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Spy Cities

Chatterbox Audio 4 Episodes Aug 19, 2026

Spy Cities is a podcast that takes listeners inside the real locations where espionage history unfolded, from corner tables and hotel suites to smoky clubs and quiet side streets. Hosts Angus Blair and David Ludlow share true stories of charming traitors, elegant double agents, and the cities that shaped them. Each episode focuses on a new city and a new spy, revealing the real-life intrigue behind the headlines.

Episodes

Spy Cities: The Hague and Venlo Aug 19, 2026 1:03:33 THE HAGUE & VENLO: BRITAIN’S GREATEST INTELLIGENCE DISASTER?The 1939 Venlo Incident - the Gestapo’s kidnapping of two British MI6 officers on the Dutch–German border - remains one of the Allies’ greatest intelligence disasters of the Second World War. The German Englandspiel radio deception, run out of The Hague, only deepened the catastrophe. Join us as we investigate the background, and expl

Spy Cities: Tangier Aug 12, 2026 1:01:11 TANGIER: SHADY PEOPLE IN A SUNNY PLACEGibraltar’s southern twin among WWII espionage hubs, this ancient Moroccan port city has seen it all. One OSS officer branded it a “nest of vipers,” and Ian Fleming stayed at the El Minzah Hotel in 1941 while planning Operation Goldeneye. A visit to the chaotic Grand Socco is a must: this was the beating heart of the Tangier International Zone (1924–1956), whe

Spy Cities: Gibraltar Aug 5, 2026 1:01:44 GIBRALTAR: SPIES ON THE ROCKGuarding the Strait of Gibraltar — the all-important sea lane linking the North Atlantic to the Mediterranean — this tiny relic of the British Empire hides a labyrinth of wartime secrets in its tunnels and fortifications. A WWII espionage playground for British SOE commandos, German Abwehr agents and daring Italian frogmen, the narrow streets beneath the towering Rock o

Spy Cities: London Part Two Jul 29, 2026 48:38 LONDON: THE DOWNFALL OF THE CAMBRIDGE FIVE75 years on from the flight of Donald Maclean and Guy Burgess to the Soviet Union, we follow their alcohol fuelled final days in London. From upmarket hotels to station bars; from sophisticated gentlemen's clubs to louche night clubs. A tale of conspicuous consumption...For further background on this and all episodes of Spy Cities please check out https://

Spy Cities: Berlin Jul 22, 2026 50:34 BERLIN: COLD WAR TECHNICAL ESPIONAGE HUBOur first – but certainly not last – visit to Berlin takes us underground, to the telecom taps betrayed by double agent George Blake; underwater, as British divers wrestle to recover secrets from a crashed Soviet jet; and high above the city to the Teufelsberg listening station.For further background on this and all episodes of Spy Cities please check out ht

Spy Cities: Washington Jul 15, 2026 51:38 WASHINGTON DC: INTO THE WILDERNESS OF MIRRORSFormer CIA case officer turned intelligence historian Professor David Gioe joins us to uncover the secret side of Washington DC. Bringing an insider's perspective, he takes us to locations where some of America's most notorious traitors sold out their country.For further background on this and all episodes of Spy Cities please check out https://www.spyc

Spy Cities: Istanbul Jul 8, 2026 38:50 ISTANBUL: SPIES AT THE CROSSROADS OF THE WORLDByzantium. Constantinople. Stamboul. Istanbul. A city with many names to match its long history. Straddling Europe and Asia, spies have competed in the city over millennia. As we discover, rival empires have left their stamp on both espionage fact and fiction.For further background on this and all episodes of Spy Cities please check out https://ww

Spy Cities: Lisbon Jul 1, 2026 49:12 LISBON 1940: THE WINDSORS - A DEADLY FARCEIntelligence historian, and well known local guide, Marisa Filipe joins us to explore the story of a top secret tug of war between Hitler and Churchill in neutral Portugal. We follow in the footsteps of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, plus their German, British and Portuguese watchers. And enjoy a cocktail in a hotel frequented by Ian Fleming which would

Spy Cities: London Jun 24, 2026 37:01 The Spying Starts HereWhere the modern game was invented and professionalised.Our first visit to London focuses on the origins of the British intelligence agencies - MI5, MI6 and GCHQ - in the early 20th century. Mansfield Cumming - the original 'C' - and Vernon Kell take the helm at the Secret Service Bureau as spy mania mounts in the United Kingdom. We'll be back in London before too long!F

Spy Cities: Trailer Jun 10, 2026 1:54 We’re Angus Blair and David Ludlow. We met at Cambridge at a time when a discreet chat over a sherry with a well connected tutor or an intriguing letter in your pigeon hole were still key entry points to the secret world.We chose a safer life… and then decided to spend it retracing the footsteps of people who didn’t.In this series, we’re travelling to the world’s great espionage capitals visiting

Spy Cities

Episodes

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