CIA Files: True Stories of U.S Intelligence

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**CIA Files: True Stories of U.S Intelligence**

We explore the history of the Central Intelligence Agency by telling the stories of the individuals who lived through it. We’ll discuss the villains, the victims, and the heroes. We’ll uncover the motivations and the ideals of the people who set into motion world-changing events that have steered global politics along the course that has led us to where we are today.

Latest Episodes:

Episode 17: CIA Files Profile: CIA Director Bill Burns, Part 2 Jul 28, 2022

Show notes

This week, we review CIA Director Bill Burns' track record so far.

Episode 16: CIA Files Profile: CIA Director Bill Burns, Part 1 Jul 19, 2022

Show notes

Who is current CIA Director William J. Burns? Not a soldier, nor a lawyer, nor a long-time intelligence officer. Instead of the usual suspects for the role, Bill Burns is a legacy civil servant and a career diplomat. Under his direction, the CIA seems to be trying a few new things, like being transparent (or is he?!) and meeting face-to-face with world leaders instead of trying to overthrow them from behind a desk in DC.

We decided to take a quick look at this Bill Burns character to see where he came from and what he's done to become trusted with America's Premier Intelligence Agency™. In part one, we discuss his upbringing, his education, and his career as an ambassador, as well as his role in facilitating the now-lifeless Iran nuclear deal.

We also discuss the concept of the "Deep State" and what that actually looks like, as opposed to how it's portrayed by certain politicians who like to complain a lot and who don't like the concept of "Checks and Balances."

https://www.businessinsider.com/what-deep-state-is-and-why-trump-gets-it-wrong-2020-1?op=1

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/cumberlink/name/william-burns-obituary?pid=199107880

https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/105574.htm

https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/burns-william-joseph

https://eunacr.com/2021/03/20/who-is-william-j-burns-the-new-director-of-the-cia/

https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-iran-nuclear-deal

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nunn%E2%80%93Lugar_Cooperative_Threat_Reduction

Episode 15: CIA Files: The CIA Manual of Deception and Trickery Jul 15, 2022

Show notes

The 1950s might be regarded by some as the salad days of the CIA. No ideas were too wacky, and the money was flowing into research and development like a cool, clean mountain spring. So when CIA mad scientist Dr. Sidney Gottlieb decided to hire an up-close magician to write some instruction manuals on how to perform their own sort of magic -- the kind that might involve slipping a drug into someone's champagne or pick someone's pocket, no one batted an eye.

Famed illusionist John Mulholland produced two top-secret manuals for the CIA, which were thought to be lost forever after Director Richard Helms ordered all material on MK Ultra destroyed. But a lucky CIA researcher named H. Keith Melton stumbled across old, forgotten Xerox copies of the manuals in 2007, and now we can get a glimpse at some of the inner workings of some of the CIA's operating procedures from the time.

You can purchase a physical copy of the book here on Amazon, or you can download a free digital copy at

Archive.org.

Sorry for the interruption of services... Jul 05, 2022

Show notes

No episode this week, but we'll be back next week.

Episode 14: CIA Files: A Look at Julian Assange Jun 22, 2022

Show notes

Julian Assange began hacking in the 80s when he was just 16 years old. Now he's perhaps the most famous whistleblower in the world. The United States wants to put him on trial for espionage, but his defenders say he was simply working as a journalist to uncover injustices committed by the U.S. military, and what U.S. officials actually want is to punish him for exposing American crimes and to scare other journalists from reporting on American misdeeds. As his extradition to the U.S. approaches, we decided to take a look into his past and get into the details of who he is and what he's done.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/06/07/no-secrets

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-47907600

https://news.yahoo.com/kidnapping-assassination-and-a-london-shoot-out-inside-the-ci-as-secret-war-plans-against-wiki-leaks-090057786.html

https://reason.com/2022/06/22/julian-assanges-case-frightening-omen-press-freedom/

https://www.newsweek.com/what-did-julian-assange-do-wikileaks-founder-faces-17-espionage-charges-1716860

CIA Files: News Episode 24: Stuff - In Which We Bid The News A Fond Farewell Jun 14, 2022

Show notes

That's right, folks. This is our last news episode. We will still be releasing proper episodes highlighting the lives of the people involved with the CIA. And we'll be releasing more short episodes as well. We will also be launching a new show soon, so keep an eye out for that. Updates to follow.

Episode 13: James Jesus Angleton Part 3: Cigarettes, Liquor, and Lies; Find part 1 at episode 9 and part 2 at episode 12 Jun 09, 2022

Show notes

Jim Angleton dedicated his life to building and maintaining the CIA. He spent years manipulating people and policy from his self-labeled "wilderness of mirrors," motivated by his own paranoia, and informed by an opportunistic Russian defector named Anotoli Golytsin. Eventually, despite his monumental efforts to cover his tracks, Angleton's chickens came home to roost.

Sources:

The Ghost: The Secret Life of CIA Spymaster James Jesus Angleton, by Jefferson Morley

https://amzn.to/3xgHDfS

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brookings-now/2015/05/06/40-years-ago-church-committee-investigated-americans-spying-on-americans/

https://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/church-committee-established-jan-27-1975-234079

https://www.muckrock.com/news/archives/2017/oct/19/angleton-return/

https://jfkfacts.org/what-angleton-told-jfk-investigators-behind-closed-doors/

https://www.thedailybeast.com/my-lunch-with-the-spider-who-nearly-wrecked-the-cia

https://spartacus-educational.com/SSangleton.htm

Raw Files News Episode 23 CIA Files: Weekly World Report, June 7, 2022 Jun 07, 2022

Show notes

Chinese fighter pilots are full of beans. Are things looking up in Yemen? Because they aren't in Tigray. A CIA whistleblower dies. And if you're looking for classified tank information, you might want to check some online video game forums.

Raw File News Episode 22, May 31, 2022 May 31, 2022

Show notes

More news from around the world -- an update on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a look at Ethiopia's record number of displaced people, and a discussion about the decline of democracy and the rise of autocracy and authoritarianism.

Raw File News Episode 21, May 25, 2022 - We may be late, but at least it's free. May 25, 2022

Show notes

We discuss global food shortages. Finland officially wants in NATO. Badass e-bikes with missile launchers. George W. Bush makes a textbook Freudian slip. And we've got an update on UFOs, or I guess UAPs now, from the Pentagon.

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