
168. Unveiling the October Surprise: The Treason That Put Reagan in the White House with Craig Unger
10/07/24 • 60 min
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This week Justin sits down with Craig Unger. Craig is a journalist and the author of eight books. He's a graduate of Harvard University, where he worked as an editor for The Harvard Crimson. He's written articles which have appeared in The Washington Post, The Guardian, The New Yorker, The New York Times, Esquire, and other publications. He also served as a contributing editor for Vanity Fair, where he covered national security and foreign affairs for more than 15 years. He's here today to discuss his newest book, Den of Spies: Reagan, Carter and the Secret History of the Treason That Stole the White House, which is available now. It's the story of the October Surprise, a long-rumored secret campaign to delay the release of American hostages in Iran until after Ronald Reagan successfully won the 1980 presidential election.
Connect with Craig:
craigunger.com
Twittwer/X: @craigunger
Check out Den of Spies here.
https://a.co/d/29SpRog
Connect with Spycraft 101:
Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.spycraft101.com
IG: @spycraft101
Shop: shop.spycraft101.com
Patreon: Spycraft 101
Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.
Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.
Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.
This week Justin sits down with Craig Unger. Craig is a journalist and the author of eight books. He's a graduate of Harvard University, where he worked as an editor for The Harvard Crimson. He's written articles which have appeared in The Washington Post, The Guardian, The New Yorker, The New York Times, Esquire, and other publications. He also served as a contributing editor for Vanity Fair, where he covered national security and foreign affairs for more than 15 years. He's here today to discuss his newest book, Den of Spies: Reagan, Carter and the Secret History of the Treason That Stole the White House, which is available now. It's the story of the October Surprise, a long-rumored secret campaign to delay the release of American hostages in Iran until after Ronald Reagan successfully won the 1980 presidential election.
Connect with Craig:
craigunger.com
Twittwer/X: @craigunger
Check out Den of Spies here.
https://a.co/d/29SpRog
Connect with Spycraft 101:
Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.spycraft101.com
IG: @spycraft101
Shop: shop.spycraft101.com
Patreon: Spycraft 101
Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.
Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.
Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.
Previous Episode

167. The Real Guns of 007 with Caleb Daniels @CommandoBond
This week Justin talks with Caleb Daniels. Caleb is a lifelong fan of the James Bond films and novels, as well as a firearms enthusiast from Kansas City, Missouri. For seven years, he worked in the firearms industry. In 2020, he started the website and social media pages titled Commando Bond, which are a passion project of his to bridge the gap between pop culture and the world of firearms by analyzing how to live like James Bond from his daily carry to his wardrobe and lifestyle.Todya he discusses his book, Licensed Troubleshooter: The Guns of James Bond, which is available for pre order now from Headstamp Publishing. Caleb has spent years researching all the firearms that appeared in the Bond books and films, and is now finally sharing that research with us.
Connect with Caleb:
IG: @CommandoBond
YouTube: @CommandBond
YouTube: @Steel-and-Style
Check out presale for the book, Licensed Troubleshooter, here.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/headstamp/licensed-troubleshooter?ref=1oee53
Connect with Spycraft 101:
Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.spycraft101.com
IG: @spycraft101
Shop: shop.spycraft101.com
Patreon: Spycraft 101
Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.
Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.
Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.
Next Episode

169. MKUltra and the Real Mind-Altering Potential of Psychedelics with Norman Ohler
Today Justin talks with Norman Ohler. Norman is a best selling novelist, a journalist, and a screenwriter. He's written three novels, which comprise the City Trilogy, and while working in the West Bank in 2004, he interviewed Yasser Arafat in what turned out to be the final interview of his life before he passed away in November of that year. He's also the author of the non fiction book Blitzed: Drugs in Nazi Germany, published in English in 2016. In this episode he discusses his newest book, Tripped: Nazi Germany, the CIA, and the Dawn of the Psychedelic Age, which was published earlier this year. Norman built on his previous research here to cover post-war efforts to control narcotics in occupied Germany and the rise of psychedelic drugs, both within the populace and as potential tools for interrogation and mind control by the world's intelligence agencies.
Connect with Norman:
normanohler.com
IG: @normanohler
Check out Tripped here.
https://amzn.to/3Nshgw5
Connect with Spycraft 101:
Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.spycraft101.com
IG: @spycraft101
Shop: shop.spycraft101.com
Patreon: Spycraft 101
Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.
Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.
Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.
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