Charles Beaumont spent years as an MI6 officer running human sources before turning to fiction—and his second novel, A Spy at War, carries the authority of someone who has actually done the work. Set against the early days of the Ukraine War in 2022, the book maps the architecture of Russian disinformation: corruption narratives seeded into sympathetic media, useful idiots at senior policy levels, and the Chechen enforcers whose own histories implicate Moscow in the violence that built Putin's state. His conversation with Matt covers the CIA-SIS pre-invasion intelligence coup, the fracturing transatlantic alliance, and the Global South's soft-power vacuum—arriving at a conclusion that is harder to dismiss with every passing month: that this war won't be decided in the Donbas, but in the battle for Western public opinion, a battle the West is still not sure it's fighting.

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Order A Spy at War and Charles’s first novel, A Spy Alone: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/259672/charles-beaumont/

Secrets and Spies sits at the intersection of intelligence, covert action, real-world espionage, and broader geopolitics in a way that is digestible but serious. Hosted by filmmaker Chris Carr and writer Matt Fulton, each episode examines the very topics that real intelligence officers and analysts consider on a daily basis through the lens of global events and geopolitics, featuring expert insights from former spies, authors, and journalists.

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There will be no show on Saturday 9th May as we are on a production break. We will return on Saturday 16th May

Chris has some recommendations from our back catalogue.

Chris's Episode recommendations

From CIA to CEO with Rupal Patel
Audio: https://pod.fo/e/371b55
YouTube: https://youtu.be/94-vBjgdNzA

Former CIA analyst Rupal Patel joins Chris to explore reinvention, resilience and life after intelligence, from tactical ignorance and time management to building a life that truly fits.

The Fourth Intelligence revolution with Anthony Vinci
Audio: https://pod.fo/e/365bae
YouTube: https://youtu.be/D4ZagwI5Z3o

Former chief technology officer of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Dr. Anthony Vinci explains how AI, China and disinformation are driving a new intelligence revolution, where citizens, companies and trust itself have become targets

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Music by Andrew R. Bird

Secrets and Spies sits at the intersection of intelligence, covert action, real-world espionage, and broader geopolitics in a way that is digestible but serious. Hosted by filmmaker Chris Carr and writer Matt Fulton, each episode examines the very topics that real intelligence officers and analysts consider on a daily basis through the lens of global events and geopolitics, featuring expert insights from former spies, authors, and journalists.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Two months into Operation Epic Fury, the US and Iran remain locked in an uncomfortable limbo: a ceasefire is technically holding, the Strait of Hormuz is still contested, and diplomacy has collapsed over the question of nuclear enrichment. Chris and Matt assess the war's compounding costs—severely drawn-down munitions stockpiles with implications stretching from Taiwan to NATO, and reporting that JD Vance has privately challenged whether the Pentagon is telling the president the truth about how the war is going. Then: Viktor Orbán is out in Hungary after sixteen years, replaced by Peter Magyar in a cleaner democratic handover than many expected—but nativist politics didn't leave with him. Finally, two CIA officers killed in a car crash in the mountains of Chihuahua pull back the curtain on a quietly expanding American intelligence footprint in the cartel fight, and the pointed question of what Mexican authorities actually knew.

"The Pentagon May Not Be Telling Trump the Full Picture About the War" by Missy Ryan, Vivian Salama, Michael Scherer, & Nancy A. Youssef | The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/national-security/2026/04/iran-war-vance-hegseth-trump/686905/

"Illiberalism is not Inevitable" by Anne Applebaum | Open Letters Substack: https://anneapplebaum.substack.com/p/illiberalism-is-not-inevitable

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In today’s episode, former Special Forces Detachment A operator James Stejskal shares his extraordinary insights into Berlin's role as the epicenter of Cold War espionage. From his personal experiences in the city to the strategic importance of intelligence operations, James explains how Berlin became the world's most notorious spy hub. Whether you're a history buff or an espionage enthusiast, this conversation unveils the secrets behind Berlin's legendary status in covert warfare.

Subscribe and share to stay ahead in the world of intelligence, global issues, and current affairs.

More on Cold War Berlin

Markus Wolf Biography: On Amazon for deeper insights into Germany's top spy

Teufelsberg NSA Listening Station: Historical overview of one of Berlin’s key signals intelligence sites

Berlin Wall Museum: Experience the history of the Berlin Wall firsthand

Stasi Museum Berlin: Dive into the secret world of East Germany’s secret police

Checkpoint Charlie Museum: Discover stories of espionage and escape in Cold War Berlin

Learn more about James on his webiste: https://jamesstejskal.wordpress.com

Follow James on X/Twitter: https://x.com/jamesstejskal

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Secrets and Spies is produced by F & P LTD.

Music by Andrew R. Bird

Secrets and Spies sits at the intersection of intelligence, covert action, real-world espionage, and broader geopolitics in a way that is digestible but serious. Hosted by filmmaker Chris Carr and writer Matt Fulton, each episode examines the very topics that real intelligence officers and analysts consider on a daily basis through the lens of global events and geopolitics, featuring expert insights from former spies, authors, and journalists.

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In the fall of 1983, NATO's annual nuclear war exercise, Able Archer 83, brought the United States and the Soviet Union closer to catastrophe than almost anyone in Washington understood at the time. Brian J. Morra—decorated former Air Force intelligence officer, aerospace executive, and author of the historical thriller The Able Archers—was inside those events: stationed in Tokyo during the KAL 007 shootdown, transferred to Washington just as the crisis peaked, and present in Germany as Soviet nuclear alerts reached levels never seen before or since. He walks Chris through the paranoia that drove Operation RYAN, the Kremlin's vast intelligence collection effort premised on the certainty of a NATO first strike; why mirror imaging at CIA left Reagan largely uninformed; and how three individuals—General Charles Donnelly, Lieutenant Colonel Stanislav Petrov, and General Leonard Perutz—each exercised the kind of cool judgment that kept the crisis from tipping into war. Morra draws the line from 1983 to the present: when leadership on opposing sides stops talking directly, the system fails—and that failure, he argues, looks familiar today.

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Learn more about Brian and his work: https://brianjmorra.com/

Secrets and Spies sits at the intersection of intelligence, covert action, real-world espionage, and broader geopolitics in a way that is digestible but serious. Hosted by filmmaker Chris Carr and writer Matt Fulton, each episode examines the very topics that real intelligence officers and analysts consider on a daily basis through the lens of global events and geopolitics, featuring expert insights from former spies, authors, and journalists.

#Espionage #ColdWar #Spy

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John Sipher and Jerry O'Shea, former senior CIA officers and co-founders of Spycraft Entertainment, return to the show for a conversation with Matt and Chris about what Hollywood gets wrong about espionage—and what they're trying to do about it. They dig into the tropes that break the spell (the lone hero, the ditched tail, the torture-porn shortcuts), why real intelligence work is quieter, more bureaucratic, and more character-driven than the screen suggests, and how lazy spy fiction feeds the conspiracy theories they now debunk on their podcast Mission Implausible. Their conversation ranges across the economics of pitching subtlety to risk-averse studios, the moral gray zones that make for better drama than propaganda ever could, the "deep state" as misnomer, and the unsung assets who are the real heroes of most operations. Along the way: a bubble in Moscow for marital fights, a 16-year-old Yazidi girl who helped bring down ISIS, and why the Glomar Explorer remains the great white whale of the genre.

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Learn more about Spycraft Entertainment: https://spycraftentertainment.com/

Listen to John and Jerry’s podcast, Mission Implausible: https://podcasts.apple.com/fm/podcast/mission-implausible/id1728340033

Follow John on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/johnsipher.bsky.social

Secrets and Spies sits at the intersection of intelligence, covert action, real-world espionage, and broader geopolitics in a way that is digestible but serious. Hosted by filmmaker Chris Carr and writer Matt Fulton, each episode examines the very topics that real intelligence officers and analysts consider on a daily basis through the lens of global events and geopolitics, featuring expert insights from former spies, authors, and journalists.

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Sean Wiswesser spent three decades in the U.S. intelligence community, much of it running operations against Russia for the CIA. His new book, Tradecraft, Tactics, and Dirty Tricks, dissects of how the FSB, SVR, and GRU actually do their work: dead drops, signal sites, surveillance detection routes, and the street tradecraft that protected agents like Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanssen for years. Wiswesser explains why Russian services keep returning to Cold War–era methods, breaks down the operational differences between the SVR and GRU, and assesses elite units like Alpha, Vympel, and Spetsnaz whose mythology often outpaces their record. He also charts the sharp escalation in Russian sabotage across Europe, the mafia-like culture driving increasingly reckless operations, and Moscow's use of AI-enhanced active measures to deepen division in Western democracies.

Subscribe and share to stay ahead in the world of intelligence, global issues, and current affairs.

Order Tradecraft, Tactics, and Dirty Tricks: https://www.usni.org/press/books/tradecraft-tactics-and-dirty-tricks

Secrets and Spies sits at the intersection of intelligence, covert action, real-world espionage, and broader geopolitics in a way that is digestible but serious. Hosted by filmmaker Chris Carr and writer Matt Fulton, each episode examines the very topics that real intelligence officers and analysts consider on a daily basis through the lens of global events and geopolitics, featuring expert insights from former spies, authors, and journalists.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Pastor Louis Florio—Lutheran pastor, former military intelligence officer, and police chaplain in Virginia—joins Chris to explain the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR): what it actually is, where it came from, and why it matters beyond the pews. Florio traces the movement's roots in the mid-20th-century Latter Rain revival, unpacks its core doctrines of dominionism and post-millennialism, and explains how its network of self-proclaimed apostles and prophets has embedded itself inside American evangelical politics largely without recognition. The conversation covers the five-fold ministry structure, NAR's proprietary Bible translation, its links to Christian nationalism, cult-like abuse dynamics, and the theological distance between NAR and mainstream Christianity. Florio also offers practical guidance for families navigating a loved one's radicalization, and closes with resources for listeners who want to track these movements.

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Follow Pastor Lou's Two Penny Blog at https://2-penny-blog.com/

For more information about the podcast, check out our website: https://secretsandspiespodcast.com

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Secrets and Spies is produced by Films & Podcasts LTD: https://filmsandpodcasts.co.uk/

Secrets and Spies sits at the intersection of intelligence, covert action, real-world espionage, and broader geopolitics in a way that is digestible but serious. Hosted by filmmaker Chris Carr and writer Matt Fulton, each episode examines the very topics that real intelligence officers and analysts consider on a daily basis through the lens of global events and geopolitics, featuring expert insights from former spies, authors, and journalists.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Chris and Matt are back for Espresso Martini. Nearly a month into Operation Epic Fury, Washington appears to be laying the groundwork for potential ground operations inside Iran—but the two options on the table, seizing Kharg Island or securing Tehran's enriched uranium stockpile, are both far harder to execute than advertised. They dig into what a nuclear material extraction would actually require, and what growing strain on U.S. interceptor stockpiles and carrier availability signals about the campaign's trajectory. Then, a deep dive into the Guardian's reconstruction of how CIA and MI6 accurately predicted Russia's 2022 invasion—and why no one listened—and what that intelligence failure says about the long-term costs of credibility. Finally, the Space Force's pivot toward offensive counter-space as China's satellite constellation surpasses 1,900 orbital assets.

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Articles discussed in today’s episode

"Trump’s Next Decision: Whether to Retrieve Iran’s Nuclear Fuel, Whatever the Risk" by David E. Sanger | The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/20/opinion/iran-nuclear-materials-war.html

"I Spent Two Decades Securing Nuclear Materials. Getting at Iran’s Would Not Be Easy." by Andrew Weber | The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/17/us/politics/trump-iran-nuclear-fuel.html

"Special Ops To Get The Uranium" by Cheryl Rofer | Lawyers, Guns & Money: https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2026/03/special-ops-to-get-the-uranium

"What Boots On The Ground In Iran Could Entail, According To Former CENTCOM Commander" by Howard Altman | The War Zone: https://www.twz.com/news-features/former-centcom-commander-on-what-u-s-boots-on-the-ground-in-iran-could-entail

"A war foretold: How the CIA and MI6 got hold of Putin’s Ukraine plans and why nobody believed them" by Shaun Walker | The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2026/feb/20/a-war-foretold-cia-mi6-putin-ukraine-plans-russia

"China’s Growing Armada Of Spy Satellites Is Pushing Space Force To Go On The Offensive" by Joseph Trevithick & Howard Altman | The War Zone: https://www.twz.com/space/chinas-growing-armada-of-spy-satellites-is-pushing-space-force-to-go-on-the-offensive

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Secrets and Spies is produced by Films & Podcasts LTD: https://filmsandpodcasts.co.uk/

Secrets and Spies sits at the intersection of intelligence, covert action, real-world espionage, and broader geopolitics in a way that is digestible but serious. Hosted by filmmaker Chris Carr and writer Matt Fulton, each episode examines the very topics that real intelligence officers and analysts consider on a daily basis through the lens of global events and geopolitics, featuring expert insights from former spies, authors, and journalists.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hi everyone, I hope you are well. There will be no show this weekend as we need to take a breather. Our next show will be Saturday 28th March 

If you haven’t caught up with our latest episode, please check out our interview with Trevor Barnes about the Bulgarian Spy Ring trial via the links below: 

Audio: https://pod.fo/e/3afd42
YouTube: https://youtu.be/VWODfRZZA2o

If you enjoy a show please Buy Us A Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/secretsandspies

See you next week. 

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Secrets and Spies is produced by Films & Podcasts LTD: https://filmsandpodcasts.co.uk/
Music by Andrew R. Bird
Photo by Getty, Metropolitan Police/AP

Special Thank you to Mark Vaile

Secrets and Spies sits at the intersection of intelligence, covert action, real-world espionage, and broader geopolitics in a way that is digestible but serious. Hosted by filmmaker Chris Carr and writer Matt Fulton, each episode examines the very topics that real intelligence officers and analysts consider on a daily basis through the lens of global events and geopolitics, featuring expert insights from former spies, authors, and journalists.