The Rest Is Classified

Latest Episodes:

110. The Man Behind The CIA: Charming Mussolini and Stealing From MI6 (Ep 1) Dec 22, 2025

Show notes

“Wild” Bill Donovan laid the template for the formation of the modern CIA, but this wasn’t the way his life was supposed to turn out. A working class boy from Buffalo, Bill dreamt of something better for himself. These dreams took him to the trenches of Belgium and the beaches of Normandy, then to the halls of power themselves.

This is the story of the man behind the CIA. From decorated war hero to an eccentric establishment figure, listen as David and Gordon tell the story of Wild Bill Donovan.

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Head of History: Dom Johnson

Exec Producer: Tony Pastor

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109. Hunting Al-Qaeda: The CIA’s Deadliest Day (Ep 4) Dec 17, 2025

Show notes

Nine people dead. A severed head laying motionless in the rubble. Silence punctuated by screams. The moments after the 2009 Camp Chapman attack sound like something out of a horror film, but this was the devastating reality for those who trusted an Al Qaeda double agent to deliver on his promises.

In this episode, David and Gordon reach the climax of their series on one of the deadliest days in CIA history.

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Social Producer: Emma Jackson

Producer: Becki Hills

Head of History: Dom Johnson

Exec Producer: Tony Pastor

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108. Hunting Al-Qaeda: From Jihadist To Spy (Ep 3) Dec 15, 2025

Show notes

Jennifer Matthews was one of the most capable and formidable CIA analysts working in the Counter Terrorism Centre during the War on Terror. She was also underestimated by her male colleagues who doubted she had what it took to run one of the most dangerous stations in Afghanistan.

When Matthews took the post of CIA station chief at Camp Chapman, she knew the risks she faced. But, what she didn’t know was that Al Qaeda were training a double agent who sought to bring the War on Terror to her front door.

Listen as David and Gordon chart the preparations for al-Balawi’s arrival at Camp Chapman and why the intelligence received by the CIA and GID may have been fatally flawed.

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Social Producer: Emma Jackson

Producer: Becki Hills

Head of History: Dom Johnson

Exec Producer: Tony Pastor

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Introducing: The Rest Is Science Dec 11, 2025

Show notes

Forget what you think you know about reality. The Rest Is Science is a mind-bending new show from Goalhanger that tears down familiar ideas… time, randomness, beauty, it will reveal just how bizarre the world truly is.

Join Professor Hannah Fry and science creator Michael Stevens (aka Vsauce) twice a week to explore big, small and surprising questions as they deep dive into theories, concepts, objects and thoughts and take us on a journey into the unexpected.

If you love digging into details that usually get skipped over, this is the show that proves reality is stranger than fiction.

Click here to subscribe to The Rest Is Science.

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107. Hunting Al-Qaeda: The War On Terror (Ep 2) Dec 10, 2025

Show notes

In the years following 9/11, the US launched the War on Terror to root out the most dangerous Al Qaeda operatives across the Middle East. Their determination to avenge those who lost their lives in the 2001 attacks was unrelenting, and they were willing to go to any lengths to win, even if that meant putting their trust into a jihadist turned Jordanian agent.

In this episode, David and Gordon continue their series on the 2009 Camp Chapman attacks, detailing why the CIA and Jordanian GID felt compelled to trust a man who had spent the past few years wishing death upon all the West held dear.

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THE REST IS CLASSIFIED LIVE 2026: Buy your tickets ⁠⁠HERE⁠⁠ to see David and Gordon live on stage at London’s Southbank Centre on 31 January.

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Social Producer: Emma Jackson

Producer: Becki Hills

Head of History: Dom Johnson

Exec Producer: Tony Pastor

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106. Hunting Al-Qaeda: Anatomy Of A Terrorist (Ep 1) Dec 08, 2025

Show notes

On 30 December 2009, an Al Qaeda terrorist detonated a bomb inside a CIA station in Afghanistan. This is the story of how a quiet doctor from Jordan became responsible for one of the deadliest days in CIA history.

Listen as David and Gordon chart the rise of Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi from a doctor working in a Palestinian refugee camp to one of Al Qaeda’s most prolific online voices.

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Social Producer: Emma Jackson

Producer: Becki Hills

Head of History: Dom Johnson

Exec Producer: Tony Pastor

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105. The Chinese Spy Scandal: Mastering LinkedIn (Ep 2) Dec 03, 2025

Show notes

In 2017, former CIA officer Kevin Mallory was drowning in debt when a message landed in his LinkedIn inbox. A Chinese “headhunter” said he had consulting work. Mallory - fluent in Mandarin, seasoned in intelligence, and once trusted with some of America’s most sensitive secrets - replied.

In this episode, David and Gordon unpack how Chinese intelligence services used think-tank cover, tailored taskings, and a custom encrypted smartphone to reel Mallory in. From FedEx scans of classified documents to a frantic attempt to reinvent himself as a double agent, this is the anatomy of a recruitment gone disastrously wrong.

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THE REST IS CLASSIFIED LIVE 2026: Buy your tickets ⁠HERE⁠ to see David and Gordon live on stage at London’s Southbank Centre on 31 January.

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Social Producer: Emma Jackson

Producer: Becki Hills

Head of History: Dom Johnson

Exec Producer: Tony Pastor

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104. The Chinese Spy Scandal: Breaching Westminster (Ep 1) Dec 01, 2025

Show notes

Earlier this month, MI5 issued a stark warning to Westminster: a “covert and calculated” Chinese espionage campaign was targeting parliament - and doing so at an industrial scale. Not with trench-coats and dead drops, but with something far more mundane: LinkedIn messages.

This week, Gordon and David look at two high-profile cases of alleged Chinese-backed spying in Britain. Those in the frame always denied the allegations - and two of them, Chris Cash and Christopher Berry, were found not guilty when the case against them collapsed. So, what's going on behind the scenes, and if someone called Shirley contacts you via LinkedIn, should you respond?

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Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@triclassified⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Social Producer: Emma Jackson

Producer: Becki Hills

Head of History: Dom Johnson

Exec Producer: Tony Pastor

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The Rise Of Putin: Becoming President Nov 28, 2025

Show notes

*Declassified Club exclusive: ⁠⁠⁠SUBSCRIBE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to listen to the full series*

Vladimir Putin is on the cusp of becoming Russia's all-powerful leader, but how did a humble boy from St Petersburg reach such elite heights?

Listen as David and Gordon are once again joined by one of the world's leading experts on Russian organised crime, Mark Galeotti, to conclude their series on the rise of Putin.

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THE REST IS CLASSIFIED LIVE 2026: Buy your tickets to see David and Gordon live on stage at London’s Southbank Centre on 31 January: ⁠https://www.livenation.co.uk/the-rest-is-classified-live-tickets-adp1627115⁠

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Producer: Becki Hills

Head of History: Dom Johnson

Exec Producer: Tony Pastor

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103. Putin's Secret Army: The Coup That Almost Brought Down Russia (Ep 6) Nov 26, 2025

Show notes

Could this have been the day when Putin fell from power? In June 2023, Prigozhin marched on Moscow, threatening to bring Putin’s authoritarian regime to its knees.

In their final episode on the dramatic rise and fall of Yevgeny Prigozhin, David and Gordon take us back to the coup that almost toppled Putin and how the autocratic leader carried out the ultimate revenge.

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THE REST IS CLASSIFIED LIVE 2026: Buy your tickets HERE to see David and Gordon live on stage at London’s Southbank Centre on 31 January.

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Order a signed edition of Gordon's latest book, The Spy in the Archive, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠via this link.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Order a signed edition of David's latest book, The Seventh Floor, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠via this link.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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