True Spies: Espionage | Investigation | Crime | Murder | Detective | Politics
SPYSCAPE
True Spies takes you inside the world's greatest espionage and detective operations. Our hosts Hayley Atwell, Vanessa Kirby, Sophia Di Martino, Daisy Ridley and Rhiannon Neads talk to the real spies behind the missions. What do they know? What are their skills? And what would you do in their position? We explore and investigate real life thrillers, mysteries and crimes - stories that prove truth is stranger than fiction! These stories cover lies, murder, theft, sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll. You’ll meet experts from the top intelligence agencies including FBI, CIA, MI5, MI6 (SIS), KGB, GRU, Mossad and many others. You’ll discover characters who spied because of money, ideology, coercion or just plain old ego. And, if you’d like to dig deeper into the world of secrets, and test your own secret intelligence skills, head over to spyscape.com for articles, games, experiences, puzzles and videos.For episodes first and ad-free, subscribe to Spyscape+ at: plus.Spyscape.comA Cup & Nuzzle production. Series producers: Gemma Newby, Joe Foley. Music: Nick Ryan.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Sep 21, 2020 • 48min
Blinking Red | CIA | Spy Sisters
CIA analyst Gina Bennett shows Vanessa Kirby the origins of America's most infamous enemy. Throughout the 1990s, Osama bin Laden launched a series of attacks on American interests at home and abroad. Operating in the man's world of counter-terrorism, Gina had to fight to have the threat he posed taken seriously. Would YOU trust your gut? From SPYSCAPE, the home of secrets and skills. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Series producer: Gemma Newby. Produced by Tim Mansel. Music by Nick Ryan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 14, 2020 • 50min
The Nuclear Superhighway | CIA
Undercover CIA agent James Olson takes Vanessa Kirby on a nail-biting mission behind the Iron Curtain. In the late 1970s, James was tasked with tapping an underground communications line between Moscow and a top-secret nuclear weapons facility. Under constant surveillance from the KGB, he would need to use a combination of traditional spycraft and hi-tech gadgetry to intercept this priceless intel without risking a diplomatic catastrophe. Could YOU evade detection? From SPYSCAPE, the home of secrets and skills. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Series producer: Gemma Newby. Produced by Joe Foley. Music by Nick Ryan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 7, 2020 • 43min
Exit Strategy | CIA | Spy Sisters
CIA analyst Sarah Carlson drops Vanessa Kirby into the pressure-cooker of post-revolutionary Libya. In 2011, the Arab Spring swept Colonel Gaddafi from office, leaving a deadly power vacuum. Three years later, civil war engulfed the nation. Under a hail of rocket fire, Sarah had to figure out a way to extract 150 American personnel from the carnage. Could YOU get them to safety? From SPYSCAPE, the home of secrets and skills. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Series producer: Gemma Newby. Produced by Claire Crofton. Music by Nick Ryan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 31, 2020 • 51min
The Targeter | CIA | Spy Sisters
Former CIA targeting officer Nada Bakos takes Vanessa Kirby on the controversial hunt for one of the Iraq War's deadliest terrorists. Abu Musab Al-Zaqarwi was a two-bit criminal until the US government named him as one the world's most dangerous insurgents. His presence in Iraq was part of the justification for the invasion - but did the facts stack up? It was Nada's job to find out. Could YOU find out the truth? From SPYSCAPE, the home of secrets and skills. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Series producer: Gemma Newby. Produced by Joe Foley. Music by Nick Ryan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 24, 2020 • 46min
The Real Black Klansman | Crime
Vanessa Kirby meets Ron Stallworth, the black Colorado cop who fooled the USA's most notorious racists. In 1979, Ron and a white colleague infiltrated a local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan. Posing as two sides of the same alter-ego, they led a double-pronged attack on the group, even gaining the trust of the Klan's leader, David Duke. Could YOU take the risk? From SPYSCAPE, the home of secrets and skills. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Series producer: Gemma Newby. Produced by Claire Crofton. Music by Nick Ryan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 17, 2020 • 47min
Blackbird | USAF
Former USAF pilot Colonel Buz Carpenter shares thrilling details of a secret mission in the SR-71 'Blackbird' spy plane over the Saudi Arabia-Yemen border. The podcast explores the intense training, strategic impact, and precise surveillance techniques used during the mission to prevent a potential war. The narrative unfolds with comedic tension, high-stakes aerial operations, and the critical role of intelligence analysis in crisis prevention. Learn about the declassification and legacy of the legendary SR-71 Blackbird aircraft.
Aug 10, 2020 • 1h
N Is For Novichok | Investigation
Vanessa Kirby gets Christo Grozev, a modern Sherlock Holmes, to share the secrets of how he solved one of the most notorious assassination attempts of the 21st century - the poisoning of retired Russian double-agent Sergei Skripal, hospitalised by a mysterious nerve agent on British soil. Would YOU have the skills to do the same? From SPYSCAPE, the global HQ of secrets and skills. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Series producer: Gemma Newby. Produced by Tim Mansel. Music by Nick Ryan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 3, 2020 • 49min
The Man From The Getty | Detective
Vanessa Kirby and Charles Hill share the inside story of an iconic art theft. Hill went undercover to retrieve ‘The Scream' by Edvard Munch after it was stolen from Norway’s National Gallery. Posing as a buyer for the Getty Museum, Charles drew the dangerous thieves out of the shadows. What would YOU do? From SPYSCAPE, the global HQ of secrets and skills. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Series producer: Gemma Newby. Produced by Joe Foley. Music by Nick Ryan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 27, 2020 • 45min
The Spy Who Said No | GCHQ
Katherine Gun, a former intelligence analyst, bravely leaked a secret memo exposing a U.S. plan to manipulate support for the Iraq War. Journalist Martin Bright joined her in this pivotal moment of history. They discuss the moral dilemmas of whistleblowing and face the repercussions that followed. Gun reflects on the personal turmoil of revealing classified truths, while Bright sheds light on the challenges within journalism during this crisis. Their courageous actions sparked important conversations about accountability in government.
Jul 20, 2020 • 58min
The Survivor | WW2 ] Spy Sisters
Hayley Atwell meets Marthe Cohn, the brave 100-year-old French spy who stole Nazi secrets during WWII. Disguised as a German nurse, Marthe fed top-secret information to the Resistance from behind enemy lines, right under the nose of the deadly SS. What would YOU do? From SPYSCAPE, the headquarters of all things spy. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Series producer: Gemma Newby. Produced by Mariana Des Forges. Music by Nick Ryan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
