I Spy

Hey there I Spy listeners. Here at Foreign Policy, we’re dropping season 3 of our podcast, The Negotiators. On each episode, one former diplomat or troubleshooter tells the story of one dramatic negotiation. If the tagline sounds familiar, that's by design. We think of The Negotiators as the sister show of I Spy. We’re actually inserting the season 2 finale of The Negotiators into this feed because it’s especially I Spy like. It’s about a Texas rabbi who is taken hostage at his own synagogue—and ends up negotiating with his captor. Like the episodes of I Spy, this one is non-narrated. You'll hear our host, Jenn Williams, introduce the story, followed by nothing but rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker. The show is a collaboration between Doha Debates and Foreign Policy. If you want to listen to season 3, find The Negotiators in your favorite podcast app. The first episode of the new season focuses on one of the most famous diplomatic negotiations ever: The Good Friday Agreement that ended decades of violence in Northern Ireland. Meantime—we're working on more episodes of I Spy, so keep watching this space. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we’re sharing an episode of Alphabet Boys. Alphabet Boys takes you inside secret investigations that the FBI, DEA, CIA, and other alphabet agencies never wanted the public to know about. These cases are both dangerous and absurd … and they raise a troubling question: Are America’s top cops catching criminals -- or creating them? In this episode, you’ll hear real audio from an illegal arms deal and meet our central character, who, despite being arrested, claims he works for the CIA. But does he? Listen to Alphabet Boys at https://link.chtbl.com/ispyalphabetboys. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our friends at Yahoo News produce this seasonal show about conspiracies, real and imagined. We liked season 4 so much, we decided to share the first episode with our listeners. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Long before Joe Weisberg created the award-winning television show The Americans, he served in the CIA. His brief period in the agency informed story lines in the show and helped shape Weisberg's views on espionage. Eventually, he came to believe that spying does more harm than good in the world. Brought to you by: factormeals.com/ispy50 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Secret Service is known for its VIP protection unit but it also investigates international crimes, including hacking cases. On this episode, we feature a Secret Service agent who helped nab one of the biggest hackers in the world, Roman Seleznev. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michele Rigby Assad joined the CIA just weeks after the attacks of September 11, 2001, and spent much of the next decade working undercover in the Middle East. In 2007, she helped investigate an ambush in Iraq that killed an American woman. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is part two of Eric O'Neill's story. O'Neill was an FBI agent who went undercover to catch a suspected spy in the bureau: Robert Hanssen. If you haven't signed up for our newsletter yet, go to https://foreignpolicy.com/ispynewsletter/. Each week we'll send you bonus content you won't find anywhere else, including photos, illustrations, and expanded show notes—for free. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode, FBI agent Eric O'Neill goes undercover to catch a suspected spy in the bureau: Robert Hanssen. O'Neill is just 26 at the time. Hanssen turns out to be one of the most damaging spies in U.S. history. This is part one of a two-part story. If you haven't signed up for our newsletter yet, go to https://foreignpolicy.com/ispynewsletter/. Each week we'll send you bonus content you won't find anywhere else, including photos, illustrations, and expanded show notes—for free. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Well, listeners, it's taken us a while but here it is: the first episode of our fourth season. We begin with Ric Prado, a former CIA officer who trained the Contras in Central America in the 1980s. For those of you who don't remember, the Contras were trying to overthrow the Sandinista regime in Nicaragua. America's support for the group eventually led to the Iran-Contra affair, a government scandal that nearly brought down the Reagan administration. For more on the Contras, go back and listen to season one's The Jumper. Eugene Hasenfus, who helped deliver arms to the Contras, describes parachuting from a burning plane and getting captured by Nicaraguan forces. We spent several years tracking down Hasenfus and getting him to tell his story. Also, our show now has a newsletter! Sign up for free to get bonus material after each episode, including photos, illustrations, and other content you won't find anywhere else. https://foreignpolicy.com/ispynewsletter/ I Spy is produced by the podcast team at Foreign Policy, the premiere website for intelligent news and analysis from around the world. The best way to support the show—and keep those episodes coming—is by subscribing to Foreign Policy. Save 15% by going to https://foreignpolicy.com/subscribe/ and entering ISPY at checkout. Okay, enough verbiage. Enjoy the show. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey there I Spy listeners, here's the trailer for season 4. We'll have new episodes starting May 31. More spies, more Margo Martindale. This season, we'll also have an I Spy newsletter, with photos, very cool illustrations, and a bunch of other bonus content you won't find anywhere else. Yes, it's free. Sign up at foreignpolicy.com/ispynewsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is part 2 of Frank Snepp's story. Snepp was a CIA analyst based in Saigon during the Vietnam War. In April of 1975, he discovered that Communist forces were preparing a large-scale attack on Saigon—but the higher ups refused to believe it. When the attack began later that month, the Americans conducted a frenzied evacuation, leaving behind many Vietnamese allies. Check out I Spy's merch by going to https://store.dftba.com/collections/i-spy Save 15% on FP subscriptions. Visit https://foreignpolicy.com/subscribe/ and enter code ISPY at checkout to claim this offer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Frank Snepp was a CIA analyst based in Saigon during the Vietnam War. In April of 1975, he discovered that Communist forces were preparing a large-scale attack on Saigon—but the higher ups refused to believe it. When the attack began later that month, the Americans conducted a frenzied evacuation, leaving behind many Vietnamese allies. Check out I Spy's merch by going to https://store.dftba.com/collections/i-spy Save 15% on FP subscriptions. Visit https://foreignpolicy.com/subscribe/ and enter code ISPY at checkout to claim this offer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The FBI's Ali Soufan specialized in Al Qaeda investigations both before and after the attacks of September 11th. In 2002 he was sent to question Abu Zubaydah, a high-level jihadi captured in Pakistan. But after several rounds of interrogation at the secret site, he was sidelined by a CIA contractor who had helped develop a new torture program for the agency. Check out I Spy's merch by going to https://store.dftba.com/collections/i-spy Save 15% on FP subscriptions. Visit https://foreignpolicy.com/subscribe/ and enter code ISPY at checkout to claim this offer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jay Dobyns was a special agent for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. In 2002, he infiltrated the Hells Angels biker gang and spent two years undercover—a period in which he says he worried every single day about getting exposed and killed by the group. Check out I Spy's merch by going to https://store.dftba.com/collections/i-spy Save 15% on FP subscriptions. Visit https://foreignpolicy.com/subscribe/ and enter code ISPY at checkout to claim this offer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The British spy agency MI5 recruited Willie Carlin to infiltrate Sinn Fein in Northern Ireland. He spied on the group for 11 years until his cover was blown. Check out I Spy's merch by going to https://store.dftba.com/collections/i-spy Save 15% on FP subscriptions. Visit https://foreignpolicy.com/subscribe/ and enter code ISPY at checkout to claim this offer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

FBI special agent George Piro spent seven months interrogating deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, establishing a rapport and then getting him to reveal the truth about the country's weapons of mass destruction. Check out I Spy's merch by going to https://store.dftba.com/collections/i-spy Save 15% on FP subscriptions. Visit https://foreignpolicy.com/subscribe/ and enter code ISPY at checkout to claim this offer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is part 2 of the story with DEA special agent Steve Murphy, who goes to Bogota, Colombia, to hunt for the head of the Medellin Cartel, Pablo Escobar. Check out I Spy's merch by going to https://store.dftba.com/collections/i-spy Save 15% on FP subscriptions. Visit https://foreignpolicy.com/subscribe/ and enter code ISPY at checkout to claim this offer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Season 3 of I Spy. On this episode, DEA special agent Steve Murphy is sent to Bogota, Colombia to hunt for the head of the Medellin Cartel, Pablo Escobar. Check out I Spy's merch by going to https://store.dftba.com/collections/i-spy Save 15% on FP subscriptions. Visit https://foreignpolicy.com/subscribe/ and enter code ISPY at checkout to claim this offer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More spies, more Margo Martindale. Hey there I Spy listeners, here's the trailer for season 3. We'll have eight new episodes starting January 19. Check out I Spy's merch by going to https://store.dftba.com/collections/i-spy Save 15% on FP subscriptions. Visit https://foreignpolicy.com/subscribe/ and enter code ISPY at checkout to claim this offer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CIA analyst Sarah Carlson spent a year at the U.S. Mission in Libya after the attack that killed four Americans in Benghazi. When battles between rival Libyan militias edged closer and closer to the U.S. compound, she and the other personnel there were forced to flee the country in a harrowing overland journey. Carlson’s story wraps up Season 2 of I Spy. We’ll be back soon with more episodes. Check out I Spy's merch by going to https://store.dftba.com/collections/i-spy Save 15% on FP subscriptions. Visit https://foreignpolicy.com/subscribe/ and enter code ISPY at checkout to claim this offer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices