Episodes
Many listened to the Dirty John podcast, which introduced the world to John Meehan, a dangerous serial predator who infiltrates the life of Debra Newell and ultimately dies at the hand of her daughter, Terra. But there was an overlooked story that’s now being told, in full, for the first time.In The First Wife: John Meehan’s Reign of Terror, Tonia Bales recounts her harrowing experiences as John’s wife of 10 years and the mother of their daughters, Emily and Abby. Highlighting new details and revelations, Tonia shares the abuse she suffered from the man she once believed to be her soulmate,...
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.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
A Hollywood stuntwoman turned personal injury attorney. A handsome disbarred lawyer with a dark past. And an elaborate scheme that leads to murder.Vanessa Motta gives up a career of fake car crashes for real ones. But her law career in New Orleans gets off to a rocky start — until she meets Sean Alfortish, a charming man who offers her the perfect space for her law office. Vanessa and Sean fall hard for each other, and as a former lawyer himself, Sean becomes her mentor. So, what if he's done some prison time for fraud?When Sean introduces Vanessa to one of the city's most prolific case run...
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.
Audible True Crime is a dedicated podcast feed where we bring you the best podcasts in true crime, with episodes dropping every single week. Just in time for spooky season, we’re releasing a show called Ghost Story, a series about a hidden family secret, unexplainable events and jaw-dropping coincidences. Tristan Redman doesn’t believe in ghosts. But weird things happened in his teenage bedroom. And when he discovers later that occupants of his family home have seen the ghost of a faceless woman, he’s intrigued. Because it just so happens that his wife’s great grandmother, Naomi Dancy, was ...
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 Pol...
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-n...
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.
As we say goodbye to our series on Ursula Kuczynski (‘Agent Sonya’), we also say goodbye to a singular and formidable agent, who navigated the high-wire act of balancing life as a spy for the Soviet Union...and motherhood. And so, who better to talk to than a woman who's walked that fine line herself, Ann E. Butler. For almost 30 years, Ann juggled raising five children all while maintaining the responsibilities of working for the CIA. And now she's pulling the curtain back on the struggle of the juggle. Plus, whether she ever put the needs of her country, ahead of her family...See Privacy ...
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.
Right on schedule for America's 250th birthday, we’ve wrapped our arc on Benedict Arnold - the American military officer who turned his back on his own country to spy for the British Army. Tucked away within this complex story, lives the unsolved identity (identities?) of Agent 355. The female spy who helped her country by gleaning military secrets from the British. In this episode, Charlie Higson explores just who this woman (or women) might have been, with ‘355: The Women of Washington's Spy Ring’ author, Kit Sergeant. Together, they break down this remarkable tale of betrayal and decepti...
With his plot to hand West Point to the British unravelling fast, Benedict Arnold is running for his life. And if George Washington’s men can’t stop him in time, Benjamin Tallmadge’s New York spy ring will be in grave danger.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
With the French now helping the U.S. in its fight for independence, the tide’s turned against Britain. But disillusioned American hero Benedict Arnold is about to help the British Empire strike back.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
With the British advancing on Philadelphia, the American rebels face defeat. But new U.S. intelligence officer Benjamin Tallmadge is about to hit on a plan that’ll give the Continental Army the inside track on the King’s forces.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
It’s 1775 and after years of rising tensions, rebellion is about to break out in British North America. The 13 rebel colonies want to shake off rule from London and form a new nation: The United States of America. But with their Patriot army no match for the might of the British Empire, they need to even the odds by turning to espionage.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
What do you think of when someone mentions the word: spy? Thanks to James Bond, they're often thought of as sleek, sexy and thrill-seeking. But what really goes on in the mind of a secret agent like Václav Jelínek? Charlie Higson is joined author, lecturer, and advisor on handling human sources of secret intelligence, John Taylor. He's pulling the curtain back on the fraught psychology of spies. Including, what kind of agent poses the biggest threat to a mission. And, who he thinks makes for a better spy - men or women?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy N...
It’s the mid-1980s and the Czechoslovak spy living posing as Erwin van Haarlem has spent years convincing the mother of the real Erwin that he is her long-lost son. Now his deception faces a new threat: Britain’s Security Service MI5 are on his tail.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
After years of preparation, Czech deep-cover spy Václav Jelínek is in London and living as Erwin Van Haarlem. But now, the Dutch mother of the real child whose identity he’s using has found him. And her inquisitiveness could blow his whole mission.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
When a teenager is made to give up her baby, Czechoslovak secret police service the StB spot a chance to create a rock-solid fake identity for one of its deep-cover 'illegal' spies. But its spy is about to end up on a collision course with a mother seeking her long-lost son.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Not many people can say they helped dismantle the most dangerous nuclear weapons network in history. Then again, not everyone is former CIA operative, Jim Lawler. Jim speaks to Raza Jaffrey about his CIA career (that almost wasn’t), bringing A.Q. Khan’s nuclear network to its knees, and whether he thinks a similar Khan-level threat is lurking in the shadows...See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
With A.Q. Khan now fully rogue and his network working to fast-track Libya’s nuclear weapons program, the CIA and MI6 need to find a way to shut his network down permanently.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.