The Spy Who

Wondery

<p>These are stories you were never meant to hear. The invisible but vital work of the world’s intelligence services: secret operatives playing to very different rules. The Spy Who, hosted by Indira Varma and Raza Jaffrey, takes you deep inside that shadow world to meet spies who risked everything in the national interest – or, sometimes, their own.</p><p>Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting <a href="https://wondery.com/links/the-spy-who/">wondery.com/links/the-spy-who</a> now. </p>

  • 37 minutes 7 seconds
    The Spy Who Outplayed Nixon | The Rise of China’s Intelligence Machine | 1

    How did one CIA mole tip the scales of power between two superpowers? Investigative journalist Bethany Allen exposes the hidden world of Chinese espionage operations in America - from Larry Chin's decades-long infiltration of the CIA to the sophisticated intelligence network that emerged in its wake. In conversation with Bond author Charlie Higson, Bethany reveals how a single Cold War security breach evolved into a vast system of global influence, and examines the modern landscape of China's espionage capabilities today.


    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    24 March 2026, 2:00 am
  • 36 minutes 51 seconds
    The Spy Who Outplayed Nixon | The Gamble | 3

    In Washington, D.C., Larry Chin grapples with retirement, but back in Beijing, a new CIA agent is about to set the FBI’s spy hunters on China’s super-spook.

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    17 March 2026, 1:02 am
  • 37 minutes 54 seconds
    The Spy Who Outplayed Nixon | A gift for Mr. Lee | 2

    After years of cautious spying, Larry Wu-Tai Chin is about to hit the jackpot. He’s getting a promotion that will give him the inside track on President Richard Nixon’s plan to reset relations with China. But in Beijing, trouble’s brewing for Mao’s undercover agent.

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    10 March 2026, 1:01 am
  • 40 minutes 58 seconds
    The Spy Who Outplayed Nixon | Forked Tongue | 1

    With Mao Zedong’s communist army about to take China, desperate U.S. officials in Shanghai hire interpreter Larry Wu-Tai Chin. But little do they realise that he’s a spy for Mao and ready to play a long game to give China an edge.

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    3 March 2026, 2:00 am
  • 39 minutes 44 seconds
    The Spy Who Sold Codes and Cocaine | How to Free the FBI's Most Wanted | 4

    Christopher Boyce was sentenced to 68 years. He was supposed to die behind bars. Instead, in 2002, he walked free after just 23 years - and it was all because of one woman. Lawyer and author Cait Mills Boyce did the impossible. 

    Speaking with Charlie Higson, she exposes how she dismantled a seemingly unbeatable case, the psychological battles she fought, and the shocking truth: she fell for her client. The FBI's most wanted became the man she loved - and later, the man she had to leave. 


    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    24 February 2026, 2:03 am
  • 38 minutes 47 seconds
    The Spy Who Sold Codes and Cocaine | Prison Break | 3

    With drug deals to pay for, Daulton Lee’s desperate to get back into the KGB’s good books. So when Christopher Boyce finds a big new secret to sell, the pair spy an opportunity for one last payday.


    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    17 February 2026, 2:02 am
  • 39 minutes 58 seconds
    The Spy Who Sold Codes and Cocaine | The Party Line | 2

    Christopher Boyce and Daulton Lee’s plan to sell spy satellite secrets to the Soviets is working. But Lee’s also using his role as the courier between Boyce and the KGB to keep the majority of their espionage earnings for himself. But for how long can he get away with it?


    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    10 February 2026, 2:01 am
  • 45 minutes 43 seconds
    The Spy Who Sold Codes and Cocaine | The Black Vault | 1

    It’s the 1970s. The Vietnam War, Watergate and the oil crisis are stoking turmoil in America. And in southern California two middle-class rebels are about to strike back at ‘The Man’ by selling CIA spy satellite secrets to the USSR.

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    3 February 2026, 2:00 am
  • 36 minutes 50 seconds
    The Spy Who Jailed the Omagh Bomb Plotter | Inside Britain's Vast Espionage Network | 4

    Long before FBI informant David Rupert set foot in Ireland, a hidden web of espionage was already embedded in the North. In this episode, investigative journalist and author Cara McGoogan looks beyond the headlines to examine the depth of British involvement inside IRA operations. Speaking with Bond novelist Charlie Higson, she unpacks why the agent known as Stakeknife looms so large in a recently released official report - and what the case reveals about a wider culture of collusion, protection, and unchecked power.

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    27 January 2026, 2:04 am
  • 43 minutes 4 seconds
    The Spy Who Jailed the Omagh Bomb Plotter | The Reaping | 3

    With the Real IRA accelerating its bombing campaign, FBI-MI5 spy David Rupert is under pressure and about to make a possibly fatal mistake.

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    20 January 2026, 2:03 am
  • 46 minutes 2 seconds
    The Spy Who Jailed the Omagh Bomb Plotter | Blowing up the peace | 2

    As the Real IRA moves to derail Northern Ireland’s fragile peace with bombs, MI5 asks spy trucker David Rupert to get close to its ringleader Michael McKevitt.

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    13 January 2026, 2:01 am
  • More Episodes? Get the App