The Rest Is Classified
Enter the secretive world of spies, espionage, and covert operations. Hosted by former CIA analyst turned spy novelist David McCloskey and veteran security correspondent Gordon Corera, this podcast unravels real-life spy stories, intelligence secrets, and the hidden power struggles shaping global events. From Cold War espionage to modern-day intelligence agencies like the CIA, MI6, and Mossad, explore the world of double agents, classified missions, and the shadowy figures who operate in them.
Episodes
195. How Silicon Valley Took Over National Security
Why are Silicon Valley billionaires developing defence tech? Could Elon Musk build a nuclear bomb? And why did Steve Jobs owe his early success to the CIA?
Listen as David is joined by national security journalist Sharon Weinberger to discuss her new book, Valley of Death: How Big Tech Is Fuelling the Future of War.
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194. The KGB in Iran: Appeasing the Ayatollah with Ben Macintyre (Ep 2)
A KGB officer who has secretly gone over to work for MI6 in revolutionary Iran. But will MI6 be able to get him out of the country when things go wrong?
Listen as David and Gordon are joined by renowned author and journalist, Ben Macintyre, to discuss his latest book: Redwood.
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193. The KGB in Iran: Defecting to MI6 with Ben Macintyre (Ep 1)
A KGB officer is recruited by MI6 in Iran at a time of revolutionary upheaval. His intelligence helped shape the Cold War. But how far is agent Redwood motivated by some rather personal difficulties?
Listen as David and Gordon are joined by renowned author and journalist, Ben Macintyre, to discuss his latest book: Redwood.
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192. 9/11: The War on Terror (Ep 6)
What was the nature of the intelligence failures leading up to 9/11? Could the attacks have been prevented? And what is the enduring impact, 25 years on, of that grim day in September 2001?
Listen as David and Gordon reach the dramatic conclusion of their exploration of the 9/11 attacks.
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191. 9/11: The Twin Towers Fall (Ep 5)
What happened on 9/11? This is the day itself, as seen through the eyes of those who lived and died…
Listen as David and Gordon take us through the day that changed America, forever.
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190. 9/11: Could the Attacks Have Been Prevented? (Ep 4)
By July 2001 the plan for 9/11 was almost complete… All that was missing was a day. How do you set the date the world changes?
Listen as David and Gordon unpack the night before the 9/11 hijackers carried out their plot.
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189. 9/11: How Much Did the Saudis Know? (Ep 3)
Fifteen of the nineteen hijackers on 9/11 came from Saudi Arabia, many from a handful of poor remote villages. Who were the men known as ‘the muscle’, and what made them?
Listen as David and Gordon explore the alleged Saudi connection to the 9/11 plot.
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188. 9/11: How to Recruit a Hijacker (Ep 2)
What kind of men do you recruit to fly planes into skyscrapers? And as the 9/11 plot developed, why didn’t the CIA spot what was coming?
Listen as David and Gordon chart the mission to recruit the attackers for the 9/11 attacks.
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187. 9/11: The Rise of Osama bin Laden (Ep 1)
9/11 was the most devastating terrorist attack in history, but where did the plot come from? And when a freelance terrorist walks in with a plan to fly planes into American buildings, why did Osama Bin Laden almost say no?
Listen as David and Gordon begin their six-part exploration of how the 9/11 terror attacks came to pass, 25 years on.
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186. The Secret Spy Network: Can Five Eyes Survive Trump? (Ep 4)
The Five Eyes is an intelligence alliance that has endured for decades. But can it survive Donald Trump in the White House?
Listen as David and Gordon are joined by Richard Kerbaj for the final instalment of their series exploring the tumultuous history of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing alliance.
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The Secret History of the Five Eyes by Richard Kerbaj
Th
185. The Secret Spy Network: How Snowden Nearly Destroyed Everything (Ep 3)
The Five Eyes are watching the world. But what happens when one eye is bigger than the other? And what happens when new threats emerge?
Listen as David and Gordon are joined again by author, journalist and filmmaker Richard Kerbaj, to explore the history of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing alliance.
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The Secret History of the Five Eyes by Richard Kerbaj
184. The Secret Spy Network: Kim Philby Threatens the Alliance (Ep 2)
An intelligence alliance established to spy on the Soviets during the Cold War. But will it be able to hold together under crisis?
David and Gordon are once again joined by journalist, author and filmmaker Richard Kerbaj, to explore the history of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing alliance.
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The Secret History of the Five Eyes by Richard Kerbaj
The Defector by Ri
183. The Secret Spy Network: How The US and UK Spy Together (Ep 1)
It is most powerful intelligence alliance the world has ever seen But what is the Five Eyes and how did it begin?
Listen as David and Gordon are joined by journalist, author and filmmaker Richard Kerbaj, to explore one of the world's most significant and longstanding intelligence sharing alliances.
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The Secret History of the Five Eyes by Richard Kerbaj
The Defector b
182. The Imitation Game: The Codebreakers Who Defeated Hitler (Ep 2)
Alan Turing is working frantically to break the German codes at Bletchley Park. But can the Brits and Americans really trust each other?
Listen as David and Gordon conclude their two-part exploration of the incredible work undertaken at the predecessor to GCHQ.
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181. The Imitation Game: How Alan Turing Broke Enigma (Ep 1)
A secret mission in the middle of a war to Bletchley Park. One that will lead to the closest intelligence alliance in history.
Listen as David and Gordon tell the secret history of how the codebreakers at Bletchley Park worked with their American allies to defeat Hitler.
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180. Have the US and Israel Always Spied on Each Other? (Ep 2)
How did Israel’s spy in America Jonathan Pollard wind up getting caught? And what does the sordid episode tell us about the nature of the spy relationship between America and Israel?
David and Gordon explore how an US-Israeli spy stole hundreds of classified documents in the 1980s, and what this story tells us about the contemporary espionage relationships between the US and Israel.
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179. Did Israel Spy on Trump’s Iran Negotiations? (Ep 1)
Do Israel and America spy on each other? And how do close allies navigate stealing each other’s secrets?
Listen as David and Gordon step inside the tricky intelligence sharing relationship between the US and Israel.
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178. The Plot to Destroy Russia’s Gas Empire (Ep 2)
How did a group of civilian divers carry out what’s been described as one of the greatest acts of sabotage of the 21st century? And have they finally been exposed?
Listen as David and Gordon unpack the investigation into who blew up the Nord Stream Pipeline in 2022 with Bojan Pancevski, Chief European Political Correspondent of the Wall Street Journal and author of the newly released book, The
177. Who Blew Up the Nord Stream Pipeline? (Ep 1)
Why did an undersea pipeline that sent Russian gas to Germany explode in 2022? And could a group of Ukrainian operatives really have been behind it?
David and Gordon are joined by Bojan Pancevski, Chief European Political Correspondent of the Wall Street Journal and author of the newly released book, The Nord Stream Conspiracy, to discuss who was really responsible for the explosion of the Nord
176. The True Story of the Spies Held Hostage by China (Ep 2)
A Chinese fighter jet and American spy plane collide over the South China Seas. And now a US aircrew are held hostage by their Chinese captors.
David and Gordon reach the dramatic crescendo of their story exploring the downing of a US spy plane over the South China Seas.
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175. How China Downed a US Spy Plane (Ep 1)
What happens when a Chinese Fighter jet crashes into a US spy plane? The result is death, hostages and a major crisis with lessons for what could spark a war today.
Listen as David and Gordon tell the infamous story of the Hainan Island Incident.
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174. The Murder of Litvinenko: Did the British State Hide the Truth? (Ep 6)
Did the British state try to bury the truth of what happened to Alexander Litvinenko? And how did his wife, Marina, continue battling for justice?
Listen as David and Gordon conclude their series on the murder of Alexander Litvinenko.
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173. The Murder of Litvinenko: The Killers Escape (Ep 5)
Radioactive poison has been used to kill Alexander Litvinenko on the streets of London. But where will the trail lead and can the police follow it to find his killers?
Listen as David and Gordon reach the penultimate episode in their exploration of the murder of Litvinenko.
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172. The Murder of Litvinenko: Russia’s Nuclear Weapon (Ep 4)
Alexander Litvinenko has been poisoned in London… Now the race is on to work out what is slowly killing him.
In this episode David and Gordon tell the story of the race to discover what the Russian security services used to murder Litvinenko.
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171. The Murder of Litvinenko: Killed in Plain Sight (Ep 3)
Russian assassins are closing in on Alexander Litvinenko… But who will deal the fatal blow?
Listen as David and Gordon explore the dramatic moments leading up to the murder of Alexander Litvinenko in London.
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170. The Murder of Litvinenko: Putin’s Plan To Kill (Ep 2)
Former Russian Security Service officer Alexander Litvinenko is in exile in London. But his clash with Vladimir Putin will only increase in its intensity - placing the two men on a collision course towards certain doom.
David and Gordon explore the potential motivations for the murder of Litvinenko by the Russian security services in 2006.
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169. The Murder of Litvinenko: Poisoned in London (Ep 1)
A Russian security service officer murdered in London, with radioactive poison. But who gave the orders and why?
Listen as David and Gordon begin their six-part investigation into the 2006 murder of former FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko on the streets of London.
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168. Trump's New Director of National Intelligence and the CIA's Missing Gold Bars
Who is Trump's new Director of National Intelligence? Is the US Intelligence Community becoming increasingly politicised? And what's the story behind the CIA officer who has allegedly stolen millions of dollars in gold bars?
Listen as David and Gordon head inside some of the latest news stories coming out of the world of intelligence in the US.
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167. The Covid Origin Story: What the CIA Really Found (Ep 2)
What do the CIA think caused the Covid pandemic? And did Trump and Biden sway the CIA’s intelligence assessments?
Listen as David and Gordon assess whether Trump and Biden played politics with the investigation into the origins of the Covid virus.
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166. The Covid Origin Story: Lab Leak or Animal Outbreak? (Ep 1)
Where does the CIA think the Covid-19 virus came from? And could it have been intentionally leaked as an act of biological warfare?
Listen as David and Gordon step inside the investigation as to where Covid came from.
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165. Why England Didn't Win the 1970 World Cup (Ep 2)
Could England have won the 1970 World Cup if their star goalkeeper, Gordon Banks, hadn't contracted food poisoning the day before the quarter-final? And could the CIA have had anything to do with England's 60 years of hurt?
David and Gordon are joined by journalist Gabriel Gatehouse to get to the bottom of whether the CIA poisoned England's World Cup ambitions.
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Listen
164. Did the CIA Poison England's World Cup Goalkeeper? (Ep 1)
Why did Gordon Banks pull out of the 1970 World Cup quarter-final against West Germany? And was the CIA to blame?
Listen as David and Gordon are joined by journalist Gabriel Gatehouse who has spent the past three years investigating whether the CIA poisoned England's star goalkeeper.
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Listen to Gabriel's full investigation, Foul Play: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podca
163. Argo: Smuggled Out of Khomeini's Iran (Ep 4)
Six American diplomats are about to walk through the Tehran airport with alias Canadian passports. But will they make it through? And how does the real Argo end?
As the story reaches its dramatic conclusion, David and Gordon look at what can be learnt from the 1979 plot to smuggle six American diplomats out of Iran.
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162. Argo: How the CIA Made a Movie That Never Existed (Ep 3)
Tony Mendez has just landed in revolutionary Tehran. Now he must teach six terrified diplomats to be a Hollywood film crew… in 72 hours.
Listen as David and Gordon reach the climax of their adventure into the true story behind Argo.
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Is Iran Recruiting Spies to Conduct Anti-Semitic Attacks?
Are groups linked to the Islamic Republic recruiting spies on Telegram to coordinate anti-semitic attacks in Europe? How are Jordanian people feeling about the war in Iran? And why is anti-western sentiment reaching new heights in the Middle East?
Listen as David McCloskey is joined by award-winning CNN International Correspondent Jomana Karadsheh, to discuss her latest reporting on how what ap
161. Argo: Six Fugitives in Revolutionary Tehran (Ep 2)
Six Americans are hiding out as Canadian houseguests in Tehran. To get them out, the CIA will invent a Hollywood film studio that does not exist.
In this episode, David and Gordon examine how the CIA worked with Hollywood to plan a daring escape from revolutionary Iran during the hostage crisis.
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160. Argo: The Secret Iranian Hostage Crisis (Ep 1)
One of the most audacious rescue operations the CIA has ever run. It begins with a mob at the gates of the US Embassy in Tehran, six diplomats slipping out a side door, and a man painting a wolf in a studio above his garage in rural Maryland.
Listen as David and Gordon tell the true story of Argo.
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159. Is NATO Prepared for a Russian Attack?
How worried are Baltic countries about the threat from Russia? Would the US protect its NATO allies from Putin? And what is happening on the Estonian border?
Last weekend, Gordon headed to the annual Lennart Meri security conference in Estonia to speak with experts from across the world about the security challenges the region is currently facing. Listen as he speaks with journalists, former pr
158. The Road to Iraq: George Bush's Unstoppable War (Ep 6)
Was Iraq WMD one of history’s biggest intelligence failures? Why couldn’t Saddam Hussein prove he has destroyed his weapons of mass destruction? And what is the legacy of the Iraq War in the Middle East?
Listen as David and Gordon conclude their investigation into Iraq WMD and analyse what has been learnt from the decision to go to war with Iraq.
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157. The Road to Iraq: What the Spies Got Wrong (Ep 5)
Who was “Curveball”? Why did Colin Powell rely so heavily on flawed intelligence in his presentation to the UN? And how did this set the tone for the opposition to war?
As David and Gordon reach the penultimate episode in their series on Iraq WMD, they discuss how things could have gone so badly wrong.
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156. The Road to Iraq: Tony Blair's Campaign for War (Ep 4)
What was the difference between the so-called “dodgy dossier” and the real dossier prepared by Tony Blair and Alastair Campbell? Why did the US rush their vital National Intelligence Estimate? And why was the intelligence so weak?
Listen as David and Gordon explore how the US and UK sold the case for war in Iraq to the public.
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155. The Road to Iraq: How 9/11 Changed Everything (Ep 3)
How significant a role did 9/11 play in the decision to go to war in Iraq? And why did Tony Blair commit to standing by George W. Bush “no matter what”?
Listen as David and Gordon continue their series on Iraq WMD, charting the moment the West’s relationship with the Middle East changed, forever.
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154. The Road to Iraq: Saddam Hussein's Fatal Error (Ep 2)
Why did Saddam Hussein secretly destroy his weapons of mass destruction? When did the CIA start plotting against the Iraqi dictator? And did Hussein and Osama bin Laden ever meet?
In the second part of their series on Iraq WMD, David and Gordon chart how the mystery of Saddam Hussein’s weapons deepens.
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153. The Road to Iraq: Weapons of Mass Destruction (Ep 1)
How did Saddam Hussein become one of history’s most notorious dictators? How did the Iran-Iraq war begin? And what really happened to Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction?
Listen as David and Gordon begin their 6-part series on one of history’s biggest intelligence failures: Iraq WMD.
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152. Britain’s Man Inside the IRA: Unmasking the Traitor (Ep 4)
What brought about Stakeknife’s downfall? How did the IRA react when they realised there was a spy at the very top of their organisation? And what was Operation Kenova, and how did it reveal the truth of the Stakeknife case?
In the final part of their journey into the infamous mole inside the IRA, David and Gordon delve into the fractious aftermath of Stakeknife’s exposure as a “tout”.
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151. Britain’s Man Inside the IRA: From Spy to Executioner (Ep 3)
What happens when an agent has to commit horrific crimes whilst undercover? What did the British government know about Stakeknife’s crimes? And did the IRA suspect Scappaticci of being a double agent?
Listen as David and Gordon reach the height of Stakeknife’s power and explore the morality of a British agent committing murder undercover.
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Why Do Russian Spies Interfere in Global Politics?
What does a Russian interference campaign look like? What did Russian spies get up to in Hungary recently? And are Chinese spies the next threat to international politics?
Listen as David and Gordon are joined by novelist, screenwriter and journalist Tom Bradby, for this special bonus episode to discuss Russian interference in global politics and the murky world where politics and espionage int
150. Britain’s Man Inside the IRA: How to Run a Killer (Ep 2)
How did the British security forces recruit agents during The Troubles? And how did the IRA try and hunt down those who had become informers?
In the second part of their series on the infamous Stakeknife, David and Gordon explore the murky underworld of informers and agents during The Troubles in Northern Ireland.
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149. Britain’s Man Inside the IRA: The Truth Behind Stakeknife (Ep 1)
Who was the real man behind the infamous codename, “Stakeknife”? Why did he join the ranks of the IRA? And how did he become a spy for the British?
Listen as David and Gordon begin a four-part series delving into the true story behind the British state’s most valuable IRA mole during The Troubles.
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148. Can Europe Salvage its Relationship with Trump?
Is there anyone telling Trump, ‘No’? Is Trump’s use of power getting more unhinged? And should Europe have done more to open the Strait of Hormuz?
Listen back to David and Gordon live on YouTube with Washington Post columnist and author, David Ignatius, to discuss the latest on Trump’s war in the Middle East.
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147. Will Trump Destroy Iran’s Nuclear Programme? (Ep 2)
How do you actually destroy a nuclear programme? What would a US boots-on-the-ground raid inside Iran look like? And do David and Gordon think Trump will take Operation Epic Fury to the next level?
Listen as David and Gordon imagine what it would take to destroy Iran's nuclear programme.
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146. How the CIA Rescued a Pilot Inside Iran (Ep 1)
How involved were the CIA in the operation to rescue a US pilot stranded inside Iran? What does it take to "destroy" a nuclear programme? And what could Iran learn from North Korea?
Listen as David and Gordon discuss the intricacies of the recent mission to extract a downed US Weapons Officer inside Iran and delve into how this operation might help the US and Israel launch an attack on Iran's n
145. Black Hawk Down: What Osama bin Laden Learnt from Somalia (Ep 4)
What was the legacy of the Battle of Mogadishu? How did the fallout change the US presence in Somalia forever? And how did the experience in Somalia inspire Osama bin Laden’s acts of terror?
Listen as David and Gordon conclude their four-part series on the extraordinary events of Black Hawk Down.
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144. Black Hawk Down: The Bloodiest US Battle Since Vietnam (Ep 3)
How long will the Battle of Mogadishu last? Can the soldiers survive until daylight? And will the Rescue Team come in time to save the soldiers?
Listen as David and Gordon reach the climax of the story of Black Hawk Down.
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143. Black Hawk Down: Chaos in Mogadishu (Ep 2)
One Black Hawk is down. Americans are taking fire left, right and centre. And it feels like there’s no way out.
This is the true story of Black Hawk Down.
Listen as David and Gordon continue the story of the Battle of Mogadishu as it escalates beyond the plans of the generals back at the US base.
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142. Black Hawk Down: The True Story (Ep 1)
What really happened at the Battle of Mogadishu? How did an operation that should have taken an hour end up taking almost twenty-four? And what brought US troops into the conflict in the first place?
Listen as David and Gordon embark on telling the true story of one of the deadliest US operations since the Vietnam War.
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141. Trump’s Latin America Playbook: How the CIA Toppled a Regime (Ep 2)
How did the CIA mastermind one of the most audacious coups in world history? What does it take to remove a world leader? And what does the future hold for Latin America with Donald Trump now at the helm of US foreign policy?
Listen as David and Gordon recount the story of the 1954 Guatemalan coup and delve into whether Cuba will be the next state on Donald Trump's hit list.
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140. Trump’s Latin America Playbook: Before Venezuela, There Was Guatemala (Ep 1)
Is Cuba next on Trump's hit list? Why are the US so concerned by what's happening in their "backyard"? And what can we learn from the history of regime change in Latin America to help us understand the "Donroe Doctrine"?
Listen as David and Gordon delve inside the Guatemalan coup of 1954 and examine what Donald Trump has learnt from how the CIA plotted regime change in the agency's early years.
139. Trump vs Iran: Saddam Hussein and the Nuclear Bomb (Ep 2)
After 9/11 it looked as though a new path of diplomacy could be forged between Iran and the US, and then George Bush referred to the nation as part of the Axis of Evil. The years that followed were characterised by Iran-backed terror attacks, regional instability and an uncertain future.
But how did we get here?
Listen as David and Gordon are once again joined by historian and author Arash A
138. Trump vs Iran: The Road to Operation Epic Fury (Ep 1)
Why did the US and Israel launch strikes on Iran on 28 February? What is the secret history behind the conflict? And how did Ayatollah Khamenei seize power in 1979?
Listen as David and Gordon are joined by historian and author Arash Azizi to discuss the road to Operation Epic Fury and the long history that brought us to this point.
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137. How Russia Made Trump: MAGA Take The White House (Ep 6)
Was Putin behind the election of Trump in 2016? And were Hillary Clinton's emails really as “crooked” as they seemed?
As David and Gordon conclude their series on how Russia made Trump, they ask what the legacy of the active measures campaign has been and whether the aftermath has changed the world, forever.
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136. How Russia Made Trump: Putin’s Troll Factory (Ep 5)
Russian trolls are trying to influence the 2016 US election, but did Putin's keyboard warriors really propel Donald Trump into the White House?
In the penultimate episode in their series on how the Russians hacked the 2016 US presidential election, David and Gordon return to the sordid tale of Yevgeny Prigozhin: restaurateur and Russian troll farmer.
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135. Is The CIA Arming Kurdish Militias In Iran?
Former CIA analyst, David McCloskey, is joined by CNN's Chief International Correspondent, Clarissa Ward, live from the ground in northern Iraq as she breaks the story of a reported CIA operation to arm Kurdish militias to sow dissent in Iran.
Listen as David and Clarissa discuss what it's currently like operating in Iraq amidst the escalating conflict, what the US serves to gain from toppling
134. How Russia Made Trump: Was The Vote Rigged? (Ep 4)
Foreign spies are messing with the 2016 election. Private emails are being leaked. But what will Donald Trump say about it?
In their latest episode on the Russian active measures campaign to hijack the 2016 US presidential election, David and Gordon go deep into the story of how the Obama campaign reacted to a series of leaked emails, and why the Republicans chose not to get involved.
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133. How Russia Made Trump: Romanian Hackers, WikiLeaks, and Hillary’s Emails (Ep 3)
The Russians have hacked into the Democrats' servers and WikiLeaks are threatening to expose Hillary Clinton's emails. Is this the moment that triggers the downfall of the 2016 Clinton campaign?
Listen as David and Gordon explore how Julian Assange and his WikiLeaks team helped the Russian GRU and SVR expose the secrets of the Clinton campaign.
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132. What's Next For Iran?
Israel and the US have launched missiles at Iran and killed Iran’s leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. But what is actually happening on the ground? How did we get here? And what happens next?
Listen as David and Gordon shared the intelligence perspective on the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, live on Sunday 1 March.
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Later today, we will also be sending out a round u
131. How Russia Made Trump: Stealing Washington’s Secrets (Ep 2)
Donald Trump is gaining ground in the 2016 presidential race, but what does his rise mean for Russian hackers desperate to take down Hillary Clinton?
In the second episode of our series on Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election, David and Gordon delve inside the Russian active measures campaign to hack the campaigns of the Democratic and Republican candidates.
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130. How Russia Made Trump: Putin Hacks The 2016 Election (Ep 1)
Did Russia really interfere in the 2016 US presidential election? Did the election of Donald Trump benefit Vladimir Putin? And how did the scandal begin?
Listen as David and Gordon begin their exploration of the role of the Russians in the 2016 election and the dramatic rise of Donald Trump.
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129. Al Qaeda’s Deadliest Plot: Why You Can’t Bring Liquids On Planes (Ep 4)
Time is of the essence to stop the Al Qaeda plotters from taking down multiple airliners and MI5 are rushing to make arrests. But is there enough evidence to charge them with terror offences?
In the final episode of our series on the Liquid Bomb Plot, David and Gordon unpack the suspenseful moments before the plotters are arrested and how everything nearly went so wrong.
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128. Al Qaeda’s Deadliest Plot: CIA vs Pakistan (Ep 3)
The “Special Relationship” is under strain as MI5 and the CIA butt heads over how to stop an Al Qaeda cell in East London from committing the next 9/11. With the Americans visiting Pakistan and making risky unauthorised decisions, will the intelligence alliance survive?
Listen as David and Gordon take us to Islamabad in the latest episode of their series on the Liquid Bomb Plot, and try to unde
127. Was Epstein A Russian Spy?
Was convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein working undercover for the Kremlin? Did Putin recruit Epstein to harvest kompromat on his enemies? And what does this mean for global security going forward?
Listen as David McCloskey spoke LIVE to former CIA officer and foreign policy, intelligence, and national security expert John Sipher to discuss the ongoing intelligence developments coming out of
126. Al Qaeda’s Deadliest Plot: The Terror Attack That Never Happened (Ep 2)
MI5 have discovered a bomb making factory in East London, but how do they stop the Al Qaeda plotters from carrying out their terrifying plans?
In the second episode of their series on the Liquid Bomb Plot, David and Gordon share the inside story of how MI5 surveilled the extremist cell and “legally” broke into the bomb factory.
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125. Al Qaeda’s Deadliest Plot: How MI5 Stopped Another 9/11 (Ep 1)
In the aftermath of 9/11, while the world was still reeling from the deadliest terror attack on US soil, Al Qaeda were plotting an airline attack with ever graver consequences. This is the story of the Liquid Bomb Plot.
Listen as David and Gordon delve into the story of how MI5 foiled the plans of an extremist cell in East London.
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124. Kim Philby: Britain’s Most Notorious Traitor (Ep 4)
A Russian agent is trying to defect to Britain, but there’s only one person in his way: Kim Philby. Will the communist double agent at the heart of MI6 sell his comrade down the river to save himself, or spare his life at the risk of giving the game away?
As David and Gordon reach the end of their first foray into the infamous life and career of Kim Philby, they ask: can you ever feel sympathy
123. Kim Philby: Communist Double Agent In London (Ep 3)
Kim Philby’s moment in the sun has finally arrived: he has been recruited by MI6 and asked to join the anti-communist division. With access to intelligence beyond his wildest dreams, this is Philby’s chance to show the Russians what he’s made of.
Listen as David and Gordon continue their story on the rise of Kim Philby from war correspondent to one of the most important men in British intellige
122. Kim Philby: An Assassin In Spain (Ep 2)
Kim Philby has been recruited by the communists to spy on the growing fascist movement across Europe, but he can’t seem to penetrate the intelligence services. So, like all men with access to an old boys’ network in 20th century Britain, he asks a friend for a job.
In this episode, David and Gordon chart Philby’s rise as a war correspondent for The Times in London; eventually finding himself i
121. Kim Philby: Stalin’s Mole Inside MI6 (Ep 1)
Kim Philby has gone down in history as Britain’s most notorious double agent: spying for Stalin while running the MI6 counter-intelligence operation against him. But how did a quiet public school boy go on to change the course of the Cold War?
Listen as David and Gordon begin their four-part series on the rise of Kim Philby, from the son of an anti-colonial eccentric in India to one of the most
The Persian (Extract)
To coincide with the release of David's latest novel, The Persian, we have the book’s first chapter in audiobook form for you to enjoy.
Mixing suspense with strikingly cinematic action, David McCloskey takes readers deep into the shadow war between Iran and Israel.
The Persian by David McCloskey, is OUT NOW in the UK.
Pre-order a signed edition via this link.
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120. Greenland Intelligence Scoop: Trump, Xi, and Putin's Battle for the Arctic
Why is Trump backing down on his plans to seize Greenland? Are the Russian's already spying in the Arctic? And should we be fearing Chinese influence in the icy north?
In this emergency podcast, David and Gordon delve into the intelligence story regarding Greenland and ask why Trump's forcefulness may be distracting us from the plans of China and Russia.
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Make someone
119. Inside Iran: Why Trump Didn’t Intervene (Ep 2)
What does history tell us about how a revolution is going to play out? What can intelligence agencies and political scientists working on Iran learn from Syria? And why didn’t Donald Trump follow through on his plan to militarily intervene in Iran?
Listen as David and Gordon look at the ongoing situation in Iran through the lens of intelligence analysts and ask what there is to be learnt from s
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