SPYCRAFT 101

Justin Black

Welcome to your clandestine classroom.

  • 16 minutes 34 seconds
    [BONUS] Espionage in TV: The Sandbaggers

    Join Justin for a special review episode of The Sandbaggers, a British television series that ran for three seasons between 1978 and 1980 following characters who worked at MI6. In Justin's opinion, this show is one of the best ever fictional portrayals of covert operations and the day-to-day running of an intelligence agency.

    You can find more reviews on Patreon, and catch The Sandbaggers on Prime Video.

    Connect with Spycraft 101:
    Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.
    spycraft101.com
    IG: @spycraft101
    Shop: shop.spycraft101.com
    Patreon: Spycraft 101

    Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.
    Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.
    Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.

    Support the show

    19 December 2024, 5:00 am
  • 1 hour 15 minutes
    175. The Real Miss Moneypenny: Forgotten Women of the British Secret Service with Dr. Claire Hubbard-Hall

    This week Justin sits down with Dr. Claire Hubbard-Hall. Claire received her doctorate in European history from the University of Hull. She has lectured and taught history courses at several British universities over the past 16 years with a particular focus on secret intelligence. She's also appeared in several television documentaries and written articles for many different publications. Today she discusses the story of the often overlooked contributions of many long serving and hard working women in Britain's MI5 and MI6, all the way back to the earliest years of those organizations.

    Connect with Claire:

    clairehubbardhall.com
    Substack: https://substack.com/@clairehubbardhall
    IG: @clairehubbardhall
    Twitter/X: @SpyHistory
    Check out Claire's book, Her Secret Service, here.

    Connect with Spycraft 101:
    Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.
    spycraft101.com
    IG: @spycraft101
    Shop: shop.spycraft101.com
    Patreon: Spycraft 101

    Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.
    Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.
    Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.

    Faith Meets Academia
    Transform faith-based values into personal growth, career success and academic excellence.

    Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

    History by Mail
    Who knew? Not me! Learn something new every month. Use code JUSTIN10 for 10% off your subscription.

    Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

    Support the show

    16 December 2024, 5:00 am
  • 1 hour 5 minutes
    174. A German Spy Ring on Staten Island with Robert Weingartner

    This week Justin talks with Robert Weingartner. Rob is a lifelong resident of Staten Island, New York. He graduated from Drake Business School in Manhattan in 2002, and he enjoys reading and learning about history. Over the past few years, Rob has been researching an espionage story that began right in his own hometown. I invited Rob onto the podcast to discuss his research into a German spy ring, which operated on Staten Island during World War II.

    Connect with Robert:
    Facebook Group: WWII German Spies of Staten Island - The Fred Lewis Letters

    Connect with Spycraft 101:
    Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.
    spycraft101.com
    IG: @spycraft101
    Shop: shop.spycraft101.com
    Patreon: Spycraft 101

    Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.
    Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.
    Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.

    Faith Meets Academia
    Transform faith-based values into personal growth, career success and academic excellence.

    Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

    Support the show

    25 November 2024, 5:00 am
  • 1 hour 13 minutes
    173. The Real Secrets of Area 51 with Peter Merlin

    Today Justin sits down with Peter Merlin. Peter is an author, historian, and college instructor. He received his Bachelor's of Science degree in Aeronautical Studies from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University and has just completed his Master's degree in Aviation Management from Southern Illinois University. He's been a freelance writer and researcher for more than 30 years and has worked as a historian and archivist at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards, California. He currently teaches several courses in aviation management at the school of aviation at Southern Illinois university. Peter has been researching and writing about Area 51 for many years, and his latest book represents the culmination of all his work to date. He has documented Area 51 from the beginning, when it was little more than a dry lake bed, through its growth as a CIA facility for development and testing of cutting edge aircraft and aviation technology.

    Connect with Peter:
    thexhunters.com
    dreamlandresort.com
    Check out the book, Dreamland, here.

    https://a.co/d/fNR2b6K

    Connect with Spycraft 101:
    Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.
    spycraft101.com
    IG: @spycraft101
    Shop: shop.spycraft101.com
    Patreon: Spycraft 101

    Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.
    Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.
    Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.

    Faith Meets Academia
    Transform faith-based values into personal growth, career success and academic excellence.

    Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

    History by Mail
    Who knew? Not me! Learn something new every month. Use code JUSTIN10 for 10% off your subscription.

    Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

    Support the show

    18 November 2024, 5:00 am
  • 1 hour 30 minutes
    [REPLAY] The Green Beret Defector with Greg Walker

    This week Justin replays one of his personal favorite episodes, number 26, when author and former special forces officer Greg Walker shared the little-known story of a David Baez, a green beret defector. Baez was a Nicaraguan national whose father was killed by U.S.-backed President Samosa after voicing his displeasure with inequalities that had risen under Samosa's rule. After immigrating the U.S. and joining the Army (and then Special Forces), Baez found himself in El Salvador watching the country he served try to re-institute the rule of a dynasty that had done personal harm to his own family. Baez defected to Nicaragua in support of Sandinista revolutionary forces--despite the danger it posed to his American brothers in arms.

    Connect with Greg:
    LinkedIn: Gregory Walker
    Check out Part 1 of Greg's series on Baez, A defector in place: The strange and terrible saga of a Green Beret Sandinista, here.

    https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/defector-place-strange-terrible-saga-green-beret-part-greg-walker/

    Connect with Spycraft 101:
    Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.
    spycraft101.com
    IG: @spycraft101
    Shop: shop.spycraft101.com
    Patreon: Spycraft 101

    Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.
    Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.
    Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.

    Faith Meets Academia
    Transform faith-based values into personal growth, career success and academic excellence.

    Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

    Support the show

    11 November 2024, 5:00 am
  • 1 hour 22 minutes
    172. Secrets of the Spycatcher Affair with Tim Tate

    Today Justin sits down with repeat guest Tim Tate. Tim has worked as a documentary filmmaker and an investigative journalist for more than 40 years, and in that time has published 19 books and produced 80 documentaries. Some of the topics he's covered in the past include China's slave labor gulags, the worst child murderer in British history, and the orphans left behind after the Vietnam War. Today he discusses the topic of his latest book. It's the story of Peter Wright, MI5 senior counterintelligence officer who came to suspect in the 1960s that the agency's director, Roger Hollis, was himself a Soviet spy.

    Check out Tim's first appearance on episode 30, A Counterintelligence Agent Turned Romanov Heir, here.

    Connect with Tim:
    timtate.co.uk
    Twitter: @TimTateBooks
    Check out To Catch a Spy here.

    https://a.co/d/7TlKCyw

    Connect with Spycraft 101:
    Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.
    spycraft101.com
    IG: @spycraft101
    Shop: shop.spycraft101.com
    Patreon: Spycraft 101

    Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.
    Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.
    Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.

    Faith Meets Academia
    Transform faith-based values into personal growth, career success and academic excellence.

    Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

    Tenderfoot TV
    Real. Powerful. Storytelling. Tune in to "To Die For" wherever you listen to podcasts.

    History by Mail
    Who knew? Not me! Learn something new every month. Use code JUSTIN10 for 10% off your subscription.

    Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

    Support the show

    4 November 2024, 5:00 am
  • 1 hour 11 minutes
    171. Out of the Shadows and Into the Boardroom: Intelligence in the Private Sector with Dr. Lewis Sage-Passant

    This week's guest is Dr. Lewis Sage-Passant. Lewis is a former British military intelligence officer and holds a PhD in Intelligence Studies. He's currently the global head of intelligence for one of Europe's most valuable companies, where he helps the firm navigate geopolitical, security, and industrial espionage risks. He also teaches courses in intelligence studies as an adjunct professor at Sciences Po Paris. His work has appeared in many publications and media organizations, including BBC, France 24, CNBC, The Harvard Business Review, GQ, and more. Today, he discusses hew new book exploring how private corporations use intelligence to understand, navigate, and sometimes shape the world around them.

    Connect with Lewis:

    encyclopediageopolitica.com
    Linkedln: Lewis Sage-Passant, PhD
    Twitter/X: @LSagePassant
    Check out the book, Beyond States and Spies, now available in the UK or December 31 preorder in the US, here on Amazon or here with Edinburgh University Press.

    https://a.co/d/6U1kNDh


    https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-beyond-states-and-spies.html

    Connect with Spycraft 101:
    Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.
    spycraft101.com
    IG: @spycraft101
    Shop: shop.spycraft101.com
    Patreon: Spycraft 101

    Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.
    Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.
    Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.

    Faith Meets Academia
    Transform faith-based values into personal growth, career success and academic excellence.

    Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

    Tenderfoot TV
    Real. Powerful. Storytelling. Tune in to "To Die For" wherever you listen to podcasts.

    History by Mail
    Who knew? Not me! Learn something new every month. Use code JUSTIN10 for 10% off your subscription.

    Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

    Support the show

    28 October 2024, 4:00 am
  • 1 hour 3 minutes
    170. The Secret History of the Civil War with Patrick K. O'Donnell

    This week, Justin welcomes back Patrick K. O'Donnell. Patrick is a combat historian who has covered the war in Fallujah, Iraq in 2004, where he was armed and participated in the battle alongside the U.S. Marines. He's an expert on special operations units and irregular warfare. He's published 13 books so far on combat history, covering stories from the American Revolution, World War II, The Global War on Terror and more. He's also the author of The Brenner Assignment, which informed episode number 90 of the podcast with Jack Chappell, the son of OSS officer Howard Chappell, who was one of the primary subjects of Patrick's book.

    You may remember Patrick from episode number 146  earlier this year. This is the first time an author has returned to the show to discuss the same book once again, and that's because The Unvanquished is so full of incredible stories that we barely scratched the surface the first time around.

    Check out Patrick's first appearance on the podcast, Civil War Special Operations Units.

    Connect with Patrick:
    patrickkodonnell.com
    Twitter/X: @combathistorian
    The Unvanquished is available here.

    https://www.amazon.com/Unvanquished-Lincolns-Special-Americas-Operations/dp/080216286X

    Connect with Spycraft 101:
    Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.
    spycraft101.com
    IG: @spycraft101
    Shop: shop.spycraft101.com
    Patreon: Spycraft 101

    Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.
    Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.
    Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.

    Faith Meets Academia
    Transform faith-based values into personal growth, career success and academic excellence.

    Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

    History by Mail
    Who knew? Not me! Learn something new every month. Use code JUSTIN10 for 10% off your subscription.

    Tenderfoot TV
    Real. Powerful. Storytelling. Tune in to "To Die For" wherever you listen to podcasts.

    Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

    Support the show

    21 October 2024, 4:00 am
  • 44 minutes 21 seconds
    169. MKUltra and the Real Mind-Altering Potential of Psychedelics with Norman Ohler

    Today Justin talks with Norman Ohler. Norman is a best selling novelist, a journalist, and a screenwriter. He's written three novels, which comprise the City Trilogy, and while working in the West Bank in 2004, he interviewed Yasser Arafat in what turned out to be the final interview of his life before he passed away in November of that year. He's also the author of the non fiction book Blitzed: Drugs in Nazi Germany, published in English in 2016. In this episode he discusses his newest book, Tripped: Nazi Germany, the CIA, and the Dawn of the Psychedelic Age, which was published earlier this year. Norman built on his previous research here to cover post-war efforts to control narcotics in occupied Germany and the rise of psychedelic drugs, both within the populace and as potential tools for interrogation and mind control by the world's intelligence agencies.

    Connect with Norman:
    normanohler.com
    IG: @normanohler
    Check out Tripped here.

    https://amzn.to/3Nshgw5

    Connect with Spycraft 101:
    Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.
    spycraft101.com
    IG: @spycraft101
    Shop: shop.spycraft101.com
    Patreon: Spycraft 101

    Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.
    Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.
    Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.

    Faith Meets Academia
    Transform faith-based values into personal growth, career success and academic excellence.

    Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

    Support the show

    14 October 2024, 4:00 am
  • 1 hour 1 minute
    168. Unveiling the October Surprise: The Treason That Put Reagan in the White House with Craig Unger

    This week Justin sits down with Craig Unger. Craig is a journalist and the author of eight books. He's a graduate of Harvard University, where he worked as an editor for The Harvard Crimson. He's written articles which have appeared in The Washington Post, The Guardian, The New Yorker, The New York Times, Esquire, and other publications. He also served as a contributing editor for Vanity Fair, where he covered national security and foreign affairs for more than 15 years. He's here today to discuss his newest book, Den of Spies: Reagan, Carter and the Secret History of the Treason That Stole the White House, which is available now. It's the story of the October Surprise, a long-rumored secret campaign to delay the release of American hostages in Iran until after Ronald Reagan successfully won the 1980 presidential election.

    Connect with Craig:
    craigunger.com
    Twittwer/X: @craigunger
    Check out Den of Spies here.

    https://a.co/d/29SpRog

    Connect with Spycraft 101:
    Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.
    spycraft101.com
    IG: @spycraft101
    Shop: shop.spycraft101.com
    Patreon: Spycraft 101

    Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.
    Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.
    Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.

    Faith Meets Academia
    Transform faith-based values into personal growth, career success and academic excellence.

    Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

    Support the show

    7 October 2024, 4:00 am
  • 1 hour 11 minutes
    167. The Real Guns of 007 with Caleb Daniels @CommandoBond

    This week Justin talks with Caleb Daniels. Caleb is a lifelong fan of the James Bond films and novels, as well as a firearms enthusiast from Kansas City, Missouri. For seven years, he worked in the firearms industry. In 2020, he started the website and social media pages titled Commando Bond, which are a passion project of his to bridge the gap between pop culture and the world of firearms by analyzing how to live like James Bond from his daily carry to his wardrobe and lifestyle.Todya he discusses his book, Licensed Troubleshooter: The Guns of James Bond, which is available for pre order now from Headstamp Publishing. Caleb has spent years researching all the firearms that appeared in the Bond books and films, and is now finally sharing that research with us.

    Connect with Caleb:
    IG: @CommandoBond
    YouTube: @CommandBond
    YouTube: @Steel-and-Style
    Check out presale for the book, Licensed Troubleshooter, here.

    https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/headstamp/licensed-troubleshooter?ref=1oee53

    Connect with Spycraft 101:
    Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.
    spycraft101.com
    IG: @spycraft101
    Shop: shop.spycraft101.com
    Patreon: Spycraft 101

    Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.
    Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.
    Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.

    Faith Meets Academia
    Transform faith-based values into personal growth, career success and academic excellence.

    Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

    Support the show

    30 September 2024, 4:00 am
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