SPYCRAFT 101

This week, Author and BBC reporter Helena Merriman shares the story of the covert construction of the Berlin Wall, and the way it tore families apart. Hear heartbreaking accounts of "orphaned" children whose parents were alive and well on the other side, lovers separated, and the desperate measures East German citizens took in attempts to escape oppression. How many were able to flee?

Helana's book, Tunnel 29: The True Story of an Extraordinary Escape Beneath the Berlin Wall
 
https://www.amazon.com/Tunnel-29-Extraordinary-Escape-Beneath/dp/1541788842


Connect with Spycraft 101:
IG: @spycraft101
Patreon: Spycraft 101
Buy the book: here on Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Spy-Shots-Tales-World-Espionage/dp/B09BY3WH71/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1628473373&sr=1-2

Support the show

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

Lee Gossett (friend of  Spycraft 101 alumnus Neil Hansen) shares his experience from starting his flight career as a smoke jumper fighting remote forest firs to flying for Air America, the CIA's secret airline, in Laos. Lee shares stories about friends who passed and what it was like flying above Laos and Vietnam. Do you know the difference between hard rice and soft rice? (Hint: one isn't actually rice.)

Check out Lee's book:
Smoke Jumper to Global Pilot: a True Odyssey here.
https://www.amazon.com/Smokejumper-Global-Pilot-True-Odyssey/dp/0578614715

Connect with Spycraft 101:
IG: @spycraft101
Patreon: Spycraft 101
Buy the book: here on Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Spy-Shots-Tales-World-Espionage/dp/B09BY3WH71/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1628473373&sr=1-2

Support the show

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

What you do if you found the man responsible for sharing classified Navy secrets with the Chinese government? Former FBI agent James Gaylord shares his story.  From covert house searches to arresting Chinese spies at the airport tune in to this episode to hear what it's really like working counterterrorism for the FBI.

Connect with Spycraft 101:

https://www.amazon.com/Spy-Shots-Tales-World-Espionage/dp/B09BY3WH71/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1628473373&sr=1-2

Support the show

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

In this episode, David E. Hoffman goes into detail on the long-running espionage of Russian radar scientist, Adolf Tolkachev. Tolkachev was so determined to bring down the USSR that he approached the CIA in Moscow himself and risked his life to bring the US hundreds of secret documents that would prove invaluable.

Connect with Spycraft 101:
IG: @spycraft101
Patreon: Spycraft 101

Support the show

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

In this episode, Jack Barsky tells of his time working against the US as a KGB spy. From dangerous situations and being followed by the FBI to the lie he told to 'retire' from the KGB, hear about Jack's work firsthand. His daughter, Chelsea, shares a unique perspective on what it's like to be a 'spy kid' in the real world.

Chelsea's documentary:
https://play.aetv.com/specials/the-spy-who-raised-me/full-special

Connect with Spycraft 101:
IG: @spycraft101
Patreon: Spycraft 101

Support the show

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

In this solo episode, hear Justin tell the story of nazi hold out and eventual ally spy, Klaus Barbie. From WWII atrocities to giving up his own ex-SS colleagues and trying to take down the USSR, Barbie's life was continuously complicated thanks to his intelligence expertise and unique skills.

Connect with Spycraft 101:
IG: @spycraft101
Patreon: Spycraft 101

Support the show

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

In this episode, author and journalist Steven Emerson shares inside information on covert military operation abroad during the Cold War era. Hear of covert organizations and secret missions you never knew happened, with unique details on the Screaming Eagles to Green Berets to Operation Eagle Claw. Have you ever heard of the Yellow Fruit Organization?


Find Steven's Book, Secret Warriors: Inside the Covert Military Operations of the Reagan Era, here.

Connect with Spycraft 101:
IG: @spycraft101
Patreon: Spycraft 101

Support the show

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

In this episode of Spycraft 101, Tim Tyler shares details of the CIA's involvement in Iran following World War II. From constitutional action mistaken for coups to non-lethal missions after the Islamic fundamentalist revolution, Tim provides important background and context on events that still affect the global political climate today.

Tim's books:
Find The Decline and Fall of the Shah here.
Find A History of Panama 1502-2002 here.

Connect with Spycraft 101:
IG: @spycraft101
Patreon: Spycraft 101

Support the show

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

In this episode, Dr. Albert Glinsky covers the life of Leon Theremin. Theremin invented the odd musical instrument that bears his name, but he also engaged in espionage in the US for the Soviet Union. His brilliance allowed him to invent a seemingly innocuous device known as The Thing, the world's fist covert listening tool.

IG: @spycraft101
Patreon: Spycraft 101

Support the show

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

In this episode, hear from Neil Hansen about what it was like flying for Air America in Southeast Asia. Neil spent his time working with and defending the Hmong people in Laos--and he disagrees with tales of POWs held there long after the end of the Vietnam War. After leaving Laos, Neil used his flight experience in unorthodox ways to raise the money to bring home 100+ refugees from Malaysia and other parts of the Pacific.

Check out Neil's book: here on Amazon.
Connect with Air America on Facebook: Air America Historical Social Club

IG: @spycraft101
Patreon: Spycraft 101

Support the show

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