SpyCast

Summary

Uzi Arad (Wikipedia) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss intelligence and policy at the highest level. Uzi was also a former foreign policy advisor to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Director of Intelligence for the Mossad.

What You’ll LearnIntelligence

• National security in Israel
• Israel’s position within the Middle East
• State leaders as consumers of intelligence
• Uzi’s relationship with PM Netanyahu

Reflections

• Handling intense pressure
• Power, proximity, and influence

And much, much more ...Resources SURFACE SKIM*SpyCasts*

• Irregular Warfare & Intelligence with IWC Director Dennis Walters (2023)
• Israeli Military Intelligence with IDF Brig. General (Res.) Yossi Kuperwasser (2023)
• Keeping Secrets/Disclosing Secrets with Spy Chief turned DG of Australia’s National Archives David Fricker (2022)
• Intelligence & the World’s Largest Democracy with Former Indian Intelligence Director Vikram Sood (2021)

*Beginner Resources*

• National Security Definition and Examples, R. Longley, ThoughtCo (2021) [Short article]
• What Was the Iran-Contra Affair?, HISTORY, YouTube (2018) [5 min. video]
• A 60-Second Guide To The Arab Spring, G. Wyler, Insider (2011) [Short article]

DEEPER DIVEBooks

• Eighteen Days in October: The Yom Kippur War and How It Created the Modern Middle East, U. Kaufman (St. Martin’s Press, 2023)
• Bibi: The Turbulent Life and Times of Benjamin Netanyahu, A. Pfeffer (Basic Books, 2018)
• Gideon's Spies: The Secret History of the Mossad, G. Thomas (St. Martin’s Griffin, 2015)
• Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East, M. B. Oren (Presidio Press, 2006)

Primary Sources

• Trilateral Statement on the Middle East Summit at David Peace, The Avalon Project (2000)
• The Wye River Memorandum (1998)
• The Washington Declaration, Jewish Virtual Library (1994)
• Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair, CIA FOIA (1987)
• Israel’s “Peace for the Galilee” Operation in Lebanon – Some Initial Perspectives, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (1982)
• Sitting 145 of the Ninth Knesset (1978)

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Summary

Robert Wittman (Website; Twitter) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss his career and the FBI’s Art Crime Team. Bob recovered over $300 million worth of stolen art and cultural property over the course of his career.

What You’ll LearnIntelligence

• How the FBI’s Art Crime Team (ACT) was formed
• The intelligence angle when investigating provenance
• Living and working undercover abroad
• Museums & Intelligence

Reflections

• The importance of cultural property
• Questions of ownership and belonging

And much, much more ...Quotes of the Week

“The motivation for writing the book was to get the word out how important cultural heritage is. It really is important to make the public realize that this is an important program that should be supported by law enforcement both local and federal.” – Robert Wittman.

Resources SURFACE SKIM*Featured Resource*

• Priceless: How I Went Undercover to Rescue the World’s Stolen Treasures, R. Wittman (Crown Publishing, 2011)

*SpyCasts*

• The Gambling Capital of the World: Intelligence, Las Vegas Style! with James Lockhart and Keith Michaels (2023)
• Venice’s Secret Service with Ioanna Iordanou (2023)
• 70th Anniversary of James Bond, Special with Alexis Albion on 007 (2023)
• How Artificial Intelligence is Changing the Spy Game with Mike Susong (2023)

*Beginner Resources*

• Why art gets stolen time and again, R. Pryor, The Art Newspaper (2020) [Short article]
• FBI Art Theft Program, FBI, YouTube (2013) [6 min. video]
• What is cultural property?, Information and Heritage Inspectorate (n.d.) [Short article]

DEEPER DIVEPrimary Sources

• Crystal Sphere, Collection of the University of Pennsylvania Museum
• Mask of the Man with the Broken Nose, Collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art
• Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee, Collection of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
• The Concert, Collection of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
• The Rosenberg Diary, Collection of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
• Museums and the theft of works of art (1973)

*Wildcard Resource*

• Can you identify famous pieces and artists like an art detective?
• Take this Google Arts & Culture quiz to see if you’re cut out for the job!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Summary

James Crossland (Twitter) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss the origins of modern terrorism. James is an expert on terrorism, intelligence, and propaganda.

What You’ll LearnIntelligence

-The origins of modern terrorism

-19th century spymasters

-Covert action and assassinations

-Intelligence as a weapon

Reflections

-Philosophy and ideology’s effect on history

-The power of fear

And much, much more ...Quotes of the Week

“These waves of repression that feed into discontent and create more radical strains of discontent, that is a process that's really observable during this period. The reason why I think this is the first real age of terrorism is because you have all this stuff coming together: Communications that you need to promote terrorist activities to gain the attention you need, societal discontent, dangerous ideas ... and it's all moving around together as part of the same process.” – James Crossland.

Resources SURFACE SKIM*Spotlight Resource*

-The Rise of Devils: Fear and the Origins of Modern Terrorism, J. Crossland (Manchester University Press, 2023)

*SpyCasts*

-Venice’s Secret Service with Ioanna Iordanou (2023)

-St. Ermin’s Hotel, London – The History of a Legendary Spy Site, with Stephen Duffy (2023)

-Espionage and the Two Queens with Kent Tiernan (2023)

-The Lion and the Fox – Civil War Spy vs. Spy with Alexander Rose (2023)

*Beginner Resources*

-Terrorism, J. P. Jenkins, Encyclopaedia Brittanica (2023) [Short article / definition]

-What Were The Most Important Events of the 19th Century?, C. Seaver, History Defined (2022) [Short article]

-Marxism in Under 5 Minutes, Theory in 5, YouTube (2020) [3 min. video]

DEEPER DIVEBooks

-Sofia Perovskaya, Terrorist Princess: The Plot to Kill Tsar Alexander II and the Woman Who Led It, R. R. Riggs (Global Harmony Press Inc., 2018)

-The Pursuit of Power: Europe 1815-1914, R. J. Evans (Penguin Books, 2017)

-Blood and Rage: A Cultural History of Terrorism, M. Burleigh (Harper, 2009)

Primary Sources

-The assassination, who is responsible? (1901)

-New York Times “Empress of Austria Slain” Article (1898)

-New York Times “War On Terrorism” Article (1881)

-La vérité sur Orsini (1872) [The Truth about Orsini]

-Manifesto of the Paris Commune (1871)

-The Revolutionary Catechism (1869)

-On the Fenian Prisoners in Manchester (1867)

-Procès de Orsini (1858) [The Trial of Orsini]

*Wildcard Resource*

-You may have already read his classic play Crime and Punishment, but have you read Dostoevsky’s The Idiot (1869)?

This novel is known as Dostoevsky’s most personal work, a story that clearly shows the threads of his own life experiences during 19th century Russia. The novel explores many of the same questions of philosophy and politics explored in this episode of SpyCast.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Summary

Vappala Balachandran (Wikipedia) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss his career and the ancient roots of espionage in India. Bala formerly served as Special Secretary for India’s Cabinet Secretariat.

What You’ll LearnIntelligence

• India’s Research and Analysis Wing
• The Tamil Tigers’ threat to Indian national security
• Intelligence considerations within India-Pakistan relations
• Lessons in intelligence from Ancient India

Reflections

• Intelligence, the 2nd oldest profession
• Transitioning from leader to student

And much, much more ...Quotes of the Week

“There was a lot of pressure. There was a lot of pressure, especially, for example: Certain incidents happening – What would be the repercussions in India? Now, anything that happens in Pakistan, it will have some repercussions in India. And, same thing in Afghanistan, and then all the neighboring countries, we are to watch them.” – Vappala Balachandran.

Resources SURFACE SKIM*SpyCasts*

• Irish Garda Intelligence Chief with Assistant Commissioner Michael McElgunn (2023)
• Venice’s Secret Service with Ioanna Iordanou (2023)
• Indian Intelligence & Cyber, A Conversation with Sameer Patil, ORF Mumbai (2023)
• Intelligence & the World’s Largest Democracy with Former Indian Intelligence Director Vikram Sood (2021)

*Beginner Resources*

• The Entire History of India in Under 10 Minutes, Made in History, YouTube (2022) [10 min. Video]
• RAW: A History of India’s Covert Operations, Y. Yadav, New Indian Express (2020) [Short article]
• Timeline: India-Pakistan Relations, A. Hashim, Al Jazeera (2019) [Historical timeline]

DEEPER DIVEPrimary Sources

• Agreement on a ceasefire between Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (2022)
• Pradhan Inquiry Commission Report, 26/11 Mumbai Terror Attacks (2009)
• Lessons from the Mumbai Terrorist Attacks, US Senate Hearing (2009)
• Kautilya’s Arthashastra (1915 translation)
• Thiruvalluvar’s Tirukkuṟaḷ (1886 translation)
• The Police Act (1861)

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Summary

Uri Bar-Joseph (LinkedIn) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss the intelligence failure of the Yom Kippur War. Uri is an author and professor emeritus at Haifa University.

What You’ll LearnIntelligence

• How Israel failed to predict the Yom Kippur War
• Egyptian spy Ashraf Marwan’s role in the War
• How Israeli intelligence evolved post-War
• Israeli leadership’s accountability for the failure

Reflections

• Learning and adapting from mistakes
• Catastrophe and national trauma

And much, much more ...Resources SURFACE SKIM*SpyCasts*

• Israeli Military Intelligence with IDF Brig. General (Res.) Yossi Kuperwasser (2023)
• POW’s, Vietnam and Intelligence with Pritzker Curator James Brundage (2022)
• The CIA and the 9/11 Commission Report – A Conversation with Alexis Albion (2021)
• Pearl Harbor at 75: An Interview with Steve Twomey (2016)

*Beginner Resources*

• Yom Kippur, Encyclopedia Brittanica (2023) [Short Article]
• Intelligence Failure: What, When, Why and How, A. Clark, Grey Dynamics (2023) [Article]
• Yom Kippur War, Pritzker Military Museum and Library, YouTube (2022) [3 min. video]

DEEPER DIVEBooks

• Eighteen Days in October: The Yom Kippur War and How It Created the Modern Middle East, U. Kaufman (St. Martin Press, 2023)
• THE ANGEL: The Egyptian Spy Who Saved Israel, U. Bar-Joseph (Harper Publishing, 2017)
• The Watchmen Fell Asleep: The Surprise of Yom Kippur and Its Sources, U. Bar-Joseph (State University of New York Press, 2005)
• The Yom Kippur War: The Epic Encounter That Transformed the Middle East, A. Rabinovich (Shocken, 2004)

Primary Sources

• Agranat Commission of Inquiry Interim Report, Center for Israeli Education (1974)
• Israel-Egypt Separation of Forces Agreement, Center for Israeli Education (1974)
• Intelligence Memorandum: The Israeli Primary Elections (1973)
• United Nations Resolution 338 (1973)
• Response to U.S. Appeal for a Ceasefire (1973)
• Transcript of Secret Talks between Egyptian National Security Adviser Hafez Ismail and US National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger, Center for Israeli Education, Center for Israeli Education (1973)
• Commemoration of IDF Casualties and Congratulations on Victory in Battle (1967)

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices