenGreenberg3Follow Jeff Stein on Twitter | https://x.com/SpyTalker Subscribe to SpyTalk on Substack | https://www.spytalk.coAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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  How a Terror Case Fizzled 05.06.2026 55min

  Former Gitmo prosecutor Michael Lebowitz takes us inside the nuclear plot that never was.Mike Lebowitz is one of America’s few war-crimes prosecutors with front-line counterterrorism experience. A former senior attorney at the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, he spent nearly a decade prosecuting cases at Guantanamo Bay, including the 9/11, USS Cole, and top Al Qaeda commander trials. A US Army combat veteran and former Pathfinder unit paratrooper officer, Lebowitz also served as a senior legal advisor to US Army Cyber Command. He has been featured or quoted by the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, NPR, Associated Press, and the Atlantic. He lives in Washington, DC.Second Wave by Michael LebowitzIn 2003, US intelligence uncovered evidence that al Qaeda had acquired nuclear materials, plotting to smuggle them into American ports. The “Second Wave” threat triggered one of the most urgent and secretive manhunts in US history.With the cinematic intensity of Zero Dark Thirty and the investigative depth of The Looming Tower, Michael Lebowitz captures post-9/11 chaos and drama: agents risking everything to prevent another catastrophe, families torn apart, and the ethical fault lines still dividing US intelligence.Readers meet Pakistani-American industrialist Saifullah Paracha, whose import- export business concealed ties to al Qaeda; Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, architect of 9/11; Majid Khan, a Baltimore gas-station clerk turned jihadist who mapped US targets; an FBI interrogator who broke suspects faster than any waterboard; and an Orthodox Jewish garment importer whose betrayal helped avert disaster. On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, Lebowitz’s account reveals a global pursuit that tested America’s moral limits and asks: Are we as prepared today as we were then?Follow Michael Isikoff | https://x.com/isikoff Follow Karen Greenberg on Twitter | https://x.com/KarenGreenberg3Follow Jeff Stein on Twitter | https://x.com/SpyTalker Subscribe to SpyTalk on Substack | https://www.spytalk.co/ Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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  Pod Save Our National Security with Tommy Vietor 29.05.2026 59min

  Former Obama speechwriter Tommy Vietor talks about energizing Dems on vital US foreign policy issues.Tommy Vietor | https://x.com/TVietor08 | https://crooked.com/podcast-series/pod-save-the-world/ Follow Michael Isikoff on Twitter | https://x.com/isikoff       Follow Karen Greenberg on Twitter | https://x.com/KarenGreenberg3    Follow Jeff Stein on Twitter | https://x.com/SpyTalker    Follow SpyTalk on Twitter | https://x.com/talk_spy    Subscribe to SpyTalk on Substack | https://www.spytalk.co/ Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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  Is Havana Up For Grabs? 22.05.2026 54min

  Cuba intervention expert Peter Kornbluh joins SpyTalk to discuss Trump’s pressure campaign.Peter Kornbluh | National Security Archive Peter Kornbluh, Senior Analyst, has worked at the Archive since April 1986. He currently directs the Archive's Cuba and Chile Documentation Projects. He was co-director of the Iran-Contra documentation project and director of the Archive's project on U.S. policy toward Nicaragua. From 1990-1999, he taught at Columbia University as an adjunct assistant professor of international and public affairs.Cuba: Declassified Records on the Brothers to the Rescue Shootdown | National Security ArchiveCheck out National Security Archive on Facebook and Blueskyhttps://www.facebook.com/NSArchive https://bsky.app/profile/nsarchive.bsky.social Follow Michael Isikoff on Twitter |https://x.com/isikoff     Follow Karen Greenberg on Twitter | https://x.com/KarenGreenberg3   Follow Jeff Stein on Twitter | https://x.com/SpyTalker   Follow SpyTalk on Twitter | https://x.com/talk_spy   Subscribe to SpyTalk on Substack | https://www.spytalk.co/ Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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  The Ultimate Intelligence Fiasco 15.05.2026 1h 3min

  Ex-CIA operative Jerry Watson and journalist Bob Drogin tell the disastrous story of Curveball and its relevance to today’s war against Iran.The US invaded Iraq after the based on bogus intel. Much of that intel was fabricated by Rafid Ahmed Alwan al-Janabi an Iraqi defector codenamed "Curveball."More from our guests:Bob Drogin | Los Angeles Times A CIA Officer Returns to Iraq and Uncovers Embarrassing Details of the Spy Agency’s WMD Debacle CurveballJerry Watson | https://www.criticalanswers.net/ Follow Michael Isikoff on Twitter |https://x.com/isikoff     Follow Karen Greenberg on Twitter | https://x.com/KarenGreenberg3   Follow Jeff Stein on Twitter | https://x.com/SpyTalker   Follow SpyTalk on Twitter | https://x.com/talk_spy   Subscribe to SpyTalk on Substack | https://www.spytalk.co/ Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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  Putin in Peril? 08.05.2026 46min

  Former CIA Russia hand Sean Wiswesser assesses Putin’s grip on his security services amid rumors of coups. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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  JFK’s Fatal Mistake 01.05.2026 1h 3min

  Veteran journalist Jack Cheevers takes another look at President Kennedy’s ambivalent role in the overthrow and assassination of South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem.Check out Kennedy’ Coup by Jack CheeversSubscribe to SpyTalk on Substack https://www.spytalk.co/ Follow Jeff Stein on Twitter https://x.com/SpyTalker Follow Michael Isikoff on Twitter https://x.com/isikoff Follow Karen Greenberg on Twitter https://x.com/KarenGreenberg3 Follow SpyTalk on Twitter https://x.com/talk_spy Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy