True Spies: Espionage | Investigation | Crime | Murder | Detective | Politics
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.
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A Cup & Nuzzle production. Series producers: Gemma Newby, Joe Foley. Music: Nick Ryan.
- Update frequency
- every 7 days
- Average duration
- 43 minutes
- Episodes
- 292
- Years Active
- 2020 - 2025
True Spies Debriefs: Alexis Papahelas on Greece, Journalism and the CIA
Veteran Greek journalist Alexis Papahelas tells Morgan Childs about the CIA's role in aiding Greece's military junta, which ruled between 1967 and 1974.
From SPYSCAPE, the HQ of secrets. A Cup And …
00:31:34 |
Tue 20 May 2025
Four Shots in the Night, Part 2: The Spymaster's Dilemma | Northern Ireland
Author Henry Hemming tells the twisting tale of two very different British spies operating in Northern Ireland during the 30-year conflict known as The Troubles.
In Part 2, Frank Hegarty and Freddi…
00:51:06 |
Tue 13 May 2025
Four Shots in the Night, Part 1: The Man From Derry | Northern Ireland
Author Henry Hemming tells the twisting tale of two very different British spies operating in Northern Ireland during the 30-year conflict known as The Troubles.
In Part 1, family man Frank Hegarty …
00:57:29 |
Tue 06 May 2025
True Spies Classic: The Ace of Spies | Historical
Who was Britain's Ace of Spies? The truth is, nobody really knows. But the name he used was Sidney Reilly - and nobody did it better.
In this classic episode of True Spies, Vanessa Kirby follows Sid…
00:50:25 |
Tue 29 Apr 2025
True Spies Debriefs: Prof. Hanna Diamond on Josephine Baker
Celebrity, campaigner, national treasure... spy.
This year, Josephine Baker's memoirs have been made available in English for the first time. The University of Cardiff's Prof. Hanna Diamond tells M…
00:38:58 |
Tue 22 Apr 2025
Britain's Agent | Historical
Professor James Crossland of Liverpool John Moores University uncovers the extraordinary life of a British diplomat-cum-spy in Bolshevik Russia - Robert Bruce Lockhart. A tale of doomed love, assassi…
01:02:38 |
Tue 15 Apr 2025
True Spies Classic: Her Majesty's Secret Service | Historical
In this historic True Spies Classic, Protestant England faces an existential threat from Catholic Spain. Queen Elizabeth calls on Sir Francis Walsingham, the Royal spymaster, to undermine the Spanish…
00:51:51 |
Tue 08 Apr 2025
True Spies Debriefs: Dr. Jenny Benham on Medieval Spycraft
Historian Dr. Jenny Benham joins Morgan Childs to explore the murky world of medieval espionage. You'll learn about the real 'little birds' who inspired Game of Thrones' Master of Whisperers, and the…
00:47:30 |
Tue 01 Apr 2025
The Misadventures of Martha Dodd, Part 2: The Left Behind | KGB
Content Warning: This episode contains adult themes throughout.
When defense journalist Brendan McNally stumbled across a long-forgotten name in 1990s Prague, he had no idea of the remarkable story …
00:55:22 |
Tue 25 Mar 2025
The Misadventures of Martha Dodd, Part 1: The Pink Lady | KGB
Content Warning: This episode contains adult themes throughout.
When defense journalist Brendan McNally stumbled across a long-forgotten name in 1990s Prague, he had no idea of the remarkable story …
00:40:20 |
Tue 18 Mar 2025
True Spies Classic: Operation Inter | StB
In this True Spies Classic, it's the late 1980s, and change is in the air in Eastern Europe. For a young journalist like Mark Baker, Czechoslovakia is an interesting place to be. But Mark has attract…
00:44:01 |
Tue 11 Mar 2025
True Spies Debriefs: Dr. Daniela Richterova on the Jackals in Prague
Dr. Daniela Richterova joins host Morgan Childs to discuss the relationship between Cold War intelligence agencies and non-state actors like the infamous Carlos the Jackal.
Dr. Richterova is Senior …
00:51:02 |
Tue 04 Mar 2025
MI9 Unmasked, Part 2: Italian Jobs | WW2
Hear again from British historian Helen Fry, joining Rhiannon Neads for the second and final installment of a two-part dive into one of the most crucial, but little-known intelligence forces of the S…
00:38:35 |
Tue 25 Feb 2025
MI9 Unmasked, Part 1: Escape and Evasion | WW2
British historian Helen Fry joins Rhiannon Neads for the first installment of a two-part dive into one of the most crucial, but little-known intelligence forces of the Second World War - MI9.
Charge…
00:38:07 |
Tue 18 Feb 2025
True Spies Classic: Blinking Red | CIA
In this True Spies Classic, 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 i…
00:50:28 |
Tue 11 Feb 2025
True Spies Debriefs: Gina Bennett on the new paradigm for national security
Former CIA counterterrorism analyst, hunter of Bin Laden, author and proud mother - hear from the fantastic Gina Bennett in this week's Debrief.
Bennett authored the earliest warnings of today’s ter…
00:54:36 |
Tue 04 Feb 2025
Spying On The Reich | Historical
International Relations journalist and author, R.T Howard, reveals the tensions, subterfuge and devastating errors that marked the first Cold War.
In the 1920s and 30s, the Allies waged an intellig…
00:54:47 |
Wed 29 Jan 2025
True Spies Classic: The Nuclear Superhighway | CIA
In this classic episode of True Spis, 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 unde…
00:52:46 |
Tue 21 Jan 2025
True Spies Debriefs: Bob Dougherty on transnational repression
Do you know about the rising threats posed by transnational repression?
Hear from Bob Dougherty, veteran of 26 years as a CIA undercover operations officer. Today, Bob works as an instructor for mul…
00:37:15 |
Tue 14 Jan 2025
Digging for Gold | Cold War
Journalist and author Steve Vogel unravels the unlikely tale of George Blake, the cunning Cold War double-agent who betrayed one of the most ambitious wire-tapping operations of the 1950s - and made …
01:03:57 |
Tue 07 Jan 2025
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