ClandesTime

What connects JFK, Allen Dulles and the CIA's invasion at the Bay of Pigs to the movies Thunderball and Goldfinger? The answer is the relationship between the CIA and James Bond. In this episode we look at Fleming's decades-long relationship with American intelligence, from the OSS through to the CIA, and how Dulles' friendship with Fleming allowed the Agency to quietly improve their public image via the James Bond novels. We also examine how the CIA were invited to a screening of Goldfinger by Charles Russhon - the military consultant and technical advisor on the early Bond movies. Rounding off with the story of the CIA's secret support for the movie of Thunderball and its connections to JFK and the Cuban Missile Crisis, this is an epic exploration of the relationships between popular culture, high politics and intelligence. (Read more...)

Today we welcome back Robbie Martin of Media Roots and A Very Heavy Agenda to discuss the psychological impact of the most fierce and fearful US election in recent memory. We discuss the polarisation both in the US over the presidential election and in the UK over the EU referendum, before looking at the string of 'October Surprises' that have dominated the news in recent weeks. We round off by talking about the new Adam Curtis documentary Hypernormalisation and our reservations about the glowing critical and popular response it has received. (Read more...)

I don't believe any of the alternative theories about the moon landings but this week I thought it would be fun to explore some of the arguments around these seminal events. We begin by looking at some of the arguments people have made in support of the conspiracy theories and the questions they overlook and evidence they do not have. I then take a look at why there are both optimistic (secret space program) and pessimistic (we never went) conspiracy theories about the moon landings and whether this is a good thing. (Read more...)

Roar is a truly unique piece of cinema, possibly the most dangerous and brave and crazy film ever made. This week I take a look at this fascinating production which took 11 years to make, cost over $15 million and put most of its cast and crew in the hospital. The result is a magical, terrifying, hilarious story of the power of nature, the dangers inherent in our relationship with it and of good intentions gone badly wrong. (Read more...)

This has been a presidential election campaign like no other, where both sides are cynically exploiting identity politics and the loathsome nature of their opponent to try to seize political capital. In this episode I try to offer a new take on the election and outline a concept I'm calling 'Rorschach politics' where the candidates are little more than ink blots onto which their supporters project their desires and dreams. I analyse the hypocrisy at the heart of the 'liberal consensus' and the psychological and political origins of the 'alt right' before tentatively offering some possible solutions to this total fucking quagmire. (Read more...)

The Soviet-Afghan War helped bring down the Soviet Union and encouraged the rise of Al Qaeda and Islamism. The films about this war have been sponsored by both Western governments - Britain, the USA and Israel - and by Russia. This week I look at these films, their state sponsorship and how they portray both the Red Army and the Mujahideen, with some surprising results. (Read more...)

Mutt and Jeff were a pair of Norwegian double agents during WW2, named after the popular cartoon characters. They played a crucial role in deceiving the Nazi intelligence apparatus by taking part in false flag sabotage and deception operations. Several of these operations have very curious codenames including Operation GUY FAWKES and Operation BUNBURY. In this episode I dwell on the relevance of MI5 operations sourcing their codenames from historical and fictional figures. I also analyse how an episode of Spooks in 2002 foreshadowed the declassification of government documents on these WW2 operations, before asking if MI5 are suffering from hyperreality. (Read more...)

Today we take a look at the documentary series A Very Heavy Agenda by Robbie Martin, which I reviewed a few weeks ago. This is a very in depth conversation where we get into numerous elements covered in Robbie's documentary including: the Kagan family, what the neocons have been up to during the Obama administration and leading into the current presidential election, the philosophy and strategy of neoconservatism and the geopolitics of NATO and Russia. Robbie's documentary series is an excellent watch and extremely informative so if you enjoy this conversation then don't miss it. (Read more...)

Tomorrow we begin releasing season 2 of The CIA and Hollywood so in this short episode I preview what is coming, announce the launch of my Patreon campaign and rant about Angelina Jolie. I outline how the new season of The CIA and Hollywood is split between films that were made with CIA support or assistance, and films that appear to be overtures or love letters to the Agency. I explain why I have started a Patreon campaign and how you can contribute, before outlining Jolie's various government connections and how she is an important figure in liberal interventionism. (Read more...)

The Foreigner stars Jackie Chan and former James Bond Pierce Brosnan, and is directed by two-time Bond director Martin Campbell. In February the film-makers blew up a bus in central London in a sequence that was spookily reminiscent of the 7/7 London bombings of 2005. To see if this similarity was a concern for the government agencies who approved and assisted The Foreigner filming in London, I filed a series of FOIA requests. In this episode we explore the responses, including evidence that the FOIA laws are applied with a criminal level of inconsistency. We round off by asking whether the producers of this film and the government officials who assisted them are guilty of glorifying terrorism via simulations like this. (Read more...)