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
Tradecraft, Part 9
The tools in a spy's arsenal are more varied than you might think. But they all come under one name: Tradecraft.
In our ninth round of insights from the world of espionage, Rhiannon Neads looks back …
00:40:37 |
Tue 31 Dec 2024
True Spies Classic: Undercover Jihadi | CSIS
In this True Spies Classic, Hayley Atwell tells the story of Mubin Shaikh, an Islamist extremist turned undercover agent for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.
Undercover as a member of the…
00:54:18 |
Tue 24 Dec 2024
True Spies Debriefs: Mubin Shaikh on the Psyche of an Extremist
What can drive an ordinary person to extremist ideology?
Hear from former security intelligence and counter terrorism operative, Mubin Shaikh, on his current work as a Counter Extremism Specialist.…
00:49:23 |
Tue 17 Dec 2024
The Spy With No Name | CIA
National security journalist Zach Dorfman returns to True Spies with the tantalising tale of one of the War on Terror's most secretive undercover operatives. Known only by his pseudonym, this CIA spy…
00:44:16 |
Tue 10 Dec 2024
True Spies Classic: True Narcos | DEA
In this True Spies Classic, Hayley Atwell tells the story of the capture of Pablo Escobar, with the DEA agents who helped bring him down and inspired the TV show 'Narcos'. Steve Murphy and Javier Peñ…
00:48:49 |
Tue 03 Dec 2024
True Spies Debriefs: Tim Tate on the Spycatcher Scandal
Hear from Tim Tate, best-selling author, award-winning documentary filmmaker and investigative journalist, as he dives into a scandal born deep in the heart of the British Intelligence Service.
Tim …
00:54:09 |
Tue 26 Nov 2024
To Catch a Spy | Investigation
Veteran journalist Tim Tate tells the story of Peter Wright, the crusading MI5 whistleblower who humiliated the Thatcher government in the 1980s. As the British security services' chief scientific of…
00:51:24 |
Tue 19 Nov 2024
True Spies Classic: Shadow Games | Special Forces
In this Classic True Spies episode, learn the details of an elite clandestine unit, Special Forces Berlin, with the help of former operative James Stejskal.
Stationed in West Berlin but deployed whe…
00:49:09 |
Tue 12 Nov 2024
True Spies Debriefs: James Stejskal in Berlin as The Wall fell
James Stejskal, ex-special forces, tells of the jubilant and vitriolic scenes, as the Berlin Wall came down.
November 9th 1989 - the Iron Curtain descends. Hear how it was on the ground, as both ord…
00:42:33 |
Tue 05 Nov 2024
Special Forces Kinshasa | Green Berets
Deep in the African rainforests, how do you hold together a decolonising nation in the wake of mass regional instability?
James Stejskal, ex-CIA and former Green Beret, tells the story of his time i…
00:46:45 |
Tue 29 Oct 2024
True Spies Classic: Gray Suit and The Ghost
In this classic True Spies episode, Eric O'Neill describes the hunt for the infamous FBI mole Robert Hanssen.
This entire operation hinges around Eric needing to get Hanssen into a hire car so his o…
00:51:29 |
Tue 22 Oct 2024
True Spies: Debriefs - Eric O'Neill on the frontiers of cyberwarfare
What will cost the global economy $20 trillion come 2026?
In this latest Debrief, hear from author and famed security expert: Eric O'Neill. Eric discusses with Morgan Childs the growing hotbeds for …
00:43:28 |
Tue 15 Oct 2024
Agent Garbo | WW2
Hear the story of the extraordinary life of the spy with 29 names: Juan Pujol Garcia
Born into a tumultuous Spain, Garcia, or Agent Garbo, was a natural spy, seeking out the Allies so strong was his…
00:50:06 |
Tue 08 Oct 2024
True Spies Classic: The Rookie and Bin Laden | CIA
In this classic True Spies episode, Tracy Walder shares what went on during 9/11 inside The Vault, the CIA's top secret bunker. 9/11 was only the second day of Tracy's first real CIA assignment, and …
00:49:02 |
Tue 01 Oct 2024
True Spies Debriefs: Tracy Walder on trauma
Spying is stressful, often traumatic work - how do they cope?
Former FBI and CIA employee Tracy Walder speaks to True Spies producer Morgan Childs about the mental health ramifications of intelligenc…
00:29:43 |
Tue 24 Sep 2024
The Traitor of Arnhem | WW2
In the aftermath of D-Day, Hitler's armies were losing the Second World War. But in September of 1944, the Nazis enjoyed one final triumph over the Allied forces - the disastrous failure of Operation…
00:45:53 |
Tue 17 Sep 2024
True Spies: Classic - The Spycatcher | FBI
In this True Spies Classic episode, spy catcher Robert Booth recounts a mission to capture a Cuban agent who had infiltrated the State Department. Robert managed to identify the traitor, but proving …
00:59:47 |
Tue 10 Sep 2024
True Spies: Debriefs - Robert Booth on underestimating Cuba's spies
Does the U.S continue to underestimate the threat the Cuban intelligence services carry?
Robert Booth an ex-State Department counterintelligence officer and self described spycatcher, details how pe…
00:38:42 |
Tue 03 Sep 2024
Fringe Diplomacy | Investigation
How does Mickey Bergman, expert political prisoner and hostage advocate, navigate the increasingly difficult waters of global engagements?
Also a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, the CEO of Global Reach a…
00:45:55 |
Mon 26 Aug 2024
True Spies: Classic - Fair Game | CIA
Revisit this timely episode of True Spies, as we dive into the deadly conflict between espionage and politics with former CIA agent Valerie Plame.
Valerie was outed in the press as an undercover age…
00:51:22 |
Tue 20 Aug 2024
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