Step into the shadowy realm of spies, secrets, and subterfuge with the True Life Spy Stories Podcast. Join Philip Thompson as he meticulously deconstructs real-life espionage stories bringing history’s most intriguing spies and covert operations to life. Philip delivers compelling narratives that blend historical accuracy with engaging storytelling. Whether you’re a history buff, a spy fiction enthusiast, or simply curious about the hidden forces shaping world events, this podcast offers a fascinating glimpse into the secret real world of espionage.
The podcast True Life Spy Stories is created by Philip Thompson. The podcast and the artwork on this page are embedded on this page using the public podcast feed (RSS).
Ways to support the podcast:
Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ https://bmc.link/philipthompsonDonate via PayPal: 💸 paypal.me/PhilipT284____________________________________________________________
On a gray November afternoon in 2006, within the refined confines of London's Millennium Hotel, a seemingly unremarkable ritual unfolded - three men gathered for tea in the Pine Bar. The casual observer might have dismissed it as nothing more than a business meeting, or perhaps old friends catching up. But behind the clink of porcelain and polite conversation, something far more sinister was in motion. The men were indeed former colleagues, but the encounter was far from benign.Within hours, one of these men - Alexander Litvinenko - would lie dying in a London hospital bed, a deadly poison coursing through his veins. He would spend his final days unraveling the mystery of his own murder, pointing a trembling finger at the Kremlin from his deathbed. His last words? A direct accusation of the man he believed had ordered his killing - Vladimir Putin.Litvinenko's journey from KGB officer to FSB dissident, from loyal servant of the Russian state to one of its most vocal critics, unfolded as if it flowed like ink through the pen of John le Carré himself. His story is a chilling tale of espionage, betrayal, and radioactive revenge - a warning that in Putin’s Russia, there is no such thing as an exile too far.____________________________________________________________Further reading:📕 Blowing up Russia: The Book that Got Litvinenko Assassinated, Alexander Litvinenko, Yuri Felshtinsky - https://amzn.to/4lz7M1Q📕 A Very Expensive Poison: The Assassination of Alexander Litvinenko and Putin's War with the West, Luke Harding - https://amzn.to/4cwJIbK📕 Putin's Russia: The definitive account of Putin’s rise to power, Anna Politkovskaya - https://amzn.to/3Eolkwp#philipthompson #truelifespystories #mayfairpoisoning
Ways to support the podcast:
Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ https://bmc.link/philipthompson
Donate via PayPal: 💸 paypal.me/PhilipT284
In the shadowy world of espionage, secrets are currency, and deception is an art. As World War 2 raged on, the Allies became ever more aware of the truth of this statement. Having dealt with the Nazi threat in North Africa, the Allies set their sights on invading Italy to wrest it from the control of fascism and the influence of Nazi Germany.
But to do this, it was necessary to devise a plan so cunning, so audacious, that if it were pulled off successfully it would certainly be remembered as one of the most ingenious military deceptions in all history. By means of a dead body and a briefcase full of fake documents, British intelligence was able to fool Axis powers at a crucial juncture of the war.
Two British men, Ewen Montagu and Charles Cholmondeley, were tasked with developing Operation Mincemeat further and clearing the way for the Allied forces ahead of Operation Husky.
This is a documentary that tells the story of Operation Mincemeat - the espionage masterstroke that turned the tide of World War 2.#philipthompson #truelifespystories #operationmincemeat
Ways to support the podcast:
Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ https://bmc.link/philipthompson
Donate via PayPal: 💸 paypal.me/PhilipT284
This is the story of the rise and fall of the Waltham Watch Company, a pioneer in American and global watchmaking, which, Aaron Stark reveals, saw it's undoing at the hands of a corporate spy on a top secret mission during the 1876 Centennial Fair held in Philadelphia.To purchase a copy of 'Disrupting TIme' by Aaron Stark (affiliate link):📚 https://amzn.to/40ZKnNhAaron Stark's website: https://www.aaronstarkbooks.com/#philipthompson #truelifespystoriesIntro music:Flower Duet - Leo Delibes (courtesy of Lud and Schlatts Musical Emporium)Creative Commons ► Attribution 3.0 Unported ► CC BY 3.0https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Ways to support the podcast:
Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ https://bmc.link/philipthompson
Donate via PayPal: 💸 paypal.me/PhilipT284
Espionage, often dubbed the world's second-oldest profession, is as ancient as civilization itself. From the covert agents of ancient Egypt and Rome to the tech-savvy cyber warriors of today, the art of spying has evolved dramatically.
Yet, its essence remains unchanged: a quest for power and information. Throughout history, spies have shaped the destinies of nations, whether during the tumultuous times of revolutions or the tense days of the Cold War.
Today, in the digital age, espionage is being redefined, but the intrigue and motivations behind it remain as compelling as ever.#truelifespystories #espionage
Welcome to dead drop. This is your host Philip Thompson bringing you the latest intel on the world of espionage.
In this week's dossier:
Stay vigilant. Trust no one. And remember, this Dead Drop will self-destruct in 5... 4... 3...
Ways to support the True Life Spy Stories podcast:Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ https://bmc.link/philipthompsonDonate via PayPal: 💸 paypal.me/PhilipT284
Ways to support the podcast:
Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ https://bmc.link/philipthompson
Donate via PayPal: 💸 paypal.me/PhilipT284
Oleg Gordievsky was the highest ranking KGB officer to ever become a British spy. He almost single-handedly shaped world events at one of the most dangerous times in global history during the Cold War when humanity peered over the precipice of nuclear holocaust. The plan to rescue him from deep behind the Iron Curtain after he was compromised was thought to be virtually impossible. While to his motherland he remains a traitor, to the Western world he is a hero that risked it all for the sake of the democratic freedoms most of us take for granted.This is the gripping tale of Oleg Gordievsky.
Dedicated to the memory of Oleg Gordievsky: 10 October 1938 - 4 March 2025
Further reading and sources 📚: (affiliate links) 🛒📕 Next Stop Execution by Oleg Gordievsky - https://amzn.to/3oQPA7U📘 The Spy and the Traitor by Ben McIntyre - https://amzn.to/3SniRVh
Welcome to dead drop. This is your host Philip Thompson bringing you the latest intel on the world of espionage.
In this week's dossier:
Stay vigilant. Trust no one. And remember, this Dead Drop will self-destruct in 5... 4... 3...
Ways to support the True Life Spy Stories podcast:Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ https://bmc.link/philipthompsonDonate via PayPal: 💸 paypal.me/PhilipT284
Ways to support the podcast:Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ https://bmc.link/philipthompsonDonate via PayPal: 💸 paypal.me/PhilipT284When a man calling himself “HECKENSCHÜTZE”, or “Sniper” in German wrote a letter to the US Embassy in Bern in April 1958, the West had no idea of the scale and magnitude of the revelations that would soon follow.The mysterious writer insisted that he would deal only with Director of the FBI J Edgar Hoover. From the outset, the relationship between spy and spy master was built on a lie. The CIA took over the running of the operation, all the while masquerading as the Bureau.The Agency soon realised that their informant was not just another spy. They deduced that he was a senior member of Polish intelligence with access to an unprecedented level of top secret Soviet information. As time went on, Agent Sniper became arguably the most valuable asset the West had during the early to mid-phase of the Cold War. Agent Sniper exposed 1,693 communist spies, agents and informants operating covertly within the apparatus of Western intelligence. Behind the mask of 'Agent Sniper' was Colonel Michal nzGoleniewski. He was a complex figure and an expert at compartmentalising his multiple identities. His story is however not just one of daring espionage; it's also a tale of deception, paranoia, and a bizarre descent into delusion. The country he risked everything to help exploited his flaws, the CIA driving him so far down the rabbit hole that he ultimately lost his mind. This is the tale of Michał Goleniewski, the spy who was left out in the cFurther reading:📕 Agent Sniper: The Cold War Superagent and the Ruthless Head of the CIA, Tim Tate - https://amzn.to/4ishMrA📕 The Spy Who Would Be Tsar: The Mystery of Michal Goleniewski and the Far-Right Underground, Kevin Coogan - https://amzn.to/4ishMrA#philipthompson #truelifespystories #agentsniper
This is the story of Alexander Dmitrievich Ogorodnik, a mid-level Soviet diplomat turned CIA spy. Ogorodnik was a Soviet diplomat who was recruited to spy on the Soviet Union while stationed in Bogotá, Colombia. Codenamed Agent Trigon, he was later transferred to the Soviet Foreign Ministry in Moscow where he photographed secret diplomatic cables and requested a suicide pill from the CIA in case he was caught. His handler, Martha 'Marti' Peterson was the first female CIA case officer to operate within Moscow. At the height of the Cold War, she had the daunting task of running one of the CIA's most valuable spy prospects.Agent Trigon was ultimately betrayed by a CIA translator and arrested by the KGB. What happened next is a story that not even the best spy authors could come up with...Sources and further reading 📚: (affiliate links) 🛒📕 Spycraft: The Secret History of the CIA's Spytechs, from Communism to Al-Qaeda - https://amzn.to/3ZVT1LO📘 The Widow Spy - https://amzn.to/3GY0lh5Ways to support the podcast:Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ https://bmc.link/philipthompsonDonate via PayPal: 💸 paypal.me/PhilipT284
Operation Market Garden, launched on 17 September 1944, was one of the most ambitious Allied operations of World War II. As the largest airborne assault in history, its objective was to secure a series of nine bridges in the Netherlands, carving out a path to Berlin that would bring the end of the war by Christmas. Despite its bold vision, Market Garden ultimately failed due to a combination of strategic miscalculations and unforeseen challenges. Yet it was more than military strategy that was the reason for its failure. It was betrayal from within that saw to it that the Germans were forewarned, and thus fore-armed ahead of the invasion. Two key figures have emerged, the first, Christiaan Lindemans, also known as Agent King Kong, a Dutch double agent who leaked crucial information to the Germans, and perhaps even more intriguing, today’s guest argues that it may have been a highly placed source within the British Secret Service, codenamed "Josephine," who contributed to the prolongation of the war and the loss of thousand of Allied lives. Listen on for a fascinating discussion on bravery and sacrifice in war, and the treachery that tore it all apart. |--| Buy Robert Verkaik's latest book, The Traitor of Arnhem (affiliate link): 📕 The Traitor of Arnhem: WWII’s Greatest Betrayal and the Moment That Changed History Forever - https://amzn.to/4haihWF Ways to support my channel: Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ https://bmc.link/philipthompson Donate via PayPal: 💸 paypal.me/PhilipT284
Welcome to dead drop. This is your host Philip Thompson bringing you the latest intel on the world of espionage.
In this week's dossier:
- The CIA are studying AI versions of World Leaders
- British nuclear submarine keeps a close eye on Russian spy ship
- Details of a Russian Spy Ring Unravel in the British Courts; and
- The CIA says that Covid-19 ‘probably leaked’ from Chinese lab.
Stay vigilant. Trust no one. And remember, this Dead Drop will self-destruct in 5... 4... 3...
Ways to support the True Life Spy Stories podcast: Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ https://bmc.link/philipthompson Donate via PayPal: 💸 paypal.me/PhilipT284
It's a true life spy story omnibus... volume 2!
01:02 - Mata Hari 39:21 - Juan Pujol Garcia (Agent Garbo) 1:25:01 - Karel Koecher 2:10:37 - John Anthony Walker 2:53:24 - Jonathan Pollard 3:41:44 - Nicholas Shadrin 4:28:55 - Anthony Blunt
This is a collection of the True Life Spy Story videos uploaded to my YouTube channel over 2024.
Ways to support the podcast: Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ https://bmc.link/philipthompson Donate via PayPal: 💸 paypal.me/PhilipT284
Welcome to dead drop. This is your host Philip Thompson bringing you the latest intel on the world of espionage.
In this week's dossier:
- Queen Elizabeth II was not told the truth about Anthony Blunt for 9 years
- New Arrests in the Prison Break Saga of Daniel Khalife
- The World bids Farewell to an SOE Legend; and
- Former CIA analyst pleads guilty to leaking Israeli plans for strike on Iran
Stay vigilant. Trust no one. And remember, this Dead Drop will self-destruct in 5... 4... 3...
Ways to support the True Life Spy Stories podcast: Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ https://bmc.link/philipthompson Donate via PayPal: 💸 paypal.me/PhilipT284
On the morning of 7 September 2023, Daniel Khalife's name and photograph were splashed across every major news outlet in the United Kingdom. Overnight, the 23-year-old former British soldier's daring escape from prison catapulted him from relative obscurity to the subject of a nationwide manhunt. Newspapers, television broadcasts, and social media platforms were awash with images of Khalife's youthful face, his military background, and the details of his audacious prison break. The public was captivated by the story of how this young man, accused of spying for Iran, had managed to outwit the security measures of one of London's most notorious prisons by strapping himself to the underside of a food delivery truck. As the country woke up to this extraordinary news, little did they know that Khalife's escape was just the beginning of a tale that would involve espionage, terrorism charges, and a dramatic four-day manhunt across Britain. His story is a complex tale of ambition, ego, naivety, deception, and espionage that culminated in one of the most high-profile cases of treason in recent British history. |-----------------------------------------------------------------| Ways to support my channel: Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ https://bmc.link/philipthompson Donate via PayPal: 💸 paypal.me/PhilipT284 #philipthompson #truelifespystories #danielkhalife
It's a true life spy story omnibus! This video podcast is a collection of the True Life Spy Stories I created and published in 2023. Enjoy nearly 4 hours of deceipt, skullduggery and cloak-and-dagger espionage... Video chapters: 00:00 - Introduction 01:43 - Adolf Tolkachev 28:22 - Oleg Penkovsky 1:06:45 - Aldrich Ames 1:35:53 - Fritz Duquesne 2:26:31 - George Blake 3:03:36 - Robert Hanssen Ways to support my channel: Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ https://bmc.link/philipthompson Donate via PayPal: 💸 paypal.me/PhilipT284 ...or buy a book! (affiliate links) 📘 The Billion Dollar Spy: A True Story of Cold War Espionage and Betrayal: https://amzn.to/48eGPtk 📕 The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War: https://amzn.to/48fXHjf 📗 A Spy in Plain Sight: The Inside Story of the FBI and Robert Hanssen—America's Most Damaging Russian Spy: https://amzn.to/3vhie8u 📙 Spy: The Inside Story of How the FBI's Robert Hanssen Betrayed America: https://amzn.to/48eOoQu 📘 Spies, Lies, and Exile: The Extraordinary Story of Russian Double Agent George Blake: https://amzn.to/3H0oEvf 📗 Dead Drop: TheTrue Story of Oleg Penkovsky and the Cold War's Most Dangerous Operation: https://amzn.to/48zvdkd #philipthompson #truelifespystories
Purchase your copy of Peter Winnington's new book, Codename TREASURE: The Life of D-Day Spy, Lily Sergueiew (affiliate links): 📖 Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3KBK5VR 📖 Pen & Sword Books: https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Codename-TREASURE-Hardback/p/23441/aid/1237 Peter Winnington's website: https://gpeterwinnington.com/ ☕ If you would like to support my channel and gain access to membership rewards and benefits, please consider buying me a coffee! ☕ https://bmc.link/philipthompson |-----------------------------------------------------------------| It is December 1943. Operation Fortitude, the Allies’ grand plan to mislead the Axis powers as to the location of the D-Day landings, is in full swing. Key to the misinformation campaign was a collection of misfit spies, described by Ben McIntyre as “a bisexual Peruvian playgirl, a tiny Polish fighter pilot, a mercurial Frenchwoman, a Serbian seducer, and a deeply eccentric Spaniard with a diploma in chicken farming.”. The “mercurial Frenchwoman” was Russian-born Nathalie Sergueiew. Known as Lily, she served as a double agent by working for both the German Abwehr and British military intelligence, MI5. Despite her contribution to the war effort, her legacy has been overshadowed by an incident involving her pet dog Babs. Lily has since been referred to most uncharitably as “the woman so obsessed with her dog that she tried to derail D-Day”. Now, for the first time, author Peter Winnington has penned a biography of the life of the intrepid 5th D-Day spy and one which tells the personal side of Lily’s complicated tale. This then is the story of Lily Sergueiew, the forgotten D-Day spy. |-----------------------------------------------------------------| #philipthompson #codenametreasure
His admirers have called him the greatest spy who ever lived, his detractors regard him as nothing more than a raconteur and a con-artist. Sidney Reilly, the enigmatic figure known as the "Ace of Spies," was a man of many faces and even more secrets. Driven by opportunism and self-advancement, he was a master of disguise, a gifted linguist, and a maverick businessman who understood the power of information and influence in a world on the brink of war. From the oil fields of Iran to the corridors of power in London, St Petersburg and New York, some of Reilly's exploits seem beyond the realms of possibility. And in many cases they are. His life was a patchwork of half-truths, embellishments, and carefully crafted fabrications. From high stakes negotiations for Iranian oil rights to a plot to overthrow the Bolshevik government in Communist Russia, the truth remains elusive. Reilly's romantic entanglements were as complex as his espionage career. A string of affairs, marriages, and even a suspected hand in the death of a reverend add layers of intrigue to his already mysterious persona. The accounts of Sidney Reilly's life are so at odds with each other that his story reads like a choose-your-own-adventure book. Was he a patriot serving the British Empire, or a mercenary driven by personal gain? A brilliant spy or a skilled charlatan? So then, who really was the so-called Ace of Spies? The answer, like the man himself, remains shrouded in mystery, leaving us to wonder where the truth ends and the legend begins. |-----------------------------------------------------------------| Ways to support my channel: Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ https://bmc.link/philipthompson Donate via PayPal: 💸 paypal.me/PhilipT284 #philipthompson #truespystories #aceofspies
Prince Andrew is no stranger to a scandal. He is once again in the news, this time for his association with Chinese businessman 'H6' who has been barred from re-entering the UK by the Home Office for alleged espionage and political interference. This is a developing spy story... |-----------------------------------------------------------------| Ways to support my channel: Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ https://bmc.link/philipthompson Donate via PayPal: 💸 paypal.me/PhilipT284 #philipthompson #truespystories #princeandrew
Thank you to CHANGES for sponsoring this video. To learn about the terrible things the Nazis did in their bunker, click through to their channel: https://youtu.be/YLJq661j4Bw?si=xm5_xIL4o7uV7eeb The CHANGES channel page: youtube.com/@CHANGES_SCAMS |-----------------------------------------------------------------| The mid-20th Century saw no shortage of heroic men and women who bravely fought against fascism. While it was the collective efforts of the many operating with a singular purpose of will that triumphed over tyranny, the role of the individual in being able to single-handedly shape world events came to the fore during this time. One such individual was Dusan “Duško” Popov. He was described by author Russell Miller as a “wealthy lawyer, debonair ladies' man, consummate actor, and courageous gambler”. Popov was to the Germans their most valuable agent in place. In truth, he was working for MI5 to feed the Nazis carefully crafted intelligence as part of the Double-Cross system. Far from the stereotypical image of a discreet, shadow-dwelling spy, Popov was larger-than-life and embraced an extravagant lifestyle. He frequented elite casinos, drove luxury cars, and was often seen in the company of beautiful women. This high-profile persona served in many cases to deflect attention from his clandestine activities, but in others proved a liability. The warnings he gave to the FBI about the impending attack on Pearl Harbour were dismissed as the unreliable ramblings of a moral degenerate. For Duško Popov, the stakes were always high - whether he was sitting at the baccarat table or across from his Abwehr handler. He played a pivotal role in the success of the Allied Normandy invasion, and he was the proto-typical super spy that inspired Ian Fleming’s James Bond. And this is his story. |-----------------------------------------------------------------| Ways to support my channel: Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ https://bmc.link/philipthompson Donate via PayPal: 💸 paypal.me/PhilipT284 #philipthompson #truespystories #duskopopov
The summer of 1959 saw tensions between the USA and the Soviet Union experience an unprecedented thaw. The two global superpowers decided it would be a good idea to each stage an exhibition in the other’s country. Designed to encourage cultural exchange and to increase mutual understanding, in truth, it was more a means to show off the latest technology and propagandize. It was the Soviet Exhibition in New York that paved the way for one of the CIA’s most successful covert operations of the Cold War - one that the enemy wasn’t even aware of until decades later. This is how the USA, with a little help from their friends in Mexico, kidnapped a space probe from right under Soviet noses. |-----------------------------------------------------------------| 🎨 Thumbnail design by Roderick Brydon of KLR Custom Book Covers & Illustrations: https://www.klrcovers.com/ |-----------------------------------------------------------------| Ways to support my channel: Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ https://bmc.link/philipthompson Donate via PayPal: 💸 paypal.me/PhilipT284 #philipthompson #kidnappingthelunik #talesofespionage
In 1954, Berlin was divided, having become the epicentre of the ideological battleground in the Cold War. The city was ruled more by spies and secrets than the tanks and troops lining its streets. Just a year earlier, in August 1953, the Soviets had detonated their first hydrogen bomb in their own rapidly advancing Atomic Project. The West was concerned about what else they might be planning and felt that they had to act before it was too late. But in order to act, they needed to know what was going on behind the Iron Curtain. It was within this tense atmosphere that the CIA and MI6 conceived a bold plan.# They would dig a tunnel from the American sector of Berlin, beneath the world’s most heavily guarded border, and tap into Soviet-East German communication lines on the other side. Codenamed Operation Gold, the Berlin Tunnel was to be the world’s longest and most high-tech spy tunnel. The operation was, however, doomed from the get-go, being compromised by a senior British MI6 officer who had turned traitor. |-----------------------------------------------------------------| 🎨 Thumbnail design by Roderick Brydon of KLR Custom Book Covers & Illustrations: https://www.klrcovers.com/ |-----------------------------------------------------------------| Ways to support my channel: Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ https://bmc.link/philipthompson Donate via PayPal: 💸 paypal.me/PhilipT284 #philipthompson #berlintunnel #talesofespionage
Ways to support the podcast: Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ https://bmc.link/philipthompson Donate via PayPal: 💸 paypal.me/PhilipT284 |-----------------------------------------------------------------|
In the aftermath of World War II, as the dust of global conflict settled and nations sought to rebuild, the Soviet Union extended a hand of friendship to the United States of America. The gift, handed over by children no less, would many years later reveal itself as a masterstroke of espionage, a trojan horse hiding a marvel of Soviet engineering. This is the story of ‘The Thing’, known also as the Great Seal Bug |-----------------------------------------------------------------|
Resources and further reading: 🌐 https://www.cryptomuseum.com/covert/bugs/thing/ 🌐 https://counterespionage.com/great-seal-bug-part-1/ (plus all subsequent parts) 🌐 https://coffeeordie.com/soviet-great-seal-bug 🌐 https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/great-seal-bug-histor #philipthompson #thething #talesofespionage
Watch the full documentary on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/qaiMhFpVgxw
The art in espionage is the ability to hide in plain sight and the greatest of spies are the ones you never learn about. This statement rings true in the case of Anthony Blunt. His life seemed predestined for greatness. A Cambridge graduate with familial ties to the Royal Family, he was the very picture of establishment respectability. His brilliance as a polymath, fluency in multiple languages, and renown as a world-class art historian made him virtually untouchable, and he knew it. Beneath this veneer of aristocratic refinement lurked a secret that would shake Britain to its very foundations. For decades, Blunt operated as a Soviet spy as a member of the so-called Cambridge Five. His position in MI5 and then within the court of the British Royal family granted him unprecedented access to top secret information at the most critical junctures of World War 2. It took 34 years before Blunt’s treachery was finally revealed by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. As shocking as his betrayal was to the British public, a new hypothesis suggests that he may also have been handing secrets to the Nazis which prolonged the war and cost thousands of Allied lives. Labelling Anthony Blunt as ‘the most dangerous spy in history’ as some have done may seem hyperbolic, but when considering the information he had access to, and thus the power he held to influence the strategic balance of power, it may indeed be true. |--------------------------------------------------------------| Ways to support my channel: Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ https://bmc.link/philipthompson Donate via PayPal: 💸 paypal.me/PhilipT284 |--------------------------------------------------------------| Thumbnail design by Roderick Brydon of KLR Custom Book Covers & Illustrations: https://www.klrcovers.com/ #philipthompson #truespystories #anthonyblunt
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/iHnS-aKvEno Ways to support the podcast: Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ https://bmc.link/philipthompson Donate via PayPal: 💸 paypal.me/PhilipT284 Primary sources and further reading (afiiliate links): 📕 Shadrin: The Spy Who Never Came Back - https://amzn.to/3XF90yH |--------------------------------------------------------------| Nicholas Shadrin, born Nikolai Artamonov, was a high-ranking Soviet naval officer who made a life-altering decision in the 1950s. Disillusioned by the Soviet regime, he defected to the West while on a mission in Europe, seeking asylum from the United States. Over time, Shadrin became an asset for U.S. intelligence, providing valuable information about Soviet naval operations. However, his life took a mysterious turn when, years later, he agreed to participate in a dangerous double-agent mission. He planned to meet Soviet agents in Vienna, but after that fateful meeting, he vanished without a trace. His disappearance left both U.S. and Soviet authorities scrambling for answers. Was Shadrin abducted, or did something more sinister unfold in the shadows of Cold War espionage?
|--------------------------------------------------------------| The artwork featured in this video was handdrawn by Ashleigh Ann Hilton:
📷 https://www.instagram.com/ash.a.p_art?igsh=MXE0ajEwZXNlNWUyYw== Thumbnail design by Roderick Brydon of KLR Custom Book Covers & Illustrations:
https://www.klrcovers.com/ #philipthompson #truelifespystories #thespywhodisappeared
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/W13m5fiup28 Ways to support my channel: Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ https://bmc.link/philipthompson Donate via PayPal: 💸 paypal.me/PhilipT284 Primary sources and further reading (afiiliate links): 📕 The Spy Who Got Away - https://amzn.to/46dQRuh 📘 Safe House: The Compelling Memoirs of the Only CIA Spy to Seek Asylum in Russia - https://amzn.to/3SgtfQ1 In the sun-drenched streets of the Vatican in the summer of 1985, a high-ranking KGB officer slipped away from his group touring the Vatican Museum. He disappeared without trace, only to reemerge a few weeks later in the United States. Vitaly Yurchenko’s defection was an intelligence coup for the CIA. In a secure, dimly lit room in a safehouse in northern Virginia, Yurchenko faced his American interrogators. The air was thick with tension as he began to divulge KGB secrets. The CIA’s glee turned to dismay as Yurchenko began to speak of a mole within their ranks. He didn’t know his name, only his codename. Agent ‘Robert’ had been preparing for a posting to the CIA’s Moscow station before abruptly being taken off the assignment. The CIA agents’ blood ran cold. Agent ROBERT could be only one man - a disgruntled former CIA employee who had been fired from the Agency 2 years prior. Ever since, the CIA had done their best to conceal the affair from the FBI. The man’s name was Edward Lee Howard. #philipthompson #truelifespystories #thespywhogotaway
Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/wrS2jHMhPG4 Ways to support my channel: Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ https://bmc.link/philipthompson Donate via PayPal: 💸 paypal.me/PhilipT284 Episode description: Mata Hari is a name that has for more than 100 years captured the public’s imagination. The woman behind the persona acquired her fame as an exotic dancer and courtesan living in Paris during the French Belle Époque. Meaning “eye of dawn” in Javanese, Mata Hari would have had you believe that she was a Hindu princess born of a union between a Dutch adventurer and a Javanese temple dancer. As the story goes, she blossomed into a beautiful young lady and learned the sensuous and sacred temple dances from her mother. It was then her gift to bring these lithe routines to the Western world where she entertained, enthralled and seduced. Yet, the character of Mata Hari was just that - an invention. According to biographer Pat Shipman, Mata Hari (real name Margaretha Zelle MacLeod) loved men, but she did not love the truth. Ultimately, the myth that she had created was turned against her as she faced a French firing squad. Convicted of being the most lethal and dangerous spy of World War 1 it was said that she was responsible for the death of 50,000 French soldiers. Not surprisingly, the true story of Mata Hari, in so far as it can be ascertained, is far different from what both she and the French political elite of her day would have you believe. This is the legend and the truth about Mata Hari, the naked spy. Ways to support my channel: Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ https://bmc.link/philipthompson Donate via PayPal: 💸 paypal.me/PhilipT284 Primary sources (afiiliate links): 📕 Femme Fatale: Love, Lies, and the Unknown Life of Mata HariFemme Fatale: Love, Lies, and the Unknown Life of Mata Hari, Pat Shipman - https://amzn.to/3ThNjkS 📕 Mata Hari: The biography of an Exotic Dutch Courtesan and World War I spy, United Library - https://amzn.to/4a9Aujg 📕 The Fatal Lover, Julie Wheelwright - https://amzn.to/3vctIKR #philipthompson #truelifespystories #matahari
Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/5L4PByawRHg Ways to support my channel: Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ https://bmc.link/philipthompson Donate via PayPal: 💸 paypal.me/PhilipT284 Episode description:
Hong Kong. The 2nd of June 2013. A cybersecurity agent sits in the bustling restaurant of the Mira Hotel. He fiddles nervously with a Rubik's cube. He looks up and his gaze locks with two newcomers - a man and a woman, one a hardened journalist and the other a documentary filmmaker. As he recognises the pair, he pockets the cube and stands. Silently, they make their way through the hotel towards the elevators. As they enter the agent's hotel room silently, the woman unclasps her case on the unmade bed, revealing camera equipment. As she sets her camera on a tripod, the agent takes his position on a chair opposite the journalist. The room hums with the weight of their impending conversation. The world, unknowing, teetered on the brink of a revelation from Edward Snowden that would change it forever. More than 10 years on since Snowden’s infamous NSA leaks, the debate over whether he is a friend or foe to America rages on. #philipthompson #truelifespystories #edwardsnowden
Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/k49GZB6anHU Ways to support my channel: Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ https://bmc.link/philipthompson Donate via PayPal: 💸 paypal.me/PhilipT284 Episode description:
Karel and Hana Koecher arrived on American shores in December 1965. The Czechoslovakian nationals had fled to America to start a new life. As Soviet emigres, they set out to live the American dream. For Karel, this was by climbing the ranks of academia. For Hana, it was a lucrative career in the diamond trade. Both had become naturalised US citizens. But all this was a smokescreen. Karel was in fact a sleeper agent deployed by Czechoslovakian intelligence to spy on the United States. He achieved what no other before him had managed - to infiltrate the CIA as an illegal Soviet spy. This is the story of Karel and Hana Koecher, the last of the Cold War super spies. Primary sources (afiiliate links): 📕 The Liar: How a Double Agent in the CIA Became the Cold War's Last Honest Man, Benjamin Cunningham - https://amzn.to/48lSntR 📕 Spy VS. Spy, Ronald Kessler - https://amzn.to/42FEYvH Further reading/viewing: 🌐 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/30/how-a-czech-super-spy-infiltrated-cia-karel-koecher 🌐 Betrayed! A Stranger in a Strange Land, https://tubitv.com/tv-shows/285639/s01-e02-karl-koecher-stranger-in-a-strange-landhttps://archive.org/details/territoryofliese0000blit_g3r0/page/350/mode/2up #philipthompson #truelifespystories #karelkoecher
Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/VdkPXhngptQ Ways to support my channel: Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ https://bmc.link/philipthompson Donate via PayPal: 💸 paypal.me/PhilipT284 Episode description:
1985 was the 'Year of the Spy'. A dozen high profile espionage cases dominated news headlines in the United States as the Cold War entered its final phase. One of the spies outted in that year stood out from among his peers. Jonathan 'Jay' Pollard was a Jewish American civilian intelligence analyst stationed at the US Navy's Anti-Terrorist Alert Center (ATAC). Over a period of 18 months, Pollard supplied an estimated 30 cubic feet worth of claassifid and top secret material, not to the Soviet Union or another of the USA's enemies, but to one of its closest allies - Israel. The revelation of his betrayal sent shockwaves through the inlelligence community and the public at large, and threatened to caused the USA and Israel to teeter on the brink of a diplomatic criss. His life sentence following a plea deal only served to fan the flames of controversry, with some regarding Pollard's punishment as a grave miscarriage of justice, while others believe he got exactly what he deserved. Primary sources (afiiliate links): 📕 Capturing Jonathan Pollard: How One of the Most Notorious Spies in American History Was Brought to Justice, Ronald J. Olive - https://amzn.to/47Ms53Q 📕 Miscarriage of Justice: The Jonathan Pollard Story, Mark Shaw - https://amzn.to/4b6pQLu 📕 The Hunting Horse: The Truth Behind the Jonathan Pollard Spy Case, Elliot Goldenberg - https://amzn.to/4b4g3Wm Further reading: 🌐 https://historyofspies.com/jonathan-pollard/ 🌐 https://archive.org/details/territoryofliese0000blit_g3r0/page/350/mode/2up 🌐 https://amc.sas.upenn.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/Sohnen-Pollard-Case.pdf 🌐 https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jonathan-pollard 🌐 https://aish.com/48900367/ 🌐 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jonathan-pollard-released-free-landed-israel-spy-with-wife/ 🌐 https://www.archives.gov/files/declassification/iscap/pdf/2007-010-doc1.pdf 🌐 https://www.archives.gov/files/declassification/iscap/pdf/2013-084-doc1.pdf 🌐 https://cryptome.org/jya/traitor.htm 🌐 https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/magazine/1998/07/05/the-spy-whos-been-left-in-the-cold/6a042fc2-90b0-4a19-821d-5fc8f42ab6eb/ #jonathanpollard #philipthompson #truelifespystories
Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Uz0KJtCDy3U Ways to support my channel: Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ https://bmc.link/philipthompson Donate via PayPal: 💸 paypal.me/PhilipT284 Listen to Spy Valley podcast: https://link.chtbl.com/spyvalley?at=1010l39W4&sid=fm.website https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXiMXx2shRmuWNxsPkYdlQEzR3oM2_Nnr Episode Description:
James Durwood Harper Jr. was an electronics engineer living in Silicon Valley during one of its many tech booms in the 1960s and 1970s. He was the quintessential tech businessman seeking his fortune in the Valley. He was also a boozer, an embezzler, an adulterer and a spy. After meeting up with an old girlfriend, James Harper saw an opportunity to sell the US’s most classified ballistic missile secrets to the Soviet bloc. During one of the most tense periods of the Cold War nuclear arms race, the US had a mole. The CIA and FBI would stop at nothing to catch him and put him behind bars. But first, they had to identify the man betraying the country’s secrets. This is the story of James Harper, the Silicon Valley Spy. #truespystories #philipthompson #siliconvalleyspy
Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/JSS3JzjYEWU Ways to support my channel: Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ https://bmc.link/philipthompson Donate via PayPal: 💸 paypal.me/PhilipT284 Sources and further reading 📚: (affiliate links) 🛒: 📕 Counterfeit Hero: Fritz Duquesne, Adventurer and Spy by Art Ronnie - https://amzn.to/4eg2FQq
📘 A Magnificent Lie: Fritz Joubert Duquesne - A Voice From The Grave by Paula Hewitt - https://amzn.to/45me79j
Episode Description:
An explorer, a big game hunter, a raconteur, a saboteur and a certified lunatic. These are just a few of the personas adopted by a man who is considered one of the most iconic and notorious spies of the 20th century. Yet for a man of his spying prowess, few today know his real name. Known at various points of his life either as The Black Panther, the Duke, or the man who killed Kitchener, he was handsome, charismatic, intelligent, and fluent in several languages. To some, he was just a common shyster and a conman, while to others, he was a master spy and saboteur. For a man as enigmatic and complex as South African-born super spy Fritz Duquesne, the truth probably lies somewhere in between. #truespystories #philipthompson #fritzduquesne
Watch this episode on YouTube: [check back later!] Ways to support my channel: Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ https://bmc.link/philipthompson Donate via PayPal: 💸 paypal.me/PhilipT284 Sources and further reading 📚: (affiliate links) 🛒: 📕 Family of Spies: Inside the John Walker Spy Ring, Pete Earley - Family of Spies: Inside the John Walker Spy Ring 📘 Spy Hunter: Inside the FBI Investigation of the Walker Espionage Case, Robert W. Hunter - https://amzn.to/4ekCCYq 📕 Breaking the Ring, John Baron - https://amzn.to/3VgiKgo Episode Description John Anthony Walker Jnr. ran the largest and most damaging espionage ring in Cold War history. For nearly 18 years he and his co-conspirators sold US Navy secrets to the Soviets. Yet things inevitably got too big and too messy. John Walker’s contempt for his wife and those around him meant that it was only a matter of time before his house of cards went tumbling down. In the year of the spy, John Anthony Walker Jnr. was the spy of the decade. #philipthompson #truelifespystories #johnwalker
Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/V73J3l5i6X0 Ways to support my channel: Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ https://bmc.link/philipthompson Donate via PayPal: 💸 paypal.me/PhilipT284 Sources and further reading 📚: (affiliate links) 🛒: 📕 A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II by Sonia Purnell - https://amzn.to/3xJ7M7y 📘 Wolves at the Door: The True Story Of America's Greatest Female Spy by Judith Pearson - https://amzn.to/3KpP9NQ 📗 S.O.E.: An outline history of the special operations executive 1940 - 46 by M.R.D Foot - https://amzn.to/3IjrhIO The year is 1942. The shadows of Vichy France, the Nazi puppet state, were crawling with danger. In Lyon, the third largest city in France, wanted posters started appearing on street corners. A rough sketch showed a woman’s face with sharp features and shoulder-length hair. The Abwehr and the Gestapo relentlessly hunted the woman they knew only as “the limping lady”. The woman in the poster was Virginia Hall, an American woman with a wooden leg and the unlikely mastermind behind the French Resistance in the south of France. The Gestapo's orders were clear and uncompromising: she was the most dangerous spy in the Allied forces, and they would stop at nothing to find and destroy her. As the Gestapo closed in, the stakes grew ever higher. Would Virginia succeed in establishing a resistance network able to assist in the toppling of the German war machine, or would she be caught and the resistance crushed beneath the heel of the Third Reich? #spystories #ww2 #virginiahall
Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/XlLtHWipZps?si=LHSMKMzSQ1X5K-2z Ways to support my channel: Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ https://bmc.link/philipthompson Donate via PayPal: 💸 paypal.me/PhilipT284 Primary sources (afiiliate links): 📕 Agent Garbo: The Brilliant, Eccentric Secret Agent Who Tricked Hitler and Saved D-day, Stephen Talty - https://amzn.to/4anSNkn 📕 Operation Garbo: The Personal Story of the Most Successful Spy of World War II, Juan Pujol Garcia & Nigel West - https://amzn.to/3QNz6M4 📕 Garbo: The Spy Who Saved D-Day, National Archives - https://amzn.to/3K2eagu 1939, Barcelona. Amidst the ruins of the Spanish Civil War, a man finds himself standing at a crossroads. The brutality of the conflict in his own country has left him disillusioned, and the ominous spectre of Nazi Germany looms large over Europe. He can continue to run and to hide, or he can face his enemy dead on and fight against tyranny. Armed with nothing more than his wits and imagination, Juan Pujol Garcia embarks on a remarkable journey that would transform him from a chicken farmer and a failed businessman into a self-made spy. His elaborate network of fictional sub-agents, he has Nazis hanging on his every word. As the Allies meticulously plan their invasion of Normandy and the liberation of Europe, he becomes their secret weapon, masterfully deceiving the enemy. Arguably the most successful double-agent in all recorded history, this is the true story of the brilliant, eccentric Agent GARBO - the myth, the spy, the legend.
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In 1986, a chilling revelation sent shockwaves through the FBI's Soviet counterintelligence section in Washington. Two prized Soviet informants, Valery Martynov and Sergei Motorin, had been compromised. Once exposed, the men were lured back to Moscow, and brutally executed - a bullet in the head for each, the KGB's grim signature for traitors. The loss of the two agents referred to affectionately within the FBI as ‘M&M’ marked an abrupt end to what had become routine covert meetings and intelligence exchanges. Parallel to this, the CIA, ensconced across the Potomac in Langley, grappled with its own nightmare. Over the years, dozens of their operatives in the Soviet Union had suddenly gone dark, were executed or imprisoned. The FBI scrambled to form an elite investigative team to unravel the mystery. Yet, as the years wore on and the puzzle remained unsolved, the unsettling possibility of the traitor being one of their own lingered in the air like a bad smell. Determined to root out the mole, experienced analysts within the FBI’s Soviet unit delved into archives of debriefings and reports, searching for a pattern, a clue, anything that might reveal a link to the betrayer. They honed in on an innocent agent, meanwhile the culprit, who was outwardly a devout Catholic, a loving husband, father of 6, and a trusted FBI agent, harboured a perilous secret. Robert Philip Hanssen’s decades-long path of treachery is considered the worst intelligence disaster in FBI history.
This is his story.
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Watch this podcast on YouTube: The Fearless White Mouse Who Outwitted the Gestapo
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“A rebel, always laughing and very, very feminine”. This is how author Russell Braddon described Nancy Wake. Exuberant and gregarious, she swore like a sailor and was able to drink nearly all her male counterparts under the table. Her story is an inspiring journey through the darkest days of World War II and of triumph in near-impossible circumstances. A fearless leader, skilled saboteur, and dedicated member of the French Resistance, Nancy's incredible contribution to the fight against Nazi Germany and her uncanny ability to evade capture by the Gestapo earned her the nickname "the White Mouse". Her notoriety among the Gestapo rose to the degree that a 5 million Franc bounty was put on her head. Nancy Wake would go on to become the most decorated British servicewoman, earning accolades for her courage, resilience, and cunning as a member of the British Special Operations Executive. This is Nancy’s Wake story.
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Watch this podcast on YouTube: The CIA Mole Who Brought US Intelligence to its Knees
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What motivates a person to become a spy and betray their own country? For some, it's a matter of principle and ideology, a belief in a cause that supersedes national loyalty. For others, it's all about the money, the allure of wealth proving stronger than any patriotic duty.
Aldrich “Rick” Ames, a former CIA officer turned KGB mole, fell firmly into the latter category. Driven by greed and the demands of an extravagant second wife who lived well beyond her means, Ames embarked on a 9-year path of treachery that would lead to the arrest or death of no less than 10 of the US’s highest-ranking spies.
The aftermath of his near-decade-long spying spree was immense, with the US government recognising it as the most disastrous failure of intelligence in the nation’s history.
This is the story of the notorious CIA mole who shook American intelligence to its very foundations.
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Watch this podcast on YouTube: Moscow's Man On The Inside.
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In the quaint, unassuming Isle of Portland, Dorset, the late 1950s hummed with the monotony of everyday life. Little did its residents know that their sleepy enclave would soon become the epicentre of an international espionage drama.
At the heart of this tale of betrayal were two love-struck British spies, a KGB operative masquerading as a Canadian businessman, and two American communists posing as antiquarian book dealers.
Operating between 1953 and 1961 from within the United Kingdom’s Underwater Weapons Establishment, the Portland Spy Ring sent highly classified research documents, including on nuclear submarine technology to the UK’s Cold War adversary the Soviet Union.
If only MI5 had paid more attention to the red flags and heeded the direct warnings, they could have staunched the flow of secrets to the Soviets years earlier.
It would take a tip-off from a Polish intelligence officer and one of the CIA’s most prized agents in place to bring the entire house of cards that was the Portland Spy Ring tumbling down.
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Watch this podcast on YouTube: Moscow's Man On The Inside.
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George Blake was the embodiment of the quintessential British gentleman. Charismatic, intelligent, and radiating charm, he was, to MI6, the very model of an intelligence officer.
However, beneath this polished exterior lay a mastermind of deception. Enthralled by the promise of a Communist utopia and disillusioned by NATO military tactics during the Korean War, Blake turned his back on his homeland, betraying national secrets and fellow agents to the Soviets during the tense 1950s era of the Cold War.
Unlike many of those whom he betrayed, Blake went on to enjoy a long life in Moscow, courtesy of the Kremlin. With decades to ponder his life’s choices, he harboured no regrets. To the very end, he remained a contented spy, his conscience unburdened, believing that in the world of espionage, no one is truly innocent.
En liten tjänst av I'm With Friends. Finns även på engelska.