From ancient Babylon to the darkest depths of the Cold War, Double Agents have fascinated us for centuries.

In Brief Histories, the monthly special from True Spies, series producer Joe Foley is your guide to this secret world - alongside a treasure-trove of stories and expert knowledge from our archive.

From SPYSCAPE, the home of secrets and skills. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Series producer: Joe Foley.

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When Dr David Tuch started investigating his family tree, he found much more than he bargained for. A distant cousin. A sailor. A man who led a life of adventure - and changed the world of crime forever.

In Part One of this True Spies story, you'll meet him too - and discover the first steps on a dark, dangerous and fascinating journey.

Dr. David Tuch is the author of The Wireless Operator: The Untold Story of the British Sailor Who Invented the Modern Drug Trade.

From SPYSCAPE, the home of secrets. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Series producer: Joe Foley. Produced by Joe Foley.

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How do you flee your country and join the other side? In this classic episode of True Spies, a former Russian intelligence agent gives Vanessa Kirby a rare masterclass in international tradecraft. Janosh Neumann fled Moscow armed only with his wits, a suitcase and the names of Russia's most influential money launderers, to begin a dangerous journey to the other side of the world.

From SPYSCAPE, the home of secrets. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Series producer: Gemma Newby. Produced by Joe Foley. Music by Nick Ryan.

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Dr Amy Zegart works to bridge the divide between the worlds of policy and tech. In this Debrief, True Spies producer Morgan Childs joins Dr. Zegart To hear her thoughts on spy entertainment, espionage in the age of AI, and the future of American intelligence policy.

From SPYSCAPE, the home of secrets. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Series producer: Joe Foley. Produced by Morgan Childs.

Dr. Zegart is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, a professor of political science by courtesy at Stanford University and the author of Spies, Lies and Algorithms: The History and Future of American Intelligence.

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Author and filmmaker Richard Kerbaj tells the story of Oleg Lyalin - the hard-living, womanising KGB officer whose defection changed the course of the Cold War, and shaped the future of intelligence agencies on both sides of the Atlantic.

From SPYSCAPE, the home of secrets. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Series producer: Joe Foley. Produced by Max Bower.

Richard Kerbaj is the author of The Defector: The untold story of the KGB agent who saved MI5 and changed the Cold War.

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From the writing of Sun Tzu to the modern era, spies and spymasters have had insights into the mind that most of us don't. Now it's time to put espionage itself on the analysts' couch.

In Brief Histories, the new monthly special from True Spies, series producer Joe Foley is your guide to this secret world - alongside a treasure-trove of stories and expert knowledge from our archive.

From SPYSCAPE, the home of secrets and skills. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Series producer: Joe Foley.

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In this classic episode of True Spies, Vanessa Kirby goes behind enemy lines with Virginia Hall, one of the bravest Allied heroines of WWII.

As part of ‘Churchill's Secret Army’, Virginia was sent into occupied France to organize resistance efforts and disrupt Nazi plans ‘by any means necessary’. 

From SPYSCAPE, the home of secrets and skills. Featuring Sarah Megan Thomas as Virginia Hall. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Series producer: Gemma Newby. Produced by Joe Foley. Music by Nick Ryan.

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True Spies producer Morgan Childs joins former CIA analyst, author and podcast host David McCloskey for a deep dive into his post-Agency career, and what he's learned along the way.

David McCloskey's latest novel, The Persian, is out now.

From SPYSCAPE, the home of secrets. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Series producer: Joe Foley. Produced by Morgan Childs.

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Author Clare Mulley has built her formidable reputation on finding the remarkable stories that have been left out of the history books. This is one of them - the remarkable, heartstopping story of Elzbieta Zawacka, AKA Agent Zo, legend of the Polish resistance.

From SPYSCAPE, the home of secrets. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Series producer: Joe Foley. Produced by Frank Palmer.

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From the lagoon of Venice to revolutionary Russia, counterintelligence has always been an important aspect of statecraft.

In Brief Histories, the new monthly special from True Spies, series producer Joe Foley is your guide to this secret world - alongside a treasure-trove of stories and expert knowledge from our archive.

From SPYSCAPE, the home of secrets and skills. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Series producer: Joe Foley.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices