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PODCAST

Spy Story

This podcast presents true stories from the history of espionage. Interesting characters, tradecraft techniques, fascinating stories -- all are dealt with in this semi-weekly podcast. Espionage fiction and their authors are also topics of this podcast. The website for this podcast and related material is https://www.Spy-Story.com, and the author"s website is https://www.JPROF.com.

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All Episodes

15:21

Karl Lody: The First German Spy to Die in Britain

Spy Story ·

2025/10/30

Episode Notes: Karl Lody EpisodeEpisode Overview"Karl Lody: The First German Spy to Die in Britain" examines the case of a German naval officer whose failed intelligence mission established legal precedents for wartime espionage prosecutions. The episode explores how the transition from peacetime intelligence conventions to wartime espionage realities cost Lody his life while demonstrating the rapid evolution of counter-intelligence capabilities and the brutal efficiency of wartime justice.Major

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15:14

Marthe McKenna: The Belgian Nurse Behind Enemy Lines

Spy Story ·

2025/10/27

Episode Notes: Marthe McKenna EpisodeEpisode Overview"Marthe McKenna: The Belgian Nurse Behind Enemy Lines" examines the remarkable intelligence career of a young Belgian woman who used her nursing profession as perfect cover for espionage operations against German occupying forces. The episode explores how medical credentials provided exceptional access to enemy personnel and restricted areas, while examining the psychological challenges of maintaining a double identity while working intimately

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14:27

T.E. Lawrence: Intelligence and the Arab Revolt

Spy Story ·

2025/10/23

Episode Notes: T.E. Lawrence EpisodeEpisode Overview"T.E. Lawrence: Intelligence and the Arab Revolt" examines how a young British archaeologist transformed into one of history's most effective intelligence operatives by orchestrating the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire. The episode explores how Lawrence's deep understanding of Arab culture and politics, combined with innovative approaches to guerrilla warfare and intelligence operations, helped reshape the Middle East while contributing to

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15:08

Room 40 and the Zimmermann Telegram: The...

Spy Story ·

2025/10/20

Episode Notes: Room 40 EpisodeEpisode Overview"Room 40 and the Zimmermann Telegram: The Code-Breakers Who Changed History" examines how a small unit of British cryptographers transformed a simple act of cable-cutting into one of World War One's most decisive intelligence operations. The episode explores how the interception and decoding of Germany's proposal for a Mexican alliance against the United States brought America into the war and ultimately determined its outcome, while establishing signals

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14:27

Sidney Reilly: The Ace of Spies

Spy Story ·

2025/10/16

Episode Notes: Sidney Reilly EpisodeEpisode Overview"Sidney Reilly: The Ace of Spies" examines the extraordinary career of the man who became the template for the sophisticated international spy. Born Salomon Rosenblum in Russia, Reilly reinvented himself multiple times before attempting his most audacious operation - overthrowing Lenin's Bolshevik government in 1918. The episode explores how individual agents can influence major historical events through sheer audacity and sophisticated deception,

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15:05

Fritz Joubert Duquesne: The Boer Who Became Germany's...

Spy Story ·

2025/10/13

Episode Notes: Fritz Joubert Duquesne EpisodeEpisode Overview"Fritz Joubert Duquesne: The Boer Who Became Germany's Master Saboteur" examines the extraordinary career of a South African whose family's death in British concentration camps during the Boer War transformed him into one of Germany's most effective sabotage agents during World War One. The episode explores how personal trauma can motivate decades-long intelligence careers and how individual grievances can be channeled into broader

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15:01

Louise de Bettignies: The French Resistance Leader

Spy Story ·

2025/10/09

Episode Notes: Louise de Bettignies EpisodeEpisode Overview"Louise de Bettignies: The French Resistance Leader" examines the extraordinary intelligence career of a French governess who created one of World War One's most effective spy networks in German-occupied northern France. The episode explores how Louise transformed from a language teacher into a master intelligence operative, demonstrating that exceptional intelligence work often emerges from ordinary people making extraordinary choices under

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15:32

Edith Cavell: The Nurse Who Defied an Empire

Spy Story ·

2025/10/06

Episode Notes: Edith Cavell EpisodeEpisode Overview"Edith Cavell: The Nurse Who Defied an Empire" examines the life and death of a British nurse who transformed from a healer into a resistance operative during the German occupation of Belgium. The episode explores how Cavell's Christian principles led her to help wounded Allied soldiers escape, ultimately costing her life but creating a powerful martyr whose execution galvanized Allied resolve and exposed German occupation brutality.Major

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13:03

Mata Hari: The Dancer Who Became History's Most...

Spy Story ·

2025/10/02

Episode Notes: Mata Hari EpisodeEpisode Overview"Mata Hari: The Dancer Who Became History's Most Famous Spy" examines the life and death of Margaretha Geertruida Zelle, who transformed herself from a middle-class Dutch housewife into the exotic dancer "Mata Hari" before becoming history's most famous accused spy. The episode explores how wartime paranoia, xenophobia, and the search for scapegoats led to the execution of a woman who was likely innocent of the espionage charges that cost her

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13:14

Intelligence and Victory

Spy Story ·

2025/09/29

Episode Notes: Intelligence and Victory EpisodeEpisode Overview"Intelligence and Victory: How Espionage Won Independence" serves as the capstone episode of the Revolutionary War intelligence series, examining how individual acts of courage and ingenuity combined to create comprehensive intelligence capabilities that proved decisive in securing American independence. The episode synthesizes lessons from the entire September series, analyzing the transformation from amateur heroics to professional

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14:25

Enoch Crosby

Spy Story ·

2025/09/25

Episode Notes: Enoch Crosby EpisodeEpisode Overview"Enoch Crosby: The Spy Who Inspired James Fenimore Cooper" examines the remarkable intelligence career of a Massachusetts cobbler who became America's most successful infiltrator of Loyalist conspiracies during the Revolutionary War. The episode explores how Crosby repeatedly penetrated enemy organizations in the strategically crucial Hudson Valley, gathering intelligence that neutralized dozens of sabotage operations while living a dangerous double

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14:33

Ann Bates

Spy Story ·

2025/09/22

Episode Notes: Ann Bates EpisodeEpisode Overview"Ann Bates: The British Spy in American Camps" examines the remarkable career of a Loyalist woman who became one of Britain's most effective intelligence operatives during the Revolutionary War. The episode explores how Bates used her cover as a traveling peddler to penetrate American military camps, gathering crucial intelligence while exploiting gender assumptions that made her invisible to American security. Through her story, the episode reveals

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13:54

James Armistead Lafayette

Spy Story ·

2025/09/18

Episode Notes: James Armistead Lafayette EpisodeEpisode Overview"James Armistead Lafayette: The Double Agent" examines the extraordinary story of an enslaved Virginian who became America's most successful Revolutionary War spy through a sophisticated double agent operation. The episode explores how James Armistead used racial invisibility and British prejudices to penetrate enemy command structures, feed disinformation to Cornwallis while gathering crucial intelligence for Lafayette, and help secure

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14:52

Lydia Darragh

Spy Story ·

2025/09/15

Episode Notes: Lydia Darragh EpisodeEpisode Overview"Lydia Darragh: The Quaker Spy of Philadelphia" examines the remarkable story of a middle-aged Quaker housewife who violated her religious community's pacifist principles to provide crucial intelligence that saved Washington's army from destruction. The episode explores how Darragh's position as an unwilling host to British officers gave her access to vital military planning, and how her reputation as a harmless religious woman provided perfect

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14:06

The Culper Spy Ring

Spy Story ·

2025/09/11

Episode Notes: The Culper Spy Ring EpisodeEpisode Overview"The Culper Spy Ring: Washington's Secret Network" explores America's first professional intelligence network, established by Benjamin Tallmadge under George Washington's direction. The episode examines how this sophisticated operation transformed American espionage from amateur efforts like Nathan Hale's mission into systematic intelligence gathering that provided crucial strategic advantages throughout the Revolutionary War. Through

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14:57

John André: The Gentleman Spy's Fatal Mission

Spy Story ·

2025/09/08

Episode Notes: John André EpisodeEpisode Overview"John André: The Gentleman Spy's Fatal Mission" examines the life and death of Britain's most accomplished intelligence officer during the Revolutionary War. The episode explores how André built sophisticated espionage networks, managed the recruitment of Benedict Arnold, and ultimately met his fate through a fatal error in operational security. Through André's story, the episode reveals the professionalization of intelligence work, the moral

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13:56

Benedict Arnold: The Ultimate Betrayal

Spy Story ·

2025/09/04

Episode Notes: Benedict Arnold EpisodeEpisode Overview"Benedict Arnold: The Ultimate Betrayal" examines the transformation of America's most celebrated military hero into its most notorious traitor. The episode explores how Benedict Arnold's genuine military brilliance and early patriotic service gave way to resentment, financial desperation, and ultimately the systematic betrayal of West Point to British forces. Through Arnold's story, the episode reveals the complex psychology of treason and the

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13:28

Nathan Hale: 'I Only Regret That I Have But One Life

Spy Story ·

2025/09/01

Episode Notes: Nathan Hale EpisodeEpisode Overview"Nathan Hale: 'I Only Regret That I Have But One Life'" explores the story of America's first spy martyr, a twenty-one-year-old Connecticut schoolteacher who volunteered for a dangerous intelligence mission that experienced officers refused. The episode examines how Nathan Hale's capture and execution in 1776 transformed him from an unknown Continental Army captain into an enduring symbol of patriotic sacrifice, helping to establish intelligence

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14:04

Jane Whorwood - The King's Devoted Spy

Spy Story ·

2025/08/28

Episode Notes: Jane Whorwood - "The King's Devoted Spy" (Episode 17)Air Date: Thursday, August 28, 2025Key Points Covered:Background & Early Life:Born: c. 1612 as Jane Ryder, daughter of Scottish courtier Thomas RyderRoyal connections: Goddaughter of King James I, raised with court access and educationMarriage: 1634 to Brome Whorwood, son of wealthy Oxfordshire landownerSocial position: Married gentlewoman with elite connections to Charles I's courtPolitical division: Husband sided with

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12:25

The Secret Messages - Civil War Cryptography

Spy Story ·

2025/08/25

Episode Notes: The Secret Messages - Civil War Cryptography (Episode 15)Air Date: Monday, August 25, 2025Key Points Covered:Pre-War Cryptographic State:Lack of preparation: Neither Union nor Confederate armies had established cryptographic bureaus, standardized cipher systems, or trained code clerksVulnerable communications: Military relied heavily on messengers carrying written ordersEarly failures: First Battle of Bull Run (July 1861) - Confederates intercepted unencrypted Union telegraph

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