The Rest Is Classified

Latest Episodes:

138. Trump vs Iran: The Road to Operation Epic Fury (Ep 1) Mar 16, 2026

Show notes

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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Email: therestisclassified@goalhanger.com

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Video Editor: Joe Pettit

Social Producer: Emma Jackson

Assistant Producer: Alfie Rowe

Producer: Becki Hills

Head of History: Dom Johnson

Exec Producer: Tony Pastor

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137. How Russia Made Trump: MAGA Take The White House (Ep 6) Mar 11, 2026

Show notes

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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Just go to ⁠⁠therestisclassified.com⁠ or join on Apple Podcasts.

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Report On The Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election: https://www.justice.gov/archives/sco/file/1373816/dl?inline=

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Email: therestisclassified@goalhanger.com

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@restisclassified

Video Editor: Joe Pettit

Social Producer: Emma Jackson

Assistant Producer: Alfie Rowe

Producer: Becki Hills

Head of History: Dom Johnson

Exec Producer: Tony Pastor

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136. How Russia Made Trump: Putin’s Troll Factory (Ep 5) Mar 09, 2026

Show notes

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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Just go to ⁠⁠therestisclassified.com⁠ or join on Apple Podcasts.

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Email: therestisclassified@goalhanger.com

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Video Editor: Joe Pettit

Social Producer: Emma Jackson

Assistant Producer: Alfie Rowe

Producer: Becki Hills

Head of History: Dom Johnson

Exec Producer: Tony Pastor

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135. Is The CIA Arming Kurdish Militias In Iran? Mar 07, 2026

Show notes

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 the Iranian regime and sowing unrest, and how this conflict compares to ones Clarissa has reported from before.

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Just go to ⁠⁠therestisclassified.com⁠ or join on Apple Podcasts.

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Get a 10% discount on business PCs, printers and accessories using the code TRIC10. Visit https://HP.com/CLASSIFIED for more information. T&C's apply.

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Email: therestisclassified@goalhanger.com

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Social Producer: Emma Jackson

Producer: Becki Hills

Head of History: Dom Johnson

Exec Producer: Tony Pastor

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134. How Russia Made Trump: Was The Vote Rigged? (Ep 4) Mar 04, 2026

Show notes

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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Sign-up for our free newsletter where producer Becki takes you behind the scenes of the show: https://mailchi.mp/goalhanger.com/tric-free-newsletter-sign-up

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Just go to ⁠⁠therestisclassified.com⁠ or join on Apple Podcasts.

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Get a 10% discount on business PCs, printers and accessories using the code TRIC10. Visit https://HP.com/CLASSIFIED for more information. T&C's apply.

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Email: therestisclassified@goalhanger.com

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@restisclassified

Video Editor: Joe Pettit

Social Producer: Emma Jackson

Assistant Producer: Alfie Rowe

Producer: Becki Hills

Head of History: Dom Johnson

Exec Producer: Tony Pastor

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133. How Russia Made Trump: Romanian Hackers, WikiLeaks, and Hillary’s Emails (Ep 3) Mar 03, 2026

Show notes

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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Sign-up for our free newsletter where producer Becki takes you behind the scenes of the show: https://mailchi.mp/goalhanger.com/tric-free-newsletter-sign-up

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Just go to ⁠⁠therestisclassified.com⁠ or join on Apple Podcasts.

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Get a 10% discount on business PCs, printers and accessories using the code TRIC10. Visit https://HP.com/CLASSIFIED for more information. T&C's apply.

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Email: therestisclassified@goalhanger.com

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@restisclassified

Video Editor: Joe Pettit

Social Producer: Emma Jackson

Assistant Producer: Alfie Rowe

Producer: Becki Hills

Head of History: Dom Johnson

Exec Producer: Tony Pastor

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132. What's Next For Iran? Mar 01, 2026

Show notes

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 up with perspectives from across our shows on the situation in Iran.

You'll hear from Gordon, Alastair and Rory from The Rest Is Politics, and Katty and Anthony from The Rest Is Politics: US.

Becki, our producer, currently in Jordan, will also share her perspective.

You can receive these updates by signing up for our newsletter, here: https://mailchi.mp/goalhanger.com/tric-free-newsletter-sign-up

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Just go to ⁠⁠therestisclassified.com⁠ or join on Apple Podcasts.

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Get a 10% discount on business PCs, printers and accessories using the code TRIC10. Visit https://HP.com/CLASSIFIED for more information. T&C's apply.

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Email: therestisclassified@goalhanger.com

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@restisclassified

Social Producer: Emma Jackson

Producer: Becki Hills + Alice Horrell

Head of History: Dom Johnson

Exec Producer: Tony Pastor

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131. How Russia Made Trump: Stealing Washington’s Secrets (Ep 2) Feb 25, 2026

Show notes

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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Sign-up for our free newsletter where producer Becki takes you behind the scenes of the show: https://mailchi.mp/goalhanger.com/tric-free-newsletter-sign-up

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Just go to ⁠⁠therestisclassified.com⁠ or join on Apple Podcasts.

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Get a 10% discount on business PCs, printers and accessories using the code TRIC10. Visit https://HP.com/CLASSIFIED for more information. T&C's apply.

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Email: therestisclassified@goalhanger.com

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@restisclassified

Video Editor: Joe Pettit

Social Producer: Emma Jackson

Assistant Producer: Alfie Rowe

Producer: Becki Hills

Head of History: Dom Johnson

Exec Producer: Tony Pastor

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130. How Russia Made Trump: Putin Hacks The 2016 Election (Ep 1) Feb 23, 2026

Show notes

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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Sign-up for our free newsletter where producer Becki takes you behind the scenes of the show: https://mailchi.mp/goalhanger.com/tric-free-newsletter-sign-up

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Just go to ⁠⁠therestisclassified.com⁠ or join on Apple Podcasts.

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Get a 10% discount on business PCs, printers and accessories using the code TRIC10. Visit https://HP.com/CLASSIFIED for more information. T&C's apply.

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Email: therestisclassified@goalhanger.com

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@restisclassified

Video Editor: Joe Pettit

Social Producer: Emma Jackson

Assistant Producer: Alfie Rowe

Producer: Becki Hills

Head of History: Dom Johnson

Exec Producer: Tony Pastor

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129. Al Qaeda’s Deadliest Plot: Why You Can’t Bring Liquids On Planes (Ep 4) Feb 18, 2026

Show notes

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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Just go to ⁠⁠therestisclassified.com⁠ or join on Apple Podcasts.

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Get a 10% discount on business PCs, printers and accessories using the code TRIC10. Visit https://HP.com/CLASSIFIED for more information. T&C's apply.

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Email: therestisclassified@goalhanger.com

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@restisclassified

Video Editor: Alice Horrell

Social Producer: Emma Jackson

Assistant Producer: Alfie Rowe

Producer: Becki Hills

Head of History: Dom Johnson

Exec Producer: Tony Pastor

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