David Robarge PhD, CIA Chief Historian, on "The Soldier-Statesman in the Secret World: George C. Marshall and Intelligence in War and Peace" George C. Marshall is best known as the Allies’ “organizer of victory” during World War II and steward of the namesake economic recovery program in postwar Western Europe. Far less well-known is Marshall’s extensive engagement with the world of intelligence during those years. In his Army leadership role in World War II, his diplomatic mission to China right after the war and his service as head of the State and Defense Departments, he grappled with difficult issues concerning intelligence capabilities and authorities, security matters and political and bureaucratic conflicts that persist today in the U.S. intelligence community. How he approached them can provide insights for current intelligence leaders and practitioners as they confront those historically enduring problems. 

Interview of Monday, 28 April 2025. Host and Interviewer: James Hughes, AFIO President. 

AFIO Now presents a special episode with Norman Roule, former National Intelligence Manager, ODNI; former Division Chief, CIA Operations Officer, Chief of Station.

In this AFIO Special Edition episode Norm Roule and Jim Hughes discuss recent attacks by US and Israel on Iran. Questions covered: Imagine the Supreme Leader is meeting with his inner security circle. What are their priorities at this moment? Are they achievable? And what weapons of the regime still have at its disposal? If things were starting to come apart in Iran, what are some of the highlights that we should look for? What are some of the indicators? What does a 12 day war mean for the region? What are senior regional leaders saying both publicly and privately? Are other Gulf countries - Qatar, the Emirates, the Saudis, the Omanis, the Kuwaitis, the Gulf Cooperation Council - pleased with the attacks? They now can raise the issue that the Chinese are selling ammonium percolate to the Iranians, which the Iranians are giving to the Houthis and the Houthi. And then using against everyone in the region and the world's economy itself. Does the Iranian nuclear enrichment program still exist in any form? Will the IAEA be allowed in or does it become a bargaining chip in long, drawn out negotiations? What does a diminished Iran mean for the region? There's been a lot of talk about realignment. Is that likely to happen and what can Iran try to do to counter that?

Interview of Monday, 1 July 2025. Interviewed by AFIO President, James Hughes. 

Author Alexander Rose PhD discusses his book, "Washington's Spies: The Story of America's First Spy Ring" with AFIO President, James Hughes. 

"Fascinating…. tells how the work of the spies proved to be the tipping point in the summer of 1778, helping Washington begin breaking the stalemate with the British…. [and] brings to light their crucial help in winning American independence."—Dallas Morning News

"After working on Washington, I knew there was a story to tell about his reliance on spies during the Revolutionary War. But I believed the story could never be told because the evidence did not exist. Well, I was wrong, and Alexander Rose tells this important story with style and wit."—Joseph Ellis, author of His Excellency: George Washington

"Making brilliant use of documentary sources, Rose gives us intrigue, crossed signals, derring-do, and a priceless slice of 18th century life…Rose unfolds the story of a Long Island-based spy ring of idealists and misfits who kept George Washington informed of what was going on in enemy-occupied New York."         —Richard Brookhiser, author of Founding Father: Rediscovering George Washington

Interview of Friday, 29 March 2025. Interviewer and Host: AFIO President, James Hughes. 

Leon Carroll Jr, co-author (with Mark Harmon) on "Ghosts of Panama: A Strongman Out of Control, A Murdered Marine, and the Special Agents Caught in the Middle of an Invasion." The warm relationship in 1989 between US and Gen. Manuel Noriega has eroded dangerously. President George Bush declares Noriega a drug trafficker and a rigger of elections causing intimidation on streets for U.S. personnel. The nation becomes a powder keg.

Naval Investigative Service (NIS) Special Agent Rick Yell has worked the job in Panama since 1986, and lives there with wife Annya and a child. Yell develops an intelligence source with access to the Noriega regime turning into spy-versus-spy with secret meetings and hidden documents. A source has info on an imprisoned CIA asset and helps track Noriega’s movements. The reports shape the decisions made in Washington D.C., CIA headquarters, and the Pentagon. The powder keg is lit on December 16, 1989, when a young U.S. Marine is gunned down at a checkpoint in Panama City. This is the rest of that story.

Interview of Friday, 28 March 2025. Interviewer and Host: AFIO President James Hughes.

Mike Mears, former CIA Chief of HR, on his book Certainty: How Great Bosses Can Change Minds and Drive Innovation. Discover how great leaders draw out the best of human nature. That our Stone Age brains are hardwired for survival and programmed to fear the unknown, yet the work world demands constant innovation. The enemy of better leadership is uncertainty deeply buried in the minds of your workforce. Mears urges greater understanding of human nature. Work with it rather than push against it. He draws on neuroscience and psychology -- plus compelling stories from his Agency career -- to provide practical leadership advice, including: Science-backed explanations of how our brains think and how our primitive brains are colliding with the demands of the modern workplace; New feedback, change management, and delegation tools to build an environment of certainty rather than of fear; Fresh insights to overcome innate change resistance in yourself and others; and Time-saving ideas to empower yourself while empowering your employees.

These steps engender loyalty, trust, and great performance from a team. You learn to identify the limitations and strengths of the human mind and create a dynamic and innovative workplace.

Interview of Thursday, 20 March 2025. Interviewed by: AFIO President, James Hughes. 

Joseph Finder, author and Russian Studies expert discusses his novel, "The Oligarch's Daughter." It is a breakneck thriller that marries the dynastic opulence of Succession with the tense and disorienting spycraft of The Americans.

Interview of Tuesday, 13 March 2025. Interviewer and Host: AFIO President James Hughes. 

Nicholas Reynolds PhD discussing his 2022 book "Need to Know: World War II and the Rise of American Intelligence" with AFIO President, James Hughes. 

Interview of Tuesday, 4 March 2025. Interviewer and Host: AFIO President James Hughes.

Douglas Waller, Historian, Author, and Foreign Correspondent, discusses his new book "The Determined Spy: The Turbulent Life and Times of CIA Pioneer Frank Wisner" with AFIO President, James Hughes. Frank Wisner was one of the most powerful men in 1950s Washington, though few knew it. Reporting directly to senior U.S. officials--his work largely hidden from Congress and the public--Wisner masterminded some of the CIA’s most controversial operations in the early years of the Cold War, commanding thousands of clandestine agents around the world.

Interview of Monday, 31 March 2025. Host: James Hughes, AFIO President. 

Leon Carroll Jr, co-author (with Mark Harmon) on "Ghosts of Honolulu: A Japanese Spy, A Japanese American Spy Hunter, and the Untold Story of Pearl Harbor" A U.S. naval counterintelligence officer working to safeguard Pearl Harbor; a Japanese spy ordered to Hawaii to gather information on the American fleet. On December 7, 1941, their hidden stories are exposed by a morning of bloodshed that would change the world forever. Scrutinizing long-buried historical documents, NCIS star Mark Harmon and co-author Leon Carroll, a former NCIS Special Agent, have brought forth a true-life NCIS story of deception, discovery, and danger.

Interview of Thursday, 6 February 2025. Host: James Hughes, AFIO President 

Author, Joby Warrick discusses his 2020 book "RED LINE on The Unraveling of Syria and America's Race to Destroy the Most Dangerous Arsenal in the World" with AFIO President, James Hughes. 

Interview of Monday, 27 January 2025. Host: James Hughes, AFIO President