S10 Ep3: Espresso Martini | Five Eyes Fractures, Israel’s Doha Strike, and Tradecraft for Civvies

In this week’s episode, Chris and Matt take another look at the political assault on the US intelligence community and its strain on Five Eyes, pushing partners to question sharing or holding information back, even as the core bonds endure for now. Chris then previews “Spy-Q,” a tradecraft-for-civilians training event that turns elicitation, deception detection, influence, behavioral profiling, resilience, and memory techniques into practical tools you can actually use. Finally, they unpack Israel’s audacious, long-range strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar, the immediate blowback, and how Israeli intelligence refused to participate.

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Audio: https://pod.fo/e/32e18a
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGwtAuQtA4I

Spy Q event with Gavin Stone and James Foster

Find more information and register: https://www.spyq.co.uk/
Discount code for 10% off - SECRETS&SPIES10

Articles discussed in today’s episode

"The War on American Intelligence" by Matthew Savill | Royal United Services Institute: https://www.rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/war-american-intelligence

"Inside Israel’s Audacious Airstrike on Hamas Leaders in Qatar, a US Ally" by Dov Lieber, Summer Said & Lara Seligman | The Wall Street Journal: https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/inside-israels-audacious-airstrike-on-hamas-leaders-in-qatar-a-u-s-ally-89104bcd

"Israeli intelligence agency balked at Netanyahu’s strike in Qatar" by Gerry Shih, Shira Rubin, Karen DeYoung & Souad Mekhennet | The Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/09/12/mossad-israel-qatar-strike-hamas/

"Israel Executes Unprecedented Strike On Hamas Leadership In Qatar" by Howard Altman & Joseph Trevithick | The War Zone: https://www.twz.com/news-features/israel-executes-unprecedented-strike-on-hamas-leadership-in-qatar

"Netanyahu spoke to Trump before Israel bombed Qatar" by Barak Ravid | Axios: https://www.axios.com/2025/09/15/trump-netanyahu-call-israel-strike-qatar

What else we’re reading this week

"How a Top Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission Into North Korea Fell Apart" by David Phillips and Matthew Cole | The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/05/us/navy-seal-north-korea-trump-2019.html

"Homeland Needs To Be Able To Survive A 'Punch In The Nose' According To Former NORAD Chief" by Howard Altman | The War Zone: https://www.twz.com/news-features/homeland-needs-to-be-able-to-survive-a-punch-in-the-nose-according-to-former-norad-chief

"This Company Turns Dashcams into ‘Virtual CCTV Cameras.’ Then Hackers Got In" by Joseph Cox | 404 Media: https://www.404media.co/this-company-turns-dashcams-into-virtual-cctv-cameras-then-hackers-got-in

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