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PODCAST

The Rest Is Classified

Enter the secretive world of spies, espionage, and covert operations. Hosted by former CIA analyst turned spy novelist, David McCloskey, and veteran security correspondent, Gordon Corera, this podcast unravels real-life spy stories, intelligence secrets, and the hidden power struggles shaping global events. From Cold War espionage to modern-day intelligence agencies like the CIA, MI6, and Mossad, explore the world of double agents, classified missions, and the shadowy figures who operate in them

history

All Episodes

9:48

The Rise Of Putin: Joining The KGB

The Rest Is Classified ·

2025/11/14

*Declassified Club exclusive: ⁠⁠SUBSCRIBE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to listen to the full series* How did Vladimir Putin rise from a nobody in St Petersburg to the most powerful man in Russia? Did he always crave the power of public office? Or was this relentless determination beaten into him by the KGB? Listen as David and Gordon are joined by one of the world's foremost experts on Russian organised crime, author and podcaster, Mark Galeotti, to discuss the rise of Putin and his unorthodox time in the

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44:15

99. Putin's Secret Army: Trump, Wagner And Russia (Ep 2)

The Rest Is Classified ·

2025/11/12

How did Donald Trump win the 2016 US election? Was Russian interference really behind his unlikely success? And how does one man rock the electoral system of the world’s most powerful nation? In the second instalment of their series on Yevgeny Prigozhin, David and Gordon delve into the murky story of how the Internet Research Agency interfered in the 2016 election and changed the course of history. ------------------- THE REST IS CLASSIFIED LIVE 2026: Buy your tickets ⁠HERE⁠ to see David

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42:13

98. Putin’s Secret Army: The Rise Of Prigozhin (Ep 1)

The Rest Is Classified ·

2025/11/10

From Putin’s chef to Putin’s butcher, this is the story of Prigozhin. A man on the brink of oligarchical power who flew a little too close to the sun… Listen as David and Gordon begin a new series on the ill-fated life of the head of the infamous Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin. ------------------- THE REST IS CLASSIFIED LIVE 2026: Buy your tickets HERE to see David and Gordon live on stage at London’s Southbank Centre on 31 January. ------------------- Try Attio for free

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51:27

97. Selling The World's Secrets: Why The Brits Won...

The Rest Is Classified ·

2025/11/05

THE REST IS CLASSIFIED LIVE 2026: Buy your tickets HERE on Friday 7th November at 12pm GMT.In the latter half of the twentieth century, the CIA and its German counterpart, the BND, were listening to the encrypted messages of at least 62 countries around the world. This intelligence was then passed to allies and used to win wars, depose leaders and influence the world order. From sharing secrets with British forces fighting in The Falklands War to monitoring Iran’s mullahs during the 1979

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41:20

96. Selling The World's Secrets: Is The CIA Reading...

The Rest Is Classified ·

2025/11/03

Over the past seventy-five years, the United States has developed an insatiable appetite for global surveillance. The stories exposed by Edward Snowden in 2013 were only the tip of the mountain: the CIA had been spying on the world for decades. For more than half a century, a Swiss‑based firm called Crypto AG built encryption machines and sold them to governments around the world. But what its customers didn’t know was that the firm was secretly owned and controlled by the CIA. This is a story of

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10:04

Did Fidel Castro Kill JFK?

The Rest Is Classified ·

2025/10/31

*Declassified Club exclusive: ⁠⁠SUBSCRIBE⁠⁠⁠⁠ to listen to the full series*Were the Cubans plotting to kill John F. Kennedy? Did Castro have it out for his American adversary? Or did they simply not have the resources to take on the US establishment? Listen as David and Gordon conclude their exclusive mini-series on who was truly behind the assassination of JFK. ------------------- Join The Declassified Club: Start your free trial at⁠ ⁠⁠therestisclassified.com⁠⁠⁠ - go deeper into the

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53:43

95. JFK vs the CIA: Death in Dallas (Ep 6)

The Rest Is Classified ·

2025/10/29

"It's personal now ." The CIA's failure at the Bay of Pigs does not end the fight with Cuba; instead, the heat's actually going to get turned up. The Kennedy brothers are now even more committed to defeating Castro. Join Gordon and David as they detail the ongoing assassination attempts on Castro. The mob is back, attempting to use the exact same plan as before: poison pills. Hear the wild stories of near-misses, including the frozen poison pill that burst inside a freezer just before a waiter

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65:37

94. JFK vs the CIA: Fighting in Cuba (Ep 5)

The Rest Is Classified ·

2025/10/27

"It's personal now ." The CIA's failure at the Bay of Pigs does not end the fight with Cuba; instead, the heat's actually going to get turned up. The Kennedy brothers are now even more committed to defeating Castro. Join Gordon and David as they detail the ongoing assassination attempts on Castro. This is the tense calm before a new, much larger crisis is about to engulf the Kennedy administration. ------------------- Join The Declassified Club: Start your free trial at

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10:12

Did The Mafia Kill JFK?

The Rest Is Classified ·

2025/10/23

*Declassified Club exclusive: ⁠SUBSCRIBE⁠⁠⁠ to listen to the full series*Was the assassination of John F. Kennedy a Mafia plot? Or is this just another bonkers conspiracy theory? Listen as David and Gordon are joined by former White House Communications Director and host of The Rest Is Politics: US, Anthony Scaramucci, to discuss his theory on how the Mob killed JFK. ------------------- Join The Declassified Club: Start your free trial at ⁠⁠therestisclassified.com⁠⁠ - go deeper into the

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52:39

93. JFK vs the CIA: Bay of Pigs (Ep 4)

The Rest Is Classified ·

2025/10/21

"We not only look like imperialists, we look like stupid ineffectual imperialists, which is worst of all."That was the assessment of one of Kennedy's aides following the swift collapse of the Bay of Pigs invasion. The landings fall apart almost immediately: the beaches are laced with coral, winches are rusty and loud, and an exploding ship, the Rio Escondido, detonates the brigade's primary supplies and ammunition. Join Gordon and David as they detail the "last stand" of Brigade 2506. We

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63:13

92. JFK vs the CIA: Raising Hell in Havana (Ep 3)

The Rest Is Classified ·

2025/10/19

"Hell, Mr. President, we are involved."That was Admiral Burke's desperate plea to John F. Kennedy as the Bay of Pigs operation was underway. In the days before the April 17th invasion, the CIA's cover story begins to unravel and Castro is aware the invasion is coming. Kennedy, determined to avoid overt US intervention, draws a red line, declaring there will be "no intervention in Cuba by the United States Armed Forces". Join Gordon and David as they detail the critical turning point that

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7:31

Did The CIA Kill JFK?

The Rest Is Classified ·

2025/10/16

*Declassified Club exclusive: SUBSCRIBE⁠⁠ to listen to the full series* Who really killed John F. Kennedy in Dallas on 22 November 1963? Did the CIA have a vendetta against the 35th President of the United States after their failure against Castro in Cuba? Or was Lee Harvey Oswald just a lone gunman with a need for "justice"? Listen as David and Gordon begin a 3-part exclusive mini-series for Declassified Club members on the conspiracy theories surrounding who killed

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63:12

91. JFK vs the CIA: Killing Castro (Ep 2)

The Rest Is Classified ·

2025/10/14

"I think about it as little as possible ." That was President John F. Kennedy's revealing answer when asked about the impending "damned invasion" of Cuba. Despite his reservations and persistent requests to tone it down, the operation is moving forward.Join Gordon and David as they detail the plan to topple Castro within weeks. Learn why the CIA felt a growing sense of urgency to execute the plan. Critically, discover how the Joint Chiefs of Staff communicated the invasion's low chance of

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62:25

90. JFK vs the CIA: The Battle for Cuba (Ep 1)

The Rest Is Classified ·

2025/10/12

“I think that Senator Kennedy's policies and recommendations for the handling of the Castro regime are probably the most dangerously irresponsible recommendations that he's made during the course of this campaign.” That was Richard Nixon, in the final presidential debate of 1960, targeting John F. Kennedy's stance on Cuba. Fidel Castro has seized power, transforming Cuba, a former “playground” for American mobsters and corporations, into a nationalist state opposing the US. The Eisenhower

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6:26

EXCLUSIVE: Google's President of Global Affairs on...

The Rest Is Classified ·

2025/10/09

*Declassified Club exclusive: ⁠SUBSCRIBE⁠ to listen to the full interview*This week Gordon and David are joined by Kent Walker, Google's President of Global Affairs, to discuss the Aurora cyber attacks, his thoughts on the future of Artificial Intelligence, and what it was like to grow up in Silicon Valley before it became the world's technology hub. ------------------- Join The Declassified Club: Start your free trial at ⁠⁠⁠therestisclassified.com⁠⁠⁠ - go deeper into the world of espionage

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32:58

89. China vs Google: The Battle That Shaped the...

The Rest Is Classified ·

2025/10/07

When we left the team at Google's headquarters, they were deep inside their "war room," planning the counter-strike against the sophisticated adversary they now knew was coming from China. Their mission: to kick the hackers out permanently. But with the attackers deep inside the corporate network, this required a drastic, company-wide action. Join Gordon and David as they explain why Google - a company that had previously agreed to local censorship in China - made the shocking decision to use the

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41:52

88. China vs Google: When Beijing Took on Silicon...

The Rest Is Classified ·

2025/10/05

"Like many other well-known organisations, we face cyber attacks of varying degrees on a regular basis." This was the striking public statement from Google's chief legal officer in January 2010. What began as a major security incident - a "highly sophisticated and targeted attack on our corporate infrastructure, originating from China" and resulting in the theft of intellectual property - quickly escalated into a much larger geopolitical crisis.This episode is the origin story of state-sponsored

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47:34

87. Mossad Pager Attack: Crippling Hezbollah (Ep 2)

The Rest Is Classified ·

2025/09/30

Hezbollah thought they’d found the perfect solution to Israeli surveillance: the pager. In the midst of their paranoia, they negotiated a cut-price deal for thousands of new devices, but what they received was a trap.The mass explosions on September 17 2024, injured 3,000 people and killed dozens, including civilians and children. The victims - many of them part-time militia members or political operatives - were not just front-line fighters. Listen as David and Gordon tell the astonishing

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52:11

86. Mossad Pager Attack: The Long War with Hezbollah...

The Rest Is Classified ·

2025/09/28

"The smartphone is a lethal collaborator. " This was the stark warning from Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah in February 2024. In the wake of intense conflict with Israel, the group made a fateful decision to abandon high-tech communications. They knew that their phones could be used by the Israelis to pinpoint their location. The solution? Go analog. Go back to pagers. This episode begins an explosive two-part series on a truly audacious operation conducted by Israel’s foreign

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5:30

EXCLUSIVE: The Spy Who Smuggled Gordievsky Out of Russia

The Rest Is Classified ·

2025/09/25

*Declassified Club exclusive: SUBSCRIBE to listen to the full interview* What does it take to smuggle the West’s most valuable Russian agent out of the Soviet Union, under the noses of the KGB? How do you lose a KGB surveillance team on the road from Moscow, while hiding a defector in the boot of your car? And how did the MI6 team manage to sneak Gordievsky past the Russian sniffer dogs on the Finnish border?Listen as Raymond Asquith - the MI6 Officer who led Oleg Gordievsky’s dramatic escape

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129 results

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