SpyCast

Juan Pujol was the Walter Mitty of World War II, a nobody who at one doomed venture after another while dreaming of doing something interesting with his life -- saving Western civilization, if possible. Journalist Stephan Talty, whose work has appeared widely, including in the New York Times Magazine and GQ, has told the remarkable story of how against all the odds, Pujol did just that by becoming agent GARBO, the most important double agent of World War II. Hear Talty discuss his new book with SPY Historian Mark Stout in this author debriefing which took place on July 12, 2012.

SPY Historian Vince Houghton sat down with Howard Blum, contributing editor at Vanity Fair and the author of The Last Goodnight: A World War II Story of Espionage, Adventure, and Betrayal, a book about one of the greatest spies of WWII, Betty Pack. Pack used seduction as her tradecraft, and stole some of the most consequential secrets of the war.

SPY Historian Vince Houghton sat down with retired 4-star general David Petraeus, former Commanding General, Multi-National Force – Iraq; Commander, US Central Command; commander of the International Security Assistance Force and Commander, US Forces Afghanistan; and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, where he served from September, 2011, until November, 2012.

SPY Executive Director Peter Earnest sat down with Ben Jones, Dean of Arts and Sciences and Associate Professor of History, Dakota State University. Dr. Jones also served as an advisor to the National Military Academy of Afghanistan and later as a liaison officer to the Afghan Ministries of Defense, Interior, and their National Directorate of Security for the effort to transition Afghan security from the coalition back to Afghanistan. Peter and Dr. Jones discuss Ben’s new book, Eisenhower's Guerrillas: The Jedburghs, the Maquis, and the Liberation of France.

SPY Historian Vince Houghton discusses corporate espionage with CNBC’s Washington Reporter Eamon Javers, who is also the author of the book Broker, Trader, Lawyer, Spy: The Secret World of Corporate Espionage. Get the book: http://www.spymuseumstore.org/broker-trader-lawyer-spy.html#.Vz3tD_krIdU

SPY Historian Vince Houghton sat down with former NSA and CIA Director Gen. Michael Hayden to discuss his role as the only person to head both of these key intelligence agencies. Get the book: http://www.spymuseumstore.org/playing-to-the-edge.html#.VyipoBUrJTY

Current SPY Historian Vince Houghton sat down with all of his former colleagues to discuss listener questions. To submit your own questions, send them via email to spycast@spymuseum.org, or on Twitter, @intlspycast.

SPY Historian Vince Houghton sat down with Alex Finley, author of the new satirical novel about CIA and the War on Terror, Victor in the Rubble. Finley, herself a former officer in CIA’s Directorate of Operations, provides a hilarious look at the bureaucratic absurdity of intelligence operations, and the great lengths capable officers will go to overcome it. Buy Victor in the Rubble from the Spy Museum Store

SPY Executive Director Peter Earnest sat down with former CIA intelligence officer, manager, and daily intelligence briefer David Priess to discuss his new book centered on the President’s Daily Brief (PDB). Every living former President and Vice President, along with most former CIA Directors, Secretaries of State and Defense, National Security Advisors, White House Chiefs of Staff, and senior intelligence leaders, shared with Priess their personal stories about the PDB. And by digging through both the extensive files of the Presidential libraries and millions of pages of declassified CIA raw intelligence reports, analytic assessments, and memos—Priess emerges with a unique—and fascinating—look into the most tightly controlled document in modern world. Buy The President's Book of Secrets from the Spy Museum Store

SPY Historian Vince Houghton sat down with historian Bryan Gibson to discuss the tumultuous history of US foreign policy in Iraq. From the end of the Second World War through today, Iraq has remained a key component in the American security calculus. Houghton and Gibson take a deep dive into this period, and Gibson demonstrates how Iraq should be considered an integral Cold War environment alongside such places as Cuba, Vietnam, and Afghanistan.