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Mata Hari was a famous exotic dancer and courtesan but was she really the femme fatale spy she’s known as? The debate has lasted decades. But in this episode, Charlie Higson talks with author, lecturer and Mata Hari expert Julie Wheelwright about the new evidence she’s uncovered that proves Mata Hari was indeed a spy. They also explore the many other mysteries that still surround Mata Hari’s espionage and why she still fascinates us more than 100 years after her death.

Mata Hari finds herself caught in a web of lies and double-crosses. Now she has to fight to free herself from the trap that is closing in around her but the odds are stacked against her.

French and British intelligence services are convinced Mata Hari is a German spy but catching her is proving difficult. Then she agrees to spy for them. Can she be trusted or is she a skilled double agent?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

When tragedy and violence leave Margaretha Zelle destitute, she reinvents herself as the exotic dancer Mata Hari and becomes a superstar across Europe. But when the First World War breaks out, she reinvents herself again – as a spy whose name will go down in infamy.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mere weeks after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, CIA linguist David Tyson found himself on the ground in Afghanistan. He and his colleague Mike Spann were part of Team Alpha, a CIA team sent in to help overthrow the Taliban and gather intelligence from suspected al-Qaeda fighters. But when the captured fighters rise up, things take a fatal turn. In this gripping interview, David Tyson tells host Charlie Higson walks us through his experiences in Afghanistan. As well his current efforts as part of the non-profit ‘Badger Six’ to provide aid to Afghan allies who were left behind. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Battle of Qala-i-Jangi is underway. David Tyson is trapped with no way out and al-Qaeda moving in. And if help doesn’t arrive soon, America’s first victory in Afghanistan will also become its first defeat. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

CIA Team Alpha and the forces of Afghan warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum are closing in on the crucial city of Mazar-i-Sharif. But what will it take to convince the Taliban and its allies in al-Qaeda to surrender? See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the U.S. is preparing to invade Afghanistan. It wants to overthrow the Taliban so it can locate Osama bin Laden and eliminate al-Qaeda. But to succeed, it needs the country’s anti-Taliban warlords on side – and that’s where an elite squad of CIA operatives come in… See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Tony Camerino is Ali Soufan's former colleague at the Soufan Group. A combat veteran and Special Agent, Tony conducted and supervised over 1300 interrogations during the Iraq War for a Special Operations Task Force. In this eye-opening conversation, he tells Charlie Higson about the incredible headway he made with detainees working for al-Qaeda, thanks to his use of non-violent interrogation methods. And speaks candidly about the harsh brutalities of war, and its lingering traumas. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

At a CIA black site, FBI agent Ali Soufan is questioning the first high-value terrorist captured by the US since 9/11. But with the detainee’s wounds going septic and the CIA’s patience fading, the window for uncovering al-Qaeda’s next plot is closing fast. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In Yemen, FBI counter-terrorism agent Ali Soufan is trying to uncover who bombed the U.S. destroyer USS Cole. Now he’s got a suspect who could blow the case wide open: al-Qaeda operative Fahd al-Quso. But al-Quso’s also got intel about another plot. One that will shake America to its core. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ali Soufan is a rookie FBI agent convinced that an almost unknown terror group called al-Qaeda, and its leader Osama Bin Laden, are a threat to America. When the naval destroyer USS Cole is attacked by suicide bombers, he knows it’s al-Qaeda. But now he has to prove it. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

With the Nazis in retreat, the U.S. hopes to get spies on the ground in Berlin before the Soviets take the city. But Ursula Kuczynski has different plans. She’s going to co-opt the American mission to give Stalin an edge in the coming Cold War between capitalist and communism. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

With her operation in Japanese-occupied Manchuria now over, Ursula Kuczynski is awaiting fresh orders from Moscow. But the Centre’s new instructions are about to break her heart. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

To her fellow Westerners in colonial Shanghai, Ursula Kuczynski is just another devoted housewife and mother. But beneath the bourgeois exterior, she’s a vital cog in the communist insurgency and about to become one of the greatest spies of the 20th Century. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.