I Spied

Latest Episodes:

Bite Size Ep: The Security Clearance Sale Mar 24, 2021

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Our intelligence agencies have a lot of confidential material and in this bite-size episode, we look at how they determine just how they classify them and how they determine who can look at them. From your birth certificate to your online footprint, ASIO takes a good long look at you before sharing their secrets and after this ep. you’ll be even more mystified at how David ever cleared to the top echelons of national security.

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Ep 21 Neurotics QNonymous Mar 21, 2021

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Back in the day, a claim that a Satanic Cult of sex-trafficking paedophilic cannibals working out of a pizza shop was running the world would immediately find itself relegated to the ASIO Crank file. And yet people are jumping on the QAnon bandwagon in droves. This week we take a long, penetrating look at QAnon: what does it mean, why do people believe it and what are the security implications? It’s a murky world of 4Chan, 8Kun, Storms, Great Awakenings and the cult of Trump. You may need a shower after this one!

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Ep 20 Wrong ‘Un - The Tale of Kim Jong Un Mar 14, 2021

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This week we slip across the 38th parallel for a look at the most secretive totalitarian state on the planet - the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Living on an almost permanent war footing, starving its citizens to build nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles and being ruled by a family that make what the Windsors did to Meghan look positively welcoming, the aptly named Hermit Kingdom is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside a bad haircut.
Welcome to North Korea, the last place on Earth where you want to give your tour guide the slip.

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Bite Ep 8 - Diplomatic Mission: Impossible Mar 10, 2021

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In this bite-size episode we look at embassies, consulates and all that stuff around diplomats. What kind of immunity do they have? Is an embassy actually a sovereign part of the country that occupies it? And how did Julian Assange get to live in an Ecuadorian bathroom for so long? From defectors to diplomatic bags, this mini ep. tells you everything you never knew about diplomatic missions.

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Ep 19 How To Host A Murder - Saudi Edition Mar 07, 2021

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With the release of the CIA report into the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, David and Michelle take a deep dive into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its latest Crown Prince and likely prime suspect, Muhammad Bin Salman. What is the relationship between the US and the Sauds? What is its future with MSB in the mix? And just what was David and Michelle up to when they visited the Middle East? Available wherever you get your podcasts.

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Ep 18: La Femme Incognita Feb 28, 2021

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In this week’s episode we look at women in the world of espionage and discover that far from the bubbly Bond girls we’re used to, women have shaped intelligence world and can be as badass as the best of them. Running resistance cells, rescuing downed pilots, skiing over mountains into enemy territory, nothing was too hard for these femme fatales. From Mata Hari to Avril Haines it becomes pretty clear that behind every man in intelligence there is likely a woman who showed him how it’s done. A cracker of an episode!

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Ep 17: You Do That Vanunu That You Do So Well Feb 21, 2021

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This week is the story of Mordechai Vanunu, just an average guy who winds up caught in a web of international intrigue, honey traps, Mossad black ops, kidnapping and nuclear weapons. From Israel to Sydney to London to Rome and back to Israel, this is truly a gobsmacking spy expose which also sees David get accosted at the Civic bus interchange in Canberra. Not to be missed!

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Ep 16: Nalvany - Live the Adventure Feb 14, 2021

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Vladimir has a problem and that problem is Alexie Navalny - lawyer, activist and all-round pain in Putin’s posterior. This ep we have a look at Alexie and his 20 year fight against corruption in Russia. From poisonings to prison sentences, Putin can’t seem to be able to get rid of this problem, much like ASIO’s DDG when David started editing the in-house newsletter. A real David vs Goliath episode!

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Ep 15: Clear and Present Anger Feb 07, 2021

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Welcome to 2021 and I Spied - the embarrassingly overweight insurrectionist of Australian intelligence. We feel we can’t start the year without talking about the ruckus in the US. David and Michelle look at how the storming of the Capitol happened, where US security failed, and David talks about how ASIO handled a similar crisis when protesters tried to storm the Canberra Central Office. I Spied is available wherever get your podcasts.

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Bite Ep 7: Life as a Defector Jan 31, 2021

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If you feel like betraying your country, maybe you should listen to this first. From Kim Philby to the Petrovs and beyond, we take a glimpse at the life of a defector: how it’s done, what are the rewards and what are the downsides. Spying is hardly glamorous, and defecting is even less so.

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