Spy Valley: An Engineer's Nuclear Betrayal

Megan Dean

Spy Valley tells the origin story of Silicon Valley as a laboratory for espionage.

  • 2 minutes 38 seconds
    Introducing The Illuminator: Art, Conspiracy and Madness

    This is The Illuminator - coming November 11, from Brazen. Subscribe to get early releases and listen ad-free. http://brazen.fm/plus


    Mark Lombardi, a conceptual artist on the cusp of international success, had everything to live for. So why was the 48-year-old found hanged and deemed suicidal? Was his death the ultimate conceptual art, an afterlife laugh at those who doubted his brilliance? He did, after all, carry business cards eerily portending "death defying acts of art and conspiracy." 


    Or was he ultimately overwhelmed by the subject of his work: the financial networks connecting some of the most powerful and corrupt people on earth? 


    His intricate drawings traced hot money, from Cold War funding to the heroin trade. But his most dogged scrutiny fell on the Bank of Credit and Commerce International, a global money laundry bankrolling fraudsters, smugglers, and CIA operations abroad. Since his death, Lombardi's masterwork on the rogue bank has been held at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Could it be responsible for his demise? The answer can only be found within Lombardi himself.


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    7 November 2024, 12:00 am
  • 1 hour 29 minutes
    From SpyCast and Spy Valley: a night at the museum

    In collaboration with SpyCast, this week on Spy Valley we're sharing a bonus episode recorded live at the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC. The panel was moderated by Sharon Weinberger, the national security and foreign policy editor at The Wall Street Journal, featuring Spy Valley host Zach Dorfman with Dr. Raymond J. Batvinis, a historian and former FBI Special Agent, John Gibbons, who headed the US Attorney's prosecution team in the case against James Harper, and nuclear historian and National Cryptologic Museum Director, Dr. Vince Houghton.

    For more espionage stories from the International Spy Museum, listen to SpyCast, hosted by the museum’s Historian and Curator, Dr. Andrew Hammond.

    Spy Valley is a Project Brazen production. Subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts or at brazen.fm/plus and get exclusive bonus episodes for Spy Valley and all our shows, as well as ad-free listening and early access to new podcasts.

    For more fearless storytelling, search for the Brazen channel on Apple Podcasts or visit brazen.fm, home to all our podcasts, documentaries and newsletters. At Brazen, we show you how the world really works – from espionage and corruption to deal-making and organised crime, we’ll take you inside stories from hidden worlds.

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    20 October 2023, 10:00 am
  • 42 minutes 15 seconds
    Listen Now—Agent of Betrayal: The Double Life of Robert Hanssen

    Thanks for listening to Spy Valley. If you’re looking for a new podcast to follow, we think you’ll enjoy Agent of Betrayal: The Double Life of Robert Hanssen. Listen here for a special preview of the series.

    Amid the nuclear threat of the Cold War, America's prized secrets were falling into the hands of its sworn enemy—the Kremlin. The FBI's hunt for the leak led to an astonishing discovery—the mole was one of its own, special agent Robert Hanssen.

    For two decades, Hanssen masqueraded as a devoted patriot while ruthlessly selling out his country, trading classified intelligence to the Soviet Union and later Russia, in exchange for cash and diamonds. He was a whirlwind of contradictions—a self-proclaimed patriot and a traitor; a family man who sexually betrayed his wife; an ardent man of God and a sinner.

    In this CBS News limited series, CBS News Chief Washington Correspondent Major Garrett delves into the double life of Robert Hanssen and unravels the chilling truth about the most damaging spy in FBI history. Listen to Agent of Betrayal: The Double Life of Robert Hanssen wherever you get your podcasts.

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    17 October 2023, 10:05 am
  • 23 minutes 38 seconds
    Bonus: Caribou: An American Agent in Communist Warsaw with Hanna Kozlowska

    The man codenamed “Caribou” plays a critical role in James Harper’s story, but his own story remains in the shadows. In this bonus episode, Spy Valley host Zach Dorfman sits down with Hanna Kozlowska, journalist and translator of the Polish archives used in the series, to discuss Caribou’s position as a mole for the US within the Polish spy service—and what happened when the Poles found out about his double-cross.

    Spy Valley is a Project Brazen production. Subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts or at brazen.fm/plus and get exclusive bonus episodes for Spy Valley and all our shows, as well as ad-free listening and early access to new podcasts.

    For more fearless storytelling, search for the Brazen channel on Apple Podcasts or visit brazen.fm, home to all our podcasts, documentaries and newsletters. At Brazen, we show you how the world really works – from espionage and corruption to deal-making and organised crime, we’ll take you inside stories from hidden worlds.

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    5 September 2023, 11:00 am
  • 43 minutes 5 seconds
    Episode 6: Crossing the Rubicon

    Spyhunters and prosecutors are closing in on James Harper. They need one last fount of information that could help put him away for good. But obtaining it could prove fatal for its source.

    Spy Valley is a Project Brazen production. Subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts or at brazen.fm/plus and get exclusive bonus episodes for Spy Valley and all our shows, as well as ad-free listening and early access to new podcasts.

    For more fearless storytelling, search for the Brazen channel on Apple Podcasts or visit brazen.fm, home to all our podcasts, documentaries and newsletters. At Brazen, we show you how the world really works – from espionage and corruption to deal-making and organised crime, we’ll take you inside stories from hidden worlds.

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    28 August 2023, 11:00 am
  • 1 hour 4 minutes
    Live Bonus: Producing Spy Valley

    In this bonus episode, we bring you an intimate conversation with Zach Dorfman, an award-winning intelligence and national security journalist and host of the podcast Spy Valley: An Engineer's Nuclear Betrayal. Recorded live at the Podcast Garage at KQED in San Francisco earlier this month, the conversation delved into the making of the podcast series and featured audio clips from the show. The discussion was moderated by Ian Enright, founder and CEO of Goat Rodeo and an executive producer of Spy Valley.

    Spy Valley is a new six-part podcast series from Project Brazen that explores the story of James Harper, a Silicon Valley engineer turned nuclear spy during the Cold War.

    -

    ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:

    Zach Dorfman is a National Security Writer and the Writer and Host of Spy Valley. He was previously a National Security Correspondent for Yahoo News and a Senior Staff Writer at the Aspen Institute. His work has appeared at Foreign Policy, Politico, The Atlantic, the Wall Street Journal, and elsewhere. He was also a Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, where he spent over half a decade as a full-time staff editor. Dorfman is a past winner of the Gerald R. Ford Prize for Defense Reporting and a Livingston Award finalist.

    Ian Enright is the founder and CEO of Goat Rodeo, a creative podcasting company. As a senior audio producer and creative executive, Goat Rodeo’s work includes award winning and groundbreaking podcasts such as The Report, Allies, Cornbread Mafia, and Long Shadow. He is an executive producer on Spy Valley.


    Spy Valley is a Project Brazen production. Subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts or at brazen.fm/plus and get exclusive bonus episodes for Spy Valley and all our shows, as well as ad-free listening and early access to new podcasts.

    For more fearless storytelling, search for the Brazen channel on Apple Podcasts or visit brazen.fm, home to all our podcasts, documentaries and newsletters. At Brazen, we show you how the world really works – from espionage and corruption to deal-making and organised crime, we’ll take you inside stories from hidden worlds.

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    22 August 2023, 11:25 am
  • 34 minutes 55 seconds
    Episode 5: The Doomsday Machine

    James Harper is in dire need of protection—and money. But the nuclear spy has exhausted his options and left breadcrumbs of his trail. The FBI is watching.

    Spy Valley is a Project Brazen production. Subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts or at brazen.fm/plus and get exclusive bonus episodes for Spy Valley and all our shows, as well as ad-free listening and early access to new podcasts.

    For more fearless storytelling, search for the Brazen channel on Apple Podcasts or visit brazen.fm, home to all our podcasts, documentaries and newsletters. At Brazen, we show you how the world really works – from espionage and corruption to deal-making and organised crime, we’ll take you inside stories from hidden worlds.

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    21 August 2023, 11:00 am
  • 34 minutes 5 seconds
    Episode 4: Tinkerers, Traders, Solderers, Spies

    Nuclear tensions between Moscow and Washington are reaching a fever pitch. When a desperate James Harper doubles down on spying for the Soviet Bloc, he gets his big payday.  But in a game of double-cross and deception, even your friends start to feel like enemies.

    Spy Valley is a Project Brazen production. Subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts or at brazen.fm/plus and get exclusive bonus episodes for Spy Valley and all our shows, as well as ad-free listening and early access to new podcasts.

    For more fearless storytelling, search for the Brazen channel on Apple Podcasts or visit brazen.fm, home to all our podcasts, documentaries and newsletters. At Brazen, we show you how the world really works – from espionage and corruption to deal-making and organised crime, we’ll take you inside stories from hidden worlds.

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    14 August 2023, 11:00 am
  • 33 minutes 30 seconds
    Episode 3: Get as Much as You Can

    One million dollars, lives on the line, and a spy who keeps a diary. James Harper’s wild ride selling nuclear secrets as the cold war heats up—secrets that might still help Moscow in a nuclear exchange today.

    Spy Valley is a Project Brazen production. Subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts or at brazen.fm/plus and get exclusive bonus episodes for Spy Valley and all our shows, as well as ad-free listening and early access to new podcasts.

    For more fearless storytelling, search for the Brazen channel on Apple Podcasts or visit brazen.fm, home to all our podcasts, documentaries and newsletters. At Brazen, we show you how the world really works – from espionage and corruption to deal-making and organised crime, we’ll take you inside stories from hidden worlds.

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    7 August 2023, 11:00 am
  • 28 minutes
    Episode 2: The Shadow of the Valley of Wealth

    Silicon Valley blossoms, but there’s a dark side to all this newfound wealth and ambition. With his technical savvy and a penchant for scheming, one of America’s most notorious cold war nuclear spies gets his start.

    Spy Valley is a Project Brazen production. Subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts or at brazen.fm/plus and get exclusive bonus episodes for Spy Valley and all our shows, as well as ad-free listening and early access to new podcasts.

    For more fearless storytelling, search for the Brazen channel on Apple Podcasts or visit brazen.fm, home to all our podcasts, documentaries and newsletters. At Brazen, we show you how the world really works – from espionage and corruption to deal-making and organised crime, we’ll take you inside stories from hidden worlds.

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    Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://brazen.fm/plus/

    31 July 2023, 11:00 am
  • 28 minutes 47 seconds
    Episode 1: A Wilderness of Mirrors

    Silicon Valley is an espionage innovator—and it has been since its inception. Journalist Zach Dorfman uncovers how Moscow’s spies opened up shop in San Francisco and Silicon Valley at the dawn of the hi-tech age, and how a group of pioneering FBI spy hunters assembled to stop them—and solve the case of a lifetime.

    Spy Valley is a Project Brazen production. Subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts or at brazen.fm/plus and get exclusive bonus episodes for Spy Valley and all our shows, as well as ad-free listening and early access to new podcasts.

    For more fearless storytelling, search for the Brazen channel on Apple Podcasts or visit brazen.fm, home to all our podcasts, documentaries and newsletters. At Brazen, we show you how the world really works – from espionage and corruption to deal-making and organised crime, we’ll take you inside stories from hidden worlds.

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    Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://brazen.fm/plus/

    24 July 2023, 11:00 am
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