New York Times Intelligence Reporter Julian Barnes on the Rise of Bill Pulte.More from JulianJulian E. Barnes Writes about the American intelligence community, including the Central Intelligence Agency, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and other spy agencies, as well as broader national and international security issues. His stories seek to break news about what intelligence officials are thinking, and occasionally doing, and to explain the U.S. perspective on security matters.X: @julianbarnesThreads: @julianbarnesLinkedIn: Julian E. BarnesSignal: julianbarnes.99Anonymous tips: nytimes.com/tipsFollow Michael Isikoff | https://x.com/isikoff Follow Karen Greenberg on Twitter | https://x.com/KarenGreenberg3Follow Jeff Stein on Twitter | https://x.com/SpyTalker Subscribe to SpyTalk on Substack | https://www.spytalk.co/ Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Former senior CIA analyst David Kanin on the crises in US intelligence.David Kanin is a retired CIA senior analyst and member of the Senior Intelligence Service.https://commonsensecoalition.net/about-csc/Follow Michael Isikoff | https://x.com/isikoff Follow Karen Greenberg | https://x.com/KarenGreenberg3Follow Jeff Stein on Twitter | https://x.com/SpyTalker Subscribe to SpyTalk on Substack | https://www.spytalk.coAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Former Gitmo prosecutor Michael Lebowitz takes us inside the nuclear plot that never was.Mike Lebowitz is one of America’s few war-crimes prosecutors with front-line counterterrorism experience. A former senior attorney at the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, he spent nearly a decade prosecuting cases at Guantanamo Bay, including the 9/11, USS Cole, and top Al Qaeda commander trials. A US Army combat veteran and former Pathfinder unit paratrooper officer, Lebowitz also served as a senior legal advisor to US Army Cyber Command. He has been featured or quoted by the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, NPR, Associated Press, and the Atlantic. He lives in Washington, DC.Second Wave by Michael LebowitzIn 2003, US intelligence uncovered evidence that al Qaeda had acquired nuclear materials, plotting to smuggle them into American ports. The “Second Wave” threat triggered one of the most urgent and secretive manhunts in US history.With the cinematic intensity of Zero Dark Thirty and the investigative depth of The Looming Tower, Michael Lebowitz captures post-9/11 chaos and drama: agents risking everything to prevent another catastrophe, families torn apart, and the ethical fault lines still dividing US intelligence.Readers meet Pakistani-American industrialist Saifullah Paracha, whose import- export business concealed ties to al Qaeda; Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, architect of 9/11; Majid Khan, a Baltimore gas-station clerk turned jihadist who mapped US targets; an FBI interrogator who broke suspects faster than any waterboard; and an Orthodox Jewish garment importer whose betrayal helped avert disaster. On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, Lebowitz’s account reveals a global pursuit that tested America’s moral limits and asks: Are we as prepared today as we were then?Follow Michael Isikoff | https://x.com/isikoff Follow Karen Greenberg on Twitter | https://x.com/KarenGreenberg3Follow Jeff Stein on Twitter | https://x.com/SpyTalker Subscribe to SpyTalk on Substack | https://www.spytalk.co/ Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Former Obama speechwriter Tommy Vietor talks about energizing Dems on vital US foreign policy issues.Tommy Vietor | https://x.com/TVietor08 | https://crooked.com/podcast-series/pod-save-the-world/ Follow Michael Isikoff on Twitter | https://x.com/isikoff       Follow Karen Greenberg on Twitter | https://x.com/KarenGreenberg3    Follow Jeff Stein on Twitter | https://x.com/SpyTalker    Follow SpyTalk on Twitter | https://x.com/talk_spy    Subscribe to SpyTalk on Substack | https://www.spytalk.co/ Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Cuba intervention expert Peter Kornbluh joins SpyTalk to discuss Trump’s pressure campaign.Peter Kornbluh | National Security Archive Peter Kornbluh, Senior Analyst, has worked at the Archive since April 1986. He currently directs the Archive's Cuba and Chile Documentation Projects. He was co-director of the Iran-Contra documentation project and director of the Archive's project on U.S. policy toward Nicaragua. From 1990-1999, he taught at Columbia University as an adjunct assistant professor of international and public affairs.Cuba: Declassified Records on the Brothers to the Rescue Shootdown | National Security ArchiveCheck out National Security Archive on Facebook and Blueskyhttps://www.facebook.com/NSArchive https://bsky.app/profile/nsarchive.bsky.social Follow Michael Isikoff on Twitter |https://x.com/isikoff     Follow Karen Greenberg on Twitter | https://x.com/KarenGreenberg3   Follow Jeff Stein on Twitter | https://x.com/SpyTalker   Follow SpyTalk on Twitter | https://x.com/talk_spy   Subscribe to SpyTalk on Substack | https://www.spytalk.co/ Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Ex-CIA operative Jerry Watson and journalist Bob Drogin tell the disastrous story of Curveball and its relevance to today’s war against Iran.The US invaded Iraq after the based on bogus intel. Much of that intel was fabricated by Rafid Ahmed Alwan al-Janabi an Iraqi defector codenamed "Curveball."More from our guests:Bob Drogin | Los Angeles Times A CIA Officer Returns to Iraq and Uncovers Embarrassing Details of the Spy Agency’s WMD Debacle CurveballJerry Watson | https://www.criticalanswers.net/ Follow Michael Isikoff on Twitter |https://x.com/isikoff     Follow Karen Greenberg on Twitter | https://x.com/KarenGreenberg3   Follow Jeff Stein on Twitter | https://x.com/SpyTalker   Follow SpyTalk on Twitter | https://x.com/talk_spy   Subscribe to SpyTalk on Substack | https://www.spytalk.co/ Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Former CIA Russia hand Sean Wiswesser assesses Putin’s grip on his security services amid rumors of coups. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Veteran journalist Jack Cheevers takes another look at President Kennedy’s ambivalent role in the overthrow and assassination of South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem.Check out Kennedy’ Coup by Jack CheeversSubscribe to SpyTalk on Substack https://www.spytalk.co/ Follow Jeff Stein on Twitter https://x.com/SpyTalker Follow Michael Isikoff on Twitter https://x.com/isikoff Follow Karen Greenberg on Twitter https://x.com/KarenGreenberg3 Follow SpyTalk on Twitter https://x.com/talk_spy Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

A former Pakistani ambassador to the US says the more Trump bashes Iran, the more it will dig in.Husain Haqqani joins SpyTalk to discuss the state of diplomacy between Iran and the US.Follow Michael Isikoff on Twitter https://twitter.com/isikoff Follow Karen Greenberg on Twitter https://x.com/KarenGreenberg3 Follow Jeff Stein on Twitter https://twitter.com/SpyTalker Follow SpyTalk on Twitter https://twitter.com/talk_spy Subscribe to SpyTalk on Substack https://www.spytalk.co/ Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Former CIA Iran spy recruiter Mark Fowler says the “peace deal” is not the end of the war. He shares his analysis of the recent peace talks based on his understanding of how Iranians negotiate.For more of Mark Fowler's analysis follow him on Substack | https://substack.com/@malfow5Mark also writes espionage fiction | https://markafowler-author.com/Michael Isikoff on Twitter | https://twitter.com/isikoff Karen Greenberg on Twitter | https://x.com/KarenGreenberg3 Jeff Stein on Twitter | https://twitter.com/SpyTalker SpyTalk on Twitter | https://twitter.com/talk_spyAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy