AFIO Podcast

Lillian Wang, TV & Film Writer, Lawyer, Former CIA Clandestine Service Officer, discusses her impressive career trajectory with AFIO President Jim Hughes. After immigrating to the U.S. at a young age, she mastered the language and customs and excelled in school.  Lillian joined the CIA and trained as a Clandestine Services officer, serving many years here and abroad, resigning for family reasons and obtaining a law degree. She then shifted to a career in TV and Movies as a writer and subject matter expert on CIA, the IC, espionage, and spying to bring accuracy to productions for which she has been hired. She gives career advice, explains some of her CIA training, and describes her satisfaction with working in the agency. 

Interview: Thursday, 20 June 2024. Hosted by AFIO President Jim Hughes. 

Author, former NSA, and CIA officer Alma Katsu discusses her upcoming book series The Spy Who Vanished - a realistic look at where intelligence agencies are in the 21st century. 

Interview: Monday, 17 June 2024. Host and Interviewer: AFIO President James Hughes. 

RADM Peg Klein speaks with AFIO board member Everette Jordan about her exceptional career at the NSA, the US Cyber Command, and the US Navy. 

Interview: Tuesday, 28 May 2024. Hosted by AFIO President James Hughes, Interviewed by Everette Jordan.

 Dr Vince Houghton and Eric Driggs discuss their new book: Covert City: The Cold War and the Making of Miami (PublicAffairs Books, Apr 2024) with AFIO President James Hughes. The history of how the entire city of Miami was constructed in the image of the US-Cuba rivalry. From the Bay of Pigs invasion to the death of Fidel Castro. They discuss secret operations, corruption, crime, and a city teeming with spies and why Miami was as crucial to winning the Cold War as Washington, D.C., or Moscow.

OSINT Defense Intelligence Senior Leader Dennis Eger and Director of Army OSINT Office Shawn Nilius discuss the Army Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) Strategy. The Army defines OSINT as a foundational intelligence discipline that plays a central role in the support of operations. Interviewed by Jennifer Daniel, former senior officer of NGA and ODNI, and hosted by AFIO President James Hughes. 

Interview of Monday, 29 Apr 2024 

Former US Air Force Intelligence Officer and senior aerospace executive Brian J. Morra discusses his semi-fiction book "The Righteous Arrows" with AFIO President James Hughes. The book highlights the stubbornly persistent rivalry between the US and Russia in a story of international espionage and war. 

Interview: Monday, 15 Apr 2024. Interviewed by James Hughes 

Former CIA Chief of Disguise, Jonna Mendez, discusses her latest book,

Interview: Wednesday, 27 March 2024. Interviewed by Linda Millis and Hosted by AFIO President James Hughes. 

Author and historian Alexander Rose discusses his latest book "The Lion And The Fox: Two Rival Spies and the Secret Plot to Build a Confederate Navy." In 1861, soon after the outbreak of the Civil War, two secret agents — one a Confederate, the other his Union rival — were dispatched to neutral Britain, each entrusted with a vital mission. This is the untold tale of two implacable foes and their twilight struggle for the highest stakes involving the lucrative Cotton trade.

Interview: Tuesday, 13 February 2024. Host and Interviewer: AFIO President James Hughes, a former senior CIA Operations Officer and Former NSA Associate Deputy Director of Operations.

James Roth, author and former CIA Officer, on The Dead Drop: Espionage is a Dangerous Game for Amateurs, explores themes of duplicity and betrayal. The novel captures the human tension of real-world espionage with a memorable cast of characters. Former CIA Officer James Lawler wrote of the book: "...a riveting tale of spies, youthful idealism, and adult betrayal, which accelerates to a thrilling climax worthy of a major motion picture."

Interview on Friday, 9 February 2024. Host and Interviewer is AFIO President James Hughes, a former senior CIA Operations Officer and Former NSA Associate Deputy Director of Operations. The interview runs 22 minutes and includes several Q&As.

In this episode, James Stejskal, Author, Military Historian, Conflict Archaeologist, former CIA, and Special Forces, discusses his book "Dead Hand" on what happens after Russia has won the war in Ukraine and is eyeing the Baltics. As the world stands on the precipice of war, a legendary CIA Officer rushes to meet a spy deep in the Kremlin, on an operation where failure could mean nuclear Armageddon. Recorded 12 December 2023. Interviewer and host: AFIO President James Hughes, a former senior CIA Operations Officer and Former NSA Associate Deputy Director of Operations.