Advertise on podcast: True Life Spy Stories

Ways to support the podcast: Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bmc.link/philipthompson⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Donate via PayPal: 💸 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠paypal.me/PhilipT284⁠⁠ A farmer, three vans, a quantity of petrol, and a handler known only as “Ali”. In September, masked men were arrested a couple of miles from RAF Fairford, the Cotswolds base used by US bombers to strike Iran. The UK government says Iran’s Revolutionary Guard was almost certainly behind it, and two men have now been charged under the National Security Act. In this episode, I look at what happened that night, what prosecutors have alleged in court, how Iran recruits local criminals in the UK, and why the American bombers have since gone home.

Ways to support the podcast: Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bmc.link/philipthompson⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Donate via PayPal: 💸 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠paypal.me/PhilipT284⁠⁠ In February 1970, funeral gongs, weeping women, and the voices of dead soldiers echoed through the jungles of Vietnam. They weren't ghosts. They were a US Army psychological operation built on one fear: dying unburied, far from home. Operation Wandering Soul used recordings, loudspeakers, and leaflets to turn Vietnamese beliefs about restless spirits into a weapon. This video covers how the tapes were made, how they were deployed from helicopters, boats, and the ground, what the Viet Cong did in response, and whether any of it actually worked. It also looks at the earlier playbook of Edward Lansdale and his vampire ruse in the Philippines, the North Vietnamese broadcaster known as Hanoi Hannah, the Mind War paper of 1980, and how Ukraine's "I Want to Live" project echoes these tactics today. #Vietnam #PSYOP #Espionage #History #WanderingSoul

Originally aired on 2/16/26, now expanded with new details on the story and republished in full video! Ways to support the podcast: Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bmc.link/philipthompson⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Donate via PayPal: 💸 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠paypal.me/PhilipT284⁠⁠ In September 2024, thousands of pagers exploded across Lebanon in a single afternoon. The devices had been built by Israeli intelligence, packed with explosives, and sold to Hezbollah through a network of fake companies stretching from Budapest to Sofia. The operation had been ten years in the making. This is the story of Operation Grim Beeper.

Ways to support the podcast: Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bmc.link/philipthompson⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Donate via PayPal: 💸 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠paypal.me/PhilipT284⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ On 6 October 2026, German police arrested August Hanning, the former head of the BND, Germany's foreign intelligence service. It's the equivalent of a former director of the CIA or chief of MI6 being arrested on suspicion of treason. Prosecutors allege that for 12 years his former chief of staff, Manfred Dankesreiter, supplied him with around 2,000 secret BND documents in return for payment. Hanning allegedly used them in his private security consultancy, and some of the material may have reached foreign intelligence services. Both men deny the core allegations, and neither has been indicted. The case only came to light by accident, through a police investigation into the kidnapping of two children from Denmark by a German steakhouse heiress. This is what we know so far.

Pick up your copy of Operation Sparrow at ⁠https://link.amazon/B02NMVdls⁠ (affiliate link) Learn more: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/operation-sparrow-jason-bell?variant=45398167388194 Author's website:Jason's website: https://jasonbell.org/ Ways to support the podcast: Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bmc.link/philipthompson⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Donate via PayPal: 💸 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠paypal.me/PhilipT284⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ In this episode I sit down with author and professor Jason Bell to discuss the incredible story of the Sparrows, a World War 2 spy story that has been hidden from history, until now. Jason's new book Operation Sparrow: The Incredible True Story of the Spies Who Tricked Hitler and Won the War, is out now!

Originally aired 1 July 2026 as an audio-only episode. Now fully edited as a video documentary. Ways to support the podcast: Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bmc.link/philipthompson⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Donate via PayPal: 💸 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠paypal.me/PhilipT284⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ On 6 September 1976, Soviet Air Force Lieutenant Viktor Belenko defected to the West in a MiG-25 interceptor, landing at a civilian airport in Japan and handing American intelligence the most secret aircraft in the Soviet arsenal. The MiG-25 was studied for 67 days before being returned to the Soviet Union in pieces. What the West found overturned a decade of assumptions about Soviet air power. This is the story of how Belenko did it, what the analysis revealed, and what became of the man who pulled it off. 📚 Sources & Further Reading (affiliate link): 📕 ⁠MiG Pilot by John Barron

Ways to support the podcast: Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bmc.link/philipthompson⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Donate via PayPal: 💸 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠paypal.me/PhilipT284⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Welcome to this week's Intel Dossier: A Swindon man is denied bail over an alleged plot to sabotage UK drone factories for Russia;Two more Britons are arrested on suspicion of spying for Iran;Russian submarine crews rehearse cutting NATO's Arctic internet cables; andA Sydney consultant is jailed for feeding gossip to Chinese intelligence.

Ways to support the podcast: Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bmc.link/philipthompson⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Donate via PayPal: 💸 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠paypal.me/PhilipT284⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ A single Facebook post from an exiled ex-Soviet intelligence chief claimed Donald Trump was recruited by the KGB in 1987 under the codename "Krasnov." This episode traces the claim from its source through the fact-checks, the older "cultivated asset" theory from Craig Unger's American Kompromat, and the documented record of Trump's 1987 Moscow trip, weighing what's evidence and what's speculation. 📚 Sources & Further Reading (affiliate links): 📕 American Kompromat: how the KGB cultivated Donald Trump and related tales of sex, greed, power, and treachery by Craig Unger Full source list for every claim in this episode: https://pastebin.com/1FMkhBrG

Ways to support the podcast: Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bmc.link/philipthompson⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Donate via PayPal: 💸 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠paypal.me/PhilipT284⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ On 10 February 1962, two men stood on opposite ends of a bridge in Potsdam and waited for a signal. One was a Soviet illegal who'd spent nine years posing as a Brooklyn artist. The other was the American U-2 pilot shot down over Sverdlovsk two years earlier. This is the story of Rudolf Abel and Francis Gary Powers, the men who negotiated their exchange, and the third prisoner almost nobody remembers. 📚 Sources & Further Reading (affiliate links): 📕 Bridge of Spies by Giles Whittell - https://amzn.to/46BVhfB 📘 KGB Man: The Cold War's Most Notorious Soviet Agent and the First to be Exchanged at the Bridge of Spies by Cecil Kuhne - https://amzn.to/4ymmkrl 📕 Spy Pilot: Francis Gary Powers, the U-2 Incident, and a Controversial Cold War Legacy by Francis Gary Powers Jr. - https://amzn.to/3UxopSI 📘 Abel: The True Story of the Spy They Traded for Gary Powers by Vin Arthey - https://amzn.to/4cpMb98

Ways to support the podcast: Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bmc.link/philipthompson⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Donate via PayPal: 💸 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠paypal.me/PhilipT284 ⁠⁠In January 1956, the U.S. Air Force and CIA launched more than 500 unmanned balloons across the Soviet Union and China, each one carrying a camera, betting the jet stream could see what a spy plane couldn't. Project GENETRIX lasted 27 days before Soviet fighters, a public wreckage display in Moscow, and a furious Eisenhower shut it down. Only a fraction of the balloons ever produced usable photographs. But the wind data, a radar-detection accident, and a recovery technique it left behind fed directly into the U-2 and, later, the CORONA spy satellite. This is the story of the Cold War's strangest reconnaissance gamble, and the one that, in February 2023, came back around with the roles reversed.

Ways to support the podcast: Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bmc.link/philipthompson⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Donate via PayPal: 💸 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠paypal.me/PhilipT284⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Captured by the Gestapo. Tortured with a hot iron and steel pincers. Sentenced to death, twice. Odette Sansom gave her interrogators nothing, and became the most highly decorated woman spy of World War 2. A courier for the SOE's SPINDLE network in occupied France, betrayed, imprisoned, and sent to Ravensbrück, she survived to testify against the men who tried to break her. 📚 Sources & Further Reading (affiliate link): 📕 Code Name: Lise: The True Story of the Woman Who Became World War II's Most Highly Decorated Spy by Larry Loftis 📘Odette: World War Two's Darling Spy by Penny Starns 📕Odette by Jerrard Tickell

Ways to support the podcast: Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bmc.link/philipthompson⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Donate via PayPal: 💸 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠paypal.me/PhilipT284⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ In April 1941, MI6 station chief William Mackinnon Gray shot his wife dead in a British Army officers' mess, then turned the gun on himself. He survived. When Britain's Secret Intelligence Service learned who he really was, they moved to make sure the world never found out, and the truth stayed buried for over eighty years. Original John Lucas article: 🌐Crime Files: The Spy Who Killed: Investigating MI6's wartime wife killer

Ways to support the podcast: Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bmc.link/philipthompson⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Donate via PayPal: 💸 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠paypal.me/PhilipT284⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ On 19 April 1956, Royal Navy frogman Buster Crabb slipped into Portsmouth Harbour to examine the hull of a Soviet warship carrying Khrushchev and Bulganin on a state visit. He surfaced once, dived again, and was never seen alive again. What followed was a cover-up that reached the Prime Minister, a hotel register stripped of evidence, a Commons debate, and a headless body pulled from Chichester Harbour fourteen months later. The full government files on his disappearance stay sealed until 2057. 📚 Sources & Further Reading (affiliate link): 📕 ⁠The Final Dive: The Life And Death of 'Buster' Crabb by Don Hale 📕Undersea Warrior: Commander Crabbs' Story by Marshall Pugh

Ways to support the podcast: Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bmc.link/philipthompson⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Donate via PayPal: 💸 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠paypal.me/PhilipT284⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ In November 1952, a Soviet army officer in Vienna slipped an envelope through the window of a parked American diplomat's car. Inside was an offer to sell military secrets. Within weeks, the CIA had their first ever source inside Soviet military intelligence. For seven years, Pyotr Popov gave the CIA a picture of the Soviet military it had never had: weapons systems, nuclear doctrine, and the identities of hundreds of GRU officers operating across the West. Then the KGB closed in. What followed was one of the most contested exposure cases in Cold War history. Decades later, a document found in a Lithuanian KGB archive suggested Popov had been identified as a CIA source before he ever returned to Moscow. 📚 Sources & Further Reading (affiliate link): 📕 Mole: True Story of the First Russian Spy to Become an American Counterspy by William Hood

Ways to support the podcast: Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bmc.link/philipthompson⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Donate via PayPal: 💸 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠paypal.me/PhilipT284⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ In August 2010, MI6 codebreaker Gareth Williams was found dead in his London flat, locked inside a padlocked holdall with no sign of how he got there. A coroner ruled it unlawful killing. The police ruled it an accident. This episode traces the case from discovery to the 2024 forensic review, and the questions that still haven't been answered.