History
The Spy Who
Audible
These are stories you were never meant to hear. The invisible but vital work of the world’s intelligence services: secret operatives playing to very different rules. The Spy Who, hosted by Indira Varma and Raza Jaffrey, takes you deep inside that shadow world to meet spies who risked everything in the national interest – or, sometimes, their own.Audible subscribers can listen to all episodes of The Spy Who ad-free right now. Join Audible today by downloading the Audible app.
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The Spy Who Betrayed Bin Laden (Encore) | Twin Towers | 3
Jan 14, 202539 minDean is working undercover, posing as a loyal jihadi in Afghanistan, while actually spying for British intelligence. He knows that one mistake is all it will take to wind up dead. But that’s not his only worry because the sense is growing that al-Qaeda has a major plot in the works.Have you got a spy story you’d like us to tell? Email your ideas to thespywho@wondery.com See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The Spy Who Betrayed Bin Laden (Encore) | Londonistan | 2
Jan 7, 202538 minAimen Dean is trapped. He wants out of al-Qaeda and Afghanistan, but no one gets to leave the jihadi training camps without permission. So when a missile strike hands him the perfect excuse to leave he seizes the chance to break free.Have you got a spy story you’d like us to tell? Email your ideas to thespywho@wondery.com See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The Spy Who Betrayed Bin Laden (Encore) | Holy War | 1
Dec 31, 202441 minIt’s 1994 and 16-year-old Aimen Dean wants to die. He’s heading to war-torn Bosnia to join the Mujahideen and save fellow Muslims. He hopes to become a martyr so that he can be reunited with his dead parents in paradise. Instead, he’s about to be confronted by a bloody reality.Have you got a spy story you’d like us to tell? Email your ideas to thespywho@wondery.com See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The Spy Who Killed a Prime Minister | Lumumba's Grandson on Legacy, Loss and the Weight of a Name | 5
Dec 24, 202424 minAmory Lumumba was born long after the 1961 assassination of his grandfather. Yet the impact continues to ripple through his family today. Actor and spy novelist Charlie Higson speaks with Amory about the heavy responsibility of carrying the Lumumba name, and the enduring, inspirational legacy that Patrice Lumumba left behind. Plus, Amory tells Charlie why he's convinced the United States were involved in the killing.Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now.Have you got a spy story you’d like us to tell? Email your ideas to thespywho@wondery.com. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The Spy Who Gave London its Christmas Tree | 1
Dec 19, 202435 minEach Christmas, a giant tree lights up London’s Trafalgar Square. Behind the custom: 007 author Ian Fleming and a secret mission to Norway. This is the story of how wartime espionage gave Britain its most spectacular festive tradition.Have you got a spy story you’d like us to tell? Email your ideas to thespywho@wondery.com.Listen to The Spy Who on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting https://wondery.com/links/the-spy-who/ now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The Spy Who Killed a Prime Minister | One Gold Tooth | 4
Dec 17, 202442 minNew Prime Minister Joseph Mobutu’s grip on power is shaky. It’s Patrice Lumumba who has the people’s support. So the CIA and MI6 start plotting to oust him using any means necessary.Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now.Have you got a spy story you’d like us to tell? Email your ideas to thespywho@wondery.com. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The Spy Who Killed a Prime Minister | Cold Jungle | 3
Dec 10, 202448 minWhile Patrice Lumumba battles to control his country, MI6 officer Daphne Park and CIA officer Larry Devlin are secretly battling to stop him turning to the Soviets for help.Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now.Have you got a spy story you’d like us to tell? Email your ideas to thespywho@wondery.com. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The Spy Who Killed a Prime Minister | Heart of Darkness | 2
Dec 3, 202440 minNewly independent Congo is spiralling into disorder. Disorder the Communists could be quick to exploit. MI6 officer Daphne Park needs to act, and fast.Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now.Have you got a spy story you’d like us to tell? Email your ideas to thespywho@wondery.com. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The Spy Who Killed a Prime Minister | Independence Day | 1
Nov 26, 202445 minWhen MI6 sends officer Daphne Park to help stop a communist takeover in Congo, it kickstarts one of the darkest operations in MI6 and CIA history. Because security services either need to win the trust of Congo’s first prime minister, or remove him.Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now.Have you got a spy story you’d like us to tell? Email your ideas to thespywho@wondery.com. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The Spy Who Putin Poisoned | Uncovering The Truth With Bellingcat | 5
Nov 19, 202433 minIn a groundbreaking investigation into the poisoning of Sergei Skripal, journalism group Bellingcat exposed previously unknown details of the Salisbury Poisonings that blew the case wide open. Journalist and Bellingcat founder Elliot Higgins and host Charlie Higson explore where the responsibility to protect covert operations ends and the public's right to be informed begins.Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The Spy Who Putin Poisoned | Bear Traps | 4
Nov 12, 202439 minAs hospital medics battle to save the first victims of the Salisbury poisonings, police hunt the perpetrators. And while they're searching, the spy war between Russia and the West heats up, with an eventful call between Prime Minister Theresa May and President Donald Trump.Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The Spy Who Putin Poisoned | Always a Spy | 3
Nov 5, 202430 minIn a top-secret Russian laboratory, a terrifying chemical weapon called Novichok is about to be hauled out of storage, and will soon reach the streets of British city Salisbury.Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The Spy Who Putin Poisoned | The Exchange | 2
Oct 29, 202434 minSergei Skripal is easing into retirement with a side hustle as a MI6 agent, and enjoying the Spanish seaside. Meanwhile, the KGB’s successor, the FSB, is on the hunt for traitors after a tip-off from a mole inside Spain’s intelligence service.Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The Spy Who Putin Poisoned | End of an Era | 1
Oct 22, 202439 minWhen the USSR falls apart, GRU officer Sergei Skripal finds himself adrift in the new Russia, having never asked for the country's new democracy. So when he meets a shadowy wine dealer, he leaps at the chance to make some money, without a clue how the deal would lead him to Salisbury.Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The Spy Who Started the Cold War | The Most Dangerous In History? | 5
Oct 15, 202432 minWhy did Fuchs take such a huge gamble by sharing US nuclear secrets with the Soviets? Was Oppenheimer's fellow physicist seeking peace - or war? Charlie Higson talks to Frank Close, an author and physicist, about Fuchs' decision and its impact on the course of history.Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The Spy Who Started the Cold War | Lost Control | 4
Oct 8, 202443 minMI5 is closing in on Klaus Fuchs. But they can't seem to catch him in the act of spying. There’s only one option. They need a confession.Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The Spy Who Started the Cold War | Fallout | 3
Oct 1, 202438 minKlaus Fuchs is sure his espionage has gone undetected. So when authorities unearth a similar spy ring in Canada’s nuclear project, Fuchs doesn’t consider that he could be next.Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The Spy Who Started the Cold War | Los Alamos | 2
Sep 24, 202441 minFuchs’ plan to feed secrets to the Soviets is in jeopardy. The atomic bomb project is closely guarded. That means little contact with the outside world, especially his handlers.Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The Spy Who Started the Cold War | Enemy Alien | 1
Sep 17, 202442 minIt’s the 1940s. Robert Oppenheimer is creating plans for the first atomic bomb. And his colleague is stealing them. Klaus Fuchs is a traitor in Oppenheimer's ranks. A German-born physicist secretly working for the Soviet Union. Oppenheimer will change the world with science; Fuchs with espionage.Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The Spy Who Sold Peace to the IRA | Thatcher's favourite | 5
Sep 10, 202440 minWhy was Carlin considered Thatcher's favourite spy? What difference did he really make? And how did he cope when he became an exile?To find out more about Carlin's life and significance, Charlie Higson is joined by Aaron Edwards, the author of 'Agents of Influence: Britain’s Secret Intelligence War Against the IRA'.Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The Spy Who Sold Peace to the IRA | Threats From All Sides | 4
Sep 3, 202436 minWith IRA hardliners losing ground and Sinn Féin on the up, Willie Carlin’s feeling confident about his spying. But loose talk is about to put him on a kill list.Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The Spy Who Sold Peace to the IRA | Fly Fishing | 3
Aug 27, 202443 minWhen Willie Carlin makes an alarming discovery in an IRA safe house, he must choose between preserving his cover or conscience.Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The Spy Who Sold Peace to the IRA | Ballots Not Bullets | 2
Aug 20, 202439 minStuck with a wayward handler, MI5 agent Willie Carlin hunts for a way out, only to get sucked deeper into the Irish republican movement.Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The Spy Who Sold Peace to the IRA | A Divided Land | 1
Aug 13, 202442 minWhen Willie Carlin quits the British Army to return to Northern Ireland during The Troubles, he gets an unusual job offer: to spy on his own catholic community.Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The Spy Who Defused the Missile Crisis | Unpacking the mind of a spy legend | 5
Aug 6, 202439 minFew spies have motives as hard to decipher as those of Oleg Penkovsky. Was he a hero, an egotist or a madman? The Spy Who's Tristan Donovan sits down with Jack Basu-Mellish, host of the LSE Cold War Podcast, to discuss Penkovsky’s actions, plus the lessons to learn from the events of the Cold War. Can the history books really be trusted?Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The Spy Who Defused the Missile Crisis | Code Nuclear | 4
Jul 30, 202441 minIt’s 1962 and Oleg Penkovsky has gone to ground after spotting a KGB surveillance team tracking his MI6 contact Janet Chisholm. But when the British Embassy in Moscow invites him to a cocktail party, he sees a chance to reconnect with Western intelligence.Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The Spy Who Defused the Missile Crisis | Manoeuvres in Moscow | 3
Jul 23, 202443 minOleg Penkovsky is back in the USSR, ready to feed Soviet secrets to his new MI6 contact: a pram-pushing mother of three. But with the Berlin Crisis about to boil over, his intel could be the difference between war and peace. But with the KGB lurking everywhere smuggling these secrets out of Moscow will demand nerves of steel.Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The Spy Who Defused the Missile Crisis | Hero or Madman? | 2
Jul 16, 202440 minAfter months of missed opportunities, the CIA and MI6 are about to meet Penkovsky. But with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev squaring up to the US President John F. Kennedy over West Berlin, his information could have thermonuclear consequences.Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The Spy Who Defused the Missile Crisis | The Stranger In Red Square | 1
Jul 9, 202442 minIt’s 1960. The world hangs on the brink of nuclear war. But in Moscow, a man’s about to emerge from the shadows with an offer for the CIA. His name is Oleg Penkovsky and he wants to supply the US with the Soviet Union’s greatest nuclear secrets. But is he for real or part of an elaborate trap?Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The Spy Who Betrayed Bin Laden | Aimen Dean talks about his time as MI6's Top Spy Inside Al-Qaeda | 5
Jul 1, 202447 minAimen Dean talks Raza Jaffrey through the highs and lows of his eight years as an undercover agent and why he chose to spy for the British rather than the Americans.He also describes how he felt after his cover was blown when an American writer disclosed his identity with details that could only be sourced to Dean; and what his life has been like since.And Raza gets his chance to find whether the spy movies and TV series he's been involved in have anything to do with real life.Listen to The Spy Who ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-spy-who now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
