SpyCast

Codenamed "Agent 202," Kendall Myers went undetected as a spy for Cuba for nearly 30 years. He worked at the State Department’s Foreign Service Institute, secretly spying for Cuba out of an earnest love for the island, its people, and their leader Fidel Castro.  Myers was caught in 2009, after he retired. State Department Security Specialist and former Diplomatic Security Special Agent Bill Stowell was part of the team that worked the case. He shared new exclusive details with SpyCast, as Myers continues to serve a life sentence for espionage.  If you liked this episode, check out these links: Queen of Cuba with Peter J. Lapp [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3b1fE9pntuU] The Skinny on Cuban Intelligence with Ean Forsyth | SpyCast [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1EhzJwagjU&t=8s] Caught in the Act : Catching Che Guevara (Cuba and the CIA) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JN971FY1h8Y] Prefer to watch your podcasts? Find us on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@IntlSpyMuseum/podcasts [https://www.youtube.com/@IntlSpyMuseum/podcasts].  Subscribe to Sasha's Substack, HUMINT, to get more intelligence stories: https://sashaingber.substack.com/ [https://sashaingber.substack.com/]  And if you have feedback or want to hear about a particular topic, you can reach us by E-mail at SpyCast@Spymuseum.org [SpyCast@Spymuseum.org].  This show is brought to you from Goat Rodeo, Airwave, and the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Today he’s one of the most wanted men in the world, but before Jan Marsalek fled to Russia, he was the COO of payment-processing firm Wirecard.  Officials and investigators say Marsalek used the company to finance Moscow’s covert operations and spy networks in Africa and Europe. In 2020, nearly €2 billion vanished from Wirecard, along with Marsalek. Financial Times reporter Sam Jones has been uncovering new details through his reporting on Season 3 of Hot Money: Agent of Chaos.  To hear more, listen to Season 3 of Hot Money: Agent of Chaos on Apple [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hot-money-agent-of-chaos/id1621757273], Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/2EU1S3kZdhPp1RgscY473O?si=139fa507b75a4905], or wherever you get your podcasts [https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/hot-money]. If you liked this episode, check out these links: Russia's Fake Identity Assembly Line in Brazil | SpyCast [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klDwCmvE8aE&t=30s] "The Minions": Putin's Expendable Spies | SpyCast [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvh4QGIm02M&list=PL8p1_ubNPTRkwxOt08JtTjg4bxEg55zwx&index=11&t=67s&pp=iAQB0gcJCcwJAYcqIYzv] Russian Assassinations in the UK: Inside Three Notorious Cases with Historian Nigel West [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzkEMFnYQd8&list=PL8p1_ubNPTRkrUxiA3zhYLaNXUYB4Pu8e&index=15] Curator's Corner: Kevin P. Riehle on Russian Intelligence [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmZqEsSSVwE&list=PL8p1_ubNPTRkrUxiA3zhYLaNXUYB4Pu8e&index=83] Prefer to watch your podcasts? Find us on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@IntlSpyMuseum/podcasts [https://www.youtube.com/@IntlSpyMuseum/podcasts].  Subscribe to Sasha's Substack, HUMINT, to get more intelligence stories: https://sashaingber.substack.com/ [https://sashaingber.substack.com/]  And if you have feedback or want to hear about a particular topic, you can reach us by E-mail at SpyCast@Spymuseum.org [SpyCast@Spymuseum.org].  This show is brought to you from Goat Rodeo, Airwave, and the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

This week we spoke with the International Spy Museum's Executive Director, Colonel Chris Costa. His decades-long career in the intelligence community spanned multiple continents, running sensitive operations in Panama, Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan, where he earned two Bronze stars for his human intelligence contributions. Later, Costa advised Navy Seals as a civilian and eventually assumed the role of Executive Director here at the International Spy Museum. In this interview, we zeroed in on 2017 when he was detailed to the White House as the Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counterterrorism. Looking for more thoughtful analysis of contemporary intelligence issues? Check out our program Spy Chat – Each month, Chris sits down with a special guest for a live online discussion of the latest intelligence, national security, and terrorism issues in the news. Check our program calendar [https://www.spymuseum.org/calendar/] to register!  If you liked this episode, check out these links: Spy Chat with Chris Costa | Special Guest: Tal Sullivan [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wvboy6aTvLY&t=8s] An Evening with H.R. McMaster [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HI1doWHu9IY] Operación Jaque - The Daring Rescue Mission That Freed 15 Hostages [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6syGi_14sE] Prefer to watch your podcasts? Find us on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@IntlSpyMuseum/podcasts [https://www.youtube.com/@IntlSpyMuseum/podcasts].  Subscribe to Sasha's Substack, HUMINT, to get more intelligence stories: https://sashaingber.substack.com/ [https://sashaingber.substack.com/]  And if you have feedback or want to hear about a particular topic, you can reach us by E-mail at SpyCast@Spymuseum.org [SpyCast@Spymuseum.org].  This show is brought to you from Goat Rodeo, Airwave, and the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Born out of a major Chinese cyberattack that stole personal information from millions of federal government employees, the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency calls itself ‘America’s Gatekeeper.’  Now five years into its existence, it’s responsible for overseeing most of the security clearances for government personnel and contractors. DCSA’s director David Cattler, formerly NATO’s Assistant Secretary General for Intelligence and Security, assesses the current threats.  If you liked this episode, check out these links: DOGE Layoffs and the Counterintelligence Threats They Pose | SpyCast [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foLsTVQwBIg] Dir. of National Intelligence Roundtable: 2025 Society for Intelligence History Panel [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziuZtVIM-k&t=376s] Spy Chat with Chris Costa | Guest: Carol Rollie Flynn [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUrdcunqytY] Prefer to watch your podcasts? Find us on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@IntlSpyMuseum/podcasts [https://www.youtube.com/@IntlSpyMuseum/podcasts].  Subscribe to Sasha's Substack, HUMINT, to get more intelligence stories: https://sashaingber.substack.com/ [https://sashaingber.substack.com/]  And if you have feedback or want to hear about a particular topic, you can reach us by E-mail at SpyCast@Spymuseum.org [SpyCast@Spymuseum.org].  This show is brought to you from Goat Rodeo, Airwave, and the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

When a Russian spy was arrested in Brazil in 2022, authorities were shocked to discover that he seemed to have a real birth certificate and authentic citizenship documents. The incident sparked a multi-year investigation that uncovered a network of Russian operatives living and working in Brazil – Their false identities supported by genuine documents. New York Times journalist Jane Bradley, who investigated the spy network, joined us to discuss the case as Brazilian law enforcement continues to piece together answers today.  If you liked this episode, check out these links: Ghost Stories: The Hunt for Russian Spies in the US | SpyCast [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwdT6lisa4I&t=516s] "The Minions": Putin's Expendable Spies | SpyCast [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvh4QGIm02M&t=67s&pp=0gcJCcMJAYcqIYzv] Curator's Corner: Kevin P. Riehle on Russian Intelligence [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmZqEsSSVwE&t=5s] Prefer to watch your podcasts? Find us on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@IntlSpyMuseum/podcasts [https://www.youtube.com/@IntlSpyMuseum/podcasts].  Subscribe to Sasha's Substack, HUMINT, to get more intelligence stories: https://sashaingber.substack.com/ [https://sashaingber.substack.com/]  And if you have feedback or want to hear about a particular topic, you can reach us by E-mail at SpyCast@Spymuseum.org [SpyCast@Spymuseum.org].  This show is brought to you from Goat Rodeo, Airwave, and the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]