True Spies: Espionage | Investigation | Crime | Murder | Detective | Politics

True Spies: Espionage | Investigation | Crime | Murder | Detective | Politics

True Spies takes you inside the world's greatest espionage and detective operations. Our hosts Hayley Atwell, Vanessa Kirby, Sophia Di Martino, Daisy Ridley and Rhiannon Neads talk to the real spies behind the missions. What do they know? What are their skills? And what would you do in their position? We explore and investigate real life thrillers, mysteries and crimes - stories that prove truth is stranger than fiction! These stories cover lies, murder, theft, sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll. You’ll meet experts from the top intelligence agencies including FBI, CIA, MI5, MI6 (SIS), KGB, GRU, Mossad and many others. You’ll discover characters who spied because of money, ideology, coercion or just plain old ego. And, if you’d like to dig deeper into the world of secrets, and test your own secret intelligence skills, head over to spyscape.com for articles, games, experiences, puzzles and videos. For episodes first and ad-free, subscribe to Spyscape+ at: plus.Spyscape.com A Cup & Nuzzle production. Series producers: Gemma Newby, Joe Foley. Music: Nick Ryan.

Episodes

True Spies Classic: The Ace of Spies | Historical

April 29, 2025 • 52 mins
Who was Britain's Ace of Spies? The truth is, nobody really knows. But the name he used was Sidney Reilly - and nobody did it better. In this classic episode of True Spies, Vanessa Kirby follows Sidney on his dark and bloody path through the early 20th century, reckoning with oil barons, personal pride, and the rise of Communism. From SPYSCAPE, the home of secrets. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Sidney Reilly is voiced by Thomas D...
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True Spies Debriefs: Prof. Hanna Diamond on Josephine Baker

April 22, 2025 • 40 mins
Celebrity, campaigner, national treasure... spy. This year, Josephine Baker's memoirs have been made available in English for the first time. The University of Cardiff's Prof. Hanna Diamond tells Morgan Childs more about the extraordinary life of a showbiz spy in wartime France. From SPYSCAPE, the HQ of secrets. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Series producer: Joe Foley. Produced by Morgan Childs. Learn more about your ad choices. ...
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Britain's Agent | Historical

April 15, 2025 • 64 mins
Professor James Crossland of Liverpool John Moores University uncovers the extraordinary life of a British diplomat-cum-spy in Bolshevik Russia - Robert Bruce Lockhart. A tale of doomed love, assassination, failed coups and bad reputations. From SPYSCAPE, the home of secrets. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Series producer: Joe Foley. Produced by Frank Palmer. James Crossland is the author of Rogue Agent: From Secret Plots to Psych...
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True Spies Classic: Her Majesty's Secret Service | Historical

April 8, 2025 • 53 mins
In this historic True Spies Classic, Protestant England faces an existential threat from Catholic Spain. Queen Elizabeth calls on Sir Francis Walsingham, the Royal spymaster, to undermine the Spanish war effort. Vanessa Kirby tells a story of loyalty, fear, and the terrible lengths to which a good spy will go to protect Queen and Country. From SPYSCAPE, the home of secrets. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Sir Francis Walsingham is vo...
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True Spies Debriefs: Dr. Jenny Benham on Medieval Spycraft

April 1, 2025 • 49 mins
Historian Dr. Jenny Benham joins Morgan Childs to explore the murky world of medieval espionage. You'll learn about the real 'little birds' who inspired Game of Thrones' Master of Whisperers, and the exiles, slaves and captives who parlayed information for security in a time before formalised intelligence agencies. Dr. Jenny Benham is Reader in Medieval History and the Co-director of the Centre for Medieval Studies at Cardiff Univ...
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The Misadventures of Martha Dodd, Part 2: The Left Behind | KGB

March 25, 2025 • 57 mins
Content Warning: This episode contains adult themes throughout. When defense journalist Brendan McNally stumbled across a long-forgotten name in 1990s Prague, he had no idea of the remarkable story he would uncover. It belongs to Martha Dodd: ambassador's daughter, mistress to Nazi officials, and Stalinist spy. In the second episode of this two-part True Spies special, Martha returns to the USA, and waits to be activated. But s...
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The Misadventures of Martha Dodd, Part 1: The Pink Lady | KGB

March 18, 2025 • 42 mins
Content Warning: This episode contains adult themes throughout. When defense journalist Brendan McNally stumbled across a long-forgotten name in 1990s Prague, he had no idea of the remarkable story he would uncover. It belongs to Martha Dodd: ambassador's daughter, mistress to Nazi officials, and Stalinist spy. In the first episode of this two-part True Spies special, Brendan traces Martha's journey from Chicago socialite to th...
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True Spies Classic: Operation Inter | StB

March 11, 2025 • 46 mins
In this True Spies Classic, it's the late 1980s, and change is in the air in Eastern Europe. For a young journalist like Mark Baker, Czechoslovakia is an interesting place to be. But Mark has attracted some unwanted attention - a fact that he'll only discover several decades later. Sophia Di Martino joins Mark to travel through the True Spies looking-glass, and discover what it's like to become the target of a recruitment effort b...
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True Spies Debriefs: Dr. Daniela Richterova on the Jackals in Prague

March 4, 2025 • 51 mins
Dr. Daniela Richterova joins host Morgan Childs to discuss the relationship between Cold War intelligence agencies and non-state actors like the infamous Carlos the Jackal. Dr. Richterova is Senior Lecturer in Intelligence Studies at Kings College, University of London From SPYSCAPE, the HQ of secrets. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Series producer: Joe Foley. Produced by Morgan Childs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit mega...
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MI9 Unmasked, Part 2: Italian Jobs | WW2

February 25, 2025 • 40 mins
Hear again from British historian Helen Fry, joining Rhiannon Neads for the second and final installment of a two-part dive into one of the most crucial, but little-known intelligence forces of the Second World War - MI9. Hear the conclusion to the gripping story of the department, and reasons behind their ultimate secrecy in a post-WW2 world... From SPYSCAPE, the HQ of secrets. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Series producer: Joe ...
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MI9 Unmasked, Part 1: Escape and Evasion | WW2

February 18, 2025 • 40 mins
British historian Helen Fry joins Rhiannon Neads for the first installment of a two-part dive into one of the most crucial, but little-known intelligence forces of the Second World War - MI9. Charged with facilitating the escape of Allied POWs, MI9 employed various ingenious tactics - including, but not limited to, a chocolate gun. Yes, really. You'll meet the characters who made this organisation tick, from daring one-armed esc...
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True Spies Classic: Blinking Red | CIA

February 11, 2025 • 52 mins
In this True Spies Classic, CIA analyst Gina Bennett shows Vanessa Kirby the origins of America's most infamous enemy. Throughout the 1990s, Osama bin Laden launched a series of attacks on American interests at home and abroad. Operating in the man's world of counter-terrorism, Gina had to fight to have the threat he posed taken seriously. Would YOU trust your gut? From SPYSCAPE, the home of secrets and skills. A Cup And Nuzzle p...
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True Spies Debriefs: Gina Bennett on the new paradigm for national security

February 4, 2025 • 56 mins
Former CIA counterterrorism analyst, hunter of Bin Laden, author and proud mother - hear from the fantastic Gina Bennett in this week's Debrief. Bennett authored the earliest warnings of today’s terrorism trends including the 1993 report that foreshadowed the danger of Osama bin Laden. Hear her current prescient predictions for what she is calling the new paradigm for national security, and how this will affect the U.S, and nation...
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Spying On The Reich | Historical

January 29, 2025 • 56 mins
International Relations journalist and author, R.T Howard, reveals the tensions, subterfuge and devastating errors that marked the first Cold War. In the 1920s and 30s, the Allies waged an intelligence war against a rising star in global politics - Adolf Hitler. Young intelligence agencies tried in vain to penetrate the Nazi's veil of secrecy. In this episode, you'll hear three stories from this turbulent era - and learn the less...
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True Spies Classic: The Nuclear Superhighway | CIA

January 21, 2025 • 54 mins
In this classic episode of True Spis, undercover CIA agent James Olson takes Vanessa Kirby on a nail-biting mission behind the Iron Curtain. In the late 1970s, James was tasked with tapping an underground communications line between Moscow and a top-secret nuclear weapons facility. Under constant surveillance from the KGB, he would need to use a combination of traditional spycraft and hi-tech gadgetry to intercept this priceless ...
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True Spies Debriefs: Bob Dougherty on transnational repression

January 14, 2025 • 39 mins
Do you know about the rising threats posed by transnational repression? Hear from Bob Dougherty, veteran of 26 years as a CIA undercover operations officer. Today, Bob works as an instructor for multiple government agencies, increasingly speaking on the dangers of transnational repression; the intimidation, harassment, or other human rights abuses perpetrated by countries on their own people beyond their borders. From SPYSCAPE, t...
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Digging for Gold | Cold War

January 7, 2025 • 65 mins
Journalist and author Steve Vogel unravels the unlikely tale of George Blake, the cunning Cold War double-agent who betrayed one of the most ambitious wire-tapping operations of the 1950s - and made a name for himself as one of spycraft's greatest escapologists. From SPYSCAPE, the HQ of secrets. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Series producer: Joe Foley. Produced by Frank Palmer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/a...
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Tradecraft, Part 9

December 31, 2024 • 42 mins
The tools in a spy's arsenal are more varied than you might think. But they all come under one name: Tradecraft. In our ninth round of insights from the world of espionage, Rhiannon Neads looks back on lessons drawn from intrepid cyber-cops, nuclear double-dealers, crafty codebreakers and more. From SPYSCAPE, the HQ of secrets. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Series producer: Joe Foley. Produced by Alex Burnard. Music by Nick Ryan. Le...
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True Spies Classic: Undercover Jihadi | CSIS

December 24, 2024 • 56 mins
In this True Spies Classic, Hayley Atwell tells the story of Mubin Shaikh, an Islamist extremist turned undercover agent for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.  Undercover as a member of the terrorist group that would be known as the Toronto 18, Mubin was told that his cover would be blown.  From SPYSCAPE, the HQ of secrets. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Series producer: Joe Foley. Produced by Louise Clarke-Rowbotham. Music...
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True Spies Debriefs: Mubin Shaikh on the Psyche of an Extremist

December 17, 2024 • 51 mins
What can drive an ordinary person to extremist ideology?  Hear from former security intelligence and counter terrorism operative, Mubin Shaikh, on his current work as a Counter Extremism Specialist. He delves into real world cases of those who succumb to extremist ideology, why it happens, and his challenging work trying to bring people back. From SPYSCAPE, the HQ of secrets. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Series producer: Joe Fole...
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