Michelle is back! And considering she has to recover from her sojourn into the wilds of NSW, we thought we’d look back at one of our favourite episodes, where journalistic wünderkind and proud Novocastrian Matt Bevan joined us for a chat about everyone’s favourite KGB-hard-man-turned-world-leader, Vladimir Putin. With Russian troops massing on the Ukraine border, it’s time we had a look at what drives the man behind what could be the match that ignites a war in Eastern Europe.

America If You're Listening Podcast 

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With the country in the grips of the Omicron outbreak, tennis players being imprisoned for entering the country unjabbed and Michelle still missing after being extraordinarily rendered to an unknown bucolic location for an intense barrage of government-sanctioned relaxation, we're presenting you a repeat of one the oldie but goodie episodes about women in intelligence. Plus it comes with a bonus film recommendation. Stay tuned! Normal service will be resumed next week.

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Would you believe that ASIO has a file on Santa? Welcome back to the snackable I Spied episodes to listen to over your Christmas break. 

When you consider Santa’s criminal abilities, technology, obviously far-reaching surveillance capabilities, constant flouting of sovereign borders and his obviously socialist ideology of giving every child a present, why wouldn’t they? We look at the most dangerous man in the world that every intelligence service would love to get their hands on.

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In this year’s final episode we delve deep into the world spies: couples sent to act as sleepers in foreign lands, living among the locals until called on to act. How are they selected, are they match-made or recruited as couples, and what are the pitfalls of life as an “Illegal”? And what does David know about a surfing sleeper cell on the Northern beaches? Dust off your wedding ring and prepare to renew your vows - Children optional.

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In this year's penultimate episode are joined by journalistic genius and all around great guy Matt Bevan to look at the perennial problem: China. What is Xi's end game, will there be a war over Taiwan, what can Australia do to repair the relationship, and just how did David get his hands on one of the most controversial telexes about Tiananmen Square? From Grey Zone warfare to those AUKUS subs, we get inside the Great Firewall and literally dig the dirt on the machinations of the Middle Kingdom.
So good you'll want to listen again half an hour later!

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This week a listener request has us looking at how you actually join ASIO. What is ASIO looking for in an applicant? What can you be expected to reveal about yourself? And just how did David manage to get through such a rigorous selection criteria and wind up working in one of the most sensitive organisations in the country? Double check your former addresses and be sure to remember your mother's maiden name before listening!

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With protestors taking to the streets with nooses, politicians baying for each others’ blood, and extremists literally weaponising this anger online, this week we look at what it takes to protect our elected officials. How does VIP protection work, what are the difficulties a detail can face, and what sort of person would take a bullet for a PM? And just how did David draw the attention of a protective detail on a ferry on Sydney Harbour. Check your escape route before listening!

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This week we delve into the least clandestine tool in a spy's arsenal - OSINT. From newspapers and research papers to the rise of social media, open source information has long been the backbone of intelligence gathering, and never more so than now. How did OSINT evolve, how important is it and what does it mean to personal privacy? And how was OSINT instrumental in a mysterious phone call David received while walking over Sydney Harbour Bridge? You may want to have a good think about what you share on line after this!

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David attended a boozy lunch with a bunch of old spies last week and we expect he'll be offloaded from the shipping container he's trapped in somewhere in East Africa very soon. As such, this week we're revisiting one of our earliest episodes - The Full Minsky. Not only is the episode a bizarre tale of surveillance, the KGB and the perils of lunchtime stripping, but it's also a great entrè into the world of ASIO. David also recently reenacted the events of The Full Minsky in "Sergei the Spy" for the ABC podcast Days Like These. Why not listen to both?

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If you thought Morrison's falling out with Macron was bad, just look at the French's own diplomatic disaster from the 1980s. In a story that includes undercover agents, frogmen, limpet mines, submarine escapes and intrigue that went all the way to the Presidential Palace of Versailles, the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior in Auckland harbour was a piece of state-sponsored terrorism that shocked the world, shattered Gallic grandeur and shaped the political landscape of the South Pacific for generations. It also goes to show, no matter how insulted the French feel right now, they can hardly say "Mon merde ne pue pas".

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