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...
Episodes
True Spies - Brief Histories: Information Warfare
NEW from True Spies: Brief Histories. From Ancient Roman propaganda apparatus to burgeoning MI6 operations, hear how the very information we consume has throughout history been orchestrated. In Brief Histories, the new monthly special from …
The Great Illegals, Part One: The Whistler | NKVD
In this two-part True Spies story, author and journalist Shaun Walker unmasks the greatest generation of Russian spies - the Great Illegals. In Part One, Shaun tells the story of Nikolai Khokhlov - the music-hall 'whistler' turned deep-cov…
True Spies Classic: Exit Strategy | CIA
In this classic episode of True Spies, CIA analyst Sarah Carlson drops Vanessa Kirby into the pressure-cooker of post-revolutionary Libya. In 2011, the Arab Spring swept Colonel Gaddafi from office, leaving a deadly power vacuum. Three yea…
Introducing... True Spies: Brief Histories
The history of espionage is long and shrouded in mystery... Hear it chronicled in True Spies: Brief Histories, the new monthly episodes of True Spies. From the intricacies of Ancient Roman tradecraft and Medieval propaganda, all the way t…
True Spies Debriefs: Seth Thévoz on Espionage in London's Clubland
True Spies producer Morgan Childs joins researcher and author Seth Thévoz to discuss the origins of London's elite gentlemen's clubs - and the movers, shakers and spies who have called them a home-from-home. From SPYSCAPE, the home of secre…
The Baltic Baron | MI6
Author, historian and former British Foreign Office official Tim Willasey-Wilsey tells the incredible story of Wilhelm Von De Ropp - the high-born chameleon who had Hitler's ear in the build-up to WW2. But unbeknownst to the Nazis, 'Bill' …
True Spies Classic: I Was Never Here | CSIS
Rediscover a classic from the vaults with Andrew Kirsch - a Special Operations officer with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. True Spies work in all sorts of far-flung locales - but some assignments are closer to home. For Andrew…
True Spies Debriefs: Douglas Waller on Frank Wisner
Content Warning: This episode contains references to suicide. True Spies producer Morgan Childs sits down with author and journalist Douglas Waller to discuss the complex and controversial legacy at the heart of his latest book, The Determi…
Cover of Darkness | CSIS
Former Canadian Security Intelligence Service operative Neil Bisson delivers a compact masterclass in Human Intelligence gathering in this blow-by-blow account of a Mobile Debrief. Along the way, you'll discover how Canada's intelligence ap…
MEMBER'S EPISODE - True Spies Debrief: Jane Bradley and Michael Schwirtz on Russia's Brazilian Illegals
Investigative New York Times journalists Jane Bradley and Michael Schwirtz speak to True Spies producer Frank Palmer about the discovery of a Russian 'spy factory' in Brazil. This is a free taster of the exclusive content you'll uncover wit…
True Spies Debriefs: Stephen Davis on Flight 149
Journalist Stephen Davis has spent 30 years working to uncover the truth behind one of the most secretive chapters of the Gulf War. When British Airways Flight 149 landed in Kuwait on the 2nd of August, 1990, Saddam Hussein's invading army …
Foxtrot in Kandahar, Part 2: Showdown in Takhteh-Pol | CIA
In late 2001, veteran CIA Officer Duane Evans deployed to Afghanistan as part of the US response to 9/11. This is his story. In Part 2, Duane and Team Foxtrot make the perilous journey to Kandahar. But the Afghan city proves to be no safe …
Foxtrot in Kandahar, Part 1: Snakes and Lightning | CIA
In late 2001, veteran CIA Officer Duane Evans deployed to Afghanistan as part of the US response to 9/11. This is his story. In Part 1, we find Duane as he swears vengeance against Al Qaeda - and moves mountains to get himself to the heart…
True Spies Classic: The Ritchie Boys | WW2
In this True Spies Classic, you'll revisit the story of a true American hero. It's 1944 - 3 days after D-Day. 22-year old Guy Stern lands in Normandy. Unlike many of his comrades in the US Army, it's not his first time in Europe. Forced to …
True Spies Debriefs: Alexis Papahelas on Greece 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 Nuzzle production. Series producer: Joe Fo…
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 Freddie Scappaticci are drawn ever deeper into t…
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 and menacing IRA enforcer Freddie Scappatic…
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 Sidney on his dark and bloody path through the…
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 Morgan Childs more about the extraordinary l…
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, assassination, failed coups and bad reputations.…
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 war effort. Vanessa Kirby tells a story …
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 exiles, slaves and captives who parlayed…
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 he would uncover.It belongs to Martha Dodd:…
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 he would uncover.It belongs to Martha Dodd:…
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 attracted some unwanted attention - a fact that …
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 Lecturer in Intelligence Studies at Kings C…
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 Second World War - MI9.Hear the conclusion…
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.Charged with facilitating the escape of Allied PO…
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 interests at home and abroad. Operating in…
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 terrorism trends including the 1993 report tha…
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 intelligence war against a rising star in global po…
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 underground communications line between Moscow …
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 multiple government agencies, increasingly spe…
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 a name for himself as one of spycraft's g…
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 on lessons drawn from intrepid cyber-cops,…
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 terrorist group that would be known as th…
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. He delves into real world cases of those w…
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 delivered intel directly to the highest …
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 Peña found themselves in Colombia on the tra…
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.Time untangles the connections between KGB mole…