On today’s episode, Andy sits down with Bobbie Johnson, senior editor at Wired and an investigative journalist with deep experience covering technology, security, and digital culture. Bobbie unpacks a startling new investigation into how North Korea has infiltrated Western tech companies through remote work schemes.

Using fake identities, stolen documents, and AI-powered tools to breeze through coding tests and interviews, North Korean operatives have managed to secure jobs at hundreds of U.S. companies. With the help of facilitators inside the United States, these workers receive laptops, funnel salaries back to Pyongyang, and generate millions for the regime’s weapons programs. The conversation explores how these tactics threaten both national security and private industry, why they’re so hard to detect, and what steps companies can take to guard against them.

Change Agents is an IRONCLAD Original

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On today’s episode, Andy sits down with Winston Sterzel and Matthew Tye, creators and hosts of The China Show and two of the most well-known foreign commentators on modern China. Winston and Matthew both lived in China for over a decade, where they documented daily life, culture, and politics through their popular YouTube channels before turning their focus to uncovering how the Chinese Communist Party operates at home and abroad. Together, they break down the ways the CCP uses propaganda, censorship, and state narratives to influence its citizens and shape global perception, including how China’s growing hostility toward the United States fuels nationalism at home and poses new challenges and threats abroad.

To watch the China Show, visit http://youtube.com/@thechinashow

and their secret show on Patreon - http://patreon.com/advpodcasts

Change Agents is an IRONCLAD Original 

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/change-agents-with-andy-stumpf/id1677415740

Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3SKmtN55V2AGbzHDo34DHI?si=5aefbba9abc844ed

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On today’s episode, Andy sits down with Steven Dudley, an investigative journalist and expert on Latin American organized crime. Steven is the founder of InSight Crime, a leading organization dedicated to studying and reporting on criminal networks in the region. They discuss the structure and operations of cartels, recent U.S. maritime drug enforcement actions, and the use of terrorism designations in policy. Steven highlights the potential impact of these operations on international relations, particularly with countries like Venezuela, and shares insights into the challenges of targeting decentralized criminal networks.

Change Agents is an IRONCLAD Original

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/change-agents-with-andy-stumpf/id1677415740

Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3SKmtN55V2AGbzHDo34DHI?si=5aefbba9abc844ed

Sponsors 

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On this episode, Andy welcomes back former CIA officer John Kiriakou for a wide-ranging conversation about intelligence and global power. They discuss Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged ties to Israeli intelligence and what those claims reveal about the overlap between private influence and state security.

The conversation then turns to the rise of the BRICS nations—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—and how their growing cooperation could shift the global balance. They also explore the importance of maintaining dialogue with adversaries, drawing on Trump’s meetings with Putin and Zelensky, and consider possible scenarios for Russia’s political future beyond Putin.

Change Agents is an IRONCLAD Original

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TacPack

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On this episode, Andy sits down with Yaakov Katz, veteran journalist and former Editor-in-Chief of The Jerusalem Post, to unpack the hard lessons of October 7th and the evolving threats in the Middle East. Katz draws on three decades of reporting on Israeli defense and military affairs to explain how Hamas transformed from a fringe insurgency into a formidable force, the blind spots within Israel’s defense establishment, and the unintended consequences of overreliance on the Iron Dome. He also examines Iran’s deepening ties to Hamas, the intelligence gaps inside Gaza, and the ethical dilemmas of modern warfare in urban environments. 

Katz’s forthcoming book, While Israel Slept: How Hamas Surprised the Most Powerful Military in the Middle East, will be released on September 2, 2025

Change Agents is an IRONCLAD Original

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On this episode , Andy talks with Jack Barsky, a former KGB spy, who lived undercover in the United States during the Cold War. Barsky details how the Soviet Union recruited and trained him, the high-stakes challenges of creating a new American identity, and the constant pressure of balancing a normal life with espionage.

He recounts the dramatic moment the FBI caught up with him, the tactics he used to escape the KGB’s grip, and what his story reveals about the hidden world of Russian intelligence.

Change Agents is an IRONCLAD Original

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On today’s episode, Andy sits down with Michael Schwirtz, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and national security reporter for The New York Times. They discuss a recent investigation that uncovered a Russian “spy factory” in Brazil, where spies created credible long-term identities under the Illegals program. These operatives are trained to conduct deep-cover missions targeting countries including the U.S. Schwirtz also explains the challenges intelligence agencies face with modern technology, the role of Brazilian authorities in uncovering these spies, and the complexities of international spy swaps.

Change Agents is an IRONCLAD Original

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On today’s episode, Andy and former Green Beret and CIA operative Scott Mann break down reports that the Trump administration is working with Palantir to build a centralized citizen database. With critics from all sides warning of authoritarian overreach, they explore what this means for privacy, national security, and the future of civil liberties in America.

Focal Point is an IRONCLAD Original

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On this week’s episode of Change Agents, Andy speaks with journalist Max Read about the evolution of rationalism and the emergence of the Zizians, a splinter group with radical beliefs. The conversation explores the origins of the group, the role of its central figure Ziz, and the intersection of technology, ideology, and identity. They also examine the dynamics of online communities, the influence of militant veganism within the group, and what the rise of the Zizians suggests about the broader rationalist movement and its place in Silicon Valley.

To Visit Max’s substack: https://maxread.substack.com/

Change Agents is an IRONCLAD Original

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On this week's episode, Andy talks with Glenn Chafetz, former CIA analyst and expert on strategic culture and national security. They discuss the evolution of nuclear weapons policy, the role of trust and treaties in international relations, and how changing global alliances are affecting stability. Glenn draws on his experience to provide context on nuclear proliferation and its implications for the future of global security.

Change Agents is an IRONCLAD Original

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