DIA Connections

This episode of DIA Connections features highlights from Season Four. Catch up on this season's best moments with an American pilot who landed his plane safely after a mid-air collision with a Chinese fighter jet, a cosmochemistry professor who led NASA’s mission to an asteroid, a DIA analyst turned screenwriter, the speechwriter behind President Reagan’s challenge to “tear down this wall,” and the author of “The Monuments Men,” a book about the greatest treasure hunt in history.

*Nothing in this podcast should be construed to be an endorsement by the DIA or the U.S. government of any particular company, product or service.

Wouldn’t it be unbelievable if a spaceship could land on an asteroid, collect rocks that could reveal the secrets of life’s origins, and then return to Earth? Well, believe it, because it already happened! On this episode, a conversation with Dante Lauretta, leader of NASA’s expedition to the most dangerous rock in our solar system. You’ll also hear from the chief of DIA’s Space and Counterspace office about securing the nation’s vital interests in space -- both today and tomorrow. Finally, we go back to the future with The Jetsons, the classic cartoon that was a century ahead of its time.

*Nothing in this podcast should be construed to be an endorsement by the DIA or the U.S. government of any particular company, product or service.

Does public speaking cause you to quiver in fear? You're not alone - but it's not a good trait to have when briefing policymakers! On this episode, we’ll get tips on how to speak in public from DIAloguers, a group that helps DIA officers overcome their glossophobia. You’ll also hear how a great speech from a skilled speaker can echo through history. Peter Robinson, President Ronald Reagan’s speechwriter, joins us to discuss the amazing backstory of the "Tear Down This Wall" speech - four words that defined a presidency and changed the world.

*Nothing in this podcast should be construed to be an endorsement by the DIA or the U.S. government of any particular company, product or service.

Who said writing intelligence reports for policymakers is boring? Not us--and certainly not former DIA intelligence analyst turned Hollywood screenwriter Mitchell LaFortune. On this episode of DIA Connections, LaFortune talks about his creative approach to intelligence writing. Learn how it helped him when he left DIA for LA to write the screenplay for the action thriller Kandahar, a movie based on his experiences in Afghanistan.

*Nothing in this podcast should be construed to be an endorsement by the DIA or the U.S. government of any particular company, product or service.

How did a soccer match and a children’s magazine inspire a team of analysts to create an unclassified report proving Iranian military support to Russia in Ukraine? Find out on this episode of DIA Connections.

*Nothing in this podcast should be construed to be an endorsement by the DIA or the U.S. government of any particular company, product or service.

In 2001, an American spy plane collided with a Chinese jet fighter, killing the Chinese pilot and forcing the American aircraft to land at Hainan Island, where Chinese authorities took the crew of 24 into custody for 11 days. On this episode of DIA Connections, you'll hear pilot Shane Osborn tell the riveting story of saving them from almost certain death and how the diplomatic efforts of the U.S. ambassador to China and a DIA attaché helped negotiate their freedom. *Nothing in this podcast should be construed as an endorsement by the DIA or the U.S. government of any particular company, product or service.

Picasso, Rembrandt, Renoir, da Vinci – just a few of the artists whose masterpieces were stolen by the Nazis. On this episode of DIA Connections, Robert Edsel, author of The Monuments Men, talks about the greatest treasure hunt in history and the scholar soldiers who found civilizations' most important artistic and cultural treasures. You’ll also hear about DIA’s current mission to protect our shared cultural heritage. *Nothing in this podcast should be construed to be an endorsement by the DIA or the U.S. government of any particular company, product or service.

On this special episode of DIA Connections, catch up with the best of season three. We spoke with a wide range of guests including the creator of the Iraqi Most Wanted Deck of Cards, a saxophonist who went on a spy mission behind the iron curtain, a pilot of a plane that crashed during the evacuation of children from Vietnam, two teenagers who left their war-torn country of Ukraine for America, and a photographer who captured the war's devastation on innocent civilians in one defining image. Listen to highlights from the “Best of Season Three.” *Nothing in this podcast should be construed to be an endorsement by the DIA or the US Government of any particular company, product, or service.

Memorial Day, celebrated on the last Monday in May, honors service members who died while serving in the military. On this episode of DIA Connections, a discussion on the traditional sound of remembrance – Taps. Jari Villanueva, the country’s foremost expert on America’s most familiar bugle call, joins us in a conversation about the 24 notes that must be sounded to perfection – and talk about one of the times it wasn’t ... when the whole world was listening.  *Nothing in this podcast should be construed to be an endorsement by the DIA or the US Government of any particular company, product, or service.

Diamonds, hearts, clubs and spades.  On this episode of DIA Connections, listen to how a team of analysts developed a special deck of playing cards used in Operation Iraqi Freedom.  You’ll also hear how they became one of the most significant pieces of DIA history and heritage, not to mention a red-hot collector’s item. 

*Nothing in this podcast should be construed to be an endorsement by the DIA or the US Government of any particular company, product, or service.