SpyCast

Summary

Rachel Noble joins Andrew to discuss her role as Director-General of the Australian Signals Directorate. Rachel is the first woman to hold this position.  

What You’ll Learn

Intelligence

Reflections

And much, much more …

Quotes of the Week

“Women lead differently. We talk differently, we engage in different ways. And I've had to learn to own that about myself and not be tempted to try to be like the guys, compete with them on their own terms, or to adopt male behaviors in order to be heard … [Doing that] doesn't really help other women who might come after me.” – Rachel Noble.

Resources 

SURFACE SKIM

*SpyCasts*

*Beginner Resources*

DEEPER DIVE

Primary Sources 

*Wildcard Resource*

Neil Bradbury (Website, LinkedIn) joins Andrew (X; LinkedIn) to discuss the deadly history of poison and espionage. Neil is an author and biochemist.  

“In order to counteract lots of the poisons, you have to know how they work, and you have to be able to develop your own. So, yes, undoubtedly, Western governments are just as actively involved in creating these chemicals and also the antidotes to them.” – Dr. Neil Bradbury.

Jefferson Morley and Mark Zaid join Andrew in a debate over the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Mark and Jeff are longtime friends and colleagues with very different viewpoints of what truly happened on November 22nd, 1963. 

 ”That's why I think they probably have something to hide. Because it doesn't make sense otherwise … If they had access to that kind of straightforward story, we would get that.” – Jefferson Morley.

• Test how you would do in Kennedy’s shoes by playing 13 Days: The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962 – A two-player board game that tests your quick-thinking strategy and conflict resolution skills. 

Jefferson Morley and Mark Zaid join Andrew in a debate over the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Mark and Jeff are longtime friends and colleagues with very different viewpoints of what truly happened on November 22nd, 1963. 

 ”That's why I think they probably have something to hide. Because it doesn't make sense otherwise … If they had access to that kind of straightforward story, we would get that.” – Jefferson Morley.

• Test how you would do in Kennedy’s shoes by playing 13 Days: The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962 – A two-player board game that tests your quick-thinking strategy and conflict resolution skills. 

Henry Hemming (X, Website) joins Andrew (X; LinkedIn) to discuss the case of Frank Hegarty, a British spy operating within the IRA. Henry is a bestselling espionage author. 

“This is where it becomes, morally, much more complex. What’s difficult … is that most of the handlers who were faced with these decisions didn't have adequate training. They didn't know what the law said. They didn't know exactly what the limits were to what they could and could not do … And suddenly, as we're beginning to find out, mistakes were made.” – Henry Hemming.

Brett Forrest and Warren Strobel join Andrew to discuss reporting intelligence. Brett and Warren are national security reporters for The Wall Street Journal. 

This week on SpyCast, Andrew was joined in the studio by Brett Forrest and Warren Strobel, intelligence correspondents at the Wall Street Journal. As SpyCast listeners will know, issues of intelligence and espionage are constantly going on all around us – But how does the public stay in the know and up to date on the latest cases and news from around the world? Well, that's where these two come in. 

“It's about knocking on every possible door that you can imagine, that you can come up with, that you can dig up. And, all you're hoping for is one of those doors to open. You know, you knock on a hundred doors, you get 99 doors to open. You just want that one door to open because that's where the information is. That's where the source is. So, I don't know if I would call that luck, I would call that persistence.” - Brett Forrest

General Frank McKenzie (Biography, LinkedIn) joins Andrew (X; LinkedIn) to discuss his new book, The Melting Point. General McKenzie was the 14th commander of the United States Central Command. 

“What that leads you to is really, intelligence. It paints that picture and it describes the operational environment within which you can operate. So here's the risk. If you're an aggressive commander … There's a temptation to lean on intelligence to tell you what you want to hear, shape the information … In the back of your mind, you need to recognize, you can't go into it with what I would call confirmation bias.” – General Frank McKenzie.

An expert panel of world leaders gathered at the International Spy Museum to discuss the importance of NATO today and in the future. Panelists included former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs, among others. 

What You’ll Learn

“In the old days, NATO was kind of a place where everybody did their talking points and then left. But for the first time in a very long time, NATO is more than just a forum. It is a security alliance that is very important to protecting world peace.” – Leon Panetta.

Camille Stewart Gloster (X, LinkedIn) joins Andrew (X; LinkedIn) to discuss her career in cyber. Camille was the first Deputy National Cyber Director for Technology & Ecosystem for the White House. 

“Another part of the problem is having a conversation where people understand that they do a lot of this work every day. Honing those skills and being intentional about them and then applying them to a career means a transition from a hobby to something more concrete. And that narrative piece of making cybersecurity not seem so overwhelming is a big part of the work as well.” – Camille Stewart Gloster. 

• Test your cybersecurity awareness with this #BeCyberSmart crossword from the Center for Development of Security Excellence. 

Michael Collins joins Andrew to discuss the National Intelligence Council. Michael is the NIC’s current acting chair. 

“In the analytic product, the first paragraph says: Here's the bad thing. Second paragraph says: This is what the bad thing means for the United States. Third paragraph is: What can be done to stop the bad thing, or more importantly, to identify an opportunity. I have to be optimistic. If I weren't, I wouldn't be in this job.” – Michael Collins.