The Rest Is Classified
Enter the secretive world of spies, espionage, and covert operations.
Hosted by former CIA analyst turned spy novelist, David McCloskey, and veteran security correspondent, Gordon Corera, this podcast unravels real-life spy stories, intelligence secrets, and the hidden power struggles shaping global events.
From Cold War espionage to modern-day intelligence agencies like the CIA, MI6, and Mossad, explore the world of double agents, classified missions, and the shadowy figures who operate in them. Whether you're a true crime addict, a thriller fan, or fascinated by spy stories, this is the show for you.
- Update frequency
- every 3 days
- Average duration
- 43 minutes
- Episodes
- 87
- Years Active
- 2024 - 2025
83. The Man Who Saved The World: Countdown to Armageddon (Ep 4)
It’s 1983 and the world is on the brink of nuclear war. Operation Able Archer has ratcheted tensions right up, how is Oleg Gordievski going to prevent a nuclear apocalypse? Is this the greatest contr…
00:50:34 |
Tue 16 Sep 2025
82. The Man Who Saved The World: Britain’s Best Ever Agent (Ep 3)
Oleg Gordievsky is now recruited as an agent for MI6 and he is providing intelligence of the highest order, but is there a chance he’ll be rumbled by the KGB? Who will keep him safe in London? And wh…
00:49:21 |
Sun 14 Sep 2025
81. The Man Who Saved The World: Abandoning Communism (Ep 2)
How did Oleg Gordievsky get recruited to work for MI6? What effect did living in Copenhagen have on his political views? And how did Britain nearly blow the recruitment of one of the most consequenti…
00:47:37 |
Tue 09 Sep 2025
80. The Man Who Saved The World: Making of a Traitor (Ep 1)
What makes a spy betray the very system that raised him? How does a loyal KGB officer, born into the service, become Britain’s most valuable Cold War agent? And how did one man’s intelligence reports…
00:45:34 |
Sun 07 Sep 2025
79. The Hunt for Pablo Escobar: Killing the Cocaine King (Ep 6)
In the final months of 1993, the hunt for Pablo Escobar reached a fever pitch. On the run and isolated, Escobar is under immense pressure from both the Colombian search bloc and the shadowy death squ…
00:56:53 |
Tue 02 Sep 2025
78. The Hunt for Pablo Escobar: Death Squads & Delta Force (Ep 5)
After walking out of his luxurious prison, Pablo Escobar is back on the run. With the Colombian government humiliated, they turn to the United States for a new kind of help: a specialized, elite forc…
00:52:38 |
Sun 31 Aug 2025
77. The Hunt for Pablo Escobar: The Medellin Cartel vs Colombia (Ep 4)
By the autumn of 1989, the hunt for Pablo Escobar and the Medellín cartel was intensifying. With the US military and intelligence agencies now directly involved, a new, more aggressive phase of the W…
00:50:52 |
Tue 26 Aug 2025
76. The Hunt for Pablo Escobar: From Narco to Global Terrorist (Ep 3)
By the late 1980s, Pablo Escobar’s grip on the cocaine trade was unmatched. But a new threat loomed: extradition to the United States. To Escobar, it was a fate worse than death. His answer was bruta…
00:56:47 |
Sun 24 Aug 2025
75. The Hunt for Pablo Escobar: The War on Drugs (Ep 2)
In the early 1980s, Pablo Escobar reinvented himself. He was no longer just the man who could smuggle tonnes of cocaine into Miami - he was the successful businessman, the philanthropist, the proud f…
00:56:09 |
Tue 19 Aug 2025
74. The Hunt for Pablo Escobar: Rise of a Drug Lord (Ep 1)
Colombia in the mid-20th century was a place of beauty and bloodshed - where jungle mountains sheltered rebels, the cities were ruled by oligarchs, and outlaw legends became folk heroes. Into this wo…
00:58:56 |
Sun 17 Aug 2025
73. Destroying the Nazi Nuclear Program: Saving the World From War (Ep 2)
Who was the Nazi General who called the Allied Gunnerside mission “the most splendid coup I have seen?” How did the Norwegians stop the Nazis' nuclear program for good? And how did one commando use a…
00:41:18 |
Tue 12 Aug 2025
72. Destroying the Nazi Nuclear Program: Bombing Norway (Ep 1)
What was the most dangerous mission of World War II? How did a small team of Norwegian skiers stop the Nazis from building a nuclear bomb? And, what exactly is heavy water, and why was it so importan…
00:45:10 |
Sun 10 Aug 2025
71. Israel Attacks Iran: The Dawn of Cyber Warfare (Ep 4)
How did the Stuxnet cyberweapon, designed to be covert, break out into the wild? What were the world-changing implications of this sophisticated attack on Iran's nuclear centrifuges, and what happene…
00:43:37 |
Tue 05 Aug 2025
70. Israel Attacks Iran: The Virus Spreads (Ep 3)
What was the "horse blanket" and how did it guide Obama's decisions on cyber warfare? How did the Stuxnet virus evolve to target Iran's centrifuges more aggressively? And what were the risks and ethi…
00:33:57 |
Sun 03 Aug 2025
69. Israel Attacks Iran: Mossad’s First Assault (Ep 2)
How did Israel and the US develop this new type of weapon which they would unleash upon Iran? Who will they rely on to get it into the system? And how will they try to sabotage Iran in silence?
Li…
00:39:04 |
Tue 29 Jul 2025
68. Israel Attacks Iran: The Origins of the Iranian Nuclear Programme (Ep 1)
When did Israel first attack Iran’s nuclear program? How did they do it? And how did Iran develop its nuclear program that has shaped so much of the politics of the Middle-East over the past 20 years…
00:48:27 |
Sun 27 Jul 2025
67. The Great Betrayal: Defecting to Moscow (Ep 2)
How do you switch sides and become a spy for the KGB? When the FBI is tracking you, how do you escape the country? And what is life like for a traitor on the other side of the Iron Curtain? Join Davi…
00:50:32 |
Tue 22 Jul 2025
66. The Great Betrayal: An American Traitor (Ep 1)
How did an alcoholic, drug-addicted hippie end up working for the CIA? How are CIA agents trained? And what is the real purpose of a lie detector test? Join David McCloskey and Gordon Corera as they …
00:47:40 |
Sun 20 Jul 2025
Former Head of MI5: 7/7, Putin, and Al-Qaeda (Eliza Manningham-Buller)
What was it truly like inside MI5 and the heart of government as the 7/7 attacks unfolded? How did 7/7 expose a shocking blind spot for Britain's spy agency? And what lessons are still being applied …
00:10:16 |
Thu 17 Jul 2025
65. Terror Strikes London: The Forgotten Attack (Ep 4)
Two weeks after 52 people were murdered on London’s transport network, terrorists tried to strike again. How did the UK's domestic security services leverage bulk phone record collection to track dow…
00:35:26 |
Tue 15 Jul 2025
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are the property of Goalhanger. This content is not affiliated with or endorsed by eachpod.com.