Podcast · 157 episodes
The Rest Is Classified, page 6
by Goalhanger · English
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. Whether you're a true crime addict, a thriller fan, or fascinated by spy stories, this is the show for you.
All episodes, page 6
93. JFK vs the CIA: Bay of Pigs (Ep 4)The Bay of Pigs invasion planning and execution in April 1961, focusing on how CIA covert action, JFK’s constraints, Castro’s security, and media/UN pressure undermined the operation.21 Oct 2025 · 53 min · 10 chapters
92. JFK vs the CIA: Raising Hell in Havana (Ep 3)Planning and early decision-making for the Bay of Pigs invasion (Operation Zapata) after JFK becomes president in 1961, including CIA–White House friction, urgency, risk communication, and a parallel…19 Oct 2025 · 1 h 3 min · 17 chapters
Did The CIA Kill JFK?The episode is a teaser miniseries episode asking “Did the CIA kill JFK?” It frames the assassination as a contested event and claims public belief that the CIA killed a sitting president is “massive…16 Oct 2025 · 8 min · 5 chapters
91. JFK vs the CIA: Killing Castro (Ep 2)The CIA’s early 1960 covert-action planning to overthrow Fidel Castro, including assassination discussions and the Bay of Pigs–era buildup, set against the 1960 US presidential campaign.14 Oct 2025 · 1 h 3 min · 17 chapters
90. JFK vs the CIA: The Battle for Cuba (Ep 1)The origins of the CIA’s Cuba policy and how it shaped the JFK era, framed by the Bay of Pigs–era logic and the question of whether the CIA (or others) could have had motive in the JFK assassination.12 Oct 2025 · 1 h 2 min · 24 chapters
EXCLUSIVE: Google's President of Global Affairs on AI, Cyber Attacks and Silicon ValleyKent Walker, Alphabet/Google President of Global Affairs, discusses the 2009–2010 Aurora cyberattack tied to China, what Google learned, and how those lessons shape today’s security approach to AI…9 Oct 2025 · 6 min · 9 chapters
89. China vs Google: The War That Shaped the Internet (Ep 2)Part 2 of the “Aurora” investigation—how a 2009 Google hack linked to China triggered Google’s decision to stop censoring Google.cn, intensified US-China internet geopolitics, and reshaped corporate…7 Oct 2025 · 33 min · 12 chapters
88. China vs Google: When Beijing Took on Silicon Valley (Ep 1)The podcast episode recounts the 2009 “Aurora” cyberattack, when attackers tied to China infiltrated Google and other major tech firms, using a Microsoft Internet Explorer zero-day to compromise…5 Oct 2025 · 42 min · 16 chapters
87. Mossad Pager Attack: Crippling Hezbollah (Ep 2)Episode 87 (“Mossad Pager Attack: Crippling Hezbollah (Ep 2)”) explains how Israel allegedly used a supply-chain and product-design operation to cripple Hezbollah by infecting pagers (“beepers”) with…30 Sep 2025 · 48 min · 22 chapters
86. Mossad Pager Attack: The Long War with Hezbollah (Ep 1)Mossad’s long-planned operation to seed Hezbollah’s communications supply chain with explosive-laden pagers, exploiting Hezbollah’s fear of cell-phone surveillance and its shift to “analog” devices.28 Sep 2025 · 52 min · 16 chapters
EXCLUSIVE: The Spy Who Smuggled Gordievsky Out of RussiaAn exclusive extract from Rest Is Classified about Oleg Gordievsky’s MI6 exfiltration from Moscow, focusing on the on-the-ground operation that smuggled Britain’s “most valuable spy” out of Russia…25 Sep 2025 · 6 min · 2 chapters
85. The Man Who Saved The World: The Great Escape (Ep 6)Oleg Gordievsky’s escape from Moscow under KGB surveillance via MI6’s “Operation Pimlico,” followed by what happened after he reached safety and the long-term costs.23 Sep 2025 · 56 min · 18 chapters
84. The Man Who Saved The World: A Friendship Shattered (Ep 5)Oleg Gordievsky, a KGB spy in London, is abruptly recalled to Moscow for “consultations,” realizes his apartment has been entered and is bugged, undergoes a drug-assisted interrogation demanding a…21 Sep 2025 · 53 min · 17 chapters
83. The Man Who Saved The World: Countdown to Armageddon (Ep 4)Oleg Gordievsky’s KGB-to-MI6 intelligence during the early-1980s Cold War, focusing on Soviet paranoia about a Western “first strike,” the KGB’s Operation Rian, and how his reporting helps Thatcher…16 Sep 2025 · 51 min · 14 chapters
82. The Man Who Saved The World: Britain’s Best Ever Agent (Ep 3)Oleg Gordievsky’s 1982 arrival in London as a KGB agent recruited to spy for MI6, the tradecraft of running him from MI6 headquarters, and how his intelligence helps prevent a KGB penetration of…14 Sep 2025 · 49 min · 19 chapters
81. The Man Who Saved The World: Abandoning Communism (Ep 2)Oleg Gordievsky’s return to Moscow after a period in Denmark, his recruitment by MI6, and the cautious “dance” that turns him into a long-term British asset, culminating in his 1981 transfer to…9 Sep 2025 · 48 min · 13 chapters
80. The Man Who Saved The World: Making of a Traitor (Ep 1)Introduction to Oleg Gordievsky’s Cold War story—how a KGB officer becomes a British (MI6) spy, and how Soviet repression and “double life” psychology set the stage for betrayal.7 Sep 2025 · 46 min · 17 chapters
79. The Hunt for Pablo Escobar: Killing the Cocaine King (Ep 6)The final phase of the manhunt for Pablo Escobar after his escape, focusing on how U.S./Colombian intelligence used radio direction-finding, surveillance, and pressure on Escobar’s family to locate…2 Sep 2025 · 57 min · 21 chapters
78. The Hunt for Pablo Escobar: Death Squads & Delta Force (Ep 5)After Pablo Escobar escapes his “prison” at La Catedral in July 1992, Colombia and the U.S.31 Aug 2025 · 53 min · 25 chapters
77. The Hunt for Pablo Escobar: The Medellin Cartel vs Colombia (Ep 4)The U.S.-Colombia hunt for Pablo Escobar escalates in 1989–1991, focusing on signals intelligence, the PEG task force (Pablo Escobar Gaviria), and how Escobar’s communications and political…26 Aug 2025 · 51 min · 18 chapters
76. The Hunt for Pablo Escobar: From Narco to Global Terrorist (Ep 3)1985–1989 escalation in Colombia’s war with Pablo Escobar, focusing on cartel intimidation of judges, the creation of the Extraditables, the 1985 Palace of Justice raid, and how Escobar’s violence…24 Aug 2025 · 57 min · 22 chapters
75. The Hunt for Pablo Escobar: The War on Drugs (Ep 2)The rise of Pablo Escobar and the Medellín cartel (late 1970s–early 1980s), Escobar’s shift into Colombian politics, and the escalation into a war with the state and the U.S.19 Aug 2025 · 56 min · 14 chapters
74. The Hunt for Pablo Escobar: Rise of a Drug Lord (Ep 1)The first episode of a six-part series on how Pablo Escobar rose from a Medellín outlaw into the leader of the Medellín cocaine cartel, framed through the “intelligence/special operations” angle of…17 Aug 2025 · 59 min · 23 chapters
73. Destroying the Nazi Nuclear Program: Saving the World From War (Ep 2)Operation Gunnerside (Episode 2) follows a SOE sabotage team’s ski-and-cliff infiltration of the Nazi Vemork heavy-water plant in Norway to destroy heavy-water production and delay Germany’s…12 Aug 2025 · 41 min · 13 chapters