The Rest Is Classified

How did Russia’s invasion of Ukraine go so badly wrong? What crucial mistakes did the Kremlin make in the opening days? And why did Putin’s inner circle give him false intelligence about what would happen?

When Russian forces rolled across the border with Ukraine in February 2022, they expected a swift victory. Instead, they encountered fierce resistance, logistical chaos, and intelligence failures that shattered their plans. As Ukraine fought back, the world watched in shock as war returned to Europe.

Listen as Gordon and David continue the story of how Russia invaded Ukraine three years ago.

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Exec Producer: Tony Pastor

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How did Ukraine defy the odds against Russia? What role did Western intelligence play in preparing Kyiv for war? And what did Western intelligence know that Russia didn’t?

For months, Western intelligence warned of an imminent Russian attack, but when the invasion finally came, it didn’t go according to Moscow’s script. Poor planning, logistical failures, and underestimating Ukrainian resistance turned what should have been a quick operation into a prolonged and costly war.

Listen as Gordon and David reveal the hidden factors that helped Ukraine survive the opening days of war.

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Assistant Producer: Becki Hills

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How did western intelligence services learn of Putin's plan to invade Ukraine?

2021 is drawing to a close and the CIA is becoming increasingly concerned that Putin is going to invade Ukraine. He's made it clear he sees it as part of Russia and so Bill Burns, CIA director, is going to be sent out to Moscow in a desperate attempt to dissuade him.

Listen as Gordon and David break down the run up to the war and CIA attempts to stop it.

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What happens when the world’s most valuable spy is finally caught? How did British and American intelligence hunt him down? And, was Klaus Fuchs a hero, a villain, or something in between?

Klaus Fuchs' final days as a free man were marked by growing suspicions, clandestine exchanges, and a relentless pursuit by MI5. The secrets he passed had already set the stage for a nuclear-armed Cold War, irreversibly altering the balance of global power. As the truth emerged, so too did the cost of his betrayal - a world reshaped by espionage, ideological conviction, and the stolen intelligence that fuelled an arms race.

Listen as David and Gordon take you inside the mind of the man who stole the bomb - and the world he left in his wake.

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How did a Russian spy end up at the heart of the Manhattan Project? What happened when Soviet intelligence lost track of their own spy? And how did one man hand Stalin the bomb on a silver platter?

Klaus Fuchs was already one of the most valuable spies in history, feeding atomic secrets to the Soviet Union. But when he disappeared in 1944, his handlers feared the worst. In reality, he was about to get even closer to the ultimate prize: the blueprints for the atomic bomb.

This week, Gordon and David uncover how Fuchs embedded himself in Los Alamos, the most classified site on Earth, and carried out one of the greatest intelligence coups of the 20th century.

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What makes a man betray his closest friends? How did a German refugee help Stalin build the bomb? And why did British intelligence fail to spot the most dangerous spy in the Manhattan Project?

Klaus Fuchs was brilliant, quiet, and unassuming. A physicist at the cutting edge of nuclear science, he worked at the heart of Britain’s secret atomic weapons program before being sent to the United States to join the Manhattan Project. But, all the while, Fuchs was passing the most closely guarded secrets of the West straight to the Soviet Union.

Listen as David and Gordon uncover how Fuchs’ communist beliefs and wartime alliances led him to become one of the most infamous spies of the 20th century.

-------------------

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Who was the Russian spy working under Oppenheimer to build the atomic bomb? Why was it so dangerous to be a communist in Nazi Germany? And how did a young science prodigy become one of the most notorious spies in history?

Klaus Fuchs was born into a left-wing family at the beginning of the 20th century. Vehemently opposed to the fascist politics of his German homeland during the 1930s, Fuchs flees Hitler's repressive state and finds himself caught up in the horrors of World War Two. When a group of ambitious communists reach out to save him, his life is changed forever. This is the story of the communist spy who infiltrated the Manhattan Project.

Listen as Gordon and David begin to tell the fascinating tale of Klaus Fuchs, the atomic spy.

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Donald Trump has paused all intelligence sharing with Ukraine. What does this mean? What intelligence was being shared? How dependent are Ukraine on this? And what impact will this have on the war?

Listen as Gordon Corera and David McCloskey discuss the latest developments in Ukraine.

-------------------

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When the CIA is forced to downsize, who gets cut? What happens to the intelligence left behind? And how does political control change the way spies operate?

In the late 1970s, Jimmy Carter’s CIA director launched a brutal purge, firing hundreds of intelligence officers in what became known as the Halloween Massacre. Now, with Trump taking his own axe to Langley, David and Gordon ask: is history repeating itself? And what happens when America’s spies become the target?

-------------------

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How do politicians control the CIA? What happens when politics affects the way it is run? And how often does the White House clash with Langley?

Trump is trying to bring the CIA more directly under his control. He wants to reduce the size of it and re-order it's priorities. But he's not the first President to try to interfere at Langley. This week on The Rest Is Classified, David and Gordon look at Trump's CIA reforms but also take an eye to history to look at Jimmy Carter's CIA reforms that led to Halloween Massacre...

-------------------

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Assistant Producer: Becki Hills

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Can nuclear missiles really just disappear? Why is Greenland so important to the security of the United States? And will Donald Trump go all the way with his plan to buy this Arctic island?

A plane carrying nuclear weapons crashes in the Arctic and the effects ricochet through history. From seals born with deformities to radioactive permafrost, the presence of nuclear weapons on Greenland is seismic and very controversial. So, with Donald Trump threatening to buy the world’s largest island, David and Gordon are asking: why?

-------------------

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Donald Trump has made it clear that he wants Greenland, but why? What is it about this largely barren, ice-covered island that extends well into the Arctic circle that he so desires? And how far back does this interest go?

Filled with rare minerals that are becoming increasingly valuable due to modern technology, critically placed for access to Arctic sea lanes, and home to key US military infrastructure, Greenland is of major security importance. But this importance stretches back into the 20th century. Listen as David and Gordon discuss the secret history of Greenland and all the bizarre events of the 20th century that have led to it being on Donald Trump’s wishlist.

-------------------

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Was an umbrella too obvious a murder weapon for an assassination in the heart of London? Why were the KGB hesitant to do the Bulgarian government's dirty work? And how do scientists work with spy agencies to identify lethal poisons?

Georgi Markov, the Bulgarian dissident writer, is dead. But, who murdered him? Was it the Bulgarians or the KGB? What about the British? In the aftermath of Markov's poisoning, the Metropolitan Police are struggling to discover the perpetrator behind the umbrella.

Listen as David and Gordon continue the story of the mysterious murder of a Bulgarian BBC broadcaster on Waterloo Bridge, and ask: will the assassin ever be caught?

-------------------

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How do you get away with murder in the heart of London? And which weapon would you choose to avoid arousing suspicion?

Georgi Markov was a Bulgarian dissident writer wanted by the Eastern Bloc for spreading anti-regime messaging across Western Europe. He'd fled to London and begun working for the BBC World Service, the US-funded Radio Free Europe and West Germany's Deutsche Welle. A satirist at heart, he used his platform to criticise the Bulgarian Communist leader, Todor Zhivkov, making fun of the authoritarian president and calling for the liberation of his home country.

But, was Markov walking a dangerous line that could lead to his untimely demise? Find out as David and Gordon tell the mysterious story of the Bulgarian writer and his suspicious death on Waterloo Bridge.

-------------------

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Did the French secret service commit an act of state terrorism by sinking a Greenpeace ship? Why did the tragedy of the Rainbow Warrior become known as BlunderWatergate? How many millions of dollars did France have to pay Greenpeace in compensation?

The French have bombed the Rainbow Warrior, forcing its environmentalist crew to flee for their lives, but one member of the team is stuck on board. As the story of the attack starts to spread around the world, what ensues is a frantic man-hunt to unmask the perpetrators and bring them to justice.

In this episode, Gordon and David trawl through the murky aftermath of the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior, debating how this disastrous operation informs sabotage missions to this day.

-------------------

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Why were the French exploding nuclear bombs in the Pacific in the 70s and 80s? How did a spy manage to infiltrate Greenpeace? And what on earth are limpet mines?

In the 1960s, the French started testing nuclear weapons in the South Pacific, causing untold ecological destruction and worrying the surrounding island nations. Greenpeace, hot off the back of their successful anti-whaling and anti-sealing campaigns, heard this news and decided that nuclear weapons were their next battleground. Armed with an old English naval ship and some controversial publicity tactics, Greenpeace took on the French to free the Pacific of nuclear weapons.

Join David and Gordon as they dive into the gripping tale of the Rainbow Warrior - Greenpeace’s fearless flagship - sunk in a shocking act of French espionage in 1985.

-------------------

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Will Tolkachev fall at the final hurdle and land in the hands of the KGB? How do the CIA go about protecting their assets in the field? And, does it really take a spy to catch a spy?

As we reach the final instalment of the story of Adolf Tolkachev, the plot reaches its dramatic crescendo. Tolkachev has now been working for the CIA for over half a decade and the pressure is clearly taking its toll on both him and the US agents around him. As the two Cold War powers face off on the outskirts of Moscow, which behemoth will come out on top? Listen as David and Gordon conclude their series on the unbelievable story of the Billion Dollar Spy.

-------------------

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How would you disguise a cyanide pill for a CIA spy in Moscow during the Cold War? What risks could Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and The Beatles pose to Adolf Tolkachev’s mission against the Soviet state? And will the CIA’s mole in Moscow be discovered by the KGB?

It’s 1985, and for the past five years, Tolkachev has been providing the CIA with top secret documents detailing the intricacies of Soviet radar technology. He’s risked everything he knows and loves to help orchestrate the demise of the USSR, but is he teetering on the edge of discovery? Listen as David and Gordon share the third instalment of the story of Adolf Tolkachev as his health begins to decline and he realises a suicide pill might be his only way out. 

-------------------

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To coincide with the release of David's latest novel, The Seventh Floor, we have the book’s first chapter in audiobook form for you to enjoy.

Bouncing between the corridors of Langley and the Kremlin, the thrilling new novel by David McCloskey explores the nature of friendship in a faithless business, and what it means to love a place that does not love you back.

The Seventh Floor by David McCloskey, is OUT NOW in the UK.

Pre-order a signed edition via this link.

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A Russian arrives in Singapore with a secret to sell. When the Russian is killed and Sam Joseph, the CIA officer dispatched for the meet, goes missing, Artemis Procter is made a scapegoat and run out of the service. Traded back in a spy swap, Sam appears at Procter’s central Florida doorstep months later with an explosive secret: there is a Russian mole hidden deep within the upper reaches of CIA.

As Procter and Sam investigate, they arrive at a shortlist of suspects made up of both Procter’s closest friends and fiercest enemies. The hunt soon requires Procter to dredge up her own checkered past in service of CIA, placing her and Sam into the sights of a savvy Russian spymaster who will protect Moscow’s mole in Langley at all costs, even if it means wreaking bloody havoc across the United States.

-------------------

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Assistant Producer: Becki Hills

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Was it possible to avoid KGB surveillance in Moscow as a CIA agent at the height of the Cold War? What motivates someone to spy on their country for an opposing power? And how did Adolf Tolkachev manage to smuggle out the top secret documents the CIA needed to defeat the USSR?

Adolf Tolkachev has been recruited by the CIA as a mole inside a highly sensitive government department in Moscow. His job: to sneak top secret documents out to offer the US a glimpse of Russia's defence capabilities. Despite his initial success, Tolkachev knew the risks if he was caught by the KGB. But, could he justify those risks? Find out as Gordon and David share the latest instalment of the story of Adolf Tolkachev.

-------------------

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Exec Producer: Tony Pastor

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