https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-spy-network--7194053
Each episode delves deep into real spy stories, from Cold War intrigues to modern-day cyber warfare. We explore the tradecraft, the double agents, and the high-stakes missions that remain classified for decades. This isn't fiction; it's the unvarnished truth of intelligence gathering and clandestine operations.

New episodes arrive daily, seven days a week, at 4:00 AM, ensuring a constant stream of gripping narratives. Tune in for meticulous research, compelling storytelling, and insights into the geopolitical chess game played in the dark. You'll hear about famous spies, their daring feats, and the betrayals that changed the course of nations.

This podcast is essential listening for anyone fascinated by military intelligence, historical conspiracies, and the complex world of national security. If you crave authentic accounts of espionage and the lives of those who live in the shadows, you've found your network.

Subscribe to The Spy Network and unlock the secrets.]]>enTrue Crime© 2026 OBOMEDIA Creatorshttps://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/b829b3623ad96e316bed6aa920df4c3e.jpghttps://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-spy-network--7194053Mon, 12 Oct 2026 08:01:46 +0000Creator at ObomediaCreator at Obomediacreators@obomedia.comBeyond the headlines, behind the shadows, discover the true stories of espionage that shaped history. The Spy Network uncovers the hidden world of secret agents, covert operations, and intelligence agencies. Each episode delves deep into real spy...
Each episode delves deep into real spy stories, from Cold War intrigues to modern-day cyber warfare. We explore the tradecraft, the double agents, and the high-stakes missions that remain classified for decades. This isn't fiction; it's the unvarnished truth of intelligence gathering and clandestine operations.

New episodes arrive daily, seven days a week, at 4:00 AM, ensuring a constant stream of gripping narratives. Tune in for meticulous research, compelling storytelling, and insights into the geopolitical chess game played in the dark. You'll hear about famous spies, their daring feats, and the betrayals that changed the course of nations.

This podcast is essential listening for anyone fascinated by military intelligence, historical conspiracies, and the complex world of national security. If you crave authentic accounts of espionage and the lives of those who live in the shadows, you've found your network.

Subscribe to The Spy Network and unlock the secrets.]]>false949f68de-9b01-5c17-978b-4c1e01ef5511episodichttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-pilot-who-lived-two-lives-fido-s-corsican-stone-secret--73074925
A carved warrior face in Corsican scrub waited three thousand years - and the man who found it had spent a decade running from two intelligence services that both lied to him. Roger Grosjean was a pilot, a double agent, and later an archaeologist linked to a London code name, FIDO - how did one man end up ordered the same way by two enemies in 1943?

In this episode, we follow the documented threads of Grosjean's life from his birth in Chalon-sur-Saône to the wartime decisions that sent him between German and British handlers, and finally to the Corsican discovery that connected his pasts - what did the files and letters reveal about the orders he received and the identity behind FIDO?

Person: Roger Grosjean
Date: 25 July 1920 (birth)
Location: Chalon-sur-Saône; Corsican scrub; Paris
Event: Code name FIDO in London Reception Centre archives
Topic: Double agent activity during 1943

- He set a French youth record in the discus throw in 1936 at age 15.
- He enlisted in the French Air Force in 1939 at age 18 and graduated second in his class.
- He flew Morane-Saulnier M.S.406 and Dewoitine D.500 from Étampes as a sergeant at 19.
- He was shot down by friendly fire in May 1940 and survived the wounds.
- In 1943 the London Reception Centre files used the code name FIDO connected to his wartime role.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074925Tue, 13 Oct 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Pilot Who Lived Two Lives: FIDO's Corsican Stone Secret A carved warrior face in Corsican scrub waited three thousand years - and the man who found it had spent a decade running from two intelligence services that both lied to him. Roger...
A carved warrior face in Corsican scrub waited three thousand years - and the man who found it had spent a decade running from two intelligence services that both lied to him. Roger Grosjean was a pilot, a double agent, and later an archaeologist linked to a London code name, FIDO - how did one man end up ordered the same way by two enemies in 1943?

In this episode, we follow the documented threads of Grosjean's life from his birth in Chalon-sur-Saône to the wartime decisions that sent him between German and British handlers, and finally to the Corsican discovery that connected his pasts - what did the files and letters reveal about the orders he received and the identity behind FIDO?

Person: Roger Grosjean
Date: 25 July 1920 (birth)
Location: Chalon-sur-Saône; Corsican scrub; Paris
Event: Code name FIDO in London Reception Centre archives
Topic: Double agent activity during 1943

- He set a French youth record in the discus throw in 1936 at age 15.
- He enlisted in the French Air Force in 1939 at age 18 and graduated second in his class.
- He flew Morane-Saulnier M.S.406 and Dewoitine D.500 from Étampes as a sergeant at 19.
- He was shot down by friendly fire in May 1940 and survived the wounds.
- In 1943 the London Reception Centre files used the code name FIDO connected to his wartime role.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1323falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/he-dug-the-pit-the-secret-policeman-who-was-never-tried--73074922
He confessed, in a prosecutor's office, that he dug a pit in a Bucharest government compound courtyard and that three bodies went into that ground-yet no official exhumation has ever been documented. How did a man who admitted to burying victims become Romania’s most powerful secret policeman and die in 1985 with full military honors without ever being charged?

In this episode, we trace the life and career of Gheorghe Pintilie-born Timofiy Bodnarenko-showing how his early training, prison connections, and Soviet ties placed him at the center of Romania’s security apparatus and asking how the system protected him despite his own confession.

Person: Gheorghe Pintilie (born Timofiy Bodnarenko)
Date of birth: 9 November 1902
Place of birth: Tiraspol
Date of death: 1985
Location of burial: Ghencea Military Cemetery

- He told a prosecutor: "My driver struck him on the head. Just one blow. I dug the pit. The two of us."
- Three bodies were placed into the pit he admitted digging in the courtyard on Dorobanți Street in Bucharest.
- He signed orders affecting the lives of more than 400,000 people.
- He was sentenced in 1937 to twenty years after arrest by the Romanian security service, the Siguranța.
- He died in 1985 and was buried with full military honors at Ghencea Military Cemetery.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074922Mon, 12 Oct 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaHe Dug the Pit: The Secret Policeman Who Was Never Tried He confessed, in a prosecutor's office, that he dug a pit in a Bucharest government compound courtyard and that three bodies went into that ground-yet no official exhumation has ever been...
He confessed, in a prosecutor's office, that he dug a pit in a Bucharest government compound courtyard and that three bodies went into that ground-yet no official exhumation has ever been documented. How did a man who admitted to burying victims become Romania’s most powerful secret policeman and die in 1985 with full military honors without ever being charged?

In this episode, we trace the life and career of Gheorghe Pintilie-born Timofiy Bodnarenko-showing how his early training, prison connections, and Soviet ties placed him at the center of Romania’s security apparatus and asking how the system protected him despite his own confession.

Person: Gheorghe Pintilie (born Timofiy Bodnarenko)
Date of birth: 9 November 1902
Place of birth: Tiraspol
Date of death: 1985
Location of burial: Ghencea Military Cemetery

- He told a prosecutor: "My driver struck him on the head. Just one blow. I dug the pit. The two of us."
- Three bodies were placed into the pit he admitted digging in the courtyard on Dorobanți Street in Bucharest.
- He signed orders affecting the lives of more than 400,000 people.
- He was sentenced in 1937 to twenty years after arrest by the Romanian security service, the Siguranța.
- He died in 1985 and was buried with full military honors at Ghencea Military Cemetery.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1334falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-spy-who-buried-three-men-and-slept-like-a-hero--73074921
Fear and awe collide: a foreign agent who spoke no Romanian rose from prisoner to run the security apparatus that signed 417,916 arrest orders in one month, buried three men in a single unmarked grave, and died with military honors-how did he escape justice? What did it take for a planted spy to become the state itself?

In this episode, we follow the life of the man born Timofiy Bodnarenko, who adopted the name Gheorghe Pintilie and advanced from Caransebeș prison to lead Romania’s security service, and we ask how his actions reshaped a nation and evaded legal reckoning.

Person: Timofiy Bodnarenko (later Gheorghe Pintilie)
Date of birth: 9 November 1902
Location of grave site: Dorobanți, Bucharest
Event: Burial of Ștefan Foriș and two others in a single unmarked pit
Documented arrests: 417,916 arrest orders signed in a single month

- He was recruited by the NKVD around 1921-22 and given the operational nickname Pantiușa.
- He was arrested by Romania’s Siguranța in 1937 and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
- He served time in Doftana, Văcărești, and Caransebeș prisons and met Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej there.
- On 24 August 1944 he was released from Caransebeș and arrived in Bucharest at age 41.
- In August 1948 he was appointed head of Direcția Generală a Securității Poporului (DGSP), the institution that became the Securitate.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074921Sun, 11 Oct 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Spy Who Buried Three Men and Slept Like a Hero Fear and awe collide: a foreign agent who spoke no Romanian rose from prisoner to run the security apparatus that signed 417,916 arrest orders in one month, buried three men in a single unmarked...
Fear and awe collide: a foreign agent who spoke no Romanian rose from prisoner to run the security apparatus that signed 417,916 arrest orders in one month, buried three men in a single unmarked grave, and died with military honors-how did he escape justice? What did it take for a planted spy to become the state itself?

In this episode, we follow the life of the man born Timofiy Bodnarenko, who adopted the name Gheorghe Pintilie and advanced from Caransebeș prison to lead Romania’s security service, and we ask how his actions reshaped a nation and evaded legal reckoning.

Person: Timofiy Bodnarenko (later Gheorghe Pintilie)
Date of birth: 9 November 1902
Location of grave site: Dorobanți, Bucharest
Event: Burial of Ștefan Foriș and two others in a single unmarked pit
Documented arrests: 417,916 arrest orders signed in a single month

- He was recruited by the NKVD around 1921-22 and given the operational nickname Pantiușa.
- He was arrested by Romania’s Siguranța in 1937 and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
- He served time in Doftana, Văcărești, and Caransebeș prisons and met Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej there.
- On 24 August 1944 he was released from Caransebeș and arrived in Bucharest at age 41.
- In August 1948 he was appointed head of Direcția Generală a Securității Poporului (DGSP), the institution that became the Securitate.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1428falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/he-dug-the-pit-celebrated-unprosecuted-and-buried-with-honors--73074920
The shock is how ordinary the mechanics were: a hand-dug pit at the Dorobanți compound in the summer of 1946 swallowed three men, yet no trial, no charges, and no accountability followed. How did the man who admitted to ordering those killings go on to lead Romania’s feared secret police and die in 1985 with full military honors?

In this episode, we trace the documented life and transformations of the man born Timofiy Bodnarenko who became Gheorghe Pintilie, and we follow the events around the Dorobanți pit, his recorded confessions, and the absence of legal reckoning that persisted - so how did state power protect him?

Person: Gheorghe Pintilie (born Timofiy Bodnarenko)
Date: Born November 9, 1902; died 1985
Location: Dorobanți compound; grave at Ghencea Military Cemetery
Event: Three men killed and buried in a pit in summer 1946
Status: No trial, no charges; received a state decoration in 1971

- He was born Timofiy Bodnarenko on November 9, 1902, in Tiraspol.
- He learned locksmithing in Odessa by 1915 and fought in the Russian Civil War as a teenager.
- He was recruited by Soviet intelligence and operated in Bessarabia from 1928 for approximately nine years.
- Arrested by Romanian Siguranța in 1937 and sentenced to twenty years, he met Gheorghe Pintilie-Dej in prison.
- In 1971 he received a state decoration, three years after publicly confessing to killings.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074920Sat, 10 Oct 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaHe Dug the Pit - Celebrated, Unprosecuted, and Buried with Honors The shock is how ordinary the mechanics were: a hand-dug pit at the Dorobanți compound in the summer of 1946 swallowed three men, yet no trial, no charges, and no accountability...
The shock is how ordinary the mechanics were: a hand-dug pit at the Dorobanți compound in the summer of 1946 swallowed three men, yet no trial, no charges, and no accountability followed. How did the man who admitted to ordering those killings go on to lead Romania’s feared secret police and die in 1985 with full military honors?

In this episode, we trace the documented life and transformations of the man born Timofiy Bodnarenko who became Gheorghe Pintilie, and we follow the events around the Dorobanți pit, his recorded confessions, and the absence of legal reckoning that persisted - so how did state power protect him?

Person: Gheorghe Pintilie (born Timofiy Bodnarenko)
Date: Born November 9, 1902; died 1985
Location: Dorobanți compound; grave at Ghencea Military Cemetery
Event: Three men killed and buried in a pit in summer 1946
Status: No trial, no charges; received a state decoration in 1971

- He was born Timofiy Bodnarenko on November 9, 1902, in Tiraspol.
- He learned locksmithing in Odessa by 1915 and fought in the Russian Civil War as a teenager.
- He was recruited by Soviet intelligence and operated in Bessarabia from 1928 for approximately nine years.
- Arrested by Romanian Siguranța in 1937 and sentenced to twenty years, he met Gheorghe Pintilie-Dej in prison.
- In 1971 he received a state decoration, three years after publicly confessing to killings.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1417falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-colonel-who-sold-secrets-on-a-moscow-bridge-1960--73074919
A Soviet colonel walked up to strangers on a Moscow bridge in July 1960 and handed them military documents from inside the GRU - then vanished back into the city. He later told the West that the Soviet nuclear arsenal was smaller than claimed and that mass production of ICBMs had not yet happened; how much did Moscow know about him at the time, and when did that knowledge arrive?

In this episode, you will hear the account of Oleg Penkovsky’s decision to pass GRU secrets to Western intelligence, the failed initial approach to the American Embassy, and how a British industrial salesman became the crucial conduit. What did Penkovsky risk by revealing the exact signatures and footprints of Soviet missiles, and how did those revelations reshape the Cold War standoff?

Person: Oleg Penkovsky
Date (birth): April 23, 1919
Event (bridge handoff): July 1960 on Bolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge
Contact: Greville Wynne met Penkovsky in London, April 1961
Revelation: Exact visual signatures and physical footprints of Soviet intermediate-range ballistic missiles

- Penkovsky was born on April 23, 1919 during the Russian Civil War.
- He graduated from the Kiev Artillery Academy and was commissioned in 1939.
- He joined the GRU in 1953 and was posted to Ankara in 1955 before being recalled.
- In July 1960 he handed a package of military documents to two American students on a Moscow bridge.
- Penkovsky’s first direct meeting with Western intelligence took place in London in April 1961 with four officers present.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074919Fri, 09 Oct 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Colonel Who Sold Secrets on a Moscow Bridge, 1960 A Soviet colonel walked up to strangers on a Moscow bridge in July 1960 and handed them military documents from inside the GRU - then vanished back into the city. He later told the West that the...
A Soviet colonel walked up to strangers on a Moscow bridge in July 1960 and handed them military documents from inside the GRU - then vanished back into the city. He later told the West that the Soviet nuclear arsenal was smaller than claimed and that mass production of ICBMs had not yet happened; how much did Moscow know about him at the time, and when did that knowledge arrive?

In this episode, you will hear the account of Oleg Penkovsky’s decision to pass GRU secrets to Western intelligence, the failed initial approach to the American Embassy, and how a British industrial salesman became the crucial conduit. What did Penkovsky risk by revealing the exact signatures and footprints of Soviet missiles, and how did those revelations reshape the Cold War standoff?

Person: Oleg Penkovsky
Date (birth): April 23, 1919
Event (bridge handoff): July 1960 on Bolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge
Contact: Greville Wynne met Penkovsky in London, April 1961
Revelation: Exact visual signatures and physical footprints of Soviet intermediate-range ballistic missiles

- Penkovsky was born on April 23, 1919 during the Russian Civil War.
- He graduated from the Kiev Artillery Academy and was commissioned in 1939.
- He joined the GRU in 1953 and was posted to Ankara in 1955 before being recalled.
- In July 1960 he handed a package of military documents to two American students on a Moscow bridge.
- Penkovsky’s first direct meeting with Western intelligence took place in London in April 1961 with four officers present.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1309falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-spy-who-bicycled-home-how-sonja-escaped-the-atom-case--73074918
Sonja cycled through Oxfordshire lanes as a mother of three while also burying a radio transmitter in her garden and running one of the twentieth century's most sustained Soviet espionage operations. How could a decorated Red Army major live openly in the English countryside, meet the man who helped build the bomb, and leave the country before being named-without ever being charged?

In this episode, we follow Ursula Maria Maria from her Berlin childhood to Shanghai, Moscow training, Manchuria, Warsaw, and finally the English Cotswolds, tracing the skills and decisions that let her operate undetected and depart England before being implicated. What choices and blind spots made her escape possible?

Person: Ursula Maria Maria
Date of birth: 15 May 1907
Code name: Sonja
Award: Order of the Red Army
Location in England: Oxfordshire

- She joined the Young Communists in 1924 at age 17.
- She was fired from Ullstein publishing in 1928 for political activity at age 21.
- She traveled to Shanghai in July 1930 and met Richard Sorge in November 1930.
- She spent seven months in Moscow training in radio operation and clandestine transmitters in autumn 1931.
- She was presented the Order of the Red Army by Mikhail Kalinin in June 1937.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074918Thu, 08 Oct 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Spy Who Bicycled Home: How "Sonja" Escaped the Atom Case Sonja cycled through Oxfordshire lanes as a mother of three while also burying a radio transmitter in her garden and running one of the twentieth century's most sustained Soviet espionage...
Sonja cycled through Oxfordshire lanes as a mother of three while also burying a radio transmitter in her garden and running one of the twentieth century's most sustained Soviet espionage operations. How could a decorated Red Army major live openly in the English countryside, meet the man who helped build the bomb, and leave the country before being named-without ever being charged?

In this episode, we follow Ursula Maria Maria from her Berlin childhood to Shanghai, Moscow training, Manchuria, Warsaw, and finally the English Cotswolds, tracing the skills and decisions that let her operate undetected and depart England before being implicated. What choices and blind spots made her escape possible?

Person: Ursula Maria Maria
Date of birth: 15 May 1907
Code name: Sonja
Award: Order of the Red Army
Location in England: Oxfordshire

- She joined the Young Communists in 1924 at age 17.
- She was fired from Ullstein publishing in 1928 for political activity at age 21.
- She traveled to Shanghai in July 1930 and met Richard Sorge in November 1930.
- She spent seven months in Moscow training in radio operation and clandestine transmitters in autumn 1931.
- She was presented the Order of the Red Army by Mikhail Kalinin in June 1937.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1525falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-spy-who-traded-her-mother-s-medicine-for-a-secret-life--73074916
Fear and moral compromise collide: a 21-year-old woman traded scarce cancer drugs for her mother's survival in 1947 and wound up inside the heart of a cold-war intelligence battle. How did one desperate bargain turn a librarian into an insider in the SED and then a lifelong opponent of political persecution?

In this episode, we tell the story of that bargain and the decades that followed, following the woman from a Baltic guesthouse to the Karl Marx Academy and across the Berlin divide - and asking how a choice made to save a life reshaped hers and the institutions she touched.

Person: Erika Assmus
Date of birth: 14 November 1925
Age at recruitment: 21
Year she crossed to West Berlin: 1951
Location of early work: Rabe Institute, Bleicherode

- In autumn 1947 a man calling himself Mr. Becker offered cancer medicine in exchange for information.
- Erika Assmus was 21 years old when she accepted the offer to get drugs for her hospitalized mother.
- By 1945 she was working as a librarian at the Rabe Institute in Bleicherode, a site housing former Peenemünde personnel.
- She joined the SED and served as a reader at the Karl Marx Academy in the Hakeburg in Kleinmachnow.
- On 21 June 1951 she crossed into West Berlin after being denounced and summoned by the Party's Control Commission.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074916Wed, 07 Oct 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Spy Who Traded Her Mother's Medicine for a Secret Life Fear and moral compromise collide: a 21-year-old woman traded scarce cancer drugs for her mother's survival in 1947 and wound up inside the heart of a cold-war intelligence battle. How did...
Fear and moral compromise collide: a 21-year-old woman traded scarce cancer drugs for her mother's survival in 1947 and wound up inside the heart of a cold-war intelligence battle. How did one desperate bargain turn a librarian into an insider in the SED and then a lifelong opponent of political persecution?

In this episode, we tell the story of that bargain and the decades that followed, following the woman from a Baltic guesthouse to the Karl Marx Academy and across the Berlin divide - and asking how a choice made to save a life reshaped hers and the institutions she touched.

Person: Erika Assmus
Date of birth: 14 November 1925
Age at recruitment: 21
Year she crossed to West Berlin: 1951
Location of early work: Rabe Institute, Bleicherode

- In autumn 1947 a man calling himself Mr. Becker offered cancer medicine in exchange for information.
- Erika Assmus was 21 years old when she accepted the offer to get drugs for her hospitalized mother.
- By 1945 she was working as a librarian at the Rabe Institute in Bleicherode, a site housing former Peenemünde personnel.
- She joined the SED and served as a reader at the Karl Marx Academy in the Hakeburg in Kleinmachnow.
- On 21 June 1951 she crossed into West Berlin after being denounced and summoned by the Party's Control Commission.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1288falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/he-lived-three-lives-the-man-who-secretly-betrayed-a-party--73074915
He spent nine years living three simultaneous lives: a Boston advertising executive, a card-carrying member of the Communist Party USA, and a secret FBI informant - all at once. He watched closed-door sessions where scientists, lawyers, and academics received instruction about overthrowing the government; how did one ordinary family man sustain that double existence, and what did it cost him in the end?

In this episode, we tell the story of Herbert Arthur Philbrick and the nine-year span that placed him inside local Party cells in Wakefield and Malden and later within a professionals' cell whose members had institutional access. What he witnessed in those rooms ultimately contributed to putting eleven men on trial and reached the Supreme Court of the United States.

Person: Herbert Arthur Philbrick
Date of birth: May 11, 1915
Location: Little Boar's Head, North Hampton, New Hampshire
Organization: Communist Party of the United States; Federal Bureau of Investigation
Event: Eleven men put on trial reaching the Supreme Court

- Lived three simultaneous lives for nine years: advertising executive, Communist Party member, and FBI informant.
- Born May 11, 1915, in Little Boar's Head, North Hampton, New Hampshire.
- Had six children named Dale, Brenda, Leslie, Connie, Sandra, and Herbert Junior.
- Operated inside local cells in Wakefield and Malden, Massachusetts, and later a professionals' cell.
- His eyewitnessing of Party instruction about overthrowing the government contributed to trials of eleven men and a Supreme Court case.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074915Tue, 06 Oct 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaHe Lived Three Lives: The Man Who Secretly Betrayed a Party He spent nine years living three simultaneous lives: a Boston advertising executive, a card-carrying member of the Communist Party USA, and a secret FBI informant - all at once. He watched...
He spent nine years living three simultaneous lives: a Boston advertising executive, a card-carrying member of the Communist Party USA, and a secret FBI informant - all at once. He watched closed-door sessions where scientists, lawyers, and academics received instruction about overthrowing the government; how did one ordinary family man sustain that double existence, and what did it cost him in the end?

In this episode, we tell the story of Herbert Arthur Philbrick and the nine-year span that placed him inside local Party cells in Wakefield and Malden and later within a professionals' cell whose members had institutional access. What he witnessed in those rooms ultimately contributed to putting eleven men on trial and reached the Supreme Court of the United States.

Person: Herbert Arthur Philbrick
Date of birth: May 11, 1915
Location: Little Boar's Head, North Hampton, New Hampshire
Organization: Communist Party of the United States; Federal Bureau of Investigation
Event: Eleven men put on trial reaching the Supreme Court

- Lived three simultaneous lives for nine years: advertising executive, Communist Party member, and FBI informant.
- Born May 11, 1915, in Little Boar's Head, North Hampton, New Hampshire.
- Had six children named Dale, Brenda, Leslie, Connie, Sandra, and Herbert Junior.
- Operated inside local cells in Wakefield and Malden, Massachusetts, and later a professionals' cell.
- His eyewitnessing of Party instruction about overthrowing the government contributed to trials of eleven men and a Supreme Court case.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1142falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/he-lived-two-lives-the-fbi-man-who-pretended-to-be-a-communist--73074914
Fear and curiosity collide: a Baptist youth leader who ran a seaside shop spent nine years inside the CPUSA while secretly feeding the FBI names, meetings and directives - then stood in Foley Square to testify at the 1949 Smith Act trial. How does a man who lived two lives reckon with a government payment record and a sudden public unmasking?

In this episode, we trace Herbert Arthur Arthur’s path from advertising executive and church youth leader to undercover informant, his infiltration of Young Communist League cells and the professional cell tied to the 1948 Wallace campaign, and the courtroom moment that made his secret public. What did his memories of rooms and voices add that documents could not?

Person: Herbert Arthur Arthur
Date (birth): May 11, 1915
Date (trial testimony): April 6, 1949
Location: Foley Square, lower Manhattan
Event: Smith Act trial of eleven Communist Party leaders

- Arthur was 24 years old in 1940 and grew up in North Hampton, New Hampshire, in Little Boar's Head.
- He contacted the FBI of his own initiative around 1940 and then spent nine years acting as an informant inside communist organizations.
- His infiltration progressed from the Cambridge Youth Council to the Young Communist League, then to full membership in the Communist Party USA and cells in Wakefield and Malden, Massachusetts.
- The professional cell he joined was tasked with supporting Henry A. Wallace’s 1948 Progressive Party presidential campaign.
- On April 6, 1949, Arthur testified in federal court in lower Manhattan, providing firsthand accounts of internal cell structures and activities used by the prosecution in the Smith Act case.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074914Mon, 05 Oct 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaHe Lived Two Lives: The FBI Man Who Pretended to Be a Communist Fear and curiosity collide: a Baptist youth leader who ran a seaside shop spent nine years inside the CPUSA while secretly feeding the FBI names, meetings and directives - then stood...
Fear and curiosity collide: a Baptist youth leader who ran a seaside shop spent nine years inside the CPUSA while secretly feeding the FBI names, meetings and directives - then stood in Foley Square to testify at the 1949 Smith Act trial. How does a man who lived two lives reckon with a government payment record and a sudden public unmasking?

In this episode, we trace Herbert Arthur Arthur’s path from advertising executive and church youth leader to undercover informant, his infiltration of Young Communist League cells and the professional cell tied to the 1948 Wallace campaign, and the courtroom moment that made his secret public. What did his memories of rooms and voices add that documents could not?

Person: Herbert Arthur Arthur
Date (birth): May 11, 1915
Date (trial testimony): April 6, 1949
Location: Foley Square, lower Manhattan
Event: Smith Act trial of eleven Communist Party leaders

- Arthur was 24 years old in 1940 and grew up in North Hampton, New Hampshire, in Little Boar's Head.
- He contacted the FBI of his own initiative around 1940 and then spent nine years acting as an informant inside communist organizations.
- His infiltration progressed from the Cambridge Youth Council to the Young Communist League, then to full membership in the Communist Party USA and cells in Wakefield and Malden, Massachusetts.
- The professional cell he joined was tasked with supporting Henry A. Wallace’s 1948 Progressive Party presidential campaign.
- On April 6, 1949, Arthur testified in federal court in lower Manhattan, providing firsthand accounts of internal cell structures and activities used by the prosecution in the Smith Act case.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1214falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-secret-life-that-turned-a-baptist-father-into-a-cold-war-mole--73074907
He spent nine years living two lives: a Baptist youth leader and family man by day, a trusted Communist Party insider by night - and he told the FBI everything. The disguise was his real name, his real family, and a habit of vigilance that never left him; what did that double life cost him in the end?

In this episode, we follow the path that took Herbert Arthur Philbrick from Little Boar's Head to the inner circles of the American Communist Party and into a long FBI collaboration, asking how an ordinary civic profile became an extraordinary operational asset and what broke him free of the Party when Moscow intervened.

Person: Herbert Arthur Philbrick
Date of birth: May 11, 1915
Location: Little Boar's Head district of North Hampton, New Hampshire
Period: 1930s-1940s
Event: Dissolution and reconstitution of the Communist Party in 1944-1945

- Philbrick lived undercover for nine years while reporting to the FBI.
- He raised six children with his first wife, Eva: Dale, Brenda, Leslie, Connie, Sandra, and Herbert Jr.
- In 1944 Earl Browder dissolved the Party into the Communist Political Association.
- In July 1945 a letter attributed to Jacques Duclos from Moscow denounced Browder and reversed the Party's course.
- Eleven men were convicted at a federal trial based on Philbrick's testimony.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074907Sun, 04 Oct 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Secret Life That Turned a Baptist Father into a Cold War Mole He spent nine years living two lives: a Baptist youth leader and family man by day, a trusted Communist Party insider by night - and he told the FBI everything. The disguise was his...
He spent nine years living two lives: a Baptist youth leader and family man by day, a trusted Communist Party insider by night - and he told the FBI everything. The disguise was his real name, his real family, and a habit of vigilance that never left him; what did that double life cost him in the end?

In this episode, we follow the path that took Herbert Arthur Philbrick from Little Boar's Head to the inner circles of the American Communist Party and into a long FBI collaboration, asking how an ordinary civic profile became an extraordinary operational asset and what broke him free of the Party when Moscow intervened.

Person: Herbert Arthur Philbrick
Date of birth: May 11, 1915
Location: Little Boar's Head district of North Hampton, New Hampshire
Period: 1930s-1940s
Event: Dissolution and reconstitution of the Communist Party in 1944-1945

- Philbrick lived undercover for nine years while reporting to the FBI.
- He raised six children with his first wife, Eva: Dale, Brenda, Leslie, Connie, Sandra, and Herbert Jr.
- In 1944 Earl Browder dissolved the Party into the Communist Political Association.
- In July 1945 a letter attributed to Jacques Duclos from Moscow denounced Browder and reversed the Party's course.
- Eleven men were convicted at a federal trial based on Philbrick's testimony.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1263falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-number-that-crossed-to-moscow-victor-perlo-s-hidden-ledger--73074905
A single data point - 2,416 aircraft - traveled from a War Production Board desk in Washington toward Moscow, carried by Victor Perlo, a government economist who also published in Biometrika at age twenty. How did one number link six federal agencies, three accused supervisors, and a lifetime of Communist Party service into an intelligence question that was never legally resolved?

In this episode, we tell how Perlo's career, from Columbia mathematics prodigy to senior wartime economist, intersected with networks and offices later flagged by declassified records and the Venona intercepts. We trace the paths that number took, the agencies it passed through, and the unanswered implications that remain: who else knew, and why was Perlo never charged?

Person: Victor Perlo
Date of birth: May 15, 1912
Number: 2,416 aircraft
Agencies: National Recovery Administration; Federal Home Loan Bank Board; Home Owners' Loan Bank; Brookings Institution; Department of Commerce; Office of Price Administration; Treasury Division of Monetary Research
Age at death: 87

- Perlo published a technical note in Biometrika on Student's ratio at age 20 in 1933.
- He joined the Communist Party around late 1932 or early 1933 and served on its National Recovery.
- From 1933 to 1945 he worked across six federal agencies over twelve years.
- The aircraft production figure he carried out of the War Production Board was exactly 2,416.
- At the Treasury Division of Monetary Research in late 1945, his supervisors included Harry Dexter White, Frank Coe, and Harold Glasser, all later accused in investigations.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074905Sat, 03 Oct 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Number That Crossed To Moscow: Victor Perlo's Hidden Ledger A single data point - 2,416 aircraft - traveled from a War Production Board desk in Washington toward Moscow, carried by Victor Perlo, a government economist who also published in...
A single data point - 2,416 aircraft - traveled from a War Production Board desk in Washington toward Moscow, carried by Victor Perlo, a government economist who also published in Biometrika at age twenty. How did one number link six federal agencies, three accused supervisors, and a lifetime of Communist Party service into an intelligence question that was never legally resolved?

In this episode, we tell how Perlo's career, from Columbia mathematics prodigy to senior wartime economist, intersected with networks and offices later flagged by declassified records and the Venona intercepts. We trace the paths that number took, the agencies it passed through, and the unanswered implications that remain: who else knew, and why was Perlo never charged?

Person: Victor Perlo
Date of birth: May 15, 1912
Number: 2,416 aircraft
Agencies: National Recovery Administration; Federal Home Loan Bank Board; Home Owners' Loan Bank; Brookings Institution; Department of Commerce; Office of Price Administration; Treasury Division of Monetary Research
Age at death: 87

- Perlo published a technical note in Biometrika on Student's ratio at age 20 in 1933.
- He joined the Communist Party around late 1932 or early 1933 and served on its National Recovery.
- From 1933 to 1945 he worked across six federal agencies over twelve years.
- The aircraft production figure he carried out of the War Production Board was exactly 2,416.
- At the Treasury Division of Monetary Research in late 1945, his supervisors included Harry Dexter White, Frank Coe, and Harold Glasser, all later accused in investigations.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1206falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-was-erased-by-empire-why-sophie-sat-in-that-car--73074904
The Habsburg bureaucracy spent two decades erasing Sophie Chotek from dynastic life, and on 28 June 1914 she sat in an open car in Sarajevo because a military loophole had briefly made her visible - would that visibility cost her life? The world remembers the shots that killed Franz Ferdinand; few recall the woman who received one of them and the legal oath he signed fourteen years earlier to keep her by his side.

In this episode, we tell the story of Sophie Chotek and Franz Ferdinand and the institutional rules that shaped their fate, from a locket found on a tennis court around 1894 to the renunciation sworn in the Hofburg Palace; we trace why Sophie chose to sit beside him that morning and what the empire’s decisions meant for her and their children.

Person: Sophie Chotek
Date: 1 March 1868
Event: Renunciation signed by Franz Ferdinand on 28 June 1900
Location: Reichstadt (marriage on 1 July 1900) and Sarajevo (shooting on 28 June 1914)
Princess of Hohenberg, style Serene Highness

- Sophie lost her position as lady-in-waiting immediately after Archduchess Isabella found a locket around 1894 showing Sophie's portrait.
- Franz Ferdinand signed a public renunciation in the Hofburg Palace on 28 June 1900, surrendering titles and rights for Sophie and their future children.
- The couple married on 1 July 1900 in Reichstadt (now Zákupy) three days after the renunciation.
- Sophie was born on 1 March 1868 in Stuttgart as the fifth child of Count Bohuslav Chotek and Countess Wilhelmine Kinsky.
- On 28 June 1914 Sophie sat in an open car in Sarajevo and received one of the fatal shots within the hour.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074904Fri, 02 Oct 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Was Erased by Empire - Why Sophie Sat in That Car The Habsburg bureaucracy spent two decades erasing Sophie Chotek from dynastic life, and on 28 June 1914 she sat in an open car in Sarajevo because a military loophole had briefly made her...
The Habsburg bureaucracy spent two decades erasing Sophie Chotek from dynastic life, and on 28 June 1914 she sat in an open car in Sarajevo because a military loophole had briefly made her visible - would that visibility cost her life? The world remembers the shots that killed Franz Ferdinand; few recall the woman who received one of them and the legal oath he signed fourteen years earlier to keep her by his side.

In this episode, we tell the story of Sophie Chotek and Franz Ferdinand and the institutional rules that shaped their fate, from a locket found on a tennis court around 1894 to the renunciation sworn in the Hofburg Palace; we trace why Sophie chose to sit beside him that morning and what the empire’s decisions meant for her and their children.

Person: Sophie Chotek
Date: 1 March 1868
Event: Renunciation signed by Franz Ferdinand on 28 June 1900
Location: Reichstadt (marriage on 1 July 1900) and Sarajevo (shooting on 28 June 1914)
Princess of Hohenberg, style Serene Highness

- Sophie lost her position as lady-in-waiting immediately after Archduchess Isabella found a locket around 1894 showing Sophie's portrait.
- Franz Ferdinand signed a public renunciation in the Hofburg Palace on 28 June 1900, surrendering titles and rights for Sophie and their future children.
- The couple married on 1 July 1900 in Reichstadt (now Zákupy) three days after the renunciation.
- Sophie was born on 1 March 1868 in Stuttgart as the fifth child of Count Bohuslav Chotek and Countess Wilhelmine Kinsky.
- On 28 June 1914 Sophie sat in an open car in Sarajevo and received one of the fatal shots within the hour.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1471falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/when-the-state-mistook-influence-for-treason-the-combe-files--73074902
A man who chaired the machinery of a ruling party was shadowed by national security after social dinners with a Soviet diplomat; a royal commission later cleared him yet the government admitted it had overreacted. How did a friendship turn into a national security crisis without a single charge or proof of passed secrets?

In this episode, we present the sequence of events from David Combe's rise as the youngest National Secretary of the ALP to his post-political career as a lobbyist, his meetings with Valery Ivanov at the Soviet Embassy, and the ASIO surveillance that culminated in public action and later public contrition. What actually happened between Combe and Ivanov, and why did the state move so forcefully without evidence?

Person: David Combe
Person: Valery Ivanov
Event: Royal Commission cleared Combe of being a Soviet agent
Date of birth: 26 April 1943
Year of meeting with Ivanov: 1982

- Combe was named National Secretary of the Australian Labor Party in 1973 at age 30, the youngest ever to hold the position.
- In 1975 Combe was allegedly involved in an approach seeking a $500,000 US campaign gift from representatives of Iraq; no money was received.
- Combe resigned as National Secretary in July 1981 and founded David Combe and Associates the same year.
- In January 1982 Combe published an article in The Bulletin claiming the CIA played a role in Labor's 1975 defeat.
- By March 1983, after Labor returned to power under Bob Hawke, Combe was described in the press as the most influential lobbyist in Canberra.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074902Thu, 01 Oct 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaWhen the State Mistook Influence for Treason: The Combe Files A man who chaired the machinery of a ruling party was shadowed by national security after social dinners with a Soviet diplomat; a royal commission later cleared him yet the government...
A man who chaired the machinery of a ruling party was shadowed by national security after social dinners with a Soviet diplomat; a royal commission later cleared him yet the government admitted it had overreacted. How did a friendship turn into a national security crisis without a single charge or proof of passed secrets?

In this episode, we present the sequence of events from David Combe's rise as the youngest National Secretary of the ALP to his post-political career as a lobbyist, his meetings with Valery Ivanov at the Soviet Embassy, and the ASIO surveillance that culminated in public action and later public contrition. What actually happened between Combe and Ivanov, and why did the state move so forcefully without evidence?

Person: David Combe
Person: Valery Ivanov
Event: Royal Commission cleared Combe of being a Soviet agent
Date of birth: 26 April 1943
Year of meeting with Ivanov: 1982

- Combe was named National Secretary of the Australian Labor Party in 1973 at age 30, the youngest ever to hold the position.
- In 1975 Combe was allegedly involved in an approach seeking a $500,000 US campaign gift from representatives of Iraq; no money was received.
- Combe resigned as National Secretary in July 1981 and founded David Combe and Associates the same year.
- In January 1982 Combe published an article in The Bulletin claiming the CIA played a role in Labor's 1975 defeat.
- By March 1983, after Labor returned to power under Bob Hawke, Combe was described in the press as the most influential lobbyist in Canberra.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1346falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-night-france-bombed-a-greenpeace-ship-who-gave-the-orders--73074901
A state-directed explosion ripped open the Rainbow Warrior in Auckland Harbor at 11:38 PM on July 10, 1985, killing photographer Fernando Pereira and setting off a diplomatic scandal that implicated France’s DGSE. How did two agents with fake Swiss passports, renting a campervan, carry out Opération Satanique in a friendly port - and who in Paris authorized the lethal second blast?

In this episode, we recount the timeline from the first detonation to the arrest of Alain Mafart and Dominique Prieur, explain the significance of Fernando Pereira’s work and death, and trace how ordinary evidence - a campervan license plate logged by a neighborhood watch - exposed an international operation. What unanswered questions about command, intent, and accountability remain?

Person: Fernando Pereira
Date: July 10, 1985
Location: Auckland Harbor, Marsden Wharf
Event: Opération Satanique (bombing of the Rainbow Warrior)
People: Alain Mafart; Dominique Prieur

- Explosion one occurred at 11:38 PM and blew open the hull near the propeller shaft.
- The second bomb detonated seven minutes later near the engine room and caused the fatal collapse of an interior compartment.
- Fernando Pereira was 35 years old and was the only person killed in the attack.
- Two agents rented a campervan under the names Alain and Sophie Turenge and were observed near Marsden Wharf.
- The suspects’ Swiss passports carried numbers that Swiss authorities confirmed had never been issued.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074901Wed, 30 Sep 2026 08:00:04 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Night France Bombed a Greenpeace Ship - Who Gave the Orders? A state-directed explosion ripped open the Rainbow Warrior in Auckland Harbor at 11:38 PM on July 10, 1985, killing photographer Fernando Pereira and setting off a diplomatic scandal...
A state-directed explosion ripped open the Rainbow Warrior in Auckland Harbor at 11:38 PM on July 10, 1985, killing photographer Fernando Pereira and setting off a diplomatic scandal that implicated France’s DGSE. How did two agents with fake Swiss passports, renting a campervan, carry out Opération Satanique in a friendly port - and who in Paris authorized the lethal second blast?

In this episode, we recount the timeline from the first detonation to the arrest of Alain Mafart and Dominique Prieur, explain the significance of Fernando Pereira’s work and death, and trace how ordinary evidence - a campervan license plate logged by a neighborhood watch - exposed an international operation. What unanswered questions about command, intent, and accountability remain?

Person: Fernando Pereira
Date: July 10, 1985
Location: Auckland Harbor, Marsden Wharf
Event: Opération Satanique (bombing of the Rainbow Warrior)
People: Alain Mafart; Dominique Prieur

- Explosion one occurred at 11:38 PM and blew open the hull near the propeller shaft.
- The second bomb detonated seven minutes later near the engine room and caused the fatal collapse of an interior compartment.
- Fernando Pereira was 35 years old and was the only person killed in the attack.
- Two agents rented a campervan under the names Alain and Sophie Turenge and were observed near Marsden Wharf.
- The suspects’ Swiss passports carried numbers that Swiss authorities confirmed had never been issued.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1453falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/neutrality-betrayed-sweden-s-secret-spies-embassies-broken-journalists-jailed--73074899
Sweden’s image as a principled, neutral beacon of the Cold War hid a secret intelligence arm that broke into embassies, bugged political groups and sent operatives into the Middle East. How did a government that publicly denied running spies create an organization that reported directly to cabinet level-and why were the journalists who exposed it the ones arrested?

In this episode, you will hear the story of IB and the journalists who published its existence, following an inside source from the agency to the pages of a small left-wing magazine-and the fallout that followed. What happened when source testimony, break-ins, and overseas reporting collided with Sweden’s official narrative of neutrality?

Organization: IB
People: Jan Guillou; Peter Bratt; Håkan Isacson; Birger Elmér; Gunnar Ekberg
Date: May 3, 1973
Location: Sweden; Egypt; Jordan; Finland
Event: Publication naming IB; subsequent arrests of journalists

- IB reportedly reported directly to cabinet level and not through normal military intelligence channels.
- Agents broke into the Egyptian and Algerian embassies in Stockholm and into offices of the FNL Groups and the Communist Party of Sweden.
- At least one operation involved installing a wiretap; Parliamentary Ombudsman later ruled entry was not criminal because nothing was stolen and no forced intrusion occurred.
- In spring 1973 three IB assets were active in the Middle East: a naval captain in Alexandria, a woman mapping potential bombing targets in Egypt, and Gunnar Ekberg visiting Palestinian guerrilla camps in Jordan.
- On May 3, 1973 the magazine Folket i Bild/Kulturfront published an article by Jan Guillou and Peter Bratt, based on Håkan Isacson’s testimony, naming IB and detailing its operations.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074899Tue, 29 Sep 2026 08:00:04 +0000Creator at ObomediaNeutrality Betrayed: Sweden's Secret Spies, Embassies Broken, Journalists Jailed Sweden’s image as a principled, neutral beacon of the Cold War hid a secret intelligence arm that broke into embassies, bugged political groups and sent operatives...
Sweden’s image as a principled, neutral beacon of the Cold War hid a secret intelligence arm that broke into embassies, bugged political groups and sent operatives into the Middle East. How did a government that publicly denied running spies create an organization that reported directly to cabinet level-and why were the journalists who exposed it the ones arrested?

In this episode, you will hear the story of IB and the journalists who published its existence, following an inside source from the agency to the pages of a small left-wing magazine-and the fallout that followed. What happened when source testimony, break-ins, and overseas reporting collided with Sweden’s official narrative of neutrality?

Organization: IB
People: Jan Guillou; Peter Bratt; Håkan Isacson; Birger Elmér; Gunnar Ekberg
Date: May 3, 1973
Location: Sweden; Egypt; Jordan; Finland
Event: Publication naming IB; subsequent arrests of journalists

- IB reportedly reported directly to cabinet level and not through normal military intelligence channels.
- Agents broke into the Egyptian and Algerian embassies in Stockholm and into offices of the FNL Groups and the Communist Party of Sweden.
- At least one operation involved installing a wiretap; Parliamentary Ombudsman later ruled entry was not criminal because nothing was stolen and no forced intrusion occurred.
- In spring 1973 three IB assets were active in the Middle East: a naval captain in Alexandria, a woman mapping potential bombing targets in Egypt, and Gunnar Ekberg visiting Palestinian guerrilla camps in Jordan.
- On May 3, 1973 the magazine Folket i Bild/Kulturfront published an article by Jan Guillou and Peter Bratt, based on Håkan Isacson’s testimony, naming IB and detailing its operations.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1266falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-day-paris-ate-mehdi-ben-barka-who-ordered-the-vanishing--73074898
Paris swallowed a forty-five-year-old dissident at 1:30 p.m. on October 29, 1965 - Mehdi Ben Barka got into a car outside the Brasserie Lipp and was never seen again; his body has never been found. At least three intelligence services knew where he was going that afternoon, and one of them had been funding him - who ordered the disappearance?

In this episode, we tell what is known from the records and reporting about Ben Barka’s life, his exile, and the disappearance that has remained sealed for decades. We trace his rise from a provincial childhood to the chairmanship of the Tricontinental preparatory commission, and ask how those ties and enemies converged on a Paris sidewalk.

Person: Mehdi Ben Barka
Date: October 29, 1965
Location: Brasserie Lipp, Paris's sixth arrondissement
Age: 45
Event: Disappearance after entering a car

- Ben Barka stepped onto the sidewalk outside the Brasserie Lipp at 1:30 p.m, on October 29, 1965.
- He had been born around January 1920 in the Sidi Fettah quarter of Rabat and was one of roughly twenty students in Morocco to pass a key diploma in 1938.
- In 1939 he earned a baccalaureate in mathematics and received French Resident General Charles Noguès's financing to study in Paris.
- He chaired the preparatory commission for the Tricontinental Conference scheduled for Havana in January 1966.
- The CIA acknowledged in 1976 that it held 1,800 documents on Ben Barka, and as of 2021 none had been released.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074898Mon, 28 Sep 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Day Paris Ate Mehdi Ben Barka: Who Ordered the Vanishing? Paris swallowed a forty-five-year-old dissident at 1:30 p.m. on October 29, 1965 - Mehdi Ben Barka got into a car outside the Brasserie Lipp and was never seen again; his body has never...
Paris swallowed a forty-five-year-old dissident at 1:30 p.m. on October 29, 1965 - Mehdi Ben Barka got into a car outside the Brasserie Lipp and was never seen again; his body has never been found. At least three intelligence services knew where he was going that afternoon, and one of them had been funding him - who ordered the disappearance?

In this episode, we tell what is known from the records and reporting about Ben Barka’s life, his exile, and the disappearance that has remained sealed for decades. We trace his rise from a provincial childhood to the chairmanship of the Tricontinental preparatory commission, and ask how those ties and enemies converged on a Paris sidewalk.

Person: Mehdi Ben Barka
Date: October 29, 1965
Location: Brasserie Lipp, Paris's sixth arrondissement
Age: 45
Event: Disappearance after entering a car

- Ben Barka stepped onto the sidewalk outside the Brasserie Lipp at 1:30 p.m, on October 29, 1965.
- He had been born around January 1920 in the Sidi Fettah quarter of Rabat and was one of roughly twenty students in Morocco to pass a key diploma in 1938.
- In 1939 he earned a baccalaureate in mathematics and received French Resident General Charles Noguès's financing to study in Paris.
- He chaired the preparatory commission for the Tricontinental Conference scheduled for Havana in January 1966.
- The CIA acknowledged in 1976 that it held 1,800 documents on Ben Barka, and as of 2021 none had been released.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1295falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-rode-the-tram-with-a-bomb-why-no-one-was-charged--73074897
A woman boarded a tram on March 11, 1892, carried an explosive device between her legs, rode the full route, and then walked with a man toward Judge Edmond Benoît’s front door - the bomb detonated and the judge survived; why was Clotilde Mabillon never charged for an attack that left the building damaged? What do conflicting police reports and a prison hallway deal reveal about her true role?

In this episode, we present the sequence of events, the archival contradictions, and the key people who appear in the record, laying out the evidence behind the question: was Clotilde Mabillon an architect of the assassination attempt, or a woman swept along by others?

Person: Clotilde Louise Mabillon
Date: March 11, 1892
Location: Saint-Germain (attack on Judge Edmond Benoît)
Event: Bomb detonated at judge’s residence; judge survived
Associated person: François Claudius Koenigstein (Ravachol)

- Clotilde Mabillon was born March 22, 1865, in Givors.
- She married Charles Chaumentin on December 1, 1884, in Saint-Étienne, at age nineteen.
- The bomb was carried on a tram, balanced between the woman’s legs, and detonated after she left the vehicle.
- Police reports alternately described Mabillon as “weak-minded” and as the “driving intelligence” of the Chaumentin household.
- Researchers Petit and the Dictionnaire international des militants anarchistes report a probable intimate relationship between Mabillon and Ravachol, described as probable not proven.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074897Sun, 27 Sep 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Rode the Tram with a Bomb - Why No One Was Charged A woman boarded a tram on March 11, 1892, carried an explosive device between her legs, rode the full route, and then walked with a man toward Judge Edmond Benoît’s front door - the bomb...
A woman boarded a tram on March 11, 1892, carried an explosive device between her legs, rode the full route, and then walked with a man toward Judge Edmond Benoît’s front door - the bomb detonated and the judge survived; why was Clotilde Mabillon never charged for an attack that left the building damaged? What do conflicting police reports and a prison hallway deal reveal about her true role?

In this episode, we present the sequence of events, the archival contradictions, and the key people who appear in the record, laying out the evidence behind the question: was Clotilde Mabillon an architect of the assassination attempt, or a woman swept along by others?

Person: Clotilde Louise Mabillon
Date: March 11, 1892
Location: Saint-Germain (attack on Judge Edmond Benoît)
Event: Bomb detonated at judge’s residence; judge survived
Associated person: François Claudius Koenigstein (Ravachol)

- Clotilde Mabillon was born March 22, 1865, in Givors.
- She married Charles Chaumentin on December 1, 1884, in Saint-Étienne, at age nineteen.
- The bomb was carried on a tram, balanced between the woman’s legs, and detonated after she left the vehicle.
- Police reports alternately described Mabillon as “weak-minded” and as the “driving intelligence” of the Chaumentin household.
- Researchers Petit and the Dictionnaire international des militants anarchistes report a probable intimate relationship between Mabillon and Ravachol, described as probable not proven.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1365falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-postman-who-fed-hitler-britain-s-secret-letters--73074896
The British officer who guided Lysander landings in occupied France was secretly sending photographed dispatches to the SD at 84 Avenue Foch - more than forty agents and sixty-seven returns passed through his hands while the Germans read their letters first. How did Henri Déricourt, son of a postman and an air movements officer praised as “the best” by his superiors, keep both sides satisfied for eleven months?

In this episode, we trace Déricourt’s path from airmail pilot to SOE air movements officer, his friendships with Nicolas Bodington and Karl Boemelburg, and the operations he ran between March 1943 and early 1944 - and we ask whether his contacts with the SD were opportunism, collaboration, or something ordered from London.

Person: Henri Déricourt
Date: 2 September 1909 (birth)
Location: 84 Avenue Foch (SD headquarters) and 58 rue Pergolèse (Déricourt’s apartment)
Event: First landing night, 17 March 1943
Case: 17 operations over 11 months, 22 aircraft, >40 agents delivered, 67 flown back

- Déricourt ran 17 night landing operations over an 11-month period starting 17 March 1943.
- The operations involved 22 Westland Lysander aircraft delivering more than 40 agents into France.
- A total of 67 people were flown back to England from those fields.
- Karl Boemelburg’s SD headquarters was located at 84 Avenue Foch, where photographed dispatches were sent.
- Déricourt lived at 58 rue Pergolèse, a short walk from 84 Avenue Foch, and used his real name while working for SOE.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074896Sat, 26 Sep 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Postman Who Fed Hitler Britain's Secret Letters The British officer who guided Lysander landings in occupied France was secretly sending photographed dispatches to the SD at 84 Avenue Foch - more than forty agents and sixty-seven returns passed...
The British officer who guided Lysander landings in occupied France was secretly sending photographed dispatches to the SD at 84 Avenue Foch - more than forty agents and sixty-seven returns passed through his hands while the Germans read their letters first. How did Henri Déricourt, son of a postman and an air movements officer praised as “the best” by his superiors, keep both sides satisfied for eleven months?

In this episode, we trace Déricourt’s path from airmail pilot to SOE air movements officer, his friendships with Nicolas Bodington and Karl Boemelburg, and the operations he ran between March 1943 and early 1944 - and we ask whether his contacts with the SD were opportunism, collaboration, or something ordered from London.

Person: Henri Déricourt
Date: 2 September 1909 (birth)
Location: 84 Avenue Foch (SD headquarters) and 58 rue Pergolèse (Déricourt’s apartment)
Event: First landing night, 17 March 1943
Case: 17 operations over 11 months, 22 aircraft, >40 agents delivered, 67 flown back

- Déricourt ran 17 night landing operations over an 11-month period starting 17 March 1943.
- The operations involved 22 Westland Lysander aircraft delivering more than 40 agents into France.
- A total of 67 people were flown back to England from those fields.
- Karl Boemelburg’s SD headquarters was located at 84 Avenue Foch, where photographed dispatches were sent.
- Déricourt lived at 58 rue Pergolèse, a short walk from 84 Avenue Foch, and used his real name while working for SOE.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1410falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-missing-head-of-mata-hari-paris-secret-that-won-t-stay-buried--73074894
A human head once sat in a Paris storage jar until about 1954, vanishing during a museum relocation while documents that might have upended the case stayed sealed for a century. Was Mata Hari really blamed for 50,000 soldier deaths after a trial where her lawyer could not question a single witness - or was she the most convenient scapegoat of World War One?

In this episode, we tell the life story and contested legacy of Margaretha Geertruida Zelle, the woman known as Mata Hari, tracing her rise from Leeuwarden to Paris, the creation of her exotic stage persona, and the archival revelations released in 2017 that reopened the central question: spy or scapegoat?

Person: Margaretha Geertruida Zelle
Date of birth: 7 August 1876
Event: Execution by French firing squad in 1917
Date of archival release: 2017
Location of disappearance: Paris museum storage, circa 1954

- She was born on 7 August 1876 in Leeuwarden, Netherlands.
- Her father Adam Zelle went bankrupt in 1889 when she was 13.
- She married Rudolf MacLeod on 11 July 1895; he was 17 years her senior.
- Her son Norman-John was born in 1897 and died at age two after falling ill in 1899.
- Her final recorded performance was on 13 March 1915, ten years after her debut at Musée Guimet.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074894Fri, 25 Sep 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Missing Head of Mata Hari: Paris' Secret That Won't Stay Buried A human head once sat in a Paris storage jar until about 1954, vanishing during a museum relocation while documents that might have upended the case stayed sealed for a century....
A human head once sat in a Paris storage jar until about 1954, vanishing during a museum relocation while documents that might have upended the case stayed sealed for a century. Was Mata Hari really blamed for 50,000 soldier deaths after a trial where her lawyer could not question a single witness - or was she the most convenient scapegoat of World War One?

In this episode, we tell the life story and contested legacy of Margaretha Geertruida Zelle, the woman known as Mata Hari, tracing her rise from Leeuwarden to Paris, the creation of her exotic stage persona, and the archival revelations released in 2017 that reopened the central question: spy or scapegoat?

Person: Margaretha Geertruida Zelle
Date of birth: 7 August 1876
Event: Execution by French firing squad in 1917
Date of archival release: 2017
Location of disappearance: Paris museum storage, circa 1954

- She was born on 7 August 1876 in Leeuwarden, Netherlands.
- Her father Adam Zelle went bankrupt in 1889 when she was 13.
- She married Rudolf MacLeod on 11 July 1895; he was 17 years her senior.
- Her son Norman-John was born in 1897 and died at age two after falling ill in 1899.
- Her final recorded performance was on 13 March 1915, ten years after her debut at Musée Guimet.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1489falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-missing-head-of-mata-hari-murder-museum-and-a-century-of-lies--73074893
The Paris Museum of Anatomy discovered in 2000 that the embalmed head of Margaretha Geertruida Zelle - Mata Hari - was missing from its catalogue with no record of removal, possibly absent since 1954. How did the woman executed by France in 1917 on the thinnest documented evidence end up reduced to a vanished specimen, and who benefited from that erasure?

In this episode, we follow the life and disappearance outlined in archival records and testimony: her birth in 1876 in Leeuwarden, marriage to Rudolf MacLeod, transformation into the stage persona Mata Hari, wartime contact with French intelligence, and the century-long silences around her trial and remains. What does the missing head tell us about guilt, spectacle, and the state’s need for a scapegoat?

Person: Margaretha Geertruida Zelle (Mata Hari)
Date: Born August 7, 1876; executed 1917; head possibly missing since 1954; discovery of absence in 2000
Location: Paris Museum of Anatomy; born in Leeuwarden, Netherlands; performed in Paris and across Europe
Event: Execution by France for espionage in 1917; trial records sealed for 100 years
Case: Alleged charge that she caused 50,000 soldiers' deaths

- She debuted as Mata Hari on March 13, 1905, at the Musée Guimet under an invented Javanese persona.
- She married Rudolf MacLeod on July 11, 1895; he was 21 years her senior.
- Her son Norman-John was born in 1897 and died at age two in 1899.
- Her last performance as Mata Hari was on March 13, 1915, ten years after her debut.
- Captain Georges Ladoux proposed she work for French intelligence in 1916 with a promise of one million francs to seduce Crown Prince Wilhelm.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074893Thu, 24 Sep 2026 08:00:04 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Missing Head of Mata Hari: Murder, Museum, and a Century of Lies The Paris Museum of Anatomy discovered in 2000 that the embalmed head of Margaretha Geertruida Zelle - Mata Hari - was missing from its catalogue with no record of removal,...
The Paris Museum of Anatomy discovered in 2000 that the embalmed head of Margaretha Geertruida Zelle - Mata Hari - was missing from its catalogue with no record of removal, possibly absent since 1954. How did the woman executed by France in 1917 on the thinnest documented evidence end up reduced to a vanished specimen, and who benefited from that erasure?

In this episode, we follow the life and disappearance outlined in archival records and testimony: her birth in 1876 in Leeuwarden, marriage to Rudolf MacLeod, transformation into the stage persona Mata Hari, wartime contact with French intelligence, and the century-long silences around her trial and remains. What does the missing head tell us about guilt, spectacle, and the state’s need for a scapegoat?

Person: Margaretha Geertruida Zelle (Mata Hari)
Date: Born August 7, 1876; executed 1917; head possibly missing since 1954; discovery of absence in 2000
Location: Paris Museum of Anatomy; born in Leeuwarden, Netherlands; performed in Paris and across Europe
Event: Execution by France for espionage in 1917; trial records sealed for 100 years
Case: Alleged charge that she caused 50,000 soldiers' deaths

- She debuted as Mata Hari on March 13, 1905, at the Musée Guimet under an invented Javanese persona.
- She married Rudolf MacLeod on July 11, 1895; he was 21 years her senior.
- Her son Norman-John was born in 1897 and died at age two in 1899.
- Her last performance as Mata Hari was on March 13, 1915, ten years after her debut.
- Captain Georges Ladoux proposed she work for French intelligence in 1916 with a promise of one million francs to seduce Crown Prince Wilhelm.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1509falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-missing-head-how-mata-hari-s-skull-vanished-without-a-trace--73074892
The head of Mata Hari disappeared from a Paris museum around 1954 and nobody noticed until 2000 - a vanished relic of a woman executed in 1917 and blamed for the deaths of 50,000 soldiers, a claim historians have never substantiated. How did an embalmed head go missing for decades, and what do the newly opened 1,275-page trial files actually reveal about who used and betrayed her?

In this episode, we tell the story of Margaretha Geertruida Zelle, known to the world as Mata Hari, from her birth in 1876 to her execution in 1917 and the baffling posthumous disappearance of her head from the Musée Guimet; what do the declassified records suggest about the role of two intelligence services and the truth behind the accusations?

Person: Margaretha Geertruida Zelle (Mata Hari)
Date: Born 7 August 1876; executed 1917; head disappeared circa 1954; absence noticed 2000
Location: Leeuwarden (birth); Musée Guimet, Paris (museum custody of head)
Case: 1,275-page trial file opened after 100 years
Claim: Convicted of causing the deaths of 50,000 soldiers (never substantiated by historians)

- Mata Hari performed first as Mata Hari on 13 March 1905 at the Musée Guimet.
- She married Captain Rudolf MacLeod on 11 July 1895 and moved to Java in May 1897.
- Her son Norman-John was born in 1897 and died in 1899; her daughter Louise Jeanne was born in 1898.
- Her last professional performance was on 13 March 1915, ten years after her debut.
- The French Army opened her 1,275-page trial file after it was sealed for 100 years.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074892Wed, 23 Sep 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Missing Head: How Mata Hari's Skull Vanished Without a Trace The head of Mata Hari disappeared from a Paris museum around 1954 and nobody noticed until 2000 - a vanished relic of a woman executed in 1917 and blamed for the deaths of 50,000...
The head of Mata Hari disappeared from a Paris museum around 1954 and nobody noticed until 2000 - a vanished relic of a woman executed in 1917 and blamed for the deaths of 50,000 soldiers, a claim historians have never substantiated. How did an embalmed head go missing for decades, and what do the newly opened 1,275-page trial files actually reveal about who used and betrayed her?

In this episode, we tell the story of Margaretha Geertruida Zelle, known to the world as Mata Hari, from her birth in 1876 to her execution in 1917 and the baffling posthumous disappearance of her head from the Musée Guimet; what do the declassified records suggest about the role of two intelligence services and the truth behind the accusations?

Person: Margaretha Geertruida Zelle (Mata Hari)
Date: Born 7 August 1876; executed 1917; head disappeared circa 1954; absence noticed 2000
Location: Leeuwarden (birth); Musée Guimet, Paris (museum custody of head)
Case: 1,275-page trial file opened after 100 years
Claim: Convicted of causing the deaths of 50,000 soldiers (never substantiated by historians)

- Mata Hari performed first as Mata Hari on 13 March 1905 at the Musée Guimet.
- She married Captain Rudolf MacLeod on 11 July 1895 and moved to Java in May 1897.
- Her son Norman-John was born in 1897 and died in 1899; her daughter Louise Jeanne was born in 1898.
- Her last professional performance was on 13 March 1915, ten years after her debut.
- The French Army opened her 1,275-page trial file after it was sealed for 100 years.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1351falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-economist-who-quietly-forged-a-spy-link-to-the-manhattan-project--73074890
A decorated Western economist sat in classified Allied briefings in autumn 1944 and passed every analysis to the Soviet Union - unmasked and unprosecuted - while building a human chain that reached into the Manhattan Project. How did Jürgen Kuczynski recruit a physicist and hand him to his own sister, creating a direct line of atomic secrets to Moscow?

In this episode, we trace Kuczynski’s path from a student facing antisemitic exclusion to a methodical GRU agent in London, and we follow the people and decisions that connected British and American bomb research to Soviet intelligence. What exactly did that network accomplish, and how did it remain intact through 1946?

Person: Jürgen Kuczynski
Person: Klaus Fuchs
Person: Ursula Kuczynski (alias Ruth Werner, code name Sonya)
Period: 1942-1946
Event: Passing of British and American atomic research to Soviet intelligence

- Kuczynski recruited Klaus Fuchs to Soviet intelligence in 1942.
- Ursula Kuczynski (Ruth Werner, Sonya) handled Fuchs for four years, from 1942 to 1946.
- Kuczynski attended classified Allied strategic bombing briefings in autumn 1944 and transmitted analyses to Moscow.
- Kuczynski died at age 92 in 1997 and was never charged with espionage.
- MI5 had Kuczynski under surveillance since at least June 1931, with a formal assessment in May 1944.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074890Tue, 22 Sep 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Economist Who Quietly Forged a Spy Link to the Manhattan Project A decorated Western economist sat in classified Allied briefings in autumn 1944 and passed every analysis to the Soviet Union - unmasked and unprosecuted - while building a human...
A decorated Western economist sat in classified Allied briefings in autumn 1944 and passed every analysis to the Soviet Union - unmasked and unprosecuted - while building a human chain that reached into the Manhattan Project. How did Jürgen Kuczynski recruit a physicist and hand him to his own sister, creating a direct line of atomic secrets to Moscow?

In this episode, we trace Kuczynski’s path from a student facing antisemitic exclusion to a methodical GRU agent in London, and we follow the people and decisions that connected British and American bomb research to Soviet intelligence. What exactly did that network accomplish, and how did it remain intact through 1946?

Person: Jürgen Kuczynski
Person: Klaus Fuchs
Person: Ursula Kuczynski (alias Ruth Werner, code name Sonya)
Period: 1942-1946
Event: Passing of British and American atomic research to Soviet intelligence

- Kuczynski recruited Klaus Fuchs to Soviet intelligence in 1942.
- Ursula Kuczynski (Ruth Werner, Sonya) handled Fuchs for four years, from 1942 to 1946.
- Kuczynski attended classified Allied strategic bombing briefings in autumn 1944 and transmitted analyses to Moscow.
- Kuczynski died at age 92 in 1997 and was never charged with espionage.
- MI5 had Kuczynski under surveillance since at least June 1931, with a formal assessment in May 1944.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1299falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/gavr-the-japanese-politician-hidden-in-kgb-files--73074889
Four letters - G-A-V-R - appear in a classified KGB file tied to a Japanese politician who denounced American military power before the Diet with a fury that shocked the chamber. Two independent sources later placed him in the KGB network, yet no arrest, charge, confession, or trial ever followed: was his fury genuine, calculated, or both?

In this episode, we trace the public career and private shadows of Seiichi Katsumata from Gotemba to the Japanese Diet, detailing his wartime appointment, postwar rise in the Japan Socialist Party, and the appearance of his four-letter designation in foreign intelligence files. What gap between his public life and those KGB files explains why the question remains unresolved?

Person: Seiichi Katsumata
Date of birth: February 11, 1908
Location of birth: Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture
Honor: Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun, First Class awarded in 1986
Sources: a defector and an archive smuggled out of Moscow

- Katsumata served as Diet Strategy Chairman for the Japan Socialist Party by 1955.
- He was appointed Kyushu chapter leader for the organizational department of the Imperial Rule Assistance Association in 1941 and was later arrested in connection with a planning department scandal.
- In 1947 Katsumata won a seat in the Diet and became secretary to Hiroo Wada.
- In 1958 Katsumata succeeded Hiroo Wada as Policy Deliberation Chairman of the Japan Socialist Party.
- He received the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun, First Class in 1986 and died three years later in 1989.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074889Mon, 21 Sep 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaGAVR: The Japanese Politician Hidden in KGB Files Four letters - G-A-V-R - appear in a classified KGB file tied to a Japanese politician who denounced American military power before the Diet with a fury that shocked the chamber. Two independent...
Four letters - G-A-V-R - appear in a classified KGB file tied to a Japanese politician who denounced American military power before the Diet with a fury that shocked the chamber. Two independent sources later placed him in the KGB network, yet no arrest, charge, confession, or trial ever followed: was his fury genuine, calculated, or both?

In this episode, we trace the public career and private shadows of Seiichi Katsumata from Gotemba to the Japanese Diet, detailing his wartime appointment, postwar rise in the Japan Socialist Party, and the appearance of his four-letter designation in foreign intelligence files. What gap between his public life and those KGB files explains why the question remains unresolved?

Person: Seiichi Katsumata
Date of birth: February 11, 1908
Location of birth: Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture
Honor: Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun, First Class awarded in 1986
Sources: a defector and an archive smuggled out of Moscow

- Katsumata served as Diet Strategy Chairman for the Japan Socialist Party by 1955.
- He was appointed Kyushu chapter leader for the organizational department of the Imperial Rule Assistance Association in 1941 and was later arrested in connection with a planning department scandal.
- In 1947 Katsumata won a seat in the Diet and became secretary to Hiroo Wada.
- In 1958 Katsumata succeeded Hiroo Wada as Policy Deliberation Chairman of the Japan Socialist Party.
- He received the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun, First Class in 1986 and died three years later in 1989.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1274falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/he-had-no-face-how-markus-wolf-hid-in-plain-sight--73074888
A man hunted for a quarter-century had no confirmed photograph until Swedish agents finally snapped him in Stockholm in 1978, yet he ran Eastern Europe’s most effective foreign intelligence service for eight more years; how did his face become the state’s most classified asset and what else was kept invisible? What followed from a childhood refugee with Soviet papers at thirteen to the architect of a spy apparatus whose reach touched a West German chancellor's office and training camps tied to acts of political violence?

In this episode, we tell the life and career of Markus Johannes Wolf, outlining his path from a small German town to Moscow, his early Soviet identity documents, his wartime broadcasting into the Reich, and his thirty-four years as director of the Institute for Economic Research - the cover name for East Germany’s foreign intelligence service - while asking how much of his department’s work will ever be formally proven.

Person: Markus Johannes Wolf
Date of birth: January 19, 1923
Event: First confirmed photograph taken by Swedish security agents in 1978
Position: Director of the Institute for Economic Research (East German foreign intelligence) for 34 years
Early identity detail: Obtained Soviet identity documents in 1936 at age 13

- Born in Hechingen on January 19, 1923, son of Friedrich Wolf and Else Dreibholz
- Emigrated from Germany starting in 1933 and settled in Moscow by 1935 when he was 12
- Enrolled in Moscow Institute of Airplane Engineering in 1940 and evacuated to Alma Ata in 1941
- Broadcast for German People's Radio from 1943 through the end of World War II as a newsreader into the Reich
- Appointed director of the Institute for Economic Research on December 1, 1952, at age 29

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074888Sun, 20 Sep 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaHe Had No Face: How Markus Wolf Hid in Plain Sight A man hunted for a quarter-century had no confirmed photograph until Swedish agents finally snapped him in Stockholm in 1978, yet he ran Eastern Europe’s most effective foreign intelligence service...
A man hunted for a quarter-century had no confirmed photograph until Swedish agents finally snapped him in Stockholm in 1978, yet he ran Eastern Europe’s most effective foreign intelligence service for eight more years; how did his face become the state’s most classified asset and what else was kept invisible? What followed from a childhood refugee with Soviet papers at thirteen to the architect of a spy apparatus whose reach touched a West German chancellor's office and training camps tied to acts of political violence?

In this episode, we tell the life and career of Markus Johannes Wolf, outlining his path from a small German town to Moscow, his early Soviet identity documents, his wartime broadcasting into the Reich, and his thirty-four years as director of the Institute for Economic Research - the cover name for East Germany’s foreign intelligence service - while asking how much of his department’s work will ever be formally proven.

Person: Markus Johannes Wolf
Date of birth: January 19, 1923
Event: First confirmed photograph taken by Swedish security agents in 1978
Position: Director of the Institute for Economic Research (East German foreign intelligence) for 34 years
Early identity detail: Obtained Soviet identity documents in 1936 at age 13

- Born in Hechingen on January 19, 1923, son of Friedrich Wolf and Else Dreibholz
- Emigrated from Germany starting in 1933 and settled in Moscow by 1935 when he was 12
- Enrolled in Moscow Institute of Airplane Engineering in 1940 and evacuated to Alma Ata in 1941
- Broadcast for German People's Radio from 1943 through the end of World War II as a newsreader into the Reich
- Appointed director of the Institute for Economic Research on December 1, 1952, at age 29

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1363falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/they-wrote-their-own-names-the-venona-cable-that-unmasked-perlo--73074887
A cable sent on May 13, 1944, listed four American officials by their real names - no code names, no aliases - and sat locked away until declassification confirmed long-held suspicions of an internal Soviet network. How did a wartime espionage cell write down its own members before it even learned to hide them, and what did that one cable reveal about the Perlo Group's reach inside U.S. wartime power?

In this episode, we present the story told by that Venona transcript and the people around it, following the trajectory from 1930s radicalization to positions inside key wartime agencies. Listen to how a generation shaped by the Depression, handlers like Jacob Golos and Elizabeth Bentley, and a single Moscow cable led to actual wartime documents moving to Soviet intelligence - and ask what the cable alone can tell us about access and intent.

Person: Victor Perlo
Person: Elizabeth Bentley
Date: May 13, 1944
Case: Venona transcript 687
Event: Documents transferred beginning February 1945

- The Venona cable numbered 687 was typed by a Soviet intelligence officer in New York on May 13, 1944.
- The cable listed four American government officials by their real names with no code names.
- Victor Perlo graduated Columbia University in 1933 with a master's degree in mathematics at age 21.
- Perlo served as Chief of the Aviation Section of the War Production Board, controlling aircraft allocation data.
- Documents, including memoranda and technical specifications, began moving to Moscow in February 1945.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074887Sat, 19 Sep 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThey Wrote Their Own Names: The Venona Cable That Unmasked Perlo A cable sent on May 13, 1944, listed four American officials by their real names - no code names, no aliases - and sat locked away until declassification confirmed long-held...
A cable sent on May 13, 1944, listed four American officials by their real names - no code names, no aliases - and sat locked away until declassification confirmed long-held suspicions of an internal Soviet network. How did a wartime espionage cell write down its own members before it even learned to hide them, and what did that one cable reveal about the Perlo Group's reach inside U.S. wartime power?

In this episode, we present the story told by that Venona transcript and the people around it, following the trajectory from 1930s radicalization to positions inside key wartime agencies. Listen to how a generation shaped by the Depression, handlers like Jacob Golos and Elizabeth Bentley, and a single Moscow cable led to actual wartime documents moving to Soviet intelligence - and ask what the cable alone can tell us about access and intent.

Person: Victor Perlo
Person: Elizabeth Bentley
Date: May 13, 1944
Case: Venona transcript 687
Event: Documents transferred beginning February 1945

- The Venona cable numbered 687 was typed by a Soviet intelligence officer in New York on May 13, 1944.
- The cable listed four American government officials by their real names with no code names.
- Victor Perlo graduated Columbia University in 1933 with a master's degree in mathematics at age 21.
- Perlo served as Chief of the Aviation Section of the War Production Board, controlling aircraft allocation data.
- Documents, including memoranda and technical specifications, began moving to Moscow in February 1945.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1375falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-silver-dollar-the-needle-and-the-day-the-summit-died--73074885
A CIA pilot carried a hollow silver dollar concealing a saxitoxin-coated needle at 70,000 feet over the Soviet Union on May 1, 1960 - an on-board poison meant to kill within seconds that he never used. That single U-2 mission, code-named Grand Slam, would bring down a summit, humiliate a president, and change the diplomatic landscape in one afternoon; how did one flight do all that?

In this episode, we follow the arc of that mission and the man who flew it, describing the flight plan, the equipment he carried, and the defenses that awaited him - and we ask how a program of repeated successes hid the critical change in Soviet capability until it was too late.

Person: Francis Gary Powers
Date: May 1, 1960
Aircraft: U-2 (Article 360, tail number 56-6693)
Mission: Grand Slam / Operation Overflight
Location: departed Peshawar, Pakistan; intended landing Bodø, Norway

- Powers was flying at seventy thousand feet when the mission crossed the Soviet Union.
- The hollow silver dollar in his survival kit contained a needle coated with saxitoxin, a shellfish-derived poison.
- Powers had been in the U-2 program nearly four years and was thirty years old at the time of the flight.
- The U-2 he flew was built by Lockheed's Skunk Works under Kelly Johnson and known to him as his plane.
- Soviet Lieutenant General Yevgeniy Savitskiy had put air defenses on full red alert before Powers crossed the border.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074885Fri, 18 Sep 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Silver Dollar, the Needle, and the Day the Summit Died A CIA pilot carried a hollow silver dollar concealing a saxitoxin-coated needle at 70,000 feet over the Soviet Union on May 1, 1960 - an on-board poison meant to kill within seconds that he...
A CIA pilot carried a hollow silver dollar concealing a saxitoxin-coated needle at 70,000 feet over the Soviet Union on May 1, 1960 - an on-board poison meant to kill within seconds that he never used. That single U-2 mission, code-named Grand Slam, would bring down a summit, humiliate a president, and change the diplomatic landscape in one afternoon; how did one flight do all that?

In this episode, we follow the arc of that mission and the man who flew it, describing the flight plan, the equipment he carried, and the defenses that awaited him - and we ask how a program of repeated successes hid the critical change in Soviet capability until it was too late.

Person: Francis Gary Powers
Date: May 1, 1960
Aircraft: U-2 (Article 360, tail number 56-6693)
Mission: Grand Slam / Operation Overflight
Location: departed Peshawar, Pakistan; intended landing Bodø, Norway

- Powers was flying at seventy thousand feet when the mission crossed the Soviet Union.
- The hollow silver dollar in his survival kit contained a needle coated with saxitoxin, a shellfish-derived poison.
- Powers had been in the U-2 program nearly four years and was thirty years old at the time of the flight.
- The U-2 he flew was built by Lockheed's Skunk Works under Kelly Johnson and known to him as his plane.
- Soviet Lieutenant General Yevgeniy Savitskiy had put air defenses on full red alert before Powers crossed the border.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1504falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-memo-that-nearly-toppled-a-war-how-gchq-spied-on-the-un--73074884
The British signals agency was asked to monitor the homes and offices of six UN delegations as they prepared to vote on authorizing a war - and one translator read the memo, printed it, and sent it to a journalist. What did that six‑paragraph request reveal about who was listening to whom at the highest levels of international diplomacy, and why did the Crown drop charges against the whistleblower just before explosive public claims about eavesdropping on the UN?

In this episode, we trace the memo’s path from GCHQ in Cheltenham to the Observer newspaper and the political fallout in Westminster. We explain who was named in the request, how the surveillance was described, and the sequence of events that left prosecutors offering no evidence - raising the question of what else the memo hinted at.

Person: Katharine Gun
Date: March 2, 2003 (publication of the memo by the Observer)
Location: GCHQ, Cheltenham
Event: Charges under the Official Secrets Act dropped on February 25, 2004

- The memo requested surveillance of private homes and offices of six UN delegations: Angola, Cameroon, Chile, Mexico, Guinea, and Pakistan.
- The memo used the phrase "the whole gamut" of information to help "head off surprises" in the Security Council chamber.
- Katharine Gun printed the memo and passed it to a contact; it reached journalist Martin Bright and was published on March 2, 2003.
- Gun was arrested and charged under the Official Secrets Act in March 2003 and faced prosecution for nearly eleven months.
- The Crown Prosecution Service offered no evidence and dropped the charges on February 25, 2004; the next day Clare Short publicly alleged intercepted conversations involving Kofi Annan.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074884Thu, 17 Sep 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Memo That Nearly Toppled a War: How GCHQ Spied on the UN The British signals agency was asked to monitor the homes and offices of six UN delegations as they prepared to vote on authorizing a war - and one translator read the memo, printed it,...
The British signals agency was asked to monitor the homes and offices of six UN delegations as they prepared to vote on authorizing a war - and one translator read the memo, printed it, and sent it to a journalist. What did that six‑paragraph request reveal about who was listening to whom at the highest levels of international diplomacy, and why did the Crown drop charges against the whistleblower just before explosive public claims about eavesdropping on the UN?

In this episode, we trace the memo’s path from GCHQ in Cheltenham to the Observer newspaper and the political fallout in Westminster. We explain who was named in the request, how the surveillance was described, and the sequence of events that left prosecutors offering no evidence - raising the question of what else the memo hinted at.

Person: Katharine Gun
Date: March 2, 2003 (publication of the memo by the Observer)
Location: GCHQ, Cheltenham
Event: Charges under the Official Secrets Act dropped on February 25, 2004

- The memo requested surveillance of private homes and offices of six UN delegations: Angola, Cameroon, Chile, Mexico, Guinea, and Pakistan.
- The memo used the phrase "the whole gamut" of information to help "head off surprises" in the Security Council chamber.
- Katharine Gun printed the memo and passed it to a contact; it reached journalist Martin Bright and was published on March 2, 2003.
- Gun was arrested and charged under the Official Secrets Act in March 2003 and faced prosecution for nearly eleven months.
- The Crown Prosecution Service offered no evidence and dropped the charges on February 25, 2004; the next day Clare Short publicly alleged intercepted conversations involving Kofi Annan.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1227falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-prosecution-presented-its-case-against-katharine-gun-then-presented-no-evidence--73074883
The British government walked into court on February 26, 2004, and dropped charges against a GCHQ translator without calling a single witness or producing any evidence - raising the chilling question: what were they afraid to argue in open court? This episode follows the memo, the leak, and the sudden collapse of a prosecution that might have exposed secret legal advice about the Iraq War.

In this episode, you will hear how a National Security Agency memo asking British intelligence to target six swing-vote delegations at the United Nations reached Katharine Gun, a 29-year-old translator at GCHQ, and how her decision to pass it to The Observer set in motion an investigation, dismissal, arrest, and a trial halted when the prosecution declined to present evidence. What exactly did the prosecution avoid by dropping the case the same day?

Person: Katharine Gun
Date: February 26, 2004
Location: GCHQ in Cheltenham
Event: Leak of NSA memo to The Observer
Law: Official Secrets Act 1989

- The NSA memo targeted six Security Council delegations: Angola, Cameroon, Chile, Mexico, Guinea, and Pakistan.
- Katharine Gun was 29 years old in the winter of 2003 when she received the memo.
- The prosecution entered court on February 26, 2004, and presented no evidence before the charges were dropped.
- The memo directed collection of "the whole gamut of information" including policies, personal relationships, and financial dependencies.
- The defense relied on the necessity argument that disclosing the memo was to prevent an unlawful Iraq War and would require revealing the Attorney General's secret advice.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074883Wed, 16 Sep 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe prosecution presented its case against Katharine Gun - then presented no evidence The British government walked into court on February 26, 2004, and dropped charges against a GCHQ translator without calling a single witness or producing any...
The British government walked into court on February 26, 2004, and dropped charges against a GCHQ translator without calling a single witness or producing any evidence - raising the chilling question: what were they afraid to argue in open court? This episode follows the memo, the leak, and the sudden collapse of a prosecution that might have exposed secret legal advice about the Iraq War.

In this episode, you will hear how a National Security Agency memo asking British intelligence to target six swing-vote delegations at the United Nations reached Katharine Gun, a 29-year-old translator at GCHQ, and how her decision to pass it to The Observer set in motion an investigation, dismissal, arrest, and a trial halted when the prosecution declined to present evidence. What exactly did the prosecution avoid by dropping the case the same day?

Person: Katharine Gun
Date: February 26, 2004
Location: GCHQ in Cheltenham
Event: Leak of NSA memo to The Observer
Law: Official Secrets Act 1989

- The NSA memo targeted six Security Council delegations: Angola, Cameroon, Chile, Mexico, Guinea, and Pakistan.
- Katharine Gun was 29 years old in the winter of 2003 when she received the memo.
- The prosecution entered court on February 26, 2004, and presented no evidence before the charges were dropped.
- The memo directed collection of "the whole gamut of information" including policies, personal relationships, and financial dependencies.
- The defense relied on the necessity argument that disclosing the memo was to prevent an unlawful Iraq War and would require revealing the Attorney General's secret advice.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1401falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/razor-in-the-cell-how-forged-papers-sent-dreyfus-to-devil-s-island--73074882
A single razor in a prison cell, a colonel dead with his throat cut, and an innocent officer left to rot on a rocky Atlantic island - the Dreyfus Affair rested on forged documents and the stubborn silence of powerful men. How did a handwritten bordereau, conflicting expert opinions, and a secret army dossier combine to send Alfred Dreyfus to Devil's Island for five years?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the discovery of the bordereau to Dreyfus’s trial, the secret dossier kept from his defense, and the slow unraveling of the case that led to a colonel’s suicide and a later public confession by the real author. What choices and silences allowed a conviction built on false evidence to stand for years?

Person: Alfred Dreyfus
Date: October 15, 1894 (arrest); December 1894 (conviction); January 1895 (degradation)
Location: Devil's Island; Mont-Valérien prison; Paris
Case: Dreyfus Affair

- The bordereau was retrieved from the German Embassy wastebasket by a cleaning woman in October 1894.
- Alfred Dreyfus was 35 years old when arrested and was the first Jewish officer on the French Army General Staff.
- Dreyfus was convicted in December 1894 primarily on the bordereau plus a secret dossier withheld from the defense.
- Dreyfus was sent to Devil's Island and remained there for nearly five years after his January 1895 degradation.
- Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy later confirmed to Le Matin on June 2, 1899 that he wrote the bordereau.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074882Tue, 15 Sep 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaRazor in the Cell: How Forged Papers Sent Dreyfus to Devil's Island A single razor in a prison cell, a colonel dead with his throat cut, and an innocent officer left to rot on a rocky Atlantic island - the Dreyfus Affair rested on forged documents...
A single razor in a prison cell, a colonel dead with his throat cut, and an innocent officer left to rot on a rocky Atlantic island - the Dreyfus Affair rested on forged documents and the stubborn silence of powerful men. How did a handwritten bordereau, conflicting expert opinions, and a secret army dossier combine to send Alfred Dreyfus to Devil's Island for five years?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the discovery of the bordereau to Dreyfus’s trial, the secret dossier kept from his defense, and the slow unraveling of the case that led to a colonel’s suicide and a later public confession by the real author. What choices and silences allowed a conviction built on false evidence to stand for years?

Person: Alfred Dreyfus
Date: October 15, 1894 (arrest); December 1894 (conviction); January 1895 (degradation)
Location: Devil's Island; Mont-Valérien prison; Paris
Case: Dreyfus Affair

- The bordereau was retrieved from the German Embassy wastebasket by a cleaning woman in October 1894.
- Alfred Dreyfus was 35 years old when arrested and was the first Jewish officer on the French Army General Staff.
- Dreyfus was convicted in December 1894 primarily on the bordereau plus a secret dossier withheld from the defense.
- Dreyfus was sent to Devil's Island and remained there for nearly five years after his January 1895 degradation.
- Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy later confirmed to Le Matin on June 2, 1899 that he wrote the bordereau.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1425falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/they-walked-into-the-handshake-how-the-ss-kidnapped-two-spies--73074880
Two experienced British intelligence officers drove themselves within five metres of Germany and into a trap so patient it took months to build - a forged network, false identities, and a single handshake. How did Walter Schellenberg and the SD engineer twenty-one days of undetected access to Britain's spy network and give Hitler the pretext to invade a neutral country?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from early September to the arrest on 9 November 1939 to show how routine meetings, trusted covers, and a handed-over wireless led to catastrophe. What gap between the world Best and Stevens believed they operated in and the reality made their capture possible?

Person: Captain Sigismund Payne Best
Person: Major Richard Henry Stevens
Person: Walter Schellenberg (alias "Major Schämmel")
Date: 9 November 1939
Location: Café Backus, five metres from the German border

- Two British officers carrying loaded Browning pistols entered the car park of Café Backus at 16:00 on 9 November 1939.
- The operation gave German intelligence twenty-one days of undetected access to Britain's spy network in Europe.
- The radio set handed over on 30 October was a wireless, the first major operational mistake by Best and Stevens.
- Walter Schellenberg, age thirty and an SD Sturmbannführer, operated under Heinrich Himmler's direct authority.
- Lieutenant Dirk Klop attended the meeting as an observer under the cover name Captain Coppens and was not supposed to be in danger.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074880Mon, 14 Sep 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaThey Walked Into The Handshake: How The SS Kidnapped Two Spies Two experienced British intelligence officers drove themselves within five metres of Germany and into a trap so patient it took months to build - a forged network, false identities, and...
Two experienced British intelligence officers drove themselves within five metres of Germany and into a trap so patient it took months to build - a forged network, false identities, and a single handshake. How did Walter Schellenberg and the SD engineer twenty-one days of undetected access to Britain's spy network and give Hitler the pretext to invade a neutral country?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from early September to the arrest on 9 November 1939 to show how routine meetings, trusted covers, and a handed-over wireless led to catastrophe. What gap between the world Best and Stevens believed they operated in and the reality made their capture possible?

Person: Captain Sigismund Payne Best
Person: Major Richard Henry Stevens
Person: Walter Schellenberg (alias "Major Schämmel")
Date: 9 November 1939
Location: Café Backus, five metres from the German border

- Two British officers carrying loaded Browning pistols entered the car park of Café Backus at 16:00 on 9 November 1939.
- The operation gave German intelligence twenty-one days of undetected access to Britain's spy network in Europe.
- The radio set handed over on 30 October was a wireless, the first major operational mistake by Best and Stevens.
- Walter Schellenberg, age thirty and an SD Sturmbannführer, operated under Heinrich Himmler's direct authority.
- Lieutenant Dirk Klop attended the meeting as an observer under the cover name Captain Coppens and was not supposed to be in danger.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1426falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/who-ordered-nord-stream-sunk-the-sailboat-that-knew-too-much--73074879
A sudden seismic pulse beneath the Baltic at 02:02 on 26 September 2022 was not an earthquake but the first of two explosions that tore open seventy-nine kilometers of pipeline and released the largest single methane discharge ever recorded. Who decided to wreck billions in energy infrastructure, and why did a fifty-foot sailboat with six people and forged passports figure in the trail of evidence?

In this episode, we recount the timeline from the September blasts to the traces found on a rented Bavaria Cruiser fifty named Andromeda, describe the scale of environmental and market impacts, and follow how investigators tied residue on the yacht to explosives on the seafloor - but can a small crew really have carried out such an operation?

Date: 26 September 2022
Location: Baltic Sea near Bornholm, Denmark
Event: Explosions damaging Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines
Person: Six people aboard the sailing yacht Andromeda
Quantity: 150,000 metric tons of methane estimated released

- Seismographs recorded magnitude 2.3 at 02:02 on 26 September 2022 and magnitude 2.1 seventeen hours later.
- Pressure inside one pipeline dropped from 10.5 MPa to 0.7 MPa after the blasts.
- Approximately 150,000 metric tons of methane were released in the days following the explosions.
- A Bavaria Cruiser fifty (15 meters) named Andromeda departed Rostock six days before the explosions with six people using professionally falsified passports.
- European natural gas prices rose 12% in a single trading day on 27 September 2022.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074879Sun, 13 Sep 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaWho Ordered Nord Stream Sunk? The Sailboat That Knew Too Much A sudden seismic pulse beneath the Baltic at 02:02 on 26 September 2022 was not an earthquake but the first of two explosions that tore open seventy-nine kilometers of pipeline and...
A sudden seismic pulse beneath the Baltic at 02:02 on 26 September 2022 was not an earthquake but the first of two explosions that tore open seventy-nine kilometers of pipeline and released the largest single methane discharge ever recorded. Who decided to wreck billions in energy infrastructure, and why did a fifty-foot sailboat with six people and forged passports figure in the trail of evidence?

In this episode, we recount the timeline from the September blasts to the traces found on a rented Bavaria Cruiser fifty named Andromeda, describe the scale of environmental and market impacts, and follow how investigators tied residue on the yacht to explosives on the seafloor - but can a small crew really have carried out such an operation?

Date: 26 September 2022
Location: Baltic Sea near Bornholm, Denmark
Event: Explosions damaging Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines
Person: Six people aboard the sailing yacht Andromeda
Quantity: 150,000 metric tons of methane estimated released

- Seismographs recorded magnitude 2.3 at 02:02 on 26 September 2022 and magnitude 2.1 seventeen hours later.
- Pressure inside one pipeline dropped from 10.5 MPa to 0.7 MPa after the blasts.
- Approximately 150,000 metric tons of methane were released in the days following the explosions.
- A Bavaria Cruiser fifty (15 meters) named Andromeda departed Rostock six days before the explosions with six people using professionally falsified passports.
- European natural gas prices rose 12% in a single trading day on 27 September 2022.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1471falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-sugar-crate-that-launched-world-war-i--73074877
A single wooden crate labeled for sugar hid four pistols and six hand grenades beneath a Sarajevo sofa, weapons that crossed three countries, two rivers and seven pairs of hands to reach one spot. Two weeks later, a wrong turn on Appel Quay and a stalled motorcade put a nineteen-year-old with a Browning pistol within ten feet of an heir to an empire-how did such a cascade of missteps create a moment that changed the world?

In this episode, we follow the route of the weapons, the people who moved them, and the decisions that left an imperial motorcade exposed on June 28, 1914. We trace the mix of personal loyalty, military planning, and nationalist timing that put Franz Ferdinand and Sophie in that car-and ask what might have been different if any single link in the chain had held.

Person: Franz Ferdinand
Date: June 28, 1914
Location: Appel Quay, Sarajevo
Event: Assassination attempt leading to deaths and subsequent war
Case: Weapons smuggled in a crate marked for sugar

- The crate contained exactly four pistols and six hand grenades when hidden under a sofa in Sarajevo.
- Weapons traveled by boat down the Sava River, by train to Loznica, and across Isaković Island in the Drina before reaching Tuzla on June 3.
- Danilo Ilić collected the suitcase of weapons on June 14 and placed it in his mother's house in Sarajevo.
- Six conspirators ranged in age from 17 to 27; three came from Belgrade and three were local recruits.
- The motorcade assembled from six cars; Franz Ferdinand and Sophie rode in the third open Graf und Stift touring car with the roof folded back at 10:45 AM.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074877Sat, 12 Sep 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Sugar Crate That Launched World War I A single wooden crate labeled for sugar hid four pistols and six hand grenades beneath a Sarajevo sofa, weapons that crossed three countries, two rivers and seven pairs of hands to reach one spot. Two weeks...
A single wooden crate labeled for sugar hid four pistols and six hand grenades beneath a Sarajevo sofa, weapons that crossed three countries, two rivers and seven pairs of hands to reach one spot. Two weeks later, a wrong turn on Appel Quay and a stalled motorcade put a nineteen-year-old with a Browning pistol within ten feet of an heir to an empire-how did such a cascade of missteps create a moment that changed the world?

In this episode, we follow the route of the weapons, the people who moved them, and the decisions that left an imperial motorcade exposed on June 28, 1914. We trace the mix of personal loyalty, military planning, and nationalist timing that put Franz Ferdinand and Sophie in that car-and ask what might have been different if any single link in the chain had held.

Person: Franz Ferdinand
Date: June 28, 1914
Location: Appel Quay, Sarajevo
Event: Assassination attempt leading to deaths and subsequent war
Case: Weapons smuggled in a crate marked for sugar

- The crate contained exactly four pistols and six hand grenades when hidden under a sofa in Sarajevo.
- Weapons traveled by boat down the Sava River, by train to Loznica, and across Isaković Island in the Drina before reaching Tuzla on June 3.
- Danilo Ilić collected the suitcase of weapons on June 14 and placed it in his mother's house in Sarajevo.
- Six conspirators ranged in age from 17 to 27; three came from Belgrade and three were local recruits.
- The motorcade assembled from six cars; Franz Ferdinand and Sophie rode in the third open Graf und Stift touring car with the roof folded back at 10:45 AM.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1199falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-spy-who-built-his-own-trap-alfred-redl-s-fatal-slip--73074876
A tiny leather pen-knife sheath on a Vienna taxi seat toppled an empire: the man who built Austria-Hungary’s counter-intelligence apparatus and a fingerprint database was exposed by the single scrap he dropped on 24 May 1913. How did the colonel who installed cameras, recording devices and mail surveillance become the very man ensnared by his own systems?

In this episode, we trace Alfred Redl’s rise from a modest garrison-town childhood to the head of counter-intelligence, his secret payments from Russian, French and Italian services, and the careless moment that unpicked eleven years of betrayal. Could the surveillance network he created have prevented his fall - and what did his exposure mean for the empire’s future?

Person: Alfred Redl
Date: 24 May 1913
Location: Vienna (taxi, rear seat)
Period: 1902-1913
Event: Exposure of a mole within Imperial Intelligence

- Redl was born 14 March 1864 in Lemberg (now Lviv).
- He entered military school at age 15 and was commissioned in 1883.
- Redl began passing material to Russia in 1902 and was under Russian awareness since 1901.
- By 1907 he was head of counter-intelligence and held the position for five years until 1912.
- Russian intelligence paid Redl the equivalent of about £2.4 million in today's value (approximately $3.8 million).

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074876Fri, 11 Sep 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Spy Who Built His Own Trap: Alfred Redl's Fatal Slip A tiny leather pen-knife sheath on a Vienna taxi seat toppled an empire: the man who built Austria-Hungary’s counter-intelligence apparatus and a fingerprint database was exposed by the...
A tiny leather pen-knife sheath on a Vienna taxi seat toppled an empire: the man who built Austria-Hungary’s counter-intelligence apparatus and a fingerprint database was exposed by the single scrap he dropped on 24 May 1913. How did the colonel who installed cameras, recording devices and mail surveillance become the very man ensnared by his own systems?

In this episode, we trace Alfred Redl’s rise from a modest garrison-town childhood to the head of counter-intelligence, his secret payments from Russian, French and Italian services, and the careless moment that unpicked eleven years of betrayal. Could the surveillance network he created have prevented his fall - and what did his exposure mean for the empire’s future?

Person: Alfred Redl
Date: 24 May 1913
Location: Vienna (taxi, rear seat)
Period: 1902-1913
Event: Exposure of a mole within Imperial Intelligence

- Redl was born 14 March 1864 in Lemberg (now Lviv).
- He entered military school at age 15 and was commissioned in 1883.
- Redl began passing material to Russia in 1902 and was under Russian awareness since 1901.
- By 1907 he was head of counter-intelligence and held the position for five years until 1912.
- Russian intelligence paid Redl the equivalent of about £2.4 million in today's value (approximately $3.8 million).

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1388falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/he-killed-for-the-fbi-the-rifleman-s-secret-buried-bodies-revealed--73074875
The FBI registered a top-echelon informant who received Silver and Bronze Stars, and for thirty years that informant allegedly killed while the bureau looked away-bodies buried, agents promoted, and a parole date set to May 4, 2218. How did a decorated Korean War veteran become both a government asset and a suspected contract killer, and who paid the price for that protection?

In this episode, we tell the story of Stephen Joseph Flemmi from his birth in 1934 through his enlistment in 1951, his rise in Boston crime circles, and the FBI relationship that prosecutors say enabled years of violence. Was the arrangement an explicit quid pro quo that allowed murders to go unprosecuted, and what evidence surfaced when grand juries finally moved?

Person: Stephen Joseph Flemmi
Date: born June 9, 1934
Location: Roxbury, Boston
Event: indicted by a grand jury by September 1969
Case: codename "Jack from South Boston" registered as a Top Echelon informant

- Flemmi enlisted in 1951 and completed two tours with the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team, returning in 1955 with a Silver Star and a Bronze Star.
- FBI agent H. Paul Rico identified Flemmi by the mid-1960s and registered him as a Top Echelon informant with a handler also named Dennis Condon.
- On October 20, 1965, Donald McLaughlin was shot on a public bus in West Roxbury and did not survive; Flemmi and Frank Salemme are alleged to have been the shooters.
- In January 1967 Flemmi and Salemme killed Walter and William "Wimpy" Bennett and buried their bodies in Hopkinton; Billy Bennett was found dead on December 22, 1967.
- By September 1969 a grand jury had enough to indict Flemmi for the Bennett murders and the Everett car-bombing of attorney John E. Fitzgerald (January 30, 1968), who survived but lost his lower right leg.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074875Thu, 10 Sep 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaHe Killed for the FBI: The Rifleman's Secret Buried Bodies Revealed The FBI registered a top-echelon informant who received Silver and Bronze Stars, and for thirty years that informant allegedly killed while the bureau looked away-bodies buried,...
The FBI registered a top-echelon informant who received Silver and Bronze Stars, and for thirty years that informant allegedly killed while the bureau looked away-bodies buried, agents promoted, and a parole date set to May 4, 2218. How did a decorated Korean War veteran become both a government asset and a suspected contract killer, and who paid the price for that protection?

In this episode, we tell the story of Stephen Joseph Flemmi from his birth in 1934 through his enlistment in 1951, his rise in Boston crime circles, and the FBI relationship that prosecutors say enabled years of violence. Was the arrangement an explicit quid pro quo that allowed murders to go unprosecuted, and what evidence surfaced when grand juries finally moved?

Person: Stephen Joseph Flemmi
Date: born June 9, 1934
Location: Roxbury, Boston
Event: indicted by a grand jury by September 1969
Case: codename "Jack from South Boston" registered as a Top Echelon informant

- Flemmi enlisted in 1951 and completed two tours with the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team, returning in 1955 with a Silver Star and a Bronze Star.
- FBI agent H. Paul Rico identified Flemmi by the mid-1960s and registered him as a Top Echelon informant with a handler also named Dennis Condon.
- On October 20, 1965, Donald McLaughlin was shot on a public bus in West Roxbury and did not survive; Flemmi and Frank Salemme are alleged to have been the shooters.
- In January 1967 Flemmi and Salemme killed Walter and William "Wimpy" Bennett and buried their bodies in Hopkinton; Billy Bennett was found dead on December 22, 1967.
- By September 1969 a grand jury had enough to indict Flemmi for the Bennett murders and the Everett car-bombing of attorney John E. Fitzgerald (January 30, 1968), who survived but lost his lower right leg.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1346falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-man-who-broke-cuba-s-codes-vanished-inside-the-vault--73074874
Danger hid inside the very machines that kept Cuba’s spies alive: a cryptographer at the heart of Havana’s encrypted network whose betrayal coincided with a cascade of agents disappearing in the United States. How did a first lieutenant with access to every coded message become the single most consequential mole the CIA ever ran inside Cuba, and why did his prosecution reportedly present no physical evidence?

In this episode, we tell the story of Rolando Sarraff Trujillo, his work inside Department M-XV, the pattern of vanished Cuban agents in the early 1990s, and the unresolved questions about how his access was discovered and how long it remained exposed. What did he pass, to whom, and why was the record so thin where the answers should be?

Person: Rolando Sarraff Trujillo
Date of birth: August 22, 1963
Event: Arrest in November 1995 and release December 18, 2014
Organization: Department M-XV, Dirección General de Inteligencia (DGI)
Family: Son aged 7 at arrest and 26 at release

- Sarraff was a first lieutenant working at the center of Cuba’s encrypted communications in Department M-XV.
- He was arrested in November 1995 and spent 19 years in Cuban prison before release on December 18, 2014.
- His son was seven years old at the time of the arrest and 26 years old when Sarraff walked free.
- Reuters and ABC reported conflicting accounts of his father's background, one calling him a lieutenant colonel and retired journalist, the other a retired intelligence officer trained at a KGB academy.
- McClatchy reported that Sarraff’s unit handled the encrypted communications of Cuban agents operating abroad, meaning every message from spies in cities like Miami, Washington, and Madrid passed through his system.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074874Wed, 09 Sep 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Man Who Broke Cuba's Codes - Vanished Inside the Vault Danger hid inside the very machines that kept Cuba’s spies alive: a cryptographer at the heart of Havana’s encrypted network whose betrayal coincided with a cascade of agents disappearing...
Danger hid inside the very machines that kept Cuba’s spies alive: a cryptographer at the heart of Havana’s encrypted network whose betrayal coincided with a cascade of agents disappearing in the United States. How did a first lieutenant with access to every coded message become the single most consequential mole the CIA ever ran inside Cuba, and why did his prosecution reportedly present no physical evidence?

In this episode, we tell the story of Rolando Sarraff Trujillo, his work inside Department M-XV, the pattern of vanished Cuban agents in the early 1990s, and the unresolved questions about how his access was discovered and how long it remained exposed. What did he pass, to whom, and why was the record so thin where the answers should be?

Person: Rolando Sarraff Trujillo
Date of birth: August 22, 1963
Event: Arrest in November 1995 and release December 18, 2014
Organization: Department M-XV, Dirección General de Inteligencia (DGI)
Family: Son aged 7 at arrest and 26 at release

- Sarraff was a first lieutenant working at the center of Cuba’s encrypted communications in Department M-XV.
- He was arrested in November 1995 and spent 19 years in Cuban prison before release on December 18, 2014.
- His son was seven years old at the time of the arrest and 26 years old when Sarraff walked free.
- Reuters and ABC reported conflicting accounts of his father's background, one calling him a lieutenant colonel and retired journalist, the other a retired intelligence officer trained at a KGB academy.
- McClatchy reported that Sarraff’s unit handled the encrypted communications of Cuban agents operating abroad, meaning every message from spies in cities like Miami, Washington, and Madrid passed through his system.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1523falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-countess-the-cherry-cake-and-napoleon-s-secret-son--73074873
A Saxon noblewoman called Auguste von Kielmannsegge declared devotion to Napoleon while living with a husband who was his sworn enemy, and a man claiming to be her illegitimate son renamed himself Napoleon Bonaparte before walking into the Elbe in 1864; who was the plate of cherry cake meant for, and why did she refuse to name the son she memorialized? What secrets hid behind her black collar and the cherry cake that followers still whisper about?

In this episode, we trace Auguste Charlotte von Kielmannsegge’s life from her birth at Hermsdorf Castle through two marriages, mysterious deaths, and decades of political intrigue in Dresden, and we follow the man who spent years distributing brochures claiming to be her illegitimate son-ending his life in the river-asking whether the unanswered questions about a cake and a son can be resolved.

Person: Auguste Charlotte von Schönberg (later von Lynar, then von Kielmannsegge)
Date: Born May 18, 1777; husband Rochus August von Lynar died August 1, 1800; remarried October 10, 1822; alleged claimant died 1864
Location: Hermsdorf Castle; Dresden; estates in Oberlausitz (Schmochtitz, Neusalza, Spremberg, Dürrhennersdorf)
Event: A man claiming to be her illegitimate son renamed himself Napoleon Bonaparte and drowned in the Elbe River in spring 1864
Status: Countess died aged 85 having created a private Napoleon memorial and leaving unresolved questions about a cherry cake and a secret son

- Auguste inherited and administered four manors in Oberlausitz rather than acting as an absentee landlord.
- She married Count Rochus August von Lynar on May 13, 1796, and had three children: twins Rochus Carl and Rochus Carl (born 1797) and Luise Alexandra (born November 3, 1799).
- Rochus Carl died in September 1801 and Luise Alexandra died in January 1804; her husband died August 1, 1800 at age 27.
- She traveled to Italy with painter Josef Grassi around 1799-1800 and by 1800 was spending part of the year in Paris and meeting figures in the French imperial court, including Joseph Fouché.
- Saxon government dispatches described her as "politically dangerous" and reported she "often instigated intrigues to obtain information about Napoleon's opponents."

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074873Tue, 08 Sep 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Countess, the Cherry Cake, and Napoleon's Secret Son A Saxon noblewoman called Auguste von Kielmannsegge declared devotion to Napoleon while living with a husband who was his sworn enemy, and a man claiming to be her illegitimate son renamed...
A Saxon noblewoman called Auguste von Kielmannsegge declared devotion to Napoleon while living with a husband who was his sworn enemy, and a man claiming to be her illegitimate son renamed himself Napoleon Bonaparte before walking into the Elbe in 1864; who was the plate of cherry cake meant for, and why did she refuse to name the son she memorialized? What secrets hid behind her black collar and the cherry cake that followers still whisper about?

In this episode, we trace Auguste Charlotte von Kielmannsegge’s life from her birth at Hermsdorf Castle through two marriages, mysterious deaths, and decades of political intrigue in Dresden, and we follow the man who spent years distributing brochures claiming to be her illegitimate son-ending his life in the river-asking whether the unanswered questions about a cake and a son can be resolved.

Person: Auguste Charlotte von Schönberg (later von Lynar, then von Kielmannsegge)
Date: Born May 18, 1777; husband Rochus August von Lynar died August 1, 1800; remarried October 10, 1822; alleged claimant died 1864
Location: Hermsdorf Castle; Dresden; estates in Oberlausitz (Schmochtitz, Neusalza, Spremberg, Dürrhennersdorf)
Event: A man claiming to be her illegitimate son renamed himself Napoleon Bonaparte and drowned in the Elbe River in spring 1864
Status: Countess died aged 85 having created a private Napoleon memorial and leaving unresolved questions about a cherry cake and a secret son

- Auguste inherited and administered four manors in Oberlausitz rather than acting as an absentee landlord.
- She married Count Rochus August von Lynar on May 13, 1796, and had three children: twins Rochus Carl and Rochus Carl (born 1797) and Luise Alexandra (born November 3, 1799).
- Rochus Carl died in September 1801 and Luise Alexandra died in January 1804; her husband died August 1, 1800 at age 27.
- She traveled to Italy with painter Josef Grassi around 1799-1800 and by 1800 was spending part of the year in Paris and meeting figures in the French imperial court, including Joseph Fouché.
- Saxon government dispatches described her as "politically dangerous" and reported she "often instigated intrigues to obtain information about Napoleon's opponents."

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1461falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-cia-burned-him-failed-three-polygraphs-and-they-kept-letting-him-back-in--73074872
A man who failed three polygraphs, was formally declared an intelligence fabricator, and still brokered a fifty-million-dollar arms shipment that never left the port - it feels like a scandal crafted for fiction. What kept senior officials on three continents calling Manucher Ghorbanifar despite admissions that he fabricated an assassination plot and ran covert channels through his phone?

In this episode, we trace the arc of Ghorbanifar’s career from SAVAK trainee to exile broker, how his charm and detailed fabrications shaped headlines and operations, and the unanswered question at the center: why did agencies keep trusting a man who repeatedly lied?

Person: Manucher Ghorbanifar
Date of birth: May 9, 1945
Event: Cosmos arms shipment - $50,000,000 cargo loaded in Eilat
Case: Fabricated 1981 Libyan assassination story (admitted in 1986)
Status: Declared an intelligence fabricator by the CIA; failed three polygraphs

- The Cosmos cargo was valued at $50,000,000 and was loaded at the Israeli port of Eilat but never moved.
- Ghorbanifar failed three separate polygraph tests administered by the CIA.
- In 1981 Washington Post stories alleging Libyan hit squads were later admitted by Ghorbanifar in 1986 to have been fabricated.
- By 1984 the CIA had issued a formal burn declaring him an intelligence fabricator.
- He was born May 9, 1945, and served as an agent of SAVAK before becoming a partner in the Israeli-Iranian shipping company Starline Iran.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074872Mon, 07 Sep 2026 08:00:04 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe CIA burned him. Failed three polygraphs. And they kept letting him back in A man who failed three polygraphs, was formally declared an intelligence fabricator, and still brokered a fifty-million-dollar arms shipment that never left the port -...
A man who failed three polygraphs, was formally declared an intelligence fabricator, and still brokered a fifty-million-dollar arms shipment that never left the port - it feels like a scandal crafted for fiction. What kept senior officials on three continents calling Manucher Ghorbanifar despite admissions that he fabricated an assassination plot and ran covert channels through his phone?

In this episode, we trace the arc of Ghorbanifar’s career from SAVAK trainee to exile broker, how his charm and detailed fabrications shaped headlines and operations, and the unanswered question at the center: why did agencies keep trusting a man who repeatedly lied?

Person: Manucher Ghorbanifar
Date of birth: May 9, 1945
Event: Cosmos arms shipment - $50,000,000 cargo loaded in Eilat
Case: Fabricated 1981 Libyan assassination story (admitted in 1986)
Status: Declared an intelligence fabricator by the CIA; failed three polygraphs

- The Cosmos cargo was valued at $50,000,000 and was loaded at the Israeli port of Eilat but never moved.
- Ghorbanifar failed three separate polygraph tests administered by the CIA.
- In 1981 Washington Post stories alleging Libyan hit squads were later admitted by Ghorbanifar in 1986 to have been fabricated.
- By 1984 the CIA had issued a formal burn declaring him an intelligence fabricator.
- He was born May 9, 1945, and served as an agent of SAVAK before becoming a partner in the Israeli-Iranian shipping company Starline Iran.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1510falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/he-was-burned-by-the-cia-yet-briefed-u-s-spies-in-rome--73074871
He survived being labeled "an intelligence fabricator and a nuisance" in a formal Congressional record, failed three polygraphs, and yet in December 2001 he sat in a Rome hotel briefing U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency officials on Iran, terrorism, and uranium-how did a man declared unreliable return to the heart of U.S. intelligence contacts? What did his briefings change, and who chose to listen anyway?

In this episode, we follow the documented history of Manucher Ghorbanifar from his birth on May 9, 1945, through his SAVAK-era networks, post-revolution dealings, and notorious re-emergence in Rome, asking how his fabrications shaped policy and why accountability remained scarce.

Person: Manucher Ghorbanifar
Date of Rome meeting: December 2001
Birth Date: May 9, 1945
Organization: SAVAK (former affiliation)
Event: Operation Nojeh coup attempt collapse (July 9-10, 1980)

- The CIA polygraphed Ghorbanifar three times and recorded that he failed all three tests.
- The CIA wrote "intelligence fabricator and a nuisance" about Ghorbanifar in a formal Congressional record.
- In December 2001, three men who "did not officially exist" met in a Rome hotel for three days, including Ghorbanifar.
- Operation Nojeh collapsed on July 9-10, 1980, with hundreds arrested and the coup plan thwarted before any planes flew.
- By the mid-1970s Ghorbanifar was a partner in Starline Iran, a shipping company handling oil and commerce between Iran and Israel.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074871Sun, 06 Sep 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaHe Was Burned by the CIA - Yet Briefed U.S. Spies in Rome He survived being labeled "an intelligence fabricator and a nuisance" in a formal Congressional record, failed three polygraphs, and yet in December 2001 he sat in a Rome hotel briefing U.S....
He survived being labeled "an intelligence fabricator and a nuisance" in a formal Congressional record, failed three polygraphs, and yet in December 2001 he sat in a Rome hotel briefing U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency officials on Iran, terrorism, and uranium-how did a man declared unreliable return to the heart of U.S. intelligence contacts? What did his briefings change, and who chose to listen anyway?

In this episode, we follow the documented history of Manucher Ghorbanifar from his birth on May 9, 1945, through his SAVAK-era networks, post-revolution dealings, and notorious re-emergence in Rome, asking how his fabrications shaped policy and why accountability remained scarce.

Person: Manucher Ghorbanifar
Date of Rome meeting: December 2001
Birth Date: May 9, 1945
Organization: SAVAK (former affiliation)
Event: Operation Nojeh coup attempt collapse (July 9-10, 1980)

- The CIA polygraphed Ghorbanifar three times and recorded that he failed all three tests.
- The CIA wrote "intelligence fabricator and a nuisance" about Ghorbanifar in a formal Congressional record.
- In December 2001, three men who "did not officially exist" met in a Rome hotel for three days, including Ghorbanifar.
- Operation Nojeh collapsed on July 9-10, 1980, with hundreds arrested and the coup plan thwarted before any planes flew.
- By the mid-1970s Ghorbanifar was a partner in Starline Iran, a shipping company handling oil and commerce between Iran and Israel.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1381falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/they-lived-a-stolen-life-how-two-soviet-spies-raised-canadian-sons--73074869
A dead seven-week-old Ontario infant became the legal identity that carried a man through Harvard, corporate boardrooms, and strategy sessions with U.S. advisors - all while the FBI watched for nearly a decade. How did two Soviet Illegals sustain fabricated Canadian lives for more than twenty years without a single public crack, and what did it cost their family?

In this episode, you will hear the recorded facts of Andrey Bezrukov and Elena Vavilova’s operation: the training they received, the civilian identities they assumed, their moves through Toronto, Paris, and Cambridge, and the quiet morning in June 2010 when federal agents arrested them. What allowed their cover to hold inside academia, business, and family life - and how were their sons kept unaware?

Person: Andrey Bezrukov
Person: Elena Vavilova
Date: June 2010
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Event: Arrest of the couple after more than twenty years undercover

- The stolen male identity, Donald Howard Howard, was originally a seven-week-old infant who died in Ontario in 1962.
- Bezrukov was born August 30, 1960 in Kansk and Vavilova was born November 16, 1962 in Tomsk.
- The couple moved to Toronto by 1990 where their first son, Timothy, was born in 1990 and gained Canadian citizenship by birth.
- Bezrukov earned a bachelor’s in international economics at York University (1992-1995), completed a master’s at École nationale des ponts et chaussées (1995-1997), and later a master’s in public administration at Harvard (after 1999).
- From May 2000, Bezrukov worked as a partner at Global Partners Inc., serving clients including Alstom, Boston Scientific, General Electric, and T-Mobile.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074869Sat, 05 Sep 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaThey Lived a Stolen Life: How Two Soviet Spies Raised Canadian Sons A dead seven-week-old Ontario infant became the legal identity that carried a man through Harvard, corporate boardrooms, and strategy sessions with U.S. advisors - all while the...
A dead seven-week-old Ontario infant became the legal identity that carried a man through Harvard, corporate boardrooms, and strategy sessions with U.S. advisors - all while the FBI watched for nearly a decade. How did two Soviet Illegals sustain fabricated Canadian lives for more than twenty years without a single public crack, and what did it cost their family?

In this episode, you will hear the recorded facts of Andrey Bezrukov and Elena Vavilova’s operation: the training they received, the civilian identities they assumed, their moves through Toronto, Paris, and Cambridge, and the quiet morning in June 2010 when federal agents arrested them. What allowed their cover to hold inside academia, business, and family life - and how were their sons kept unaware?

Person: Andrey Bezrukov
Person: Elena Vavilova
Date: June 2010
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Event: Arrest of the couple after more than twenty years undercover

- The stolen male identity, Donald Howard Howard, was originally a seven-week-old infant who died in Ontario in 1962.
- Bezrukov was born August 30, 1960 in Kansk and Vavilova was born November 16, 1962 in Tomsk.
- The couple moved to Toronto by 1990 where their first son, Timothy, was born in 1990 and gained Canadian citizenship by birth.
- Bezrukov earned a bachelor’s in international economics at York University (1992-1995), completed a master’s at École nationale des ponts et chaussées (1995-1997), and later a master’s in public administration at Harvard (after 1999).
- From May 2000, Bezrukov worked as a partner at Global Partners Inc., serving clients including Alstom, Boston Scientific, General Electric, and T-Mobile.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1264falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/when-a-chain-of-moles-built-the-soviet-h-bomb-secrets-that-traveled-dead-drops--73074868
A single chain of moles closed a canyon between two superpowers: secrets passed through dead drops, coded meetings, and ordinary envelopes to help the Soviets detonate an H‑bomb in August 1953 just one year after America’s first hydrogen test. How did physicists, machinists, secretaries, soldiers, and couriers stitch together the intelligence that moved from Los Alamos to the Kazakh steppe?

In this episode, we lay out who was involved, what they passed, and how a network of couriers and trusted insiders accelerated the Soviet program - ending with the unresolved question of which links were never identified and why some went to their graves undetected.

Person: Klaus Fuchs
Event: Soviet hydrogen bomb test, August 1953
Date: June 23, 1959 (Fuchs released from Wakefield Prison)
Person: Harry Gold
Person: David Greenglass

- Klaus Fuchs served nine years and four months before walking out of Wakefield Prison on June 23, 1959.
- The Soviet H‑bomb detonated in August 1953, one year after America’s first hydrogen bomb test.
- The Manhattan Project employed 24,000 workers and 500 scientists at its largest single facility and consumed $2 billion.
- The Soviet program began with roughly 50 scientists and 2 mathematicians and lacked uranium mines and isotope‑extraction plants.
- Harry Gold acted as courier, meeting Klaus Fuchs in Albuquerque and also collecting sketches from David Greenglass in June 1945.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074868Fri, 04 Sep 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaWhen a Chain of Moles Built the Soviet H‑Bomb: Secrets That Traveled Dead Drops A single chain of moles closed a canyon between two superpowers: secrets passed through dead drops, coded meetings, and ordinary envelopes to help the Soviets detonate...
A single chain of moles closed a canyon between two superpowers: secrets passed through dead drops, coded meetings, and ordinary envelopes to help the Soviets detonate an H‑bomb in August 1953 just one year after America’s first hydrogen test. How did physicists, machinists, secretaries, soldiers, and couriers stitch together the intelligence that moved from Los Alamos to the Kazakh steppe?

In this episode, we lay out who was involved, what they passed, and how a network of couriers and trusted insiders accelerated the Soviet program - ending with the unresolved question of which links were never identified and why some went to their graves undetected.

Person: Klaus Fuchs
Event: Soviet hydrogen bomb test, August 1953
Date: June 23, 1959 (Fuchs released from Wakefield Prison)
Person: Harry Gold
Person: David Greenglass

- Klaus Fuchs served nine years and four months before walking out of Wakefield Prison on June 23, 1959.
- The Soviet H‑bomb detonated in August 1953, one year after America’s first hydrogen bomb test.
- The Manhattan Project employed 24,000 workers and 500 scientists at its largest single facility and consumed $2 billion.
- The Soviet program began with roughly 50 scientists and 2 mathematicians and lacked uranium mines and isotope‑extraction plants.
- Harry Gold acted as courier, meeting Klaus Fuchs in Albuquerque and also collecting sketches from David Greenglass in June 1945.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1543falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/why-the-world-s-greatest-fencer-refused-a-free-bridge-escape--73074867
He was declared the best fencer alive, drove a Mercedes 300 in communist Poland, and yet when offered a bridge exchange to the West he turned it down - why would a decorated Olympic champion refuse freedom? This episode follows Jerzy Pawłowski from a Warsaw upbringing through five Olympic medals and a twenty-five year double life to the single decision that reframes it all.

In this episode, we trace the documented facts of Pawłowski’s life: his rise in sport, his roles inside Polish intelligence and later the CIA under the codenames Pawel and Gracz, and the circumstances around his arrest and offer of exchange - and we ask what that refusal reveals about his motives.

Person: Jerzy Władysław Pawłowski
Date: born 25 October 1932
Event: arrested days after being named most outstanding sportsman of the decade in spring 1975
Country: Poland
Codename: Pawel (primary), Gracz (secondary)

- Won gold in individual sabre at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics at age 35
- Five Olympic medals and seven World Championship golds credited in the record
- Began working for Polish intelligence in 1950 at age 17 and reported on teammates between August 1955 and March 1962
- Polish security terminated his arrangement in March 1962 for using the relationship for personal gain
- Began working for the CIA in 1964, reportedly passing radar codes for military aircraft while operating at least a decade

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074867Thu, 03 Sep 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaWhy the World's Greatest Fencer Refused a Free Bridge Escape He was declared the best fencer alive, drove a Mercedes 300 in communist Poland, and yet when offered a bridge exchange to the West he turned it down - why would a decorated Olympic...
He was declared the best fencer alive, drove a Mercedes 300 in communist Poland, and yet when offered a bridge exchange to the West he turned it down - why would a decorated Olympic champion refuse freedom? This episode follows Jerzy Pawłowski from a Warsaw upbringing through five Olympic medals and a twenty-five year double life to the single decision that reframes it all.

In this episode, we trace the documented facts of Pawłowski’s life: his rise in sport, his roles inside Polish intelligence and later the CIA under the codenames Pawel and Gracz, and the circumstances around his arrest and offer of exchange - and we ask what that refusal reveals about his motives.

Person: Jerzy Władysław Pawłowski
Date: born 25 October 1932
Event: arrested days after being named most outstanding sportsman of the decade in spring 1975
Country: Poland
Codename: Pawel (primary), Gracz (secondary)

- Won gold in individual sabre at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics at age 35
- Five Olympic medals and seven World Championship golds credited in the record
- Began working for Polish intelligence in 1950 at age 17 and reported on teammates between August 1955 and March 1962
- Polish security terminated his arrangement in March 1962 for using the relationship for personal gain
- Began working for the CIA in 1964, reportedly passing radar codes for military aircraft while operating at least a decade

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1420falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/he-threw-uranium-in-the-river-then-framed-his-sister-for-death--73074866
The river swallowed stolen uranium tossed from a Manhattan-born machinist who helped shape the bomb that fell on Nagasaki, yet he later walked free under a false name; how did a man who admitted perjury send his sister to the electric chair? What did his choices cost, and why were grand jury transcripts sealed for more than sixty years?

In this episode, we tell the story of David Greenglass from his Lower East Side childhood to Los Alamos and the betrayals that followed, tracing his recruitment, espionage, recantation, and the long-hidden documents that finally surfaced after his death. What does the newly released evidence change about who was truly responsible?

Person: David Greenglass
Date: born March 2, 1922
Location: East River (uranium disposal), Los Alamos (employment)
Event: handed sketches to courier Harry Gold in June 1945
Status: grand jury transcripts sealed for over sixty years, released in 2015

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074866Wed, 02 Sep 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaHe Threw Uranium in the River - Then Framed His Sister for Death The river swallowed stolen uranium tossed from a Manhattan-born machinist who helped shape the bomb that fell on Nagasaki, yet he later walked free under a false name; how did a man...
The river swallowed stolen uranium tossed from a Manhattan-born machinist who helped shape the bomb that fell on Nagasaki, yet he later walked free under a false name; how did a man who admitted perjury send his sister to the electric chair? What did his choices cost, and why were grand jury transcripts sealed for more than sixty years?

In this episode, we tell the story of David Greenglass from his Lower East Side childhood to Los Alamos and the betrayals that followed, tracing his recruitment, espionage, recantation, and the long-hidden documents that finally surfaced after his death. What does the newly released evidence change about who was truly responsible?

Person: David Greenglass
Date: born March 2, 1922
Location: East River (uranium disposal), Los Alamos (employment)
Event: handed sketches to courier Harry Gold in June 1945
Status: grand jury transcripts sealed for over sixty years, released in 2015

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1315falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-hollow-nickel-that-unmasked-a-brooklyn-kgb-spy--73074865
A fourteen-year-old paperboy in Brooklyn found a nickel that split open on the sidewalk to reveal microfilm with 207 groups of five digits-an undecipherable KGB message that sat unread for nearly four years. How did a hollowed coin, wartime metal mismatched to a 1948 face, become the loose thread that eventually unraveled a Cold War spy ring?

In this episode, we tell how a neighborhood coin moved from a paper route to an FBI lab and lay out the sequence of events that connected an uncrackable numeric message to a defector in Paris. What finally let U.S. counterintelligence read the case behind the coin?

Person: Jimmy Bozart
Date: June 22, 1953
Location: Foster Avenue, Flatbush, Brooklyn
Event: Discovery of hollow nickel containing microfilm with 207 groups of five digits
Person: Reino Häyhänen (alias Eugene Nicolai Mäki), defection in Paris, May 1957

- The coin contained 207 groups of five digits, arranged in twenty-one sets across seven columns and twenty sets across three columns.
- The nickel’s obverse was dated 1948 while the reverse matched wartime composition used October 1942-end of 1945.
- Jimmy Bozart was 14 years old when the coin split open and revealed the microfilm.
- The microfilm message was labeled “December, number one” with no year specified.
- Reino Häyhänen defected in Paris in May 1957, then disclosed the Brooklyn-based agent known as “Mark,” later identified as William August Fisher, arrested in 1957.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074865Tue, 01 Sep 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Hollow Nickel That Unmasked a Brooklyn KGB Spy A fourteen-year-old paperboy in Brooklyn found a nickel that split open on the sidewalk to reveal microfilm with 207 groups of five digits-an undecipherable KGB message that sat unread for nearly...
A fourteen-year-old paperboy in Brooklyn found a nickel that split open on the sidewalk to reveal microfilm with 207 groups of five digits-an undecipherable KGB message that sat unread for nearly four years. How did a hollowed coin, wartime metal mismatched to a 1948 face, become the loose thread that eventually unraveled a Cold War spy ring?

In this episode, we tell how a neighborhood coin moved from a paper route to an FBI lab and lay out the sequence of events that connected an uncrackable numeric message to a defector in Paris. What finally let U.S. counterintelligence read the case behind the coin?

Person: Jimmy Bozart
Date: June 22, 1953
Location: Foster Avenue, Flatbush, Brooklyn
Event: Discovery of hollow nickel containing microfilm with 207 groups of five digits
Person: Reino Häyhänen (alias Eugene Nicolai Mäki), defection in Paris, May 1957

- The coin contained 207 groups of five digits, arranged in twenty-one sets across seven columns and twenty sets across three columns.
- The nickel’s obverse was dated 1948 while the reverse matched wartime composition used October 1942-end of 1945.
- Jimmy Bozart was 14 years old when the coin split open and revealed the microfilm.
- The microfilm message was labeled “December, number one” with no year specified.
- Reino Häyhänen defected in Paris in May 1957, then disclosed the Brooklyn-based agent known as “Mark,” later identified as William August Fisher, arrested in 1957.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1313falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-day-hp-broke-trust-how-boardroom-spying-stole-a-journalist-s-identity--73074864
A Fortune 500 company used impersonation to obtain private phone records for boardroom leaks, and one journalist lost their Social Security number - an identity that has never been confirmed. How did a routine internal probe spiral into a congressional letter and public scandal?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from January 2006 when CNET published boardroom-sourced details, through the pretexting operation ordered by Chairwoman Patricia Dunn, to the September 2006 SEC filing and the congressional inquiry - and ask who knew what, when, and why the operation reached journalists.

Person: Patricia Dunn
Person: Mark Hurd
Person: George Keyworth
Person: Kevin Hunsaker
Event: Newsweek published details on September 5, 2006

- On January 2006 CNET published an article containing specific details from HP's confidential boardroom discussions.
- Patricia Dunn, HP's non-executive chairwoman, directed General Counsel Ann Baskins to find the source of the leak.
- Investigators used pretexting to impersonate account holders and obtained call records for nine journalists from carriers.
- Bryan Wagner, an outside private investigator, obtained one journalist's Social Security number to access records.
- On September 6, 2006 Hewlett-Packard filed a disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074864Mon, 31 Aug 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Day HP Broke Trust: How Boardroom Spying Stole a Journalist's Identity A Fortune 500 company used impersonation to obtain private phone records for boardroom leaks, and one journalist lost their Social Security number - an identity that has...
A Fortune 500 company used impersonation to obtain private phone records for boardroom leaks, and one journalist lost their Social Security number - an identity that has never been confirmed. How did a routine internal probe spiral into a congressional letter and public scandal?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from January 2006 when CNET published boardroom-sourced details, through the pretexting operation ordered by Chairwoman Patricia Dunn, to the September 2006 SEC filing and the congressional inquiry - and ask who knew what, when, and why the operation reached journalists.

Person: Patricia Dunn
Person: Mark Hurd
Person: George Keyworth
Person: Kevin Hunsaker
Event: Newsweek published details on September 5, 2006

- On January 2006 CNET published an article containing specific details from HP's confidential boardroom discussions.
- Patricia Dunn, HP's non-executive chairwoman, directed General Counsel Ann Baskins to find the source of the leak.
- Investigators used pretexting to impersonate account holders and obtained call records for nine journalists from carriers.
- Bryan Wagner, an outside private investigator, obtained one journalist's Social Security number to access records.
- On September 6, 2006 Hewlett-Packard filed a disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1299falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/they-stole-a-reporter-s-ssn-how-hp-s-board-was-spied-on--73074863
A massive corporation used false identities and stolen credentials to pull years of phone records, and at least one reporter’s Social Security number was obtained and used to unlock an account. How did a process started to stop leaks become identity theft, and who inside HP truly authorized it?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events that led Hewlett-Packard to launch a covert operation against its own board members and nine journalists, describe how pretexting was used to get itemized call records, and ask why only one private investigator served a day in prison.

Person: Patricia Dunn
Person: Kevin Hunsaker
Person: George Keyworth
Date: May 24, 2006
Event: Board meeting September 5, 2006

- HP employed more than 150,000 people worldwide by 2006.
- The internal report by Kevin Hunsaker was dated May 24, 2006.
- Investigators targeted nine journalists from outlets including CNET, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal.
- At least one reporter’s Social Security number was obtained and then used as a credential to access phone records.
- Patricia Dunn became chairwoman of the HP board in 2005 and led the response to the January 2006 CNET leak.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074863Sun, 30 Aug 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThey Stole a Reporter's SSN - How HP's Board Was Spied On A massive corporation used false identities and stolen credentials to pull years of phone records, and at least one reporter’s Social Security number was obtained and used to unlock an...
A massive corporation used false identities and stolen credentials to pull years of phone records, and at least one reporter’s Social Security number was obtained and used to unlock an account. How did a process started to stop leaks become identity theft, and who inside HP truly authorized it?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events that led Hewlett-Packard to launch a covert operation against its own board members and nine journalists, describe how pretexting was used to get itemized call records, and ask why only one private investigator served a day in prison.

Person: Patricia Dunn
Person: Kevin Hunsaker
Person: George Keyworth
Date: May 24, 2006
Event: Board meeting September 5, 2006

- HP employed more than 150,000 people worldwide by 2006.
- The internal report by Kevin Hunsaker was dated May 24, 2006.
- Investigators targeted nine journalists from outlets including CNET, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal.
- At least one reporter’s Social Security number was obtained and then used as a credential to access phone records.
- Patricia Dunn became chairwoman of the HP board in 2005 and led the response to the January 2006 CNET leak.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1401falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-paper-the-initial-and-the-army-that-chose-a-lie--73074862
A nearly invisible document-thin as onion skin, torn in two, folded inside a bag of office trash-would trigger a national scandal that revolved around a single initial and a decision to ignore contrary evidence. How did a scrap of pelure paper signed only with the letter D become the hinge on which an army chose a lie?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from the trash-bag recovery to the arrest of a decorated officer, tracking who handled the bordereau, what it claimed to offer, and why institutional prejudice shaped the case more than proof. What did the document actually say, who saw it first, and why did authorities fixate on the initial D?

Person: Captain Alfred Dreyfus
Date: Autumn 1894
Location: French military intelligence, Paris
Document: Bordereau (pelure paper, torn vertically, single initial "D")
Officer implicated by handwriting: Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy

- The bordereau listed five categories of military information, including hydraulic brakes for the new 120 artillery and plans related to Madagascar.
- The document was recovered from the German military attaché's office trash by Marie Bastian, who worked as a cleaning woman and could not read.
- Major Henry held the bordereau from late August until September 24, 1894, before presenting it to superiors.
- Captain Alfred Dreyfus was 35 years old, a graduate of the École Polytechnique, and had a private income of roughly $5,000-$6,000 a year.
- Lieutenant Colonel Jean Conrad Sandherr ran the Section de Statistique and had documented contempt for Jewish officers, influencing the handling of the case.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074862Sat, 29 Aug 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Paper, The Initial, and the Army That Chose a Lie A nearly invisible document-thin as onion skin, torn in two, folded inside a bag of office trash-would trigger a national scandal that revolved around a single initial and a decision to ignore...
A nearly invisible document-thin as onion skin, torn in two, folded inside a bag of office trash-would trigger a national scandal that revolved around a single initial and a decision to ignore contrary evidence. How did a scrap of pelure paper signed only with the letter D become the hinge on which an army chose a lie?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from the trash-bag recovery to the arrest of a decorated officer, tracking who handled the bordereau, what it claimed to offer, and why institutional prejudice shaped the case more than proof. What did the document actually say, who saw it first, and why did authorities fixate on the initial D?

Person: Captain Alfred Dreyfus
Date: Autumn 1894
Location: French military intelligence, Paris
Document: Bordereau (pelure paper, torn vertically, single initial "D")
Officer implicated by handwriting: Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy

- The bordereau listed five categories of military information, including hydraulic brakes for the new 120 artillery and plans related to Madagascar.
- The document was recovered from the German military attaché's office trash by Marie Bastian, who worked as a cleaning woman and could not read.
- Major Henry held the bordereau from late August until September 24, 1894, before presenting it to superiors.
- Captain Alfred Dreyfus was 35 years old, a graduate of the École Polytechnique, and had a private income of roughly $5,000-$6,000 a year.
- Lieutenant Colonel Jean Conrad Sandherr ran the Section de Statistique and had documented contempt for Jewish officers, influencing the handling of the case.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1479falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-leaked-a-memo-that-would-have-started-a-war--73074861
The thought that a major intelligence service was tasked with spying on elected UN Security Council members while a vote on invading Iraq loomed is chilling: an internal memo urged "mounting a surge" to collect "the whole gamut of information that could give US policymakers an edge." How far would an intelligence alliance go to influence a diplomatic vote, and who would risk everything to stop it?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events that began when a junior Mandarin translator at Britain's signals intelligence service opened a classified email in January 2003 and chose to act. The episode covers the contents of the memo, the six targeted countries, and the personal and legal consequences that followed after the document was published days before the Iraq invasion - could a single leaked page change the course of war?

Person: Katharine Gun
Organization: Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ)
Origin of memo: Frank Koza, senior NSA official
Publication date: March 2, 2003
Targets: Angola, Cameroon, Chile, Mexico, Guinea, Pakistan

- The memo was received in January 2003 and published by The Observer on March 2, 2003.
- The operation instructed surveillance of personal telephone and email communications of six elected Security Council members.
- The memo described the goal as gathering "the whole gamut of information that could give US policymakers an edge."
- Katharine Gun printed the document, took it home, and contacted a friend with links to antiwar activists before it reached a journalist.
- After publication, GCHQ investigators began probing inward to identify the source within days.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074861Fri, 28 Aug 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Leaked A Memo That Would Have Started A War The thought that a major intelligence service was tasked with spying on elected UN Security Council members while a vote on invading Iraq loomed is chilling: an internal memo urged "mounting a surge"...
The thought that a major intelligence service was tasked with spying on elected UN Security Council members while a vote on invading Iraq loomed is chilling: an internal memo urged "mounting a surge" to collect "the whole gamut of information that could give US policymakers an edge." How far would an intelligence alliance go to influence a diplomatic vote, and who would risk everything to stop it?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events that began when a junior Mandarin translator at Britain's signals intelligence service opened a classified email in January 2003 and chose to act. The episode covers the contents of the memo, the six targeted countries, and the personal and legal consequences that followed after the document was published days before the Iraq invasion - could a single leaked page change the course of war?

Person: Katharine Gun
Organization: Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ)
Origin of memo: Frank Koza, senior NSA official
Publication date: March 2, 2003
Targets: Angola, Cameroon, Chile, Mexico, Guinea, Pakistan

- The memo was received in January 2003 and published by The Observer on March 2, 2003.
- The operation instructed surveillance of personal telephone and email communications of six elected Security Council members.
- The memo described the goal as gathering "the whole gamut of information that could give US policymakers an edge."
- Katharine Gun printed the document, took it home, and contacted a friend with links to antiwar activists before it reached a journalist.
- After publication, GCHQ investigators began probing inward to identify the source within days.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1401falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-clerk-who-stole-a-disc-and-haunted-israel-s-army--73074859
Inside a classified military headquarters a twenty-year-old clerk walked out with a compact disc containing more than two thousand IDF documents, including an order naming three men later killed in West Bank operations - and her choice cost her two and a half years of freedom. How did a single clerk’s leak force a clash between national security and accountability?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events: Anat Kamm’s access at Central Command, the documents she copied and handed to journalist Uri Blau, and the legal and public fallout that followed - did IDF practice contradict the 2006 Supreme Court ruling on arrests versus targeted killings?

Person: Anat Kamm
Person: Uri Blau
Date: 2006 (Supreme Court ruling); 2008 (first Haaretz report); January 2010 (house arrest)
Location: Central Command, Israel
Event: Leak of more than 2,000 classified IDF documents onto a compact disc

- Anat Kamm was born in 1987 and entered IDF service in summer 2005 at age 18.
- Kamm copied more than 2,000 classified documents from Central Command onto a compact disc.
- The disputed document named Walid Obeid, Ziad Malaisha, and Adham Yunis, all later killed in West Bank operations.
- Uri Blau was 31 years old when his first report based on the material appeared in Haaretz in 2008.
- By late January 2010 Anat Kamm, then 22, was placed under house arrest after a Shin Bet investigation.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074859Thu, 27 Aug 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Clerk Who Stole a Disc and Haunted Israel's Army Inside a classified military headquarters a twenty-year-old clerk walked out with a compact disc containing more than two thousand IDF documents, including an order naming three men later killed...
Inside a classified military headquarters a twenty-year-old clerk walked out with a compact disc containing more than two thousand IDF documents, including an order naming three men later killed in West Bank operations - and her choice cost her two and a half years of freedom. How did a single clerk’s leak force a clash between national security and accountability?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events: Anat Kamm’s access at Central Command, the documents she copied and handed to journalist Uri Blau, and the legal and public fallout that followed - did IDF practice contradict the 2006 Supreme Court ruling on arrests versus targeted killings?

Person: Anat Kamm
Person: Uri Blau
Date: 2006 (Supreme Court ruling); 2008 (first Haaretz report); January 2010 (house arrest)
Location: Central Command, Israel
Event: Leak of more than 2,000 classified IDF documents onto a compact disc

- Anat Kamm was born in 1987 and entered IDF service in summer 2005 at age 18.
- Kamm copied more than 2,000 classified documents from Central Command onto a compact disc.
- The disputed document named Walid Obeid, Ziad Malaisha, and Adham Yunis, all later killed in West Bank operations.
- Uri Blau was 31 years old when his first report based on the material appeared in Haaretz in 2008.
- By late January 2010 Anat Kamm, then 22, was placed under house arrest after a Shin Bet investigation.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1384falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/parcel-bomb-in-cairo-mossad-s-rogue-war-to-stop-900-rockets--73074858
The morning of November 27, 1962, a secretary in a Cairo rocket laboratory opened a parcel addressed to West German engineer Wolfgang Pilz and survived a bomb blast that injured her while Pilz remained unhurt. Mossad carried out a covert campaign of parcels, disappearances and shootings across four countries after learning Pilz’s report claimed 900 rockets were under construction - but did that campaign succeed or destroy the agency that launched it?

In this episode, we tell the documented account of Operation Damocles, the unauthorized Mossad operation aimed at the scientists and supply chains behind Egypt’s Factory 333, and follow the parcel bombs, vanishings and shootings that followed; was the threat of 900 rockets neutralized, or did the operation spiral out of control?

Person: Wolfgang Pilz
Person: Isser Harel
Date: November 27, 1962
Location: Factory 333, Cairo
Event: Parcel bomb detonated in rocket laboratory

- A parcel bomb addressed to Wolfgang Pilz detonated on November 27, 1962, injuring his secretary while Pilz was unhurt.
- Mossad obtained a technical report in mid-August 1962 that stated 900 rockets were under construction.
- Two new Egyptian rockets, Al-Zafir and Al-Kahir, were paraded in Cairo on July 23, 1962.
- Heinz Krug, a Munich-based supply director linked to Factory 333, disappeared from a Munich street in September 1962 and was never found.
- A second parcel sent to the Heliopolis rocket facility killed five Egyptian workers.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074858Wed, 26 Aug 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaParcel Bomb in Cairo: Mossad's Rogue War to Stop 900 Rockets The morning of November 27, 1962, a secretary in a Cairo rocket laboratory opened a parcel addressed to West German engineer Wolfgang Pilz and survived a bomb blast that injured her while...
The morning of November 27, 1962, a secretary in a Cairo rocket laboratory opened a parcel addressed to West German engineer Wolfgang Pilz and survived a bomb blast that injured her while Pilz remained unhurt. Mossad carried out a covert campaign of parcels, disappearances and shootings across four countries after learning Pilz’s report claimed 900 rockets were under construction - but did that campaign succeed or destroy the agency that launched it?

In this episode, we tell the documented account of Operation Damocles, the unauthorized Mossad operation aimed at the scientists and supply chains behind Egypt’s Factory 333, and follow the parcel bombs, vanishings and shootings that followed; was the threat of 900 rockets neutralized, or did the operation spiral out of control?

Person: Wolfgang Pilz
Person: Isser Harel
Date: November 27, 1962
Location: Factory 333, Cairo
Event: Parcel bomb detonated in rocket laboratory

- A parcel bomb addressed to Wolfgang Pilz detonated on November 27, 1962, injuring his secretary while Pilz was unhurt.
- Mossad obtained a technical report in mid-August 1962 that stated 900 rockets were under construction.
- Two new Egyptian rockets, Al-Zafir and Al-Kahir, were paraded in Cairo on July 23, 1962.
- Heinz Krug, a Munich-based supply director linked to Factory 333, disappeared from a Munich street in September 1962 and was never found.
- A second parcel sent to the Heliopolis rocket facility killed five Egyptian workers.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1323falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/puro-ningun-policia-lo-llevo-alli--73074857
He walked into a police station and asked to be arrested after confessing to two killings - but what the officers did not know was that for nearly a decade he had been dismantling the IRA from the inside; how did a teenage recruit become both killer and state agent, and did his handlers ever fully understand what they had recruited?
In this episode, we follow the life of Sean O'Callaghan from his birth in County Kerry to his teenage enlistment in the IRA, his participation in dozens of operations, his break from the organization, and his decision to return as an informant - what did that double life cost him and others?

Person: Sean O'Callaghan
Date of birth: 26 January 1954
First IRA enlistment age: 17 (joined in 1969)
Notable operations: more than 70 in the early 1970s
Confession/turn-in date: 29 November 1988

- On 29 November 1988 he walked into a Tunbridge Wells police station and told officers he had killed two people and wanted to be charged.
- Born 26 January 1954 in Tralee, County Kerry, with a family history of republican activity including a grandfather who fought Anti-Treaty.
- At 17 he formally joined the IRA and participated in more than 70 operations in the early 1970s.
- On 2 May 1974 he operated an improvised mortar in an attack at Clogher that killed UDR recruit Eva Martin.
- On 23 August 1974 he was part of a two-man IRA unit that shot and killed Detective Inspector Peter Augustine Augustine in a pub in Omagh.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074857Tue, 25 Aug 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at Obomediapuro: ningún policía lo llevó allí He walked into a police station and asked to be arrested after confessing to two killings - but what the officers did not know was that for nearly a decade he had been dismantling the IRA from the inside; how did...
He walked into a police station and asked to be arrested after confessing to two killings - but what the officers did not know was that for nearly a decade he had been dismantling the IRA from the inside; how did a teenage recruit become both killer and state agent, and did his handlers ever fully understand what they had recruited?
In this episode, we follow the life of Sean O'Callaghan from his birth in County Kerry to his teenage enlistment in the IRA, his participation in dozens of operations, his break from the organization, and his decision to return as an informant - what did that double life cost him and others?

Person: Sean O'Callaghan
Date of birth: 26 January 1954
First IRA enlistment age: 17 (joined in 1969)
Notable operations: more than 70 in the early 1970s
Confession/turn-in date: 29 November 1988

- On 29 November 1988 he walked into a Tunbridge Wells police station and told officers he had killed two people and wanted to be charged.
- Born 26 January 1954 in Tralee, County Kerry, with a family history of republican activity including a grandfather who fought Anti-Treaty.
- At 17 he formally joined the IRA and participated in more than 70 operations in the early 1970s.
- On 2 May 1974 he operated an improvised mortar in an attack at Clogher that killed UDR recruit Eva Martin.
- On 23 August 1974 he was part of a two-man IRA unit that shot and killed Detective Inspector Peter Augustine Augustine in a pub in Omagh.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1344falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/he-stamped-visas-not-names-the-man-who-smuggled-tens-of-thousands--73074855
Danger hid in paperwork: a modest passport photo filed at the British Embassy in Berlin on 11 August 1939 became the paper lifeline for people trapped by the Third Reich, and one man stamped visas three weeks before World War II began. Tens of thousands were later estimated saved by that steady bureaucratic hand - so how did a Passport Control Officer use a visa stamp to outwit Nazi machinery?

In this episode, we tell the story of Francis Edward Foley and the choices he made while posted at the British Embassy in Berlin. You will hear how a man with no diplomatic immunity used his administrative authority to issue visas beyond normal rules, and why decades later the Foreign Office had to declassify documents to confirm witness accounts.

Person: Francis Edward Foley
Date of birth: 24 November 1884
Event: Passport photograph filed at British Embassy Berlin on 11 August 1939
Location: British Embassy, Tiergarten Strasse, Berlin
Status: Posthumous confirmation required declassification of Foreign Office documents

- Foley served as Passport Control Officer in Berlin and was the cover for the head of the Secret Intelligence Service station in Germany.
- He was in Berlin on 30 January 1933 when Adolf Hitler became Chancellor.
- Foley was commissioned into the Hertfordshire Regiment on 25 January 1917 and held temporary rank of captain by 20 September 1917.
- He relinquished his captain's rank on 19 April 1920 and formally retired from military service in December 1921.
- A Jewish aid worker who worked beside him estimated that Foley saved tens of thousands of lives.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074855Mon, 24 Aug 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaHe Stamped Visas, Not Names: The Man Who Smuggled Tens of Thousands Danger hid in paperwork: a modest passport photo filed at the British Embassy in Berlin on 11 August 1939 became the paper lifeline for people trapped by the Third Reich, and one...
Danger hid in paperwork: a modest passport photo filed at the British Embassy in Berlin on 11 August 1939 became the paper lifeline for people trapped by the Third Reich, and one man stamped visas three weeks before World War II began. Tens of thousands were later estimated saved by that steady bureaucratic hand - so how did a Passport Control Officer use a visa stamp to outwit Nazi machinery?

In this episode, we tell the story of Francis Edward Foley and the choices he made while posted at the British Embassy in Berlin. You will hear how a man with no diplomatic immunity used his administrative authority to issue visas beyond normal rules, and why decades later the Foreign Office had to declassify documents to confirm witness accounts.

Person: Francis Edward Foley
Date of birth: 24 November 1884
Event: Passport photograph filed at British Embassy Berlin on 11 August 1939
Location: British Embassy, Tiergarten Strasse, Berlin
Status: Posthumous confirmation required declassification of Foreign Office documents

- Foley served as Passport Control Officer in Berlin and was the cover for the head of the Secret Intelligence Service station in Germany.
- He was in Berlin on 30 January 1933 when Adolf Hitler became Chancellor.
- Foley was commissioned into the Hertfordshire Regiment on 25 January 1917 and held temporary rank of captain by 20 September 1917.
- He relinquished his captain's rank on 19 April 1920 and formally retired from military service in December 1921.
- A Jewish aid worker who worked beside him estimated that Foley saved tens of thousands of lives.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1456falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-menu-card-that-blew-up-britain-s-double-agent-network--73074854
A dinner menu card found on a fishing trawler in the North Sea listed MI5 officers and ended four intelligence careers - and drove one man to suicide. How did a printed menu from a service dinner reach a boat called GY71 off the Dogger Bank, and what would it reveal about who really controlled one of WWII’s most contested double agents?

In this episode, we tell the story of Arthur Graham Owens - codenamed JOHNNY by the Abwehr and SNOW by MI5 - and trace his dealings with both German intelligence and MI5, the personal pressures around him, and the single physical document that exposed the limits of wartime secrecy. Did MI5 run Owens, or did Owens run MI5?

Person: Arthur Graham Owens
Date: born 14 April 1899; died 24 December 1957
Location: GY71 anchored off the Dogger Bank, North Sea
Case: codename JOHNNY (Abwehr) / SNOW (MI5); file reference A3504
Event: menu card listing MI5 officers found aboard trawler GY71 in August 1940

- Owens was recruited by Nikolaus Ritter (alias Dr Rantzau) in 1938 and paid £470 for Chain Home radar data.
- Owens received a German salary of £250 per month while transmitting fabricated intelligence to Hamburg under MI5 supervision.
- Owens was born on 14 April 1899 and died on 24 December 1957 in a cottage outside Dublin under a different surname.
- The menu card found by agent Sam McCarthy (BISCUIT) aboard GY71 traced to a single MI5 officer, William Rolph.
- Owens collected the equivalent of over £1,000,000 from Nazi intelligence during his career.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074854Sun, 23 Aug 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Menu Card That Blew Up Britain's Double-Agent Network A dinner menu card found on a fishing trawler in the North Sea listed MI5 officers and ended four intelligence careers - and drove one man to suicide. How did a printed menu from a service...
A dinner menu card found on a fishing trawler in the North Sea listed MI5 officers and ended four intelligence careers - and drove one man to suicide. How did a printed menu from a service dinner reach a boat called GY71 off the Dogger Bank, and what would it reveal about who really controlled one of WWII’s most contested double agents?

In this episode, we tell the story of Arthur Graham Owens - codenamed JOHNNY by the Abwehr and SNOW by MI5 - and trace his dealings with both German intelligence and MI5, the personal pressures around him, and the single physical document that exposed the limits of wartime secrecy. Did MI5 run Owens, or did Owens run MI5?

Person: Arthur Graham Owens
Date: born 14 April 1899; died 24 December 1957
Location: GY71 anchored off the Dogger Bank, North Sea
Case: codename JOHNNY (Abwehr) / SNOW (MI5); file reference A3504
Event: menu card listing MI5 officers found aboard trawler GY71 in August 1940

- Owens was recruited by Nikolaus Ritter (alias Dr Rantzau) in 1938 and paid £470 for Chain Home radar data.
- Owens received a German salary of £250 per month while transmitting fabricated intelligence to Hamburg under MI5 supervision.
- Owens was born on 14 April 1899 and died on 24 December 1957 in a cottage outside Dublin under a different surname.
- The menu card found by agent Sam McCarthy (BISCUIT) aboard GY71 traced to a single MI5 officer, William Rolph.
- Owens collected the equivalent of over £1,000,000 from Nazi intelligence during his career.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1609falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-ring-the-photo-and-the-spy-who-walked-out-of-hamburg--73074853
A British spy woke in a Hamburg hotel room in early 1941 to find his signet ring removed and a tiny photograph of a woman named Kay hidden inside the setting - the Germans searched it for a code. He was Walter Dicketts, an ex-pilot turned con man with four fraud convictions and twenty-three aliases; what did the Abwehr learn from that photograph, and how did Dicketts walk back through Hamburg and Lisbon to England without anyone knowing for decades?

In this episode, we tell the story of Walter Arthur Charles Dicketts and the mission that sent him into enemy hands, introducing him to Major Nikolaus Nikolaus and connecting him to Britain's first double agent, Arthur Owens. We follow Dicketts from his 1910s RAF service to his recruitment into MI5’s Double Cross System under T.A. Robertson, and we ask how a man already compromised still became useful to British counterintelligence.

Person: Walter Arthur Charles Dicketts
Date: 31 March 1900
Event: Interrogation in Hamburg following arrival in Germany, early 1941
Operation: Double Cross System overseen by T.A. Robertson
Contact: Arthur Owens (codename Snow) introduced Dicketts to Major Nikolaus Nikolaus

- Dicketts was born on 31 March 1900 in Southend-on-Sea, Essex.
- He enlisted in the Royal Naval Air Service at age 15 and was a pilot by 17.
- By age 18 he left service with the rank of captain after being recruited into intelligence by the Air Service.
- He had four fraud convictions and operated under as many as 23 business aliases.
- MI5 gave him the codename Celery and the Germans knew him as Brown.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074853Sat, 22 Aug 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Ring, the Photo, and the Spy Who Walked Out of Hamburg A British spy woke in a Hamburg hotel room in early 1941 to find his signet ring removed and a tiny photograph of a woman named Kay hidden inside the setting - the Germans searched it for a...
A British spy woke in a Hamburg hotel room in early 1941 to find his signet ring removed and a tiny photograph of a woman named Kay hidden inside the setting - the Germans searched it for a code. He was Walter Dicketts, an ex-pilot turned con man with four fraud convictions and twenty-three aliases; what did the Abwehr learn from that photograph, and how did Dicketts walk back through Hamburg and Lisbon to England without anyone knowing for decades?

In this episode, we tell the story of Walter Arthur Charles Dicketts and the mission that sent him into enemy hands, introducing him to Major Nikolaus Nikolaus and connecting him to Britain's first double agent, Arthur Owens. We follow Dicketts from his 1910s RAF service to his recruitment into MI5’s Double Cross System under T.A. Robertson, and we ask how a man already compromised still became useful to British counterintelligence.

Person: Walter Arthur Charles Dicketts
Date: 31 March 1900
Event: Interrogation in Hamburg following arrival in Germany, early 1941
Operation: Double Cross System overseen by T.A. Robertson
Contact: Arthur Owens (codename Snow) introduced Dicketts to Major Nikolaus Nikolaus

- Dicketts was born on 31 March 1900 in Southend-on-Sea, Essex.
- He enlisted in the Royal Naval Air Service at age 15 and was a pilot by 17.
- By age 18 he left service with the rank of captain after being recruited into intelligence by the Air Service.
- He had four fraud convictions and operated under as many as 23 business aliases.
- MI5 gave him the codename Celery and the Germans knew him as Brown.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1320falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/he-came-ashore-with-cash-and-walked-into-fbi-headquarters--73074852
The suitcase at the Mayflower held $82,500 in cash and smelled of diesel and saltwater, and the man who carried it had just come ashore from a German U-boat-yet he walked into FBI headquarters and asked to speak to J. Edgar Hoover. Who was George Johann Dasch, and why did the leader of a sabotage mission hand himself over instead of carrying out attacks on American factories, rail lines, and department stores?

In this episode, we tell the story of George Johann Dasch from his birth in Speyer to his time as a stowaway in Philadelphia, his service in the U.S. Army Air Corps, and his selection to lead Operation Pastorius; we cover his landing off Long Island on June 12, 1942, the $82,500 suitcase, and the consequences that followed-so what made him betray the mission and turn himself in?

Person: George Johann Dasch
Date: June 12, 1942
Event: Landing from German U-boat for Operation Pastorius
Amount: $82,500 in cash
Place: Mayflower hotel room

- Dasch carried $82,500 in cash in a suitcase that smelled of diesel and saltwater.
- He landed from a German U-boat off Long Island just after midnight on June 12, 1942.
- Dasch walked into FBI headquarters that morning and asked to speak to J. Edgar Hoover.
- Operation Pastorius trained eight men at Quenz Lake to sabotage aluminum plants, rail connections, and department stores.
- By the end of the case, six men were dead and two were deported.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074852Fri, 21 Aug 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaHe Came Ashore with Cash-and Walked into FBI Headquarters The suitcase at the Mayflower held $82,500 in cash and smelled of diesel and saltwater, and the man who carried it had just come ashore from a German U-boat-yet he walked into FBI...
The suitcase at the Mayflower held $82,500 in cash and smelled of diesel and saltwater, and the man who carried it had just come ashore from a German U-boat-yet he walked into FBI headquarters and asked to speak to J. Edgar Hoover. Who was George Johann Dasch, and why did the leader of a sabotage mission hand himself over instead of carrying out attacks on American factories, rail lines, and department stores?

In this episode, we tell the story of George Johann Dasch from his birth in Speyer to his time as a stowaway in Philadelphia, his service in the U.S. Army Air Corps, and his selection to lead Operation Pastorius; we cover his landing off Long Island on June 12, 1942, the $82,500 suitcase, and the consequences that followed-so what made him betray the mission and turn himself in?

Person: George Johann Dasch
Date: June 12, 1942
Event: Landing from German U-boat for Operation Pastorius
Amount: $82,500 in cash
Place: Mayflower hotel room

- Dasch carried $82,500 in cash in a suitcase that smelled of diesel and saltwater.
- He landed from a German U-boat off Long Island just after midnight on June 12, 1942.
- Dasch walked into FBI headquarters that morning and asked to speak to J. Edgar Hoover.
- Operation Pastorius trained eight men at Quenz Lake to sabotage aluminum plants, rail connections, and department stores.
- By the end of the case, six men were dead and two were deported.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1363falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/eleven-words-about-a-dentist-moved-a-tank-division-away-from-normandy-on-d-day--73074850
A single eleven-word telegram from London to Lisbon was read by Berlin as confirmation of an Allied invasion, and an entire Panzer division failed to reach Normandy on D-Day - what exactly did those eleven words say, and why did the Germans believe them? The message was tied to a Peruvian socialite turned double agent whose life of gambling, parties, and invisible ink upended a battlefield deployment.

In this episode, we follow the life and work of Elvira Chaudoir and trace how her recruitment and messaging fit into British counterintelligence, revealing why a casual complaint at a party led to her being used to send deceptive communications that influenced German decisions on June 6, 1944 - could one improbable agent really change the course of a campaign?

Person: Elvira Chaudoir
Codename: Bronx (MI5), Dorette (German handlers), Cyril (initial)
Date: 27 May 1944 (telegram sent)
Event: Eleventh Panzer Division did not reach Normandy on D-Day
Officer: John Cecil Masterman (postwar assessment attributing effect)

- The telegram sent from London to a bank in Lisbon on 27 May 1944 contained exactly eleven words.
- The German handlers paid Chaudoir roughly one hundred pounds per month, recorded as alimony in paperwork.
- MI5 officially added Chaudoir to the Double-Cross System on 28 October 1942.
- Chaudoir’s British case officers were Christopher Harmer and Hugh Astor.
- John Cecil Masterman concluded after the war that Chaudoir’s eleven-word message kept the Eleventh Panzer Division from reaching Normandy on 6 June 1944.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074850Thu, 20 Aug 2026 08:00:04 +0000Creator at ObomediaEleven words about a dentist moved a tank division away from Normandy on D-Day A single eleven-word telegram from London to Lisbon was read by Berlin as confirmation of an Allied invasion, and an entire Panzer division failed to reach Normandy on...
A single eleven-word telegram from London to Lisbon was read by Berlin as confirmation of an Allied invasion, and an entire Panzer division failed to reach Normandy on D-Day - what exactly did those eleven words say, and why did the Germans believe them? The message was tied to a Peruvian socialite turned double agent whose life of gambling, parties, and invisible ink upended a battlefield deployment.

In this episode, we follow the life and work of Elvira Chaudoir and trace how her recruitment and messaging fit into British counterintelligence, revealing why a casual complaint at a party led to her being used to send deceptive communications that influenced German decisions on June 6, 1944 - could one improbable agent really change the course of a campaign?

Person: Elvira Chaudoir
Codename: Bronx (MI5), Dorette (German handlers), Cyril (initial)
Date: 27 May 1944 (telegram sent)
Event: Eleventh Panzer Division did not reach Normandy on D-Day
Officer: John Cecil Masterman (postwar assessment attributing effect)

- The telegram sent from London to a bank in Lisbon on 27 May 1944 contained exactly eleven words.
- The German handlers paid Chaudoir roughly one hundred pounds per month, recorded as alimony in paperwork.
- MI5 officially added Chaudoir to the Double-Cross System on 28 October 1942.
- Chaudoir’s British case officers were Christopher Harmer and Hugh Astor.
- John Cecil Masterman concluded after the war that Chaudoir’s eleven-word message kept the Eleventh Panzer Division from reaching Normandy on 6 June 1944.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1488falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-elegant-torturer-how-a-tailor-became-romania-s-securitate-maestro--73074849
The man behind the handsome desk dressed as though he'd stepped out of a Bucharest salon - and he coordinated the apparatus breaking people in rooms below. He rose from sewing defective towels in a cramped apartment to Colonel and head of every Securitate investigator by 1948; how did a tailor become the face of Romania’s secret police?

In this episode, we tell the life of Mihai Dulberger, who changed his name to Mișu Dulgheru, and the path that led him from small-market trades to the center of postwar repression. We trace his work history, wartime internment, ties to a Soviet agent, and his role in the cases of figures like Alcibiades Diamandi to ask how personal survival became institutional power.

Person: Mihai Dulberger (later Mișu Dulgheru)
Date: January 16, 1909 (birth)
Location: Tecuci (birthplace) and Bucharest (career)
Event: Internment at Târgu Jiu in 1941
Status: Colonel coordinating Securitate investigators by 1948

- Born January 16, 1909, in Tecuci to parents Sache and Olga.
- Stopped education after three grades of secondary school and two years of commercial training.
- In 1938 lost his warehouse job due to antisemitic laws and bought defective factory towels to sell.
- In January 1940 bought two sewing machines and a buttonhole machine to make men's clothing from a Bucharest apartment workshop.
- Interned at Târgu Jiu in 1941 where he became the protégé of a Soviet agent using the name Ion Vidrașcu (real name Vania Didenko).

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074849Wed, 19 Aug 2026 08:00:05 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Elegant Torturer: How a Tailor Became Romania's Securitate Maestro The man behind the handsome desk dressed as though he'd stepped out of a Bucharest salon - and he coordinated the apparatus breaking people in rooms below. He rose from sewing...
The man behind the handsome desk dressed as though he'd stepped out of a Bucharest salon - and he coordinated the apparatus breaking people in rooms below. He rose from sewing defective towels in a cramped apartment to Colonel and head of every Securitate investigator by 1948; how did a tailor become the face of Romania’s secret police?

In this episode, we tell the life of Mihai Dulberger, who changed his name to Mișu Dulgheru, and the path that led him from small-market trades to the center of postwar repression. We trace his work history, wartime internment, ties to a Soviet agent, and his role in the cases of figures like Alcibiades Diamandi to ask how personal survival became institutional power.

Person: Mihai Dulberger (later Mișu Dulgheru)
Date: January 16, 1909 (birth)
Location: Tecuci (birthplace) and Bucharest (career)
Event: Internment at Târgu Jiu in 1941
Status: Colonel coordinating Securitate investigators by 1948

- Born January 16, 1909, in Tecuci to parents Sache and Olga.
- Stopped education after three grades of secondary school and two years of commercial training.
- In 1938 lost his warehouse job due to antisemitic laws and bought defective factory towels to sell.
- In January 1940 bought two sewing machines and a buttonhole machine to make men's clothing from a Bucharest apartment workshop.
- Interned at Târgu Jiu in 1941 where he became the protégé of a Soviet agent using the name Ion Vidrașcu (real name Vania Didenko).

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1239falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-stasi-chief-s-safe-handwritten-confession-that-stayed-hidden-for-decades--73074848
Danger hums in a locked box: investigators in 1990 opened a Leipzig safe and found a handwritten memoir, original 1931 police files, and 1934 trial transcripts that directly implicated Erich Mielke - the man who led the Stasi for 32 years. Why did Mielke keep a self-written record of two killings for nearly six decades, and how did those papers finally lead to a courtroom?

In this episode, we trace the chain from a 1931 Berlin murder to a 1990 discovery that changed history, following the lives and decisions that connected a Dresden-born boy to the Stasi chief’s downfall. How did meetings in 1965, the fall of the Wall in 1989, and a safe in Leipzig produce evidence powerful enough to put Erich Mielke on trial?

Person: Erich Mielke
Person: Wolfgang Koehler (born June 11, 1930)
Location: Leipzig
Date: 1990 (safe opened), November 9, 1989 (Berlin Wall fell)
Event: Original 1931 police files, 1934 trial transcripts, and a handwritten memoir found in Mielke’s safe

- The safe contained three items: 1931 Berlin police files, 1934 trial transcripts, and a handwritten memoir by Erich Mielke.
- Erich Mielke ran the East German Stasi for thirty-two years.
- Wolfgang Koehler was born in Dresden on June 11, 1930, and later changed his name to John Koehler.
- Koehler met Mielke in Leipzig in 1965 and later testified about Mielke referencing the 1931 Bülowplatz killings.
- The Berlin Wall fell on November 9, 1989, and investigators opened Mielke’s safe in 1990.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074848Tue, 18 Aug 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Stasi Chief's Safe: Handwritten Confession That Stayed Hidden for Decades Danger hums in a locked box: investigators in 1990 opened a Leipzig safe and found a handwritten memoir, original 1931 police files, and 1934 trial transcripts that...
Danger hums in a locked box: investigators in 1990 opened a Leipzig safe and found a handwritten memoir, original 1931 police files, and 1934 trial transcripts that directly implicated Erich Mielke - the man who led the Stasi for 32 years. Why did Mielke keep a self-written record of two killings for nearly six decades, and how did those papers finally lead to a courtroom?

In this episode, we trace the chain from a 1931 Berlin murder to a 1990 discovery that changed history, following the lives and decisions that connected a Dresden-born boy to the Stasi chief’s downfall. How did meetings in 1965, the fall of the Wall in 1989, and a safe in Leipzig produce evidence powerful enough to put Erich Mielke on trial?

Person: Erich Mielke
Person: Wolfgang Koehler (born June 11, 1930)
Location: Leipzig
Date: 1990 (safe opened), November 9, 1989 (Berlin Wall fell)
Event: Original 1931 police files, 1934 trial transcripts, and a handwritten memoir found in Mielke’s safe

- The safe contained three items: 1931 Berlin police files, 1934 trial transcripts, and a handwritten memoir by Erich Mielke.
- Erich Mielke ran the East German Stasi for thirty-two years.
- Wolfgang Koehler was born in Dresden on June 11, 1930, and later changed his name to John Koehler.
- Koehler met Mielke in Leipzig in 1965 and later testified about Mielke referencing the 1931 Bülowplatz killings.
- The Berlin Wall fell on November 9, 1989, and investigators opened Mielke’s safe in 1990.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1216falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-woman-ottawa-lied-about-how-gerda-almost-toppled-canada--73074847
A secret the government claimed was settled turned out to be a lie that could topple a cabinet: a woman the CIA called a "definite security risk" was alive, living in Canada, and sleeping with two senior ministers - so why did Ottawa tell Parliament she was dead? What did Gerda Munsinger really know, and how far did the cover-up reach?

In this episode, we follow the documented threads in Gerda Munsinger’s life and the official response that tried to erase her; from her origins in Königsberg to the surveillance notes in Ottawa, we trace the moments that turned a private relationship into a national crisis and ask how the government justified a lie so easily disproved.

Person: Gerda Munsinger
Date: circa September 10, 1929 (birth)
Location: Königsberg, East Prussia (now Kaliningrad, Russia)
Event: Ministers Pierre Sévigny and George Hees had sexual relationships with Gerda Munsinger
Status: Canadian government told Parliament she had died of leukemia (in fact she was alive)

- In March 1966 a Toronto Star reporter found Gerda Munsinger listed in a Munich telephone directory after Ottawa had told Parliament she was dead.
- Gerda Hesler was reportedly conscripted as a forced labour worker in 1944 at age 14 or 15 and her father was killed in 1943.
- American and Western intelligence records included an espionage allegation and a 1949 arrest cited by some documents but lacking definitive court confirmation.
- Gerda was rejected for immigration to Canada in 1952 and rejected entry to the United States in 1953 on security grounds, then entered Canada in 1955 as "Gerda Munsinger."
- Prime Minister John Diefenbaker personally confronted Associate Minister of National Defence Pierre Sévigny about his relationship with Munsinger; Sévigny later resigned from cabinet in 1963 with no public explanation.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074847Mon, 17 Aug 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Woman Ottawa Lied About: How Gerda Almost Toppled Canada A secret the government claimed was settled turned out to be a lie that could topple a cabinet: a woman the CIA called a "definite security risk" was alive, living in Canada, and sleeping...
A secret the government claimed was settled turned out to be a lie that could topple a cabinet: a woman the CIA called a "definite security risk" was alive, living in Canada, and sleeping with two senior ministers - so why did Ottawa tell Parliament she was dead? What did Gerda Munsinger really know, and how far did the cover-up reach?

In this episode, we follow the documented threads in Gerda Munsinger’s life and the official response that tried to erase her; from her origins in Königsberg to the surveillance notes in Ottawa, we trace the moments that turned a private relationship into a national crisis and ask how the government justified a lie so easily disproved.

Person: Gerda Munsinger
Date: circa September 10, 1929 (birth)
Location: Königsberg, East Prussia (now Kaliningrad, Russia)
Event: Ministers Pierre Sévigny and George Hees had sexual relationships with Gerda Munsinger
Status: Canadian government told Parliament she had died of leukemia (in fact she was alive)

- In March 1966 a Toronto Star reporter found Gerda Munsinger listed in a Munich telephone directory after Ottawa had told Parliament she was dead.
- Gerda Hesler was reportedly conscripted as a forced labour worker in 1944 at age 14 or 15 and her father was killed in 1943.
- American and Western intelligence records included an espionage allegation and a 1949 arrest cited by some documents but lacking definitive court confirmation.
- Gerda was rejected for immigration to Canada in 1952 and rejected entry to the United States in 1953 on security grounds, then entered Canada in 1955 as "Gerda Munsinger."
- Prime Minister John Diefenbaker personally confronted Associate Minister of National Defence Pierre Sévigny about his relationship with Munsinger; Sévigny later resigned from cabinet in 1963 with no public explanation.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1312falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/on-election-day-2024-bomb-threats-hit-only-democratic-precincts-227-total-zero-republican--73074845
Fear that an election could be quietly reshaped: 227 bomb threats struck polling places on Election Day 2024, every single one aimed at Democratic precincts and not one at a Republican-leaning location - an asymmetry investigators call a blueprint rather than a pattern. How did an operation reach into precinct-level maps and time a nationwide campaign to paralyze specific voters on the single most consequential day?

In this episode, we lay out the documented threads that led to Election Day: the Internet Research Agency and Project Lakhta, the Good Old U.S.A. Project’s dormant-then-active local groups, and the single Russian-linked email address that reappeared after earlier threats in June. How did years of influence operations and precise targeting produce 227 threats concentrated on Democratic precincts?

Person: Internet Research Agency
Event: 227 bomb threats on Election Day 2024
Date: November 5, 2024 (Election Day 2024)
Case: Good Old U.S.A. Project (as identified by Senate Intelligence Committee)
Location: 56 threats concentrated in 11 highly populated Democratic counties

- 227 bomb threats were sent to American polling locations on Election Day 2024.
- Zero threats were sent to Republican-leaning precincts; every target was Democratic.
- 56 of the 227 threats were concentrated in 11 highly populated Democratic counties.
- The same Russian-linked email address had been used months earlier in June 2024 to send bomb threats to LGBTQ pride events.
- The operation’s infrastructure was tied to Project Lakhta and accounts identified in six swing states and 18 community groups.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074845Sun, 16 Aug 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaOn Election Day 2024, bomb threats hit only Democratic precincts - 227 total, zero Republican Fear that an election could be quietly reshaped: 227 bomb threats struck polling places on Election Day 2024, every single one aimed at Democratic...
Fear that an election could be quietly reshaped: 227 bomb threats struck polling places on Election Day 2024, every single one aimed at Democratic precincts and not one at a Republican-leaning location - an asymmetry investigators call a blueprint rather than a pattern. How did an operation reach into precinct-level maps and time a nationwide campaign to paralyze specific voters on the single most consequential day?

In this episode, we lay out the documented threads that led to Election Day: the Internet Research Agency and Project Lakhta, the Good Old U.S.A. Project’s dormant-then-active local groups, and the single Russian-linked email address that reappeared after earlier threats in June. How did years of influence operations and precise targeting produce 227 threats concentrated on Democratic precincts?

Person: Internet Research Agency
Event: 227 bomb threats on Election Day 2024
Date: November 5, 2024 (Election Day 2024)
Case: Good Old U.S.A. Project (as identified by Senate Intelligence Committee)
Location: 56 threats concentrated in 11 highly populated Democratic counties

- 227 bomb threats were sent to American polling locations on Election Day 2024.
- Zero threats were sent to Republican-leaning precincts; every target was Democratic.
- 56 of the 227 threats were concentrated in 11 highly populated Democratic counties.
- The same Russian-linked email address had been used months earlier in June 2024 to send bomb threats to LGBTQ pride events.
- The operation’s infrastructure was tied to Project Lakhta and accounts identified in six swing states and 18 community groups.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1300falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-coat-pocket-note-that-unraveled-a-soviet-spy-network--73074843
A Los Angeles dry cleaner found a roll of cash and a handwritten note in a language they did not recognize - evidence that would ripple from a small shop to the Supreme Court. How did a coat pocket note connect a Soviet handler, a naval analyst with gambling debts, and classified Pacific surveillance files that quietly left the United States?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from the discovery at a dry cleaner to the courtroom precedent that still governs leak prosecutions. You will hear how a Los Angeles Intourist official, a civilian ONI analyst in San Pedro, and the contents of stolen files brought a Japanese-American civic leader’s private life into a Soviet archive - but who ultimately paid the price?

Person: Mihail Gorin
Person: Hafis Salich
Person: George Ohashi
Location: Los Angeles and San Pedro, California
Event: Note found in dry cleaner's coat pocket

- In late 1938 a dry cleaner in Los Angeles found a roll of cash and a handwritten note in an unknown language in a garment pocket.
- Mihail Gorin arrived in the United States in 1936 and managed the Los Angeles office of Intourist, which served as Soviet cover.
- Hafis Salich was hired in 1936 as a civilian employee at the ONI field office in San Pedro and had access to classified Pacific surveillance files.
- By 1937 Gorin and Salich had met, and Salich began selling classified reports because he owed gambling debts.
- The files sold included a report on George Ohashi that recorded a Japanese American Citizens League meeting where he was accused and beaten.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074843Sat, 15 Aug 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Coat Pocket Note That Unraveled a Soviet Spy Network A Los Angeles dry cleaner found a roll of cash and a handwritten note in a language they did not recognize - evidence that would ripple from a small shop to the Supreme Court. How did a coat...
A Los Angeles dry cleaner found a roll of cash and a handwritten note in a language they did not recognize - evidence that would ripple from a small shop to the Supreme Court. How did a coat pocket note connect a Soviet handler, a naval analyst with gambling debts, and classified Pacific surveillance files that quietly left the United States?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from the discovery at a dry cleaner to the courtroom precedent that still governs leak prosecutions. You will hear how a Los Angeles Intourist official, a civilian ONI analyst in San Pedro, and the contents of stolen files brought a Japanese-American civic leader’s private life into a Soviet archive - but who ultimately paid the price?

Person: Mihail Gorin
Person: Hafis Salich
Person: George Ohashi
Location: Los Angeles and San Pedro, California
Event: Note found in dry cleaner's coat pocket

- In late 1938 a dry cleaner in Los Angeles found a roll of cash and a handwritten note in an unknown language in a garment pocket.
- Mihail Gorin arrived in the United States in 1936 and managed the Los Angeles office of Intourist, which served as Soviet cover.
- Hafis Salich was hired in 1936 as a civilian employee at the ONI field office in San Pedro and had access to classified Pacific surveillance files.
- By 1937 Gorin and Salich had met, and Salich began selling classified reports because he owed gambling debts.
- The files sold included a report on George Ohashi that recorded a Japanese American Citizens League meeting where he was accused and beaten.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1346falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/he-exposed-nsa-waste-they-tried-to-lock-him-up-for-35-years--73074842
A billion-dollar NSA program was declared a failure by the agency's own watchdog, yet the government sought 35 years in prison over five ordinary-looking folders - could exposing waste be treated like espionage? The case hinges on a declassified folder, an unconvinced judge, and a whistleblower who never passed documents to a foreign power.

In this episode, we tell the story of Thomas Andrews Drake, a career intelligence officer with Top Secret clearance who began his NSA tenure on September 11, 2001, and later risked everything to challenge the agency's choices. We trace his path from Air Force voice specialist to Technical Director and the clash between ThinThread and the billion-dollar Trailblazer program - and ask how oversight and loyalty failed him.

Person: Thomas Andrews Drake
Date: September 11, 2001 (first day as full NSA employee)
Event: NSA Inspector General declared Trailblazer a failure in 2003
Amount: Over one billion dollars spent on Trailblazer
People: Diane Roark; William Binney; J. Kirk Wiebe; Ed Loomis

- Five folders presented in a Baltimore federal courtroom were titled "What a Success," "The Regular Meetings," "Volume is our Friend," "Trial and Testing," and "Collection Sites."
- Thomas Drake was born in 1957 and joined the United States Air Force in 1979, serving until 1989.
- By 2003 Drake held roles as Technical Director of Software Engineering and Process Portfolio Manager in the NSA Directorate of Engineering.
- Trailblazer involved contractors IBM, SAIC, Boeing, and CSC and was chosen by NSA Director Michael Hayden around 2000.
- The NSA temporarily banned major new large-scale projects after the Inspector General declared Trailblazer a failure.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074842Fri, 14 Aug 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaHe Exposed NSA Waste - They Tried to Lock Him Up for 35 Years A billion-dollar NSA program was declared a failure by the agency's own watchdog, yet the government sought 35 years in prison over five ordinary-looking folders - could exposing waste...
A billion-dollar NSA program was declared a failure by the agency's own watchdog, yet the government sought 35 years in prison over five ordinary-looking folders - could exposing waste be treated like espionage? The case hinges on a declassified folder, an unconvinced judge, and a whistleblower who never passed documents to a foreign power.

In this episode, we tell the story of Thomas Andrews Drake, a career intelligence officer with Top Secret clearance who began his NSA tenure on September 11, 2001, and later risked everything to challenge the agency's choices. We trace his path from Air Force voice specialist to Technical Director and the clash between ThinThread and the billion-dollar Trailblazer program - and ask how oversight and loyalty failed him.

Person: Thomas Andrews Drake
Date: September 11, 2001 (first day as full NSA employee)
Event: NSA Inspector General declared Trailblazer a failure in 2003
Amount: Over one billion dollars spent on Trailblazer
People: Diane Roark; William Binney; J. Kirk Wiebe; Ed Loomis

- Five folders presented in a Baltimore federal courtroom were titled "What a Success," "The Regular Meetings," "Volume is our Friend," "Trial and Testing," and "Collection Sites."
- Thomas Drake was born in 1957 and joined the United States Air Force in 1979, serving until 1989.
- By 2003 Drake held roles as Technical Director of Software Engineering and Process Portfolio Manager in the NSA Directorate of Engineering.
- Trailblazer involved contractors IBM, SAIC, Boeing, and CSC and was chosen by NSA Director Michael Hayden around 2000.
- The NSA temporarily banned major new large-scale projects after the Inspector General declared Trailblazer a failure.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1334falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-empty-wall-how-three-sisters-toppled-a-tyrant-s-secret-network--73074841
They were three women, found dead in a jeep at the bottom of a mountain road on November 25, 1960, and the official story called it an accident - it was not. The Mirabal sisters had refused to hang the dictator's portrait in their farmhouse, ran resistance cells, stored weapons, and faced imprisonment and harassment; how did that empty wall become a death sentence, and who truly ordered the killings?

In this episode, we tell the story of Patria, Minerva, María Teresa, and Dedé Mirabal, tracing their lives under Rafael Trujillo's three-decade rule, the actions that made them targets, and the aftermath that left one sister to carry their memory for fifty-four years. What connection between a missing portrait, a refusal at a government party, and a jeep at the bottom of a mountain explains how they became a global symbol on November 25?

Person: Patria Mirabal - born February 27, 1924; opened her house to the resistance and stored weapons.
Person: Dedé Mirabal - born March 1, 1925; did not join the movement, raised six nieces and nephews, opened the Museo de las Hermanas Mirabal, died February 1, 2014 at age 88.
Person: Minerva Mirabal - born March 12, 1926; studied law, graduated summa cum laude but was stripped of honors and denied a license to practice.
Person: María Teresa Mirabal - born October 15, 1935; studied mathematics, recruited into the movement, demanded political clarity from her suitor.
Event: Deaths - November 25, 1960; three sisters and a driver found in a jeep at the bottom of a mountain road.

- Trujillo had ruled the Dominican Republic since 1930 and consolidated control of economy, military, courts, and press by 1960.
- The Mirabal family home in Ojo de Agua deliberately lacked Trujillo's portrait, a visible sign of noncompliance.
- Patria left school at 17, married Pedro González, and after witnessing a massacre turned her home into a resistance hideout.
- Minerva was prevented from registering for law school for six years after refusing Trujillo's advances; she later graduated first in her class.
- The case of the sisters' murders was not formally acknowledged for 36 years and the perpetrators were never tried.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074841Thu, 13 Aug 2026 08:00:35 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Empty Wall: How Three Sisters Toppled a Tyrant's Secret network They were three women, found dead in a jeep at the bottom of a mountain road on November 25, 1960, and the official story called it an accident - it was not. The Mirabal sisters...
They were three women, found dead in a jeep at the bottom of a mountain road on November 25, 1960, and the official story called it an accident - it was not. The Mirabal sisters had refused to hang the dictator's portrait in their farmhouse, ran resistance cells, stored weapons, and faced imprisonment and harassment; how did that empty wall become a death sentence, and who truly ordered the killings?

In this episode, we tell the story of Patria, Minerva, María Teresa, and Dedé Mirabal, tracing their lives under Rafael Trujillo's three-decade rule, the actions that made them targets, and the aftermath that left one sister to carry their memory for fifty-four years. What connection between a missing portrait, a refusal at a government party, and a jeep at the bottom of a mountain explains how they became a global symbol on November 25?

Person: Patria Mirabal - born February 27, 1924; opened her house to the resistance and stored weapons.
Person: Dedé Mirabal - born March 1, 1925; did not join the movement, raised six nieces and nephews, opened the Museo de las Hermanas Mirabal, died February 1, 2014 at age 88.
Person: Minerva Mirabal - born March 12, 1926; studied law, graduated summa cum laude but was stripped of honors and denied a license to practice.
Person: María Teresa Mirabal - born October 15, 1935; studied mathematics, recruited into the movement, demanded political clarity from her suitor.
Event: Deaths - November 25, 1960; three sisters and a driver found in a jeep at the bottom of a mountain road.

- Trujillo had ruled the Dominican Republic since 1930 and consolidated control of economy, military, courts, and press by 1960.
- The Mirabal family home in Ojo de Agua deliberately lacked Trujillo's portrait, a visible sign of noncompliance.
- Patria left school at 17, married Pedro González, and after witnessing a massacre turned her home into a resistance hideout.
- Minerva was prevented from registering for law school for six years after refusing Trujillo's advances; she later graduated first in her class.
- The case of the sisters' murders was not formally acknowledged for 36 years and the perpetrators were never tried.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1404falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/mira-the-kgb-mole-who-undid-australia-s-secrets-for-decades--73074840
Secrets from ASIO’s vaults sat in a suburban house in June 1993, and the arrested man wasn’t the traitor - the real mole used the KGB code name “Mira” and eluded detection for decades. How could an agency praised by the CIA and trusted by MI5 have been turned inside out without knowing for forty years?

In this episode, we tell the story of how Australia built a domestic intelligence service from embarrassment and improvisation, the Petrov defection that marked ASIO’s rise, and the long shadow of a mole whose identity took until 2023 to uncover. What failures allowed Mira to operate inside ASIO for so long?

Organization: Australian Security Intelligence Organisation
Event: Petrov defection (3 April 1954)
Date discovered: June 1993
Code name: "Mira"
Final investigation year mentioned: 2023

- ASIO was created by Prime Minister Ben Chifley on 9 March 1949 and formally directed on 16 March 1949.
- ASIO conducted its first authorized telephone interception within three months of its creation.
- ASIO raided the Communist Party of Australia offices within four months of its founding in 1949.
- Vladimir Petrov defected on 3 April 1954 after cultivation by ASIO agent Dr. Michael Bialoguski.
- The full legislative framework for ASIO, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Act, was not enacted until 1979.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074840Wed, 12 Aug 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaMira: The KGB Mole Who Undid Australia's Secrets for Decades Secrets from ASIO’s vaults sat in a suburban house in June 1993, and the arrested man wasn’t the traitor - the real mole used the KGB code name “Mira” and eluded detection for decades....
Secrets from ASIO’s vaults sat in a suburban house in June 1993, and the arrested man wasn’t the traitor - the real mole used the KGB code name “Mira” and eluded detection for decades. How could an agency praised by the CIA and trusted by MI5 have been turned inside out without knowing for forty years?

In this episode, we tell the story of how Australia built a domestic intelligence service from embarrassment and improvisation, the Petrov defection that marked ASIO’s rise, and the long shadow of a mole whose identity took until 2023 to uncover. What failures allowed Mira to operate inside ASIO for so long?

Organization: Australian Security Intelligence Organisation
Event: Petrov defection (3 April 1954)
Date discovered: June 1993
Code name: "Mira"
Final investigation year mentioned: 2023

- ASIO was created by Prime Minister Ben Chifley on 9 March 1949 and formally directed on 16 March 1949.
- ASIO conducted its first authorized telephone interception within three months of its creation.
- ASIO raided the Communist Party of Australia offices within four months of its founding in 1949.
- Vladimir Petrov defected on 3 April 1954 after cultivation by ASIO agent Dr. Michael Bialoguski.
- The full legislative framework for ASIO, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Act, was not enacted until 1979.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1446falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/cliveden-s-secret-how-a-poolside-encounter-toppled-a-government--73074839
A nineteen-year-old girl in a small towel met the Secretary of State for War and a Soviet GRU officer within ten feet at Cliveden in the summer of 1961 - an afternoon that would end one man's career, send another to his death, and shake the British government. How could a single weekend at a country estate trigger a scandal that exposed MI5 connections, a Soviet spy, and the upper reaches of British power?

In this episode, we lay out the events at Cliveden, the three people who converged in that garden, and the background of Cold War betrayals and intelligence work that turned a social weekend into the Profumo Affair. What did Stephen Ward know, and how far did the establishment go to hide the truth?

Person: Christine Keeler
Person: Stephen Ward
Person: John Profumo
Event: Cliveden weekend, summer 1961
Topic: Profumo Affair

- Christine Keeler was born in 1942 and left home at sixteen, becoming a showgirl at Murray's Cabaret Club in August 1959.
- Stephen Ward was born in 1912, practiced osteopathy from Cavendish Square, and published portrait sketches in the Illustrated London News in 1960.
- John Profumo was born in 1915, served as Secretary of State for War from 1960, and was fifty-five at Cliveden.
- Yevgeny Ivanov was a Soviet GRU officer serving under diplomatic cover as a naval attaché in London and was identified as an intelligence officer by Oleg Penkovsky.
- Ward reported to MI5 through a handler known as Woods, a fact not publicly confirmed until 1982.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074839Tue, 11 Aug 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaCliveden's Secret: How a Poolside Encounter Toppled a Government A nineteen-year-old girl in a small towel met the Secretary of State for War and a Soviet GRU officer within ten feet at Cliveden in the summer of 1961 - an afternoon that would end...
A nineteen-year-old girl in a small towel met the Secretary of State for War and a Soviet GRU officer within ten feet at Cliveden in the summer of 1961 - an afternoon that would end one man's career, send another to his death, and shake the British government. How could a single weekend at a country estate trigger a scandal that exposed MI5 connections, a Soviet spy, and the upper reaches of British power?

In this episode, we lay out the events at Cliveden, the three people who converged in that garden, and the background of Cold War betrayals and intelligence work that turned a social weekend into the Profumo Affair. What did Stephen Ward know, and how far did the establishment go to hide the truth?

Person: Christine Keeler
Person: Stephen Ward
Person: John Profumo
Event: Cliveden weekend, summer 1961
Topic: Profumo Affair

- Christine Keeler was born in 1942 and left home at sixteen, becoming a showgirl at Murray's Cabaret Club in August 1959.
- Stephen Ward was born in 1912, practiced osteopathy from Cavendish Square, and published portrait sketches in the Illustrated London News in 1960.
- John Profumo was born in 1915, served as Secretary of State for War from 1960, and was fifty-five at Cliveden.
- Yevgeny Ivanov was a Soviet GRU officer serving under diplomatic cover as a naval attaché in London and was identified as an intelligence officer by Oleg Penkovsky.
- Ward reported to MI5 through a handler known as Woods, a fact not publicly confirmed until 1982.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1516falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-letter-that-almost-delivered-a-liechtenstein-official-to-nazi-hands--73074838
A tiny Alpine state, a two-year-old Nazi plea, and a letter that could have handed a senior Liechtenstein official to German police - how did a misdelivered piece of mail nearly spark a constitutional crisis? Who kept the letter, what did it name, and how close did foreign power get to operating inside a sovereign microstate?

In this episode, we tell the story of that letter and the people it touched. We follow how a newspaper editor’s secret reports and a forwarded envelope reached Prime Minister Josef Hoop, drove a covert two-month inquiry, and exposed a plot targeting Ludwig Hasler - but who ultimately revealed the scheme?

Person: Carl Freiherr von Vogelsang
Person: Josef Hoop
Person: Ludwig Hasler
Date: October 28, 1934 (letter); November 1936 (delivery)
Location: Liechtenstein

- The letter was written on October 28, 1934 and requested German police detain tax official Ludwig Hasler.
- Carl von Vogelsang had been sending reports naming Jewish residents to the Society for German Cultural Relations Abroad starting in 1934.
- Vogelsang attended the Nuremberg rally in September 1934 and applied for Nazi Hands membership as early as 1932.
- Liechtenstein had about 11,000-12,000 people in the 1930s and a 15-seat Landtag (parliament).
- A former transport worker, Hermann Birkel, kept the misdelivered 1934 letter and delivered it to Prime Minister Hoop in November 1936.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074838Mon, 10 Aug 2026 08:00:06 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Letter That Almost Delivered a Liechtenstein Official to Nazi Hands A tiny Alpine state, a two-year-old Nazi plea, and a letter that could have handed a senior Liechtenstein official to German police - how did a misdelivered piece of mail...
A tiny Alpine state, a two-year-old Nazi plea, and a letter that could have handed a senior Liechtenstein official to German police - how did a misdelivered piece of mail nearly spark a constitutional crisis? Who kept the letter, what did it name, and how close did foreign power get to operating inside a sovereign microstate?

In this episode, we tell the story of that letter and the people it touched. We follow how a newspaper editor’s secret reports and a forwarded envelope reached Prime Minister Josef Hoop, drove a covert two-month inquiry, and exposed a plot targeting Ludwig Hasler - but who ultimately revealed the scheme?

Person: Carl Freiherr von Vogelsang
Person: Josef Hoop
Person: Ludwig Hasler
Date: October 28, 1934 (letter); November 1936 (delivery)
Location: Liechtenstein

- The letter was written on October 28, 1934 and requested German police detain tax official Ludwig Hasler.
- Carl von Vogelsang had been sending reports naming Jewish residents to the Society for German Cultural Relations Abroad starting in 1934.
- Vogelsang attended the Nuremberg rally in September 1934 and applied for Nazi Hands membership as early as 1932.
- Liechtenstein had about 11,000-12,000 people in the 1930s and a 15-seat Landtag (parliament).
- A former transport worker, Hermann Birkel, kept the misdelivered 1934 letter and delivered it to Prime Minister Hoop in November 1936.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1488falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-submarine-that-cut-a-soviet-cable-then-vanished-its-proof--73074837
Cold water, a three-inch steel cable, and a Royal Navy submarine armed with bow-mounted cutters: the cable belonged to a Soviet sonar array being towed by a Polish-flagged vessel and vanished into the North Atlantic after HMS Conqueror sheared it in late 1982. What intelligence did the British and Americans extract from the single piece of metal left on the ocean floor, and why was there never official acknowledgment?

In this episode, we follow the movements and missions of HMS Conqueror from construction delays and sabotage to covert Cold War operations and wartime patrols in 1982, covering the cable-cutting incident, the submarine’s role as a hunter platform, and the unanswered question about the operation’s outcomes. How did Conqueror’s actions-both the cable cut and later combat-shape what was learned beneath the waves?

Person: HMS Conqueror (Royal Navy submarine)
Date: late 1982 (latter months)
Location: North Atlantic
Event: Sheared a three-inch steel cable of a Soviet towed sonar array
Status: No photographs or formal acknowledgment of the specific action

- The cable that was cut measured three inches thick and was made of steel.
- The cable belonged to a Soviet sonar array being towed by a Polish-flagged vessel near the boundary of Soviet territorial waters.
- HMS Conqueror was equipped with bow-mounted cutters that sheared the cable.
- Conqueror slipped back toward the Clyde after the operation with no public record confirming the event.
- The only likely physical confirmation of the operation is a piece of the steel cable now on the floor of the North Atlantic.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074837Sun, 09 Aug 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Submarine That Cut a Soviet Cable - Then Vanished Its Proof Cold water, a three-inch steel cable, and a Royal Navy submarine armed with bow-mounted cutters: the cable belonged to a Soviet sonar array being towed by a Polish-flagged vessel and...
Cold water, a three-inch steel cable, and a Royal Navy submarine armed with bow-mounted cutters: the cable belonged to a Soviet sonar array being towed by a Polish-flagged vessel and vanished into the North Atlantic after HMS Conqueror sheared it in late 1982. What intelligence did the British and Americans extract from the single piece of metal left on the ocean floor, and why was there never official acknowledgment?

In this episode, we follow the movements and missions of HMS Conqueror from construction delays and sabotage to covert Cold War operations and wartime patrols in 1982, covering the cable-cutting incident, the submarine’s role as a hunter platform, and the unanswered question about the operation’s outcomes. How did Conqueror’s actions-both the cable cut and later combat-shape what was learned beneath the waves?

Person: HMS Conqueror (Royal Navy submarine)
Date: late 1982 (latter months)
Location: North Atlantic
Event: Sheared a three-inch steel cable of a Soviet towed sonar array
Status: No photographs or formal acknowledgment of the specific action

- The cable that was cut measured three inches thick and was made of steel.
- The cable belonged to a Soviet sonar array being towed by a Polish-flagged vessel near the boundary of Soviet territorial waters.
- HMS Conqueror was equipped with bow-mounted cutters that sheared the cable.
- Conqueror slipped back toward the Clyde after the operation with no public record confirming the event.
- The only likely physical confirmation of the operation is a piece of the steel cable now on the floor of the North Atlantic.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1448falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-lawyer-who-became-an-rcmp-informant-why-they-killed-sidney-leithman--73074836
A lawyer who defended the Rizzuto family, the Hells Angels and Cali Cartel figures was also a paid RCMP informer for six years - and on May 13, 1991 he was shot dead in his car while someone inexplicably threw a bag of smoked ham into the vehicle. How did a man who carried $300,000 payments, briefcases of cash, and secrets between mob bosses and the RCMP end up dead on a Montreal morning, and who wanted him silenced?

In this episode, we lay out the timeline of Sidney Leithman's career, his simultaneous roles as defence lawyer and police asset, and the transactions that tied him to organized crime and to RCMP officers - including a face-to-face meeting in his office that led to bribes and intelligence being exchanged. Which of the three versions of Leithman made him a target, and what did that smoked ham mean?

Person: Sidney Leithman
Date: May 13, 1991 at 6:48 AM
Location: Corner of Rockland Road and Monmouth Avenue, Montreal
Period: 1960-1991 (legal career highlighted from 1960s; informer since 1985)
Event: Shot four times through his car window; no arrest or charge

- Born October 14, 1936 in Montreal and admitted to the Quebec Bar in 1961.
- Began acting as a paid RCMP informer in 1985 and maintained that role for six years.
- Allan Ross paid Leithman $300,000 in 1989; Leithman carried briefcases containing $200,000 to RCMP officer Claude Savoie.
- Represented clients including the Rizzuto family, Cotroni family, Hells Angels, West End Gang, Frank "Dunie" Ryan, Allan Ross, Jair Garcia, and Inès Cecilia Barbosa.
- On May 13, 1991 a shooter fired four shots at Leithman’s car at 6:48 AM and left a bag of smoked ham in the vehicle; no shooter was ever charged.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074836Sat, 08 Aug 2026 08:00:05 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Lawyer Who Became an RCMP Informant - Why They Killed Sidney Leithman A lawyer who defended the Rizzuto family, the Hells Angels and Cali Cartel figures was also a paid RCMP informer for six years - and on May 13, 1991 he was shot dead in his...
A lawyer who defended the Rizzuto family, the Hells Angels and Cali Cartel figures was also a paid RCMP informer for six years - and on May 13, 1991 he was shot dead in his car while someone inexplicably threw a bag of smoked ham into the vehicle. How did a man who carried $300,000 payments, briefcases of cash, and secrets between mob bosses and the RCMP end up dead on a Montreal morning, and who wanted him silenced?

In this episode, we lay out the timeline of Sidney Leithman's career, his simultaneous roles as defence lawyer and police asset, and the transactions that tied him to organized crime and to RCMP officers - including a face-to-face meeting in his office that led to bribes and intelligence being exchanged. Which of the three versions of Leithman made him a target, and what did that smoked ham mean?

Person: Sidney Leithman
Date: May 13, 1991 at 6:48 AM
Location: Corner of Rockland Road and Monmouth Avenue, Montreal
Period: 1960-1991 (legal career highlighted from 1960s; informer since 1985)
Event: Shot four times through his car window; no arrest or charge

- Born October 14, 1936 in Montreal and admitted to the Quebec Bar in 1961.
- Began acting as a paid RCMP informer in 1985 and maintained that role for six years.
- Allan Ross paid Leithman $300,000 in 1989; Leithman carried briefcases containing $200,000 to RCMP officer Claude Savoie.
- Represented clients including the Rizzuto family, Cotroni family, Hells Angels, West End Gang, Frank "Dunie" Ryan, Allan Ross, Jair Garcia, and Inès Cecilia Barbosa.
- On May 13, 1991 a shooter fired four shots at Leithman’s car at 6:48 AM and left a bag of smoked ham in the vehicle; no shooter was ever charged.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1357falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/he-choked-on-meat-26-days-of-silence-after-a-top-russian-defector--73074834
In this episode, we lay out the timeline, the career, and the contested circumstances around Sergei Olegovich Tretyakov’s death and legacy. We cover his life in Russian intelligence, the operations he described to U.S. handlers, and the unanswered questions about the delay in announcing his passing.

Person: Sergei Olegovich Tretyakov
Date: June 13, 2010
Age: 53
Location: Florida
Period: Served in SVR and KGB from Soviet-era through 1990s

- Tretyakov choked to death on a piece of meat at his Florida home on June 13, 2010.
- The Florida medical examiner ruled the death an accident.
- Twenty-six days passed before the public was told he was dead.
- Tretyakov began passing secrets to Washington around 1997 after his mother died.
- Forty-one days after his death, Vladimir Putin publicly referenced an "inevitable fate" for traitors in a separate spy scandal.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074834Fri, 07 Aug 2026 08:00:04 +0000Creator at ObomediaHe Choked on Meat - 26 Days of Silence After a Top Russian Defector In this episode, we lay out the timeline, the career, and the contested circumstances around Sergei Olegovich Tretyakov’s death and legacy. We cover his life in Russian...
In this episode, we lay out the timeline, the career, and the contested circumstances around Sergei Olegovich Tretyakov’s death and legacy. We cover his life in Russian intelligence, the operations he described to U.S. handlers, and the unanswered questions about the delay in announcing his passing.

Person: Sergei Olegovich Tretyakov
Date: June 13, 2010
Age: 53
Location: Florida
Period: Served in SVR and KGB from Soviet-era through 1990s

- Tretyakov choked to death on a piece of meat at his Florida home on June 13, 2010.
- The Florida medical examiner ruled the death an accident.
- Twenty-six days passed before the public was told he was dead.
- Tretyakov began passing secrets to Washington around 1997 after his mother died.
- Forty-one days after his death, Vladimir Putin publicly referenced an "inevitable fate" for traitors in a separate spy scandal.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1216falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/classified-10m-payment-to-a-convicted-trafficker-and-escaped-prisoner--73074833
The British government secretly wired ten million dollars to a convicted arms trafficker and fugitive who was living under British protection-money that remained classified for decades and helped keep Spain out of Hitler’s orbit; how did Juan March Ordinas, a peasant’s son and expelled schoolboy, become indispensable to governments and avoid ever being charged as a spy?

In this episode, we tell the story of Juan March Ordinas from his birth in a small Mallorcan village to his rise as a smuggler, financier, and one of the world’s richest men, and we trace the events that led Winston Churchill’s government to authorize a classified payment-what choices and bargains made that possible?

Person: Juan March Ordinas
Date of birth: October 4, 1880
Event: Classified $10,000,000 payment by British government
Conviction: 1931 convictions for financial irregularities, tobacco trafficking, and arms trafficking
Island: Cabrera expropriated after provisioning Austro-Hungarian submarines

- March bribed a Civil Guard to escape prison and fled to Gibraltar under British protection.
- In 1916 he founded Trasmediterránea, a shipping company during World War I.
- By 1961 Time magazine profiled him as the Iberian Croesus.
- At death he was assessed as the seventh-richest man in the world and owned works by Goya, Velázquez, Picasso, and Van Gogh.
- His family’s reported worth today stands above $5,000,000,000.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074833Thu, 06 Aug 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at Obomedia- classified $10M payment to a convicted trafficker and escaped prisoner The British government secretly wired ten million dollars to a convicted arms trafficker and fugitive who was living under British protection-money that remained classified...
The British government secretly wired ten million dollars to a convicted arms trafficker and fugitive who was living under British protection-money that remained classified for decades and helped keep Spain out of Hitler’s orbit; how did Juan March Ordinas, a peasant’s son and expelled schoolboy, become indispensable to governments and avoid ever being charged as a spy?

In this episode, we tell the story of Juan March Ordinas from his birth in a small Mallorcan village to his rise as a smuggler, financier, and one of the world’s richest men, and we trace the events that led Winston Churchill’s government to authorize a classified payment-what choices and bargains made that possible?

Person: Juan March Ordinas
Date of birth: October 4, 1880
Event: Classified $10,000,000 payment by British government
Conviction: 1931 convictions for financial irregularities, tobacco trafficking, and arms trafficking
Island: Cabrera expropriated after provisioning Austro-Hungarian submarines

- March bribed a Civil Guard to escape prison and fled to Gibraltar under British protection.
- In 1916 he founded Trasmediterránea, a shipping company during World War I.
- By 1961 Time magazine profiled him as the Iberian Croesus.
- At death he was assessed as the seventh-richest man in the world and owned works by Goya, Velázquez, Picasso, and Van Gogh.
- His family’s reported worth today stands above $5,000,000,000.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1384falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-night-a-drunk-diplomat-dropped-britain-s-secrets-on-the-pavement--73074832
A near-miss in 1951: a top-secret Foreign Office file fell on a London pub pavement and a drunk man picked it up and walked away, unnoticed - yet by that evening the file was gone and the man remained employed. How could five men from Cambridge hand the Soviet Union more than 16,000 classified documents without a single prosecution, and what was the cost to Western intelligence?

In this episode, we trace the origins and careers of the five Cambridge men who penetrated British and American intelligence: where they met, how they recruited one another, and the scale of the documents they passed - asking how conviction, access, and institutional failure combined to let this network flourish.

Person: Anthony Blunt
Person: Guy Burgess
Person: Donald Maclean
Person: Harold Adrian Russell Philby
Person: John Cairncross

- In 1951, a top-secret government file was dropped on a pub pavement in London and picked up by a drunk man who returned it to his coat and walked away.
- The Cambridge network handed the Soviet Union more than 16,000 classified documents between them.
- Between 1941 and 1945, Cairncross passed 5,832 documents; Burgess passed 4,605; Maclean passed 4,593; Blunt passed 1,771; Philby passed more than 900.
- In 1945 alone, Guy Burgess passed 489 Foreign Office documents to his Soviet handlers in a few months.
- Yuri Modin, the KGB controller, reported that approximately half of the material delivered by the Five was never read by Moscow.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074832Wed, 05 Aug 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Night a Drunk Diplomat Dropped Britain's Secrets on the Pavement A near-miss in 1951: a top-secret Foreign Office file fell on a London pub pavement and a drunk man picked it up and walked away, unnoticed - yet by that evening the file was gone...
A near-miss in 1951: a top-secret Foreign Office file fell on a London pub pavement and a drunk man picked it up and walked away, unnoticed - yet by that evening the file was gone and the man remained employed. How could five men from Cambridge hand the Soviet Union more than 16,000 classified documents without a single prosecution, and what was the cost to Western intelligence?

In this episode, we trace the origins and careers of the five Cambridge men who penetrated British and American intelligence: where they met, how they recruited one another, and the scale of the documents they passed - asking how conviction, access, and institutional failure combined to let this network flourish.

Person: Anthony Blunt
Person: Guy Burgess
Person: Donald Maclean
Person: Harold Adrian Russell Philby
Person: John Cairncross

- In 1951, a top-secret government file was dropped on a pub pavement in London and picked up by a drunk man who returned it to his coat and walked away.
- The Cambridge network handed the Soviet Union more than 16,000 classified documents between them.
- Between 1941 and 1945, Cairncross passed 5,832 documents; Burgess passed 4,605; Maclean passed 4,593; Blunt passed 1,771; Philby passed more than 900.
- In 1945 alone, Guy Burgess passed 489 Foreign Office documents to his Soviet handlers in a few months.
- Yuri Modin, the KGB controller, reported that approximately half of the material delivered by the Five was never read by Moscow.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1503falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/they-were-inside-how-five-friends-hollowed-britain-s-secrets--73074831
A drunken Foreign Office official left a classified document on a wet London pavement in 1951 - the man who dropped it never noticed, and he was only one of five Cambridge-trained men who passed more than 17,000 documents to Moscow. How did MI5, MI6, the Foreign Office, the Cabinet Office and Bletchley Park all get hollowed from within, and why were none of the five prosecuted?

In this episode, we trace the careers of five men recruited at Cambridge in the 1930s who believed the Soviet Union was the moral choice against fascism and capitalism; we cover their roles across British institutions, the volumes of material they passed, and the warnings that were ignored - could belief, class and politics have blinded the security services?

Person: Donald Maclean - born 1913, cryptonym Homer, passed material for 17 years
Person: Guy Burgess - born 1911, cryptonym Hicks, passed 4,605 documents between 1936-1944
Person: Kim Philby - born 1912, MI6 head of anti-Soviet section, began passing material in 1934 with 900+ confirmed documents
Person: Anthony Blunt - born 1907, Fellow of Trinity, passed 1,771 documents between 1941-1945
Person: John Cairncross - born 1913, at Bletchley Park May 1942, passed 5,832 documents between 1941-1945

- Five men recruited at Cambridge in the 1930s passed a combined total of more than 17,000 documents to Soviet intelligence.
- Guy Burgess was recalled from Washington in spring 1951 after heavy drinking and reckless behaviour; a lost classified document was found on a wet pavement that year.
- Kim Philby, who began spying in 1934, rose to head MI6’s anti-Soviet section and supplied at least 900 confirmed documents and operational intelligence.
- John Cairncross delivered 5,832 documents from 1941-1945 and later claimed his Bletchley Park material helped the Red Army at the Battle of Kursk.
- Anthony Blunt recruited and warned agents, passing 1,771 documents to Moscow during 1941-1945.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074831Tue, 04 Aug 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThey Were Inside: How Five Friends Hollowed Britain's Secrets A drunken Foreign Office official left a classified document on a wet London pavement in 1951 - the man who dropped it never noticed, and he was only one of five Cambridge-trained men...
A drunken Foreign Office official left a classified document on a wet London pavement in 1951 - the man who dropped it never noticed, and he was only one of five Cambridge-trained men who passed more than 17,000 documents to Moscow. How did MI5, MI6, the Foreign Office, the Cabinet Office and Bletchley Park all get hollowed from within, and why were none of the five prosecuted?

In this episode, we trace the careers of five men recruited at Cambridge in the 1930s who believed the Soviet Union was the moral choice against fascism and capitalism; we cover their roles across British institutions, the volumes of material they passed, and the warnings that were ignored - could belief, class and politics have blinded the security services?

Person: Donald Maclean - born 1913, cryptonym Homer, passed material for 17 years
Person: Guy Burgess - born 1911, cryptonym Hicks, passed 4,605 documents between 1936-1944
Person: Kim Philby - born 1912, MI6 head of anti-Soviet section, began passing material in 1934 with 900+ confirmed documents
Person: Anthony Blunt - born 1907, Fellow of Trinity, passed 1,771 documents between 1941-1945
Person: John Cairncross - born 1913, at Bletchley Park May 1942, passed 5,832 documents between 1941-1945

- Five men recruited at Cambridge in the 1930s passed a combined total of more than 17,000 documents to Soviet intelligence.
- Guy Burgess was recalled from Washington in spring 1951 after heavy drinking and reckless behaviour; a lost classified document was found on a wet pavement that year.
- Kim Philby, who began spying in 1934, rose to head MI6’s anti-Soviet section and supplied at least 900 confirmed documents and operational intelligence.
- John Cairncross delivered 5,832 documents from 1941-1945 and later claimed his Bletchley Park material helped the Red Army at the Battle of Kursk.
- Anthony Blunt recruited and warned agents, passing 1,771 documents to Moscow during 1941-1945.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1387falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-morning-washington-found-a-crooked-man-murder-or-suicide--73074830
The body in room 108 of the Bellevue Hotel was shot through the right temple and a .38 revolver lay in his right hand - three handwritten notes sat on the table nearby. A Soviet assassination order had already been signed against him, but did he die by his own hand or was someone else in that room that morning?

In this episode, we trace the life that led to that February 10, 1941 death, from a Jewish border town to the GRU networks of Western Europe, and the break with Stalinism that put him squarely in danger. How did a man born Samuel Gershevich Gershevich become Walter Krivitsky, and which secret - names, networks or methods - might have died with him or been taken from him?

Person: Walter Krivitsky (born Samuel Gershevich Gershevich)
Date: February 10, 1941; birth June 28, 1899
Location: Room 108, Bellevue Hotel, Washington D.C.
Weapon: Revolver, caliber .38, found in right hand
Event: Soviet assassination order signed against him

- He was found shot once through the right temple at 9:30 AM on February 10, 1941.
- Three handwritten notes were placed on the table near the body.
- He was born on June 28, 1899, in Podwołoczyska, then Galicia.
- By the mid-1930s he ran GRU operations across Western Europe from The Hague while posing as an antiquarian.
- His friend Ignace Reiss was murdered in September 1937, after which Krivitsky defected the following month.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074830Mon, 03 Aug 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Morning Washington Found a Crooked Man-Murder or Suicide? The body in room 108 of the Bellevue Hotel was shot through the right temple and a .38 revolver lay in his right hand - three handwritten notes sat on the table nearby. A Soviet...
The body in room 108 of the Bellevue Hotel was shot through the right temple and a .38 revolver lay in his right hand - three handwritten notes sat on the table nearby. A Soviet assassination order had already been signed against him, but did he die by his own hand or was someone else in that room that morning?

In this episode, we trace the life that led to that February 10, 1941 death, from a Jewish border town to the GRU networks of Western Europe, and the break with Stalinism that put him squarely in danger. How did a man born Samuel Gershevich Gershevich become Walter Krivitsky, and which secret - names, networks or methods - might have died with him or been taken from him?

Person: Walter Krivitsky (born Samuel Gershevich Gershevich)
Date: February 10, 1941; birth June 28, 1899
Location: Room 108, Bellevue Hotel, Washington D.C.
Weapon: Revolver, caliber .38, found in right hand
Event: Soviet assassination order signed against him

- He was found shot once through the right temple at 9:30 AM on February 10, 1941.
- Three handwritten notes were placed on the table near the body.
- He was born on June 28, 1899, in Podwołoczyska, then Galicia.
- By the mid-1930s he ran GRU operations across Western Europe from The Hague while posing as an antiquarian.
- His friend Ignace Reiss was murdered in September 1937, after which Krivitsky defected the following month.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1537falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-cheesemaker-s-son-built-deceptions-executed-by-his-own-state--73074829
A man born Artur Eugene Leonard Fraucci rose from a cheesemaker's kitchen to build "Trust," the Soviet state's most elaborate deception, yet he was executed at 46 with his Moscow grave recorded as "unclaimed ashes. number one." Five top Soviet leaders signed his death warrant on 20 August 1937-how did the architect of mass entrapment become disposable to those he served?

In this episode, we follow the documented life and career of Artur Artuzov, tracing his path from a gold-medal student and metallurgical engineer to the designer of clandestine systems within the Cheka and OGPU, and we ask how the techniques he perfected to destroy enemies were later turned against him.

Person: Artur Eugene Leonard Fraucci (known as Artur Artuzov)
Date: Born 18 February 1891; executed 21 August 1937
Event: Approval signatures for execution dated 20 August 1937
Location: Moscow cemetery ledger lists burial as "unclaimed ashes. number one"
Award: Order of the Red Banner, awarded 18 July 1921

- Born in Mstyora on 18 February 1891 to an Italian-Swiss cheesemaker father and a mother of Estonian-Latvian stock
- Graduated Novgorod classical men's gymnasium with a gold medal in May 1909
- Joined Cheka in 1919 and later headed the KRO counterintelligence arm by 1922
- Built Operation "Trust," a five-year deception run against Russian émigré networks beginning in 1922
- Execution authorized by five signatures: Stalin, Kosior, Molotov, Kaganovich, and Voroshilov on 20 August 1937; executed the following morning at age 46

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074829Sun, 02 Aug 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Cheesemaker's Son: Built Deceptions, Executed by His Own State A man born Artur Eugene Leonard Fraucci rose from a cheesemaker's kitchen to build "Trust," the Soviet state's most elaborate deception, yet he was executed at 46 with his Moscow...
A man born Artur Eugene Leonard Fraucci rose from a cheesemaker's kitchen to build "Trust," the Soviet state's most elaborate deception, yet he was executed at 46 with his Moscow grave recorded as "unclaimed ashes. number one." Five top Soviet leaders signed his death warrant on 20 August 1937-how did the architect of mass entrapment become disposable to those he served?

In this episode, we follow the documented life and career of Artur Artuzov, tracing his path from a gold-medal student and metallurgical engineer to the designer of clandestine systems within the Cheka and OGPU, and we ask how the techniques he perfected to destroy enemies were later turned against him.

Person: Artur Eugene Leonard Fraucci (known as Artur Artuzov)
Date: Born 18 February 1891; executed 21 August 1937
Event: Approval signatures for execution dated 20 August 1937
Location: Moscow cemetery ledger lists burial as "unclaimed ashes. number one"
Award: Order of the Red Banner, awarded 18 July 1921

- Born in Mstyora on 18 February 1891 to an Italian-Swiss cheesemaker father and a mother of Estonian-Latvian stock
- Graduated Novgorod classical men's gymnasium with a gold medal in May 1909
- Joined Cheka in 1919 and later headed the KRO counterintelligence arm by 1922
- Built Operation "Trust," a five-year deception run against Russian émigré networks beginning in 1922
- Execution authorized by five signatures: Stalin, Kosior, Molotov, Kaganovich, and Voroshilov on 20 August 1937; executed the following morning at age 46

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1560falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/he-gave-the-west-4-000-kgb-secrets-then-was-betrayed--73074828
Fear and revelation collide: one KGB officer handed roughly 4,000 classified documents to French intelligence over nine months, exposing 250 Line X officers and the inner architecture of Soviet technical espionage-so why did he act alone with no extraction plan? What price did he pay for dismantling the program he once served?

In this episode, we present the sequence of events and the documents Vetrov passed to the DST, tracing his background in Directorate T, his Paris contacts, and the consequences that followed, asking how a single insider could so thoroughly unmask a secret service.

Person: Vladimir Ippolitovich Vetrov
Date: October 10, 1932 (birth)
Period: Fall 1982 (trial) and spring 1981 (decision to pass documents)
Organization: Directorate T, KGB
Contact: Jacques Prévost (Thomson-CSF engineer) and DST (French intelligence)

- Vetrov passed roughly 4,000 classified documents in nine months.
- The materials included a complete list of 250 Line X officers operating under legal cover.
- Vetrov had served a Paris posting from 1965 to 1971 and befriended Jacques Prévost there.
- He was sentenced in a Moscow court in fall 1982 to twelve years for stabbing two people.
- Vetrov worked in Directorate T, supervising evaluation and distribution of stolen technology.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074828Sat, 01 Aug 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaHe Gave the West 4,000 KGB Secrets - Then Was Betrayed Fear and revelation collide: one KGB officer handed roughly 4,000 classified documents to French intelligence over nine months, exposing 250 Line X officers and the inner architecture of Soviet...
Fear and revelation collide: one KGB officer handed roughly 4,000 classified documents to French intelligence over nine months, exposing 250 Line X officers and the inner architecture of Soviet technical espionage-so why did he act alone with no extraction plan? What price did he pay for dismantling the program he once served?

In this episode, we present the sequence of events and the documents Vetrov passed to the DST, tracing his background in Directorate T, his Paris contacts, and the consequences that followed, asking how a single insider could so thoroughly unmask a secret service.

Person: Vladimir Ippolitovich Vetrov
Date: October 10, 1932 (birth)
Period: Fall 1982 (trial) and spring 1981 (decision to pass documents)
Organization: Directorate T, KGB
Contact: Jacques Prévost (Thomson-CSF engineer) and DST (French intelligence)

- Vetrov passed roughly 4,000 classified documents in nine months.
- The materials included a complete list of 250 Line X officers operating under legal cover.
- Vetrov had served a Paris posting from 1965 to 1971 and befriended Jacques Prévost there.
- He was sentenced in a Moscow court in fall 1982 to twelve years for stabbing two people.
- Vetrov worked in Directorate T, supervising evaluation and distribution of stolen technology.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1458falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-nazi-spies-america-embraced-and-the-soviet-moles-inside--73074827
A detonator made in Kharkiv sat on a table in summer 1947 - the least complicated thing Reinhard Gehlen handed to the CIA when he offered an intelligence network built from the ruins of the Third Reich. But among the men he recruited were former SS and Gestapo officers, and at least three insiders passed fifteen thousand classified documents to Soviet intelligence - how did that happen, and who chose not to look?

In this episode, we trace the origins of the Gehlen Organization from its founding in Pullach in June 1946 through the decades-long penetration by Soviet moles. We describe the people, the material transferred, and the choices U.S. and German authorities made while asking whether operational necessity blinded officials to obvious danger.

Person: Reinhard Gehlen
Date: June 1946
Location: Pullach, south of Munich
Event: Fifteen thousand classified documents passed to Soviet intelligence
Person: Heinz Felfe, Hans Clemens, Erwin Tiebel

- A Czech-made detonator manufactured in Kharkiv was presented in the summer of 1947 inside a compound south of Munich.
- The Gehlen Organization was formally established in the American zone of occupation in June 1946 and headquartered at Pullach.
- Funding for the Gehlen Organization in 1948 reached $1.5 million (equivalent to more than $20 million today).
- Reinhard Gehlen testified on December 11, 1953, that he had "around forty" employees from the SS and SD; later documents showed well over one hundred.
- Heinz Felfe and Hans Clemens admitted in 1961 to transmitting fifteen thousand individual classified documents to Soviet intelligence.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074827Fri, 31 Jul 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Nazi Spies America Embraced - and the Soviet Moles Inside A detonator made in Kharkiv sat on a table in summer 1947 - the least complicated thing Reinhard Gehlen handed to the CIA when he offered an intelligence network built from the ruins of...
A detonator made in Kharkiv sat on a table in summer 1947 - the least complicated thing Reinhard Gehlen handed to the CIA when he offered an intelligence network built from the ruins of the Third Reich. But among the men he recruited were former SS and Gestapo officers, and at least three insiders passed fifteen thousand classified documents to Soviet intelligence - how did that happen, and who chose not to look?

In this episode, we trace the origins of the Gehlen Organization from its founding in Pullach in June 1946 through the decades-long penetration by Soviet moles. We describe the people, the material transferred, and the choices U.S. and German authorities made while asking whether operational necessity blinded officials to obvious danger.

Person: Reinhard Gehlen
Date: June 1946
Location: Pullach, south of Munich
Event: Fifteen thousand classified documents passed to Soviet intelligence
Person: Heinz Felfe, Hans Clemens, Erwin Tiebel

- A Czech-made detonator manufactured in Kharkiv was presented in the summer of 1947 inside a compound south of Munich.
- The Gehlen Organization was formally established in the American zone of occupation in June 1946 and headquartered at Pullach.
- Funding for the Gehlen Organization in 1948 reached $1.5 million (equivalent to more than $20 million today).
- Reinhard Gehlen testified on December 11, 1953, that he had "around forty" employees from the SS and SD; later documents showed well over one hundred.
- Heinz Felfe and Hans Clemens admitted in 1961 to transmitting fifteen thousand individual classified documents to Soviet intelligence.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1308falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-poison-pills-the-mafia-and-the-cia-s-secret-693-page-confession--73074826
A government lab made six poison pills for the American mafia to use against Fidel Castro - and they never arrived, a single failure buried inside a 693-page CIA file that also catalogs illegal wiretaps, opened mail, and nearly 9,900 files on American citizens. What else did that loose-leaf confession reveal, and who inside the agency chose to keep it hidden?

In this episode, we lay out what the 693 pages recorded: directives ordered by Director James Schlesinger in 1973, the material William Colby later handed to the Department of Justice, and the programs revealed by Seymour Hersh’s 1974 reporting - then ask how a democracy responds when its own intelligence service documents systematic domestic abuses. Which parts of the Family Jewels were never disclosed, and why?

Person: James Schlesinger
Person: William Colby
Person: Seymour Hersh
Date: May 7, 1973
Event: CIA internal inquiry producing a 693-page document

- Six poison pills were manufactured in a government laboratory and handed to the American mafia for use against Fidel Castro.
- The CIA’s internal document consisted of six hundred and ninety-three loose-leaf pages compiled from memos and reports across the agency.
- The agency maintained approximately 9,900 files on American citizens connected to the antiwar movement between 1967 and 1971.
- The CIA intercepted and opened mail between the United States and the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1973 without warrants or recipients' knowledge.
- Seymour Hersh published a New York Times story on December 22, 1974, revealing the CIA’s domestic intelligence operations to the public.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074826Thu, 30 Jul 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Poison Pills, The Mafia, and the CIA's Secret 693-Page Confession A government lab made six poison pills for the American mafia to use against Fidel Castro - and they never arrived, a single failure buried inside a 693-page CIA file that also...
A government lab made six poison pills for the American mafia to use against Fidel Castro - and they never arrived, a single failure buried inside a 693-page CIA file that also catalogs illegal wiretaps, opened mail, and nearly 9,900 files on American citizens. What else did that loose-leaf confession reveal, and who inside the agency chose to keep it hidden?

In this episode, we lay out what the 693 pages recorded: directives ordered by Director James Schlesinger in 1973, the material William Colby later handed to the Department of Justice, and the programs revealed by Seymour Hersh’s 1974 reporting - then ask how a democracy responds when its own intelligence service documents systematic domestic abuses. Which parts of the Family Jewels were never disclosed, and why?

Person: James Schlesinger
Person: William Colby
Person: Seymour Hersh
Date: May 7, 1973
Event: CIA internal inquiry producing a 693-page document

- Six poison pills were manufactured in a government laboratory and handed to the American mafia for use against Fidel Castro.
- The CIA’s internal document consisted of six hundred and ninety-three loose-leaf pages compiled from memos and reports across the agency.
- The agency maintained approximately 9,900 files on American citizens connected to the antiwar movement between 1967 and 1971.
- The CIA intercepted and opened mail between the United States and the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1973 without warrants or recipients' knowledge.
- Seymour Hersh published a New York Times story on December 22, 1974, revealing the CIA’s domestic intelligence operations to the public.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1489falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/six-who-vaccine-coolers-went-missing-then-bin-laden-died-and-they-became-evidence--73074825
A doctor’s vaccine coolers vanished from a remote hospital with no campaign scheduled, then the same name surfaced in the CIA’s operation that led to Osama bin Laden’s death-so how did cold-chain boxes become central evidence in an international spy drama? The missing WHO-branded coolers, unauthorized financing and twenty-five documented meetings tie one surgeon to a high-stakes intelligence plot that still leaves questions about what was actually collected.

In this episode, we lay out the sequence of events connecting Jamrud Hospital, a hepatitis B vaccination program in Abbottabad, and the Abbottabad raid on May 2, 2011, detailing what happened to the cooler boxes and to Shakil Afridi as those facts were revealed.

Person: Shakil Afridi
Date: May 2, 2011
Location: Jamrud Hospital, Khyber Agency; Abbottabad compound
Event: CIA-backed hepatitis B vaccination drive intended to obtain DNA
Status: Cooler boxes missing; Afridi detained at Torkham border with six WHO-branded coolers

- Afridi graduated from Khyber Agency College in 1990 and became chief surgeon at Jamrud Hospital.
- The vaccination program was independently financed with no approval or paperwork from local health authorities.
- Investigators documented twenty-five meetings between Afridi and individuals described as foreign secret agents.
- Afridi was already a CIA asset before the vaccination program began, according to public records.
- Six WHO-branded vaccine cooler boxes were removed from Jamrud Hospital and found traceable to Afridi at the Torkham border.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074825Wed, 29 Jul 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaSix WHO vaccine coolers went missing - then bin Laden died and they became evidence A doctor’s vaccine coolers vanished from a remote hospital with no campaign scheduled, then the same name surfaced in the CIA’s operation that led to Osama bin...
A doctor’s vaccine coolers vanished from a remote hospital with no campaign scheduled, then the same name surfaced in the CIA’s operation that led to Osama bin Laden’s death-so how did cold-chain boxes become central evidence in an international spy drama? The missing WHO-branded coolers, unauthorized financing and twenty-five documented meetings tie one surgeon to a high-stakes intelligence plot that still leaves questions about what was actually collected.

In this episode, we lay out the sequence of events connecting Jamrud Hospital, a hepatitis B vaccination program in Abbottabad, and the Abbottabad raid on May 2, 2011, detailing what happened to the cooler boxes and to Shakil Afridi as those facts were revealed.

Person: Shakil Afridi
Date: May 2, 2011
Location: Jamrud Hospital, Khyber Agency; Abbottabad compound
Event: CIA-backed hepatitis B vaccination drive intended to obtain DNA
Status: Cooler boxes missing; Afridi detained at Torkham border with six WHO-branded coolers

- Afridi graduated from Khyber Agency College in 1990 and became chief surgeon at Jamrud Hospital.
- The vaccination program was independently financed with no approval or paperwork from local health authorities.
- Investigators documented twenty-five meetings between Afridi and individuals described as foreign secret agents.
- Afridi was already a CIA asset before the vaccination program began, according to public records.
- Six WHO-branded vaccine cooler boxes were removed from Jamrud Hospital and found traceable to Afridi at the Torkham border.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1245falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/when-the-government-mapped-20-journalists-the-ap-phone-raid--73074824
A two‑month log of every incoming and outgoing call from twenty Associated Press journalists sat in government hands without their knowledge - a literal road map of newsgathering that traced sources, bureaus and the House press gallery. How did a leak probe tied to a published CIA story about a disrupted Yemeni plot expand into phone seizures that even the attorney general would later disavow under oath?

In this episode, we lay out the sequence of events from the AP’s decision not to publish immediately, to the DOJ subpoenas to Verizon, to AP CEO Gary Pruitt’s public disclosure, and to the related warrant naming Fox News reporter James Rosen - and ask what the phone records reveal about press freedom and government power.

Person: Gary Pruitt
Event: DOJ subpoenas of Verizon phone records covering two months in 2012
Person: James Rosen
Person: Stephen Jin‑Woo Kim
Topic: AP publication of CIA‑Saudi operation disrupting Fahd al‑Quso plot

- AP held a confirmed scoop for five days at the direct request of CIA officials before publishing.
- Verizon provided two months of call logs for more than twenty AP journalists and editors without notifying the AP.
- The seized records included calls tied to the AP’s House of Representatives press gallery.
- Gary Pruitt went public in May 2013, calling the seizure a “massive and unprecedented intrusion.”
- The warrant application in a related case named Fox News reporter James Rosen as part of an Espionage Act investigation that led to Stephen Jin‑Woo Kim pleading guilty in 2013.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074824Tue, 28 Jul 2026 08:00:24 +0000Creator at ObomediaWhen the Government Mapped 20 Journalists: The AP Phone Raid A two‑month log of every incoming and outgoing call from twenty Associated Press journalists sat in government hands without their knowledge - a literal road map of newsgathering that...
A two‑month log of every incoming and outgoing call from twenty Associated Press journalists sat in government hands without their knowledge - a literal road map of newsgathering that traced sources, bureaus and the House press gallery. How did a leak probe tied to a published CIA story about a disrupted Yemeni plot expand into phone seizures that even the attorney general would later disavow under oath?

In this episode, we lay out the sequence of events from the AP’s decision not to publish immediately, to the DOJ subpoenas to Verizon, to AP CEO Gary Pruitt’s public disclosure, and to the related warrant naming Fox News reporter James Rosen - and ask what the phone records reveal about press freedom and government power.

Person: Gary Pruitt
Event: DOJ subpoenas of Verizon phone records covering two months in 2012
Person: James Rosen
Person: Stephen Jin‑Woo Kim
Topic: AP publication of CIA‑Saudi operation disrupting Fahd al‑Quso plot

- AP held a confirmed scoop for five days at the direct request of CIA officials before publishing.
- Verizon provided two months of call logs for more than twenty AP journalists and editors without notifying the AP.
- The seized records included calls tied to the AP’s House of Representatives press gallery.
- Gary Pruitt went public in May 2013, calling the seizure a “massive and unprecedented intrusion.”
- The warrant application in a related case named Fox News reporter James Rosen as part of an Espionage Act investigation that led to Stephen Jin‑Woo Kim pleading guilty in 2013.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1361falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-telegram-they-tore-apart-how-the-army-buried-the-truth--73074823
The army reconstructed a torn pneumatic telegram from more than fifty paper fragments that named Major Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy - not Alfred Dreyfus - a fact the Intelligence Section discovered in spring 1896 and then suppressed. How did a photograph of a telegram recovered from a German diplomat’s trash and a matching handwriting comparison lead to exile for the officer who followed it?

In this episode, we tell how Lieutenant Colonel Georges Picquart received a photograph of the reassembled petit bleu, compared handwriting and documents, and uncovered evidence that contradicted the army’s conviction - but what happened when he presented the proof?

Person: Georges Picquart
Person: Alfred Dreyfus
Person: Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy
Date: Spring 1896
Location: Paris

- The reconstructed telegram was made from more than fifty torn paper fragments recovered from Colonel Max von Schwartzkoppen’s trash.
- Georges Picquart took command of the Intelligence Section on July 1, 1895, at age forty-one.
- The telegram named Major Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy and listed the address 27 Rue de la Bienfaisance, Paris.
- Captain Lauth photographed the reassembled pneumatic telegram and Picquart locked the photograph in his strong-box.
- Alfred Dreyfus had been convicted in December 1894 and sent to Devil’s Island at age thirty-five.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074823Mon, 27 Jul 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Telegram They Tore Apart: How the Army Buried the Truth The army reconstructed a torn pneumatic telegram from more than fifty paper fragments that named Major Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy - not Alfred Dreyfus - a fact the Intelligence Section...
The army reconstructed a torn pneumatic telegram from more than fifty paper fragments that named Major Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy - not Alfred Dreyfus - a fact the Intelligence Section discovered in spring 1896 and then suppressed. How did a photograph of a telegram recovered from a German diplomat’s trash and a matching handwriting comparison lead to exile for the officer who followed it?

In this episode, we tell how Lieutenant Colonel Georges Picquart received a photograph of the reassembled petit bleu, compared handwriting and documents, and uncovered evidence that contradicted the army’s conviction - but what happened when he presented the proof?

Person: Georges Picquart
Person: Alfred Dreyfus
Person: Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy
Date: Spring 1896
Location: Paris

- The reconstructed telegram was made from more than fifty torn paper fragments recovered from Colonel Max von Schwartzkoppen’s trash.
- Georges Picquart took command of the Intelligence Section on July 1, 1895, at age forty-one.
- The telegram named Major Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy and listed the address 27 Rue de la Bienfaisance, Paris.
- Captain Lauth photographed the reassembled pneumatic telegram and Picquart locked the photograph in his strong-box.
- Alfred Dreyfus had been convicted in December 1894 and sent to Devil’s Island at age thirty-five.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1455falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/how-japan-s-machines-silenced-nato-the-toshiba-kongsberg-betrayal--73074817
The quietest Cold War betrayal began not with a gunshot but with machines that halved the distance at which US sonar could detect Soviet submarines - a 50% cut in detectability, created by nine-axis milling tools and hidden paperwork. How did industrial giants in Japan and Norway bypass CoCom rules and put that silence into Soviet shipyards without anyone noticing for years?

In this episode, we tell how mainstream companies and routine export paperwork concealed a transfer of precision machine tools and NC devices to the Soviet Union, and we follow the single whistleblower whose testimony exposed the operation - could ordinary commerce really rewrite naval balance silently?

Person: Hitori Kumagai
Company: Toshiba Machine Company
Partner: Wako Trading (Itochu Corporation)
Country: Norway
Event: Shipments began December 1982

- The Pentagon assessed that Soviet submarines’ detectability range was reduced by 50%.
- Toshiba holding owned 51% of Toshiba Machine Company’s shares.
- Exports to communist-bloc countries made up less than 20% of Toshiba Machine’s total sales.
- Eight machine tools and accompanying NC devices were supplied over two years, starting December 1982.
- Software modifications to the systems were completed by 1984.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074817Sun, 26 Jul 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaHow Japan's Machines Silenced NATO: The Toshiba-Kongsberg Betrayal The quietest Cold War betrayal began not with a gunshot but with machines that halved the distance at which US sonar could detect Soviet submarines - a 50% cut in detectability,...
The quietest Cold War betrayal began not with a gunshot but with machines that halved the distance at which US sonar could detect Soviet submarines - a 50% cut in detectability, created by nine-axis milling tools and hidden paperwork. How did industrial giants in Japan and Norway bypass CoCom rules and put that silence into Soviet shipyards without anyone noticing for years?

In this episode, we tell how mainstream companies and routine export paperwork concealed a transfer of precision machine tools and NC devices to the Soviet Union, and we follow the single whistleblower whose testimony exposed the operation - could ordinary commerce really rewrite naval balance silently?

Person: Hitori Kumagai
Company: Toshiba Machine Company
Partner: Wako Trading (Itochu Corporation)
Country: Norway
Event: Shipments began December 1982

- The Pentagon assessed that Soviet submarines’ detectability range was reduced by 50%.
- Toshiba holding owned 51% of Toshiba Machine Company’s shares.
- Exports to communist-bloc countries made up less than 20% of Toshiba Machine’s total sales.
- Eight machine tools and accompanying NC devices were supplied over two years, starting December 1982.
- Software modifications to the systems were completed by 1984.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1277falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-night-the-lorries-vanished-turkey-s-secret-arms-convoy-revealed--73074815
Headlights off, trucks crossed a border with 1,000 mortar shells, 1,000 rifled artillery shells, 50,000 machine‑gun rounds and 30,000 rifle bullets hidden under crates marked as aid - and the soldiers who exposed it were prosecuted while those who sent it were not. What happened that January night that let an armed convoy vanish into Syria and left footage hidden for sixteen months?

In this episode, we lay out the documented chain of events: the searches, the standoffs, the official explanations, and the prosecutions that followed. Listen to how a prosecutor’s inquiry, a colonel’s refusal, and footage of the cargo became the central evidence in a case that never convicted anyone for moving weapons.

Person: Aziz Takçı
Person: Özkan Çokay
Date: 19 January 2014
Location: Adana
Event: Convoy searched and allowed to proceed

- 1,000 mortar shells were documented inside the cargo holds.
- 1,000 rifled artillery shells were documented inside the cargo holds.
- 50,000 machine gun rounds were documented inside the cargo holds.
- 30,000 rifle bullets were documented inside the cargo holds.
- Footage of the cargo sat in an evidence file for sixteen months before publication.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074815Sat, 25 Jul 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Night the Lorries Vanished: Turkey's Secret Arms Convoy Revealed Headlights off, trucks crossed a border with 1,000 mortar shells, 1,000 rifled artillery shells, 50,000 machine‑gun rounds and 30,000 rifle bullets hidden under crates marked as...
Headlights off, trucks crossed a border with 1,000 mortar shells, 1,000 rifled artillery shells, 50,000 machine‑gun rounds and 30,000 rifle bullets hidden under crates marked as aid - and the soldiers who exposed it were prosecuted while those who sent it were not. What happened that January night that let an armed convoy vanish into Syria and left footage hidden for sixteen months?

In this episode, we lay out the documented chain of events: the searches, the standoffs, the official explanations, and the prosecutions that followed. Listen to how a prosecutor’s inquiry, a colonel’s refusal, and footage of the cargo became the central evidence in a case that never convicted anyone for moving weapons.

Person: Aziz Takçı
Person: Özkan Çokay
Date: 19 January 2014
Location: Adana
Event: Convoy searched and allowed to proceed

- 1,000 mortar shells were documented inside the cargo holds.
- 1,000 rifled artillery shells were documented inside the cargo holds.
- 50,000 machine gun rounds were documented inside the cargo holds.
- 30,000 rifle bullets were documented inside the cargo holds.
- Footage of the cargo sat in an evidence file for sixteen months before publication.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1253falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/photocopier-at-woking-how-780-ferrari-pages-broke-f1-s-rules--73074814
Fear and disbelief: 780 pages of Ferrari technical drawings arrived at a Woking copy shop in spring 2007, and a single phone call to Italy would trigger a record sports fine and wreck two championship campaigns - but did those pages actually change what happened on track? How did documents leave Maranello, who received them in Woking, and what followed?

In this episode, we tell how confidential Ferrari technical data moved from a Maranello factory to a house in Woking and then to a commercial photocopier, the key people involved, and the sequence of events that led to the largest financial penalty in professional sport. What started as a routine errand became an international scandal - but did it matter in the race results?

Person: Nigel Stepney
Person: Mike Coughlan
Person: Trudy Coughlan
Date: July 3, 2007
Event: 780 pages of Ferrari technical drawings discovered in Woking

- 780 pages of Ferrari's confidential technical documentation were found at Mike Coughlan's house in Woking.
- The photocopy order at a commercial print shop in spring 2007 triggered Ferrari learning its data had left Maranello.
- Nigel Stepney had worked at Ferrari for 13 years before being moved to a non-race role in early 2007.
- Ron Dennis learned of the documents the same way the public did: from Gazzetta dello Sport on July 3, 2007.
- McLaren publicly stated on July 16, 2007, that only Mike Coughlan was implicated after an internal review.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074814Fri, 24 Jul 2026 08:00:05 +0000Creator at ObomediaPhotocopier at Woking: How 780 Ferrari Pages Broke F1's Rules Fear and disbelief: 780 pages of Ferrari technical drawings arrived at a Woking copy shop in spring 2007, and a single phone call to Italy would trigger a record sports fine and wreck...
Fear and disbelief: 780 pages of Ferrari technical drawings arrived at a Woking copy shop in spring 2007, and a single phone call to Italy would trigger a record sports fine and wreck two championship campaigns - but did those pages actually change what happened on track? How did documents leave Maranello, who received them in Woking, and what followed?

In this episode, we tell how confidential Ferrari technical data moved from a Maranello factory to a house in Woking and then to a commercial photocopier, the key people involved, and the sequence of events that led to the largest financial penalty in professional sport. What started as a routine errand became an international scandal - but did it matter in the race results?

Person: Nigel Stepney
Person: Mike Coughlan
Person: Trudy Coughlan
Date: July 3, 2007
Event: 780 pages of Ferrari technical drawings discovered in Woking

- 780 pages of Ferrari's confidential technical documentation were found at Mike Coughlan's house in Woking.
- The photocopy order at a commercial print shop in spring 2007 triggered Ferrari learning its data had left Maranello.
- Nigel Stepney had worked at Ferrari for 13 years before being moved to a non-race role in early 2007.
- Ron Dennis learned of the documents the same way the public did: from Gazzetta dello Sport on July 3, 2007.
- McLaren publicly stated on July 16, 2007, that only Mike Coughlan was implicated after an internal review.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1373falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-informant-who-built-an-insurrection-enrique-tarrio-s-secret-role--73074813
He watched the Capitol fall on January 6, 2021, from a Baltimore hotel room 40 miles away, messaged an encrypted chat “Make no mistake. We did this,” and had never set foot on the Capitol grounds - yet he later received a 22-year sentence with a terrorism enhancement. How did the man once described in court records as a “prolific” FBI cooperator become the public face of organized insurrection, and what role did his earlier cooperation play in building the networks that stormed the Capitol?

In this episode, we lay out the timeline and documents that trace Enrique Tarrio’s path from Little Havana to national chairman of the Proud Boys, including court records, trial exhibits, and internal communications, and we ask whether the skills that made him an effective cooperator also made him an effective organizer for violence.

Person: Henry "Enrique" Tarrio
Date: January 6, 2021
Location: Baltimore hotel room (40 miles from the United States Capitol)
Status: Convicted seditious conspirator; sentenced to 22 years with terrorism enhancement
Event: Worked as a federal cooperator in cases from 2012-2014, assisting prosecutions of more than 12 individuals

- Tarrio was banned from Washington by court order but watched the Capitol attack live on January 6, 2021, from 40 miles away.
- He typed into an encrypted group chat on January 6: "Make no mistake. We did this."
- Court records describe him as a "prolific" cooperator who assisted in prosecuting more than 12 individuals for crimes including steroid trafficking, illegal gambling, and human smuggling.
- He was sentenced in 2013 to 30 months for rebranding and reselling stolen diabetic test strips and served 16 months, per court records.
- He received a 22-year prison sentence for his role in the January 6 events, with a terrorism enhancement applied.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074813Thu, 23 Jul 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Informant Who Built an Insurrection: Enrique Tarrio's Secret Role He watched the Capitol fall on January 6, 2021, from a Baltimore hotel room 40 miles away, messaged an encrypted chat “Make no mistake. We did this,” and had never set foot on...
He watched the Capitol fall on January 6, 2021, from a Baltimore hotel room 40 miles away, messaged an encrypted chat “Make no mistake. We did this,” and had never set foot on the Capitol grounds - yet he later received a 22-year sentence with a terrorism enhancement. How did the man once described in court records as a “prolific” FBI cooperator become the public face of organized insurrection, and what role did his earlier cooperation play in building the networks that stormed the Capitol?

In this episode, we lay out the timeline and documents that trace Enrique Tarrio’s path from Little Havana to national chairman of the Proud Boys, including court records, trial exhibits, and internal communications, and we ask whether the skills that made him an effective cooperator also made him an effective organizer for violence.

Person: Henry "Enrique" Tarrio
Date: January 6, 2021
Location: Baltimore hotel room (40 miles from the United States Capitol)
Status: Convicted seditious conspirator; sentenced to 22 years with terrorism enhancement
Event: Worked as a federal cooperator in cases from 2012-2014, assisting prosecutions of more than 12 individuals

- Tarrio was banned from Washington by court order but watched the Capitol attack live on January 6, 2021, from 40 miles away.
- He typed into an encrypted group chat on January 6: "Make no mistake. We did this."
- Court records describe him as a "prolific" cooperator who assisted in prosecuting more than 12 individuals for crimes including steroid trafficking, illegal gambling, and human smuggling.
- He was sentenced in 2013 to 30 months for rebranding and reselling stolen diabetic test strips and served 16 months, per court records.
- He received a 22-year prison sentence for his role in the January 6 events, with a terrorism enhancement applied.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1327falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/he-wore-a-wire-into-the-room-that-wanted-him-dead--73074812
He walked into rooms where men would have killed him on sight - for ten years he wore a wire while rubbing shoulders with Jimmy Hoffa, Meyer Lansky, and members of the Papalia and Commisso families. How did Marvin Elkind survive ordered stand-downs by police handlers and keep living long enough to run a final undercover mission at age seventy-five?

In this episode, we tell the life story laid out in the files: his childhood in Toronto, the crimes and connections that carried him into the highest circles of North American organized crime, and the strange ending that reframes everything - what did those final assignments reveal about who he had become?

Person: Marvin Elkind
Date of death: January 21, 2024
Age at death: 89
Final undercover trip: Mexico City, 2009
Prison sentence: 1 year (arrived December 18, 1969; released April 18, 1970)

- He entered Bowmanville reform school on May 1945 and stayed five years, receiving approximately 175 floggings.
- At 18 (circa 1952) he worked as a busboy at the Copacabana and was assigned by Anthony Salerno to drive Jimmy Hoffa for four years.
- In 1954 in Miami Meyer Lansky paid him to lose a boxing match; Elkind accepted the payment.
- Atlantic Acceptance Corporation collapsed on June 14, 1965, after defaulting on a $5,000,000 cheque; it was then the largest corporate bankruptcy in Canadian history.
- In 2009, at age 75, he traveled to Mexico City for a documented undercover operation paid $2,000 and carried no wire.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074812Wed, 22 Jul 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaHe Wore a Wire Into the Room That Wanted Him Dead He walked into rooms where men would have killed him on sight - for ten years he wore a wire while rubbing shoulders with Jimmy Hoffa, Meyer Lansky, and members of the Papalia and Commisso families....
He walked into rooms where men would have killed him on sight - for ten years he wore a wire while rubbing shoulders with Jimmy Hoffa, Meyer Lansky, and members of the Papalia and Commisso families. How did Marvin Elkind survive ordered stand-downs by police handlers and keep living long enough to run a final undercover mission at age seventy-five?

In this episode, we tell the life story laid out in the files: his childhood in Toronto, the crimes and connections that carried him into the highest circles of North American organized crime, and the strange ending that reframes everything - what did those final assignments reveal about who he had become?

Person: Marvin Elkind
Date of death: January 21, 2024
Age at death: 89
Final undercover trip: Mexico City, 2009
Prison sentence: 1 year (arrived December 18, 1969; released April 18, 1970)

- He entered Bowmanville reform school on May 1945 and stayed five years, receiving approximately 175 floggings.
- At 18 (circa 1952) he worked as a busboy at the Copacabana and was assigned by Anthony Salerno to drive Jimmy Hoffa for four years.
- In 1954 in Miami Meyer Lansky paid him to lose a boxing match; Elkind accepted the payment.
- Atlantic Acceptance Corporation collapsed on June 14, 1965, after defaulting on a $5,000,000 cheque; it was then the largest corporate bankruptcy in Canadian history.
- In 2009, at age 75, he traveled to Mexico City for a documented undercover operation paid $2,000 and carried no wire.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1486falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-man-who-vanished-sidney-reilly-s-final-betrayal-revealed--73074811
A man walked into a forest outside Moscow on 5 November 1925 and was shot once in the back, his true name buried for decades beneath fabricated identities and bribery. He sold weapons to both sides of the same war, stole naval defence plans, and bribed a regiment - so who was the man who reinvented himself as Sidney Reilly, and what betrayal finally ended him?

In this episode, we trace the documented record of the life given in OGPU and British intelligence files, from Odessa origins to London fronts and a marriage that changed everything, asking how a man of multiple names and shifting allegiances operated inside and outside official agencies.

Person: Zigmund Markovich Rozenblum
Date: 5 November 1925
Location: forest outside Moscow
Event: shot once in the back
Country: Russia / United Kingdom

- OGPU file lists birth as 24 March 1874 in Odessa.
- Arrested in 1892 by the Okhrana as a courier for the Friends of Enlightenment and escaped.
- In December 1895, linked to a Paris train attack where an Italian anarchist, Constant Della Cassa, later died; Rozenblum was 19 and never charged.
- By 1896 he lived at Albert Mansions in London and ran the Ozone Preparations Company, recorded as a front.
- Married Margaret Thomas on 22 August 1898, five months after her husband Hugh Thomas died; Margaret inherited approximately £800,000.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074811Tue, 21 Jul 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Man Who Vanished: Sidney Reilly's Final Betrayal Revealed A man walked into a forest outside Moscow on 5 November 1925 and was shot once in the back, his true name buried for decades beneath fabricated identities and bribery. He sold weapons to...
A man walked into a forest outside Moscow on 5 November 1925 and was shot once in the back, his true name buried for decades beneath fabricated identities and bribery. He sold weapons to both sides of the same war, stole naval defence plans, and bribed a regiment - so who was the man who reinvented himself as Sidney Reilly, and what betrayal finally ended him?

In this episode, we trace the documented record of the life given in OGPU and British intelligence files, from Odessa origins to London fronts and a marriage that changed everything, asking how a man of multiple names and shifting allegiances operated inside and outside official agencies.

Person: Zigmund Markovich Rozenblum
Date: 5 November 1925
Location: forest outside Moscow
Event: shot once in the back
Country: Russia / United Kingdom

- OGPU file lists birth as 24 March 1874 in Odessa.
- Arrested in 1892 by the Okhrana as a courier for the Friends of Enlightenment and escaped.
- In December 1895, linked to a Paris train attack where an Italian anarchist, Constant Della Cassa, later died; Rozenblum was 19 and never charged.
- By 1896 he lived at Albert Mansions in London and ran the Ozone Preparations Company, recorded as a front.
- Married Margaret Thomas on 22 August 1898, five months after her husband Hugh Thomas died; Margaret inherited approximately £800,000.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1491falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-man-who-became-three-how-a-spy-dismantled-revolutionaries--73074810
A spy who was born Aharon Hackelman in 1861 and later took the names Landesen and Arkadiy Harting built a foreign intelligence network that helped destroy a revolutionary conspiracy - and a French court kept a five-year sentence against him for nineteen years. How did one man move through student cells, betray comrades, and reinvent himself so completely that the sentence could never catch up?

In this episode, we tell the episode's narrative thread from the subject's origins to the Paris operation and its aftermath, outlining his recruitment, the role he played in the 1890 conspiracy, and the transformations that followed - and we ask how memory and friendship finally unraveled the life he had buried.

Person: Aharon Hackelman / Landesen / Arkadiy Harting
Date of birth: October 29, 1861
Location of birth: Pinsk, Russian Empire
Organization: Okhrana (Paris foreign branch)
Event: 1890 fabricated assassination conspiracy tipped to French Sûreté

- Born October 29, 1861 in Pinsk, then part of the Russian Empire.
- Arrived in Saint Petersburg in 1879 at age 17 and joined Narodnaya Volya.
- Recruited by the Okhrana and formally by Peter Rachkovsky in 1885.
- Helped organize and finance an assassination conspiracy in 1890 that was dismantled by the French Sûreté.
- Sentenced in absentia by a French court in 1890 to five years in prison; the sentence remained on record for nineteen years.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074810Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:37:18 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Man Who Became Three: How a Spy Dismantled Revolutionaries A spy who was born Aharon Hackelman in 1861 and later took the names Landesen and Arkadiy Harting built a foreign intelligence network that helped destroy a revolutionary conspiracy -...
A spy who was born Aharon Hackelman in 1861 and later took the names Landesen and Arkadiy Harting built a foreign intelligence network that helped destroy a revolutionary conspiracy - and a French court kept a five-year sentence against him for nineteen years. How did one man move through student cells, betray comrades, and reinvent himself so completely that the sentence could never catch up?

In this episode, we tell the episode's narrative thread from the subject's origins to the Paris operation and its aftermath, outlining his recruitment, the role he played in the 1890 conspiracy, and the transformations that followed - and we ask how memory and friendship finally unraveled the life he had buried.

Person: Aharon Hackelman / Landesen / Arkadiy Harting
Date of birth: October 29, 1861
Location of birth: Pinsk, Russian Empire
Organization: Okhrana (Paris foreign branch)
Event: 1890 fabricated assassination conspiracy tipped to French Sûreté

- Born October 29, 1861 in Pinsk, then part of the Russian Empire.
- Arrived in Saint Petersburg in 1879 at age 17 and joined Narodnaya Volya.
- Recruited by the Okhrana and formally by Peter Rachkovsky in 1885.
- Helped organize and finance an assassination conspiracy in 1890 that was dismantled by the French Sûreté.
- Sentenced in absentia by a French court in 1890 to five years in prison; the sentence remained on record for nineteen years.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1369falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-man-who-killed-for-both-sides-inside-yevno-azef--73074809
A man who organized assassinations and sent comrades to Siberia also filed reports for the Tsar's secret police-Yevno Azef ran the SR Combat Organization while informing the Okhrana for years. How did a single man manage to plan the murder of the Interior Minister and keep being paid by the same police force that should have stopped him?

In this episode, we lay out the documented timeline of Azef's life from his birth in 1869 to his leadership of the Socialist Revolutionary Party's Combat Organization, presenting the names, dates, betrayals and archival confirmations - and asking the central unresolved question: what exactly was Azef?

Person: Yevno Fishelevich Azef
Date: born 1869
Location: Lyskava (now Brest Region, Belarus) and Saint Petersburg
Event: assassination of Interior Minister Vyacheslav Plehve, July 1904
Organization: Okhrana (Tsarist secret police) and Socialist Revolutionary Party (Combat Organization)

- Azef wrote to the Okhrana offering to inform in April 1893 at age 23.
- He took 800 rubles that did not belong to him and left Russia in 1892.
- Azef became a founding member of the Socialist Revolutionary Party by 1902.
- He assumed full command of the SR Combat Organization in spring 1903 after Gershuni's arrest.
- On a July morning in 1904 a Combat Organization operative killed Vyacheslav Plehve by bombing his carriage.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074809Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:37:15 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Man Who Killed for Both Sides: Inside Yevno Azef A man who organized assassinations and sent comrades to Siberia also filed reports for the Tsar's secret police-Yevno Azef ran the SR Combat Organization while informing the Okhrana for years....
A man who organized assassinations and sent comrades to Siberia also filed reports for the Tsar's secret police-Yevno Azef ran the SR Combat Organization while informing the Okhrana for years. How did a single man manage to plan the murder of the Interior Minister and keep being paid by the same police force that should have stopped him?

In this episode, we lay out the documented timeline of Azef's life from his birth in 1869 to his leadership of the Socialist Revolutionary Party's Combat Organization, presenting the names, dates, betrayals and archival confirmations - and asking the central unresolved question: what exactly was Azef?

Person: Yevno Fishelevich Azef
Date: born 1869
Location: Lyskava (now Brest Region, Belarus) and Saint Petersburg
Event: assassination of Interior Minister Vyacheslav Plehve, July 1904
Organization: Okhrana (Tsarist secret police) and Socialist Revolutionary Party (Combat Organization)

- Azef wrote to the Okhrana offering to inform in April 1893 at age 23.
- He took 800 rubles that did not belong to him and left Russia in 1892.
- Azef became a founding member of the Socialist Revolutionary Party by 1902.
- He assumed full command of the SR Combat Organization in spring 1903 after Gershuni's arrest.
- On a July morning in 1904 a Combat Organization operative killed Vyacheslav Plehve by bombing his carriage.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1352falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-slave-who-spied-on-cornwallis-lafayette-s-secret-agent--73074807
The thought of an enslaved man walking into a British command tent, unarmed and unnoticed, and emerging with the information that helped end a war grabs the gut: James Armistead Lafayette did exactly that, listening to officers who never suspected he was recording every word and feeding Lafayette intelligence that shaped the Siege of Yorktown. How did a literate enslaved man operate inside enemy camps, feed falsehoods to one side and facts to the other, and still find himself legally excluded from the rewards of victory?

In this episode, we tell the story of James Armistead Lafayette from his service in 1781 through the decades it took him to secure freedom and recognition, following the wartime operations, the legal hurdles, and the letter from across the Atlantic that finally helped his claim - and ask how the new nation’s laws could erase what he had done.

Person: James Armistead Lafayette
Owner: Colonel John Armistead (then William Armistead)
Location: New Kent County, Virginia; British camps around Yorktown area
Date (service): Spring and summer of 1781
Event: Petition for freedom and veteran pension supported by a letter from Lafayette

- James was born into bondage around 1748-1760 (exact year uncertain) and was property of Colonel John Armistead before passing to William Armistead after 1779.
- William Armistead taught James to read and write, a rare skill for an enslaved person that James used to write his own intelligence reports.
- In 1775 Lord Dunmore offered freedom to enslaved people who joined the British; James declined and instead volunteered to serve under Lafayette.
- In spring and summer of 1781 James infiltrated British camps, listened to officers, fed false information to the British, and provided accurate intelligence to Lafayette that aided the American cause.
- By 1824 James had been free for thirty-seven years, owned land, and carried the surname Lafayette after a reunion with the Marquis in Richmond, Virginia, but he still had to petition for the pension due to veterans.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074807Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:37:12 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Slave Who Spied on Cornwallis - Lafayette's Secret Agent The thought of an enslaved man walking into a British command tent, unarmed and unnoticed, and emerging with the information that helped end a war grabs the gut: James Armistead Lafayette...
The thought of an enslaved man walking into a British command tent, unarmed and unnoticed, and emerging with the information that helped end a war grabs the gut: James Armistead Lafayette did exactly that, listening to officers who never suspected he was recording every word and feeding Lafayette intelligence that shaped the Siege of Yorktown. How did a literate enslaved man operate inside enemy camps, feed falsehoods to one side and facts to the other, and still find himself legally excluded from the rewards of victory?

In this episode, we tell the story of James Armistead Lafayette from his service in 1781 through the decades it took him to secure freedom and recognition, following the wartime operations, the legal hurdles, and the letter from across the Atlantic that finally helped his claim - and ask how the new nation’s laws could erase what he had done.

Person: James Armistead Lafayette
Owner: Colonel John Armistead (then William Armistead)
Location: New Kent County, Virginia; British camps around Yorktown area
Date (service): Spring and summer of 1781
Event: Petition for freedom and veteran pension supported by a letter from Lafayette

- James was born into bondage around 1748-1760 (exact year uncertain) and was property of Colonel John Armistead before passing to William Armistead after 1779.
- William Armistead taught James to read and write, a rare skill for an enslaved person that James used to write his own intelligence reports.
- In 1775 Lord Dunmore offered freedom to enslaved people who joined the British; James declined and instead volunteered to serve under Lafayette.
- In spring and summer of 1781 James infiltrated British camps, listened to officers, fed false information to the British, and provided accurate intelligence to Lafayette that aided the American cause.
- By 1824 James had been free for thirty-seven years, owned land, and carried the surname Lafayette after a reunion with the Marquis in Richmond, Virginia, but he still had to petition for the pension due to veterans.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1470falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-journalist-who-secretly-sold-france-s-secrets-brok-revealed--73074806
A celebrated French journalist honored by two republics and trusted by presidents was listed in the Mitrokhin Archive under the code name "Brok" - recruited in 1946 at age 22 and never charged. How much political intelligence did he pass from the rooms of power to Soviet handlers, and what damage can never be measured?

In this episode, we tell the episode’s central story: the Mitrokhin Archive entry, French counter-espionage confirmation, and the decades-long double life of Philippe Grumbach that stayed secret until after his death. What did Brok really deliver from inside L'Express and the corridors of government?

Person: Philippe Grumbach
Date of birth: June 25, 1924
Date of death: 2003
Code name: Brok
Recruitment year: 1946

- Grumbach fled occupied France and by 1943 was working at Voice of America.
- He joined Agence France-Presse in 1946 and L'Express in 1954, becoming chief editor within two years.
- The Mitrokhin Archive lists him with the code name "Brok" and documents KGB recruitment in 1946.
- From 1977 to 1981 he served on the High Council for the Audiovisual Industry and sat on a 1975 state commission.
- He threatened a defamation lawsuit in the early 2000s that suppressed reporting; he died in Paris in 2003 at age 78.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074806Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:37:09 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Journalist Who Secretly Sold France's Secrets - Brok Revealed A celebrated French journalist honored by two republics and trusted by presidents was listed in the Mitrokhin Archive under the code name "Brok" - recruited in 1946 at age 22 and...
A celebrated French journalist honored by two republics and trusted by presidents was listed in the Mitrokhin Archive under the code name "Brok" - recruited in 1946 at age 22 and never charged. How much political intelligence did he pass from the rooms of power to Soviet handlers, and what damage can never be measured?

In this episode, we tell the episode’s central story: the Mitrokhin Archive entry, French counter-espionage confirmation, and the decades-long double life of Philippe Grumbach that stayed secret until after his death. What did Brok really deliver from inside L'Express and the corridors of government?

Person: Philippe Grumbach
Date of birth: June 25, 1924
Date of death: 2003
Code name: Brok
Recruitment year: 1946

- Grumbach fled occupied France and by 1943 was working at Voice of America.
- He joined Agence France-Presse in 1946 and L'Express in 1954, becoming chief editor within two years.
- The Mitrokhin Archive lists him with the code name "Brok" and documents KGB recruitment in 1946.
- From 1977 to 1981 he served on the High Council for the Audiovisual Industry and sat on a 1975 state commission.
- He threatened a defamation lawsuit in the early 2000s that suppressed reporting; he died in Paris in 2003 at age 78.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1368falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-man-who-walked-away-moscow-s-most-wanted-ghost-agent--73074805
A vanished passport, a forged Armenian identity, and a Soviet spymaster who controlled agents across Persia, Syria, Palestine, Egypt and the Hejaz - yet eight months after arriving in Constantinople he simply walked away. How did Georges Agabekov go from running the Near East for the OGPU to becoming the most hunted man in Moscow, and why has the passport that erased him never surfaced?

In this episode, we trace the arc of Agabekov’s life from Askhabad to Tashkent, Tehran, and Constantinople, charting the operations he led, the secrets he held, and the failure that preceded his defection. What did he build that made Moscow insist not just on his silence but on his erasure?

Person: Georges Agabekov
Date: October 1929
Location: Constantinople
Organization: OGPU Foreign Branch (Near Eastern Section)
Birth: 1896 in Askhabad

- Agabekov arrived in Constantinople in October 1929 carrying a Persian passport under the name Nerses Ovsepyan.
- He claimed to have located Enver Pasha’s camp near Denau, contributing to Enver’s death in August 1922 (claim not independently verified).
- By the end of 1926 he was the OGPU resident officer in Tehran, running networks across the Middle East.
- In April 1928 he was promoted in Moscow to head the Near Eastern Section of the OGPU at age 32.
- The passport naming Nerses Ovsepyan has never appeared in any publicly accessible archive.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074805Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:37:06 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Man Who Walked Away: Moscow's Most Wanted Ghost Agent A vanished passport, a forged Armenian identity, and a Soviet spymaster who controlled agents across Persia, Syria, Palestine, Egypt and the Hejaz - yet eight months after arriving in...
A vanished passport, a forged Armenian identity, and a Soviet spymaster who controlled agents across Persia, Syria, Palestine, Egypt and the Hejaz - yet eight months after arriving in Constantinople he simply walked away. How did Georges Agabekov go from running the Near East for the OGPU to becoming the most hunted man in Moscow, and why has the passport that erased him never surfaced?

In this episode, we trace the arc of Agabekov’s life from Askhabad to Tashkent, Tehran, and Constantinople, charting the operations he led, the secrets he held, and the failure that preceded his defection. What did he build that made Moscow insist not just on his silence but on his erasure?

Person: Georges Agabekov
Date: October 1929
Location: Constantinople
Organization: OGPU Foreign Branch (Near Eastern Section)
Birth: 1896 in Askhabad

- Agabekov arrived in Constantinople in October 1929 carrying a Persian passport under the name Nerses Ovsepyan.
- He claimed to have located Enver Pasha’s camp near Denau, contributing to Enver’s death in August 1922 (claim not independently verified).
- By the end of 1926 he was the OGPU resident officer in Tehran, running networks across the Middle East.
- In April 1928 he was promoted in Moscow to head the Near Eastern Section of the OGPU at age 32.
- The passport naming Nerses Ovsepyan has never appeared in any publicly accessible archive.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1441falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-day-romania-sentits-its-best-spy-into-american-arms--73074804
A nation went silent in the summer of 1988 as families stopped to listen to a book read on a foreign broadcast - a book by a man twice sentenced to death and the highest-ranking intelligence officer ever to defect from the Eastern Bloc. He had helped build the surveillance state that kept Nicolae Ceaușescu in power, then walked into the American Arms in Bonn in July 1978; what finally made him cross that threshold?

In this episode, we tell the story of Ion Mihai Pacepa from his origins in Bucharest to the moment he sought asylum, tracing the offices he held, the orders he received, and the personal choice that shattered his career. How did a man who ran Romania’s foreign intelligence and advised the president become the man who refused to carry out an assassination and fled?

Person: Ion Mihai Pacepa
Date (birth): October 28, 1928
Event (defection): July 1978, requested asylum at the American Arms in Bonn
Order received: Organize assassination of Noël Bernard in late July 1978
Family: Daughter named Dana left in Romania

- Pacepa was drafted into the Securitate months before graduating Politehnica University in 1947, delaying his degree by four years.
- By 1957 he was running the Securitate’s Frankfurt station.
- In October 1959 he was appointed head of the Science and Technology section of Directorate I (industrial espionage).
- By 1972 he was both presidential adviser for industrial and technological development and deputy chief of Romanian foreign intelligence.
- By summer 1978 he held three positions simultaneously: acting chief of foreign intelligence, parliamentary undersecretary at the Ministry of Interior, and presidential adviser.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074804Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:37:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Day Romania Sentits Its Best Spy Into American Arms A nation went silent in the summer of 1988 as families stopped to listen to a book read on a foreign broadcast - a book by a man twice sentenced to death and the highest-ranking intelligence...
A nation went silent in the summer of 1988 as families stopped to listen to a book read on a foreign broadcast - a book by a man twice sentenced to death and the highest-ranking intelligence officer ever to defect from the Eastern Bloc. He had helped build the surveillance state that kept Nicolae Ceaușescu in power, then walked into the American Arms in Bonn in July 1978; what finally made him cross that threshold?

In this episode, we tell the story of Ion Mihai Pacepa from his origins in Bucharest to the moment he sought asylum, tracing the offices he held, the orders he received, and the personal choice that shattered his career. How did a man who ran Romania’s foreign intelligence and advised the president become the man who refused to carry out an assassination and fled?

Person: Ion Mihai Pacepa
Date (birth): October 28, 1928
Event (defection): July 1978, requested asylum at the American Arms in Bonn
Order received: Organize assassination of Noël Bernard in late July 1978
Family: Daughter named Dana left in Romania

- Pacepa was drafted into the Securitate months before graduating Politehnica University in 1947, delaying his degree by four years.
- By 1957 he was running the Securitate’s Frankfurt station.
- In October 1959 he was appointed head of the Science and Technology section of Directorate I (industrial espionage).
- By 1972 he was both presidential adviser for industrial and technological development and deputy chief of Romanian foreign intelligence.
- By summer 1978 he held three positions simultaneously: acting chief of foreign intelligence, parliamentary undersecretary at the Ministry of Interior, and presidential adviser.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1430falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/he-asked-nasser-how-he-wanted-to-die-cia-s-quietest-murder-plot--73074802
Fear and power braided into small talk: an American operative asked Egypt’s Gamal Abdel Nasser how he would prefer to be murdered while a servant tasted coffee that would have been the only casualty. How much of that scene was theater, and how much was the choreography of real, clandestine intent?

In this episode, we follow the life and operations of Miles Axe Copeland Jr., from his July 16, 1916 birth in Birmingham to his role as a CIA case officer in the Middle East, and the shadowy episodes that defined early U.S. covert action - including Syria 1949 and the staged question in March in 1953. What does Copeland’s single surviving account tell us about the boundary between operation and truth?

Person: Miles Axe Copeland Jr.
Date: July 16, 1916 (birth)
Location: March, 1953 (meeting with Gamal Abdel Nasser)
Event: Syria coup, March 1949 (first CIA-engineered coup)
Person: Gamal Abdel Nasser

- Copeland wrote that a servant who tasted the coffee would have been the only casualty of a hypothetical poisoning attempt.
- Copeland joined the CIA at its founding on October 1, 1945, and spent eight years operating in the Middle East under diplomatic cover.
- Copeland gained a Bigot clearance and participated in planning for Operation Overlord during World War II.
- In March 1949, Colonel Husni al-Za'im seized power in Syria after Copeland and Stephen Meade identified and supported him.
- Al-Za'im was overthrown and executed in August 1949, four months after the coup Copeland helped orchestrate.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074802Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:36:59 +0000Creator at ObomediaHe Asked Nasser How He Wanted to Die - CIA's Quietest Murder Plot Fear and power braided into small talk: an American operative asked Egypt’s Gamal Abdel Nasser how he would prefer to be murdered while a servant tasted coffee that would have been...
Fear and power braided into small talk: an American operative asked Egypt’s Gamal Abdel Nasser how he would prefer to be murdered while a servant tasted coffee that would have been the only casualty. How much of that scene was theater, and how much was the choreography of real, clandestine intent?

In this episode, we follow the life and operations of Miles Axe Copeland Jr., from his July 16, 1916 birth in Birmingham to his role as a CIA case officer in the Middle East, and the shadowy episodes that defined early U.S. covert action - including Syria 1949 and the staged question in March in 1953. What does Copeland’s single surviving account tell us about the boundary between operation and truth?

Person: Miles Axe Copeland Jr.
Date: July 16, 1916 (birth)
Location: March, 1953 (meeting with Gamal Abdel Nasser)
Event: Syria coup, March 1949 (first CIA-engineered coup)
Person: Gamal Abdel Nasser

- Copeland wrote that a servant who tasted the coffee would have been the only casualty of a hypothetical poisoning attempt.
- Copeland joined the CIA at its founding on October 1, 1945, and spent eight years operating in the Middle East under diplomatic cover.
- Copeland gained a Bigot clearance and participated in planning for Operation Overlord during World War II.
- In March 1949, Colonel Husni al-Za'im seized power in Syria after Copeland and Stephen Meade identified and supported him.
- Al-Za'im was overthrown and executed in August 1949, four months after the coup Copeland helped orchestrate.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1364falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-typo-that-opened-moscow-how-fancy-bear-broke-an-election--73074799
The moment a single mistyped word - “legitimate” instead of “illegitimate” - turned a Google security alert into an open door, more than 150,000 emails and files began moving through a consumer Dropbox account tied to a persona called Guccifer 2.0. How did a fingertip error and public Bitly links let a GRU unit pivot from phishing to the largest foreign intelligence operation against a U.S. election?

In this episode, we follow the documented trail from phishing emails and Bitly tracking to a Florida Dropbox folder, tracing how Fancy Bear targeted the DNC, the Clinton campaign, and senior NATO leadership; we ask who helped move the stolen material and why the indicted officers remain free years later.

Person: Aaron Nevins
Person: John Podesta
Organization: Fancy Bear (GRU)
Size: 2.5 gigabytes of stolen DNC data
Count: more than 150,000 emails and files

- The initial Dropbox folder received 2.5 gigabytes of stolen data from Guccifer 2.0.
- Over one hundred and fifty thousand emails and files moved through that consumer file-sharing account.
- Twelve Russian military intelligence officers were indicted in connection with the operation.
- By June 2016, approximately twenty campaign and DNC staff members had clicked similar phishing links.
- Over one hundred accounts were targeted in total during the campaign operation.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074799Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:36:56 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Typo That Opened Moscow: How Fancy Bear Broke an Election The moment a single mistyped word - “legitimate” instead of “illegitimate” - turned a Google security alert into an open door, more than 150,000 emails and files began moving through a...
The moment a single mistyped word - “legitimate” instead of “illegitimate” - turned a Google security alert into an open door, more than 150,000 emails and files began moving through a consumer Dropbox account tied to a persona called Guccifer 2.0. How did a fingertip error and public Bitly links let a GRU unit pivot from phishing to the largest foreign intelligence operation against a U.S. election?

In this episode, we follow the documented trail from phishing emails and Bitly tracking to a Florida Dropbox folder, tracing how Fancy Bear targeted the DNC, the Clinton campaign, and senior NATO leadership; we ask who helped move the stolen material and why the indicted officers remain free years later.

Person: Aaron Nevins
Person: John Podesta
Organization: Fancy Bear (GRU)
Size: 2.5 gigabytes of stolen DNC data
Count: more than 150,000 emails and files

- The initial Dropbox folder received 2.5 gigabytes of stolen data from Guccifer 2.0.
- Over one hundred and fifty thousand emails and files moved through that consumer file-sharing account.
- Twelve Russian military intelligence officers were indicted in connection with the operation.
- By June 2016, approximately twenty campaign and DNC staff members had clicked similar phishing links.
- Over one hundred accounts were targeted in total during the campaign operation.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1503falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-garage-of-secrets-how-police-files-fueled-a-private-spy-network--73074798
Fear and fascination meet in a suburban garage where intelligence files that federal law ordered destroyed quietly survived-files that later linked a Long Beach detective to a private spy network reaching Congress, Central America, and the White House. How did police dossiers, congressional privilege, and a townhouse nonprofit combine to rebuild a domestic intelligence pipeline?

In this episode, we lay out the people, places, and mechanisms behind the Western Goals Foundation and the trail from an LAPD detective's garage to national and international influence, asking how leaked government files were repurposed and who benefited from them.

Person: Jay Paul
Organization: Western Goals Foundation
Location: Long Beach, California
Date: 1979 (founding year)
Sponsor: Nelson Bunker Hunt

- Jay Paul, an LAPD detective in the Public Disorder Intelligence Division, stored PDID files in his Long Beach garage.
- The Western Goals Foundation was founded in 1979 in a townhouse in Alexandria, Virginia, by John K. Singlaub, Larry McDonald, and John H. Rees.
- Congressman Larry McDonald used the Congressional Record's speech-and-debate protection to shield materials entered into it.
- Western Goals received principal funding from Nelson Bunker Hunt and reportedly more funds from West Germany than from the United States.
- The PDID's predecessor, the Red Squad, had been ordered to destroy political surveillance files after congressional reforms, but many files persisted outside official channels.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074798Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:36:53 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Garage of Secrets: How Police Files Fueled a Private Spy Network Fear and fascination meet in a suburban garage where intelligence files that federal law ordered destroyed quietly survived-files that later linked a Long Beach detective to a...
Fear and fascination meet in a suburban garage where intelligence files that federal law ordered destroyed quietly survived-files that later linked a Long Beach detective to a private spy network reaching Congress, Central America, and the White House. How did police dossiers, congressional privilege, and a townhouse nonprofit combine to rebuild a domestic intelligence pipeline?

In this episode, we lay out the people, places, and mechanisms behind the Western Goals Foundation and the trail from an LAPD detective's garage to national and international influence, asking how leaked government files were repurposed and who benefited from them.

Person: Jay Paul
Organization: Western Goals Foundation
Location: Long Beach, California
Date: 1979 (founding year)
Sponsor: Nelson Bunker Hunt

- Jay Paul, an LAPD detective in the Public Disorder Intelligence Division, stored PDID files in his Long Beach garage.
- The Western Goals Foundation was founded in 1979 in a townhouse in Alexandria, Virginia, by John K. Singlaub, Larry McDonald, and John H. Rees.
- Congressman Larry McDonald used the Congressional Record's speech-and-debate protection to shield materials entered into it.
- Western Goals received principal funding from Nelson Bunker Hunt and reportedly more funds from West Germany than from the United States.
- The PDID's predecessor, the Red Squad, had been ordered to destroy political surveillance files after congressional reforms, but many files persisted outside official channels.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1240falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/they-knew-and-stayed-silent-how-china-bought-canadian-ridings--73074797
Three weeks before the 2019 federal vote, a classified briefing named a candidate and described a network that helped move roughly $250,000 into Canadian campaigns - and senior officials did not act. How did memos, intelligence reports and a named Chinese diplomat fail to stop interference that may have flipped ridings, and who is still accountable?

In this episode, we walk through the documented record: classified memos, CSIS assessments shared with Five Eyes partners, and the Privy Council Office dossier that journalists obtained in November 2022. We lay out what the intelligence said, who was named in reports, and the unanswered question of why those warnings did not change the course of two elections.

Person: Kenny Chiu
Date: November 2022 (dossier obtained by journalists)
Event: 2019 federal election interference allegations
Organization: CSIS (Canadian Security Intelligence Service)
Document: Privy Council Office special report compiling ~100 CSIS documents

- A CSIS-linked dossier described a network that channeled approximately $250,000 to eleven or more candidates in the 2019 election.
- A January 2022 intelligence report named Tong Xiaoling, then China's Consul General in Vancouver, as boasting her office helped defeat two Conservative MPs.
- A June 2017 memo from Canada’s National Security Adviser to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated China was "assisting Canadian candidates" with a "substantial body of evidence."
- Global Affairs Canada confirmed in April 2024 that Kenny Chiu was the target of a coordinated disinformation campaign on WeChat before the 2021 election.
- Erin O'Toole publicly stated he believed his party lost eight or nine seats in 2021 because of influence operations run by the People's Republic of China.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074797Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:36:50 +0000Creator at ObomediaThey Knew and Stayed Silent: How China Bought Canadian Ridings Three weeks before the 2019 federal vote, a classified briefing named a candidate and described a network that helped move roughly $250,000 into Canadian campaigns - and senior...
Three weeks before the 2019 federal vote, a classified briefing named a candidate and described a network that helped move roughly $250,000 into Canadian campaigns - and senior officials did not act. How did memos, intelligence reports and a named Chinese diplomat fail to stop interference that may have flipped ridings, and who is still accountable?

In this episode, we walk through the documented record: classified memos, CSIS assessments shared with Five Eyes partners, and the Privy Council Office dossier that journalists obtained in November 2022. We lay out what the intelligence said, who was named in reports, and the unanswered question of why those warnings did not change the course of two elections.

Person: Kenny Chiu
Date: November 2022 (dossier obtained by journalists)
Event: 2019 federal election interference allegations
Organization: CSIS (Canadian Security Intelligence Service)
Document: Privy Council Office special report compiling ~100 CSIS documents

- A CSIS-linked dossier described a network that channeled approximately $250,000 to eleven or more candidates in the 2019 election.
- A January 2022 intelligence report named Tong Xiaoling, then China's Consul General in Vancouver, as boasting her office helped defeat two Conservative MPs.
- A June 2017 memo from Canada’s National Security Adviser to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated China was "assisting Canadian candidates" with a "substantial body of evidence."
- Global Affairs Canada confirmed in April 2024 that Kenny Chiu was the target of a coordinated disinformation campaign on WeChat before the 2021 election.
- Erin O'Toole publicly stated he believed his party lost eight or nine seats in 2021 because of influence operations run by the People's Republic of China.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1503falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-law-that-turned-sentences-into-lifetime-exile-at-devil-s-island--73074796
The name Devil’s Island promised iron chains and dramatic sea escapes, but the real terror was a law that turned a ten-year sentence into permanent exile-affecting 80,000 people and producing a peak death rate of 75%. How did a legal mechanism called Forced Residency erase lives more effectively than any chain, and who paid its price?

In this episode, we trace the history and mechanics of the Bagne de Cayenne, from Napoleon III’s 1851 decision to create an overseas penal colony to the 1854 Law of Forced Residency and its 1885 extension. We describe the camps, the islands, the corruption, and the human toll-and ask how an administrative rule became a tool for lifelong banishment.

Person: Napoleon III
Date: May 30, 1854
Event: Passage of the Law of Forced Residency
Case: Bagne de Cayenne (penal colony)
Statistic: Peak death rate 75%

- Approximately 80,000 men and women passed through the Bagne de Cayenne during its documented operation.
- The Law of Forced Residency required a convict to remain in French Guiana for a period equal to their sentence (doublage).
- Anyone sentenced to more than eight years was required by law to remain in the territory for life.
- In 1763 roughly 12,000 French colonists were transported to the coast of present-day French Guiana, with about 75% dying in the first year.
- Devil’s Island housed political prisoners and held at most 12 people at any given time.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074796Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:36:47 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Law That Turned Sentences Into Lifetime Exile at Devil's Island The name Devil’s Island promised iron chains and dramatic sea escapes, but the real terror was a law that turned a ten-year sentence into permanent exile-affecting 80,000 people...
The name Devil’s Island promised iron chains and dramatic sea escapes, but the real terror was a law that turned a ten-year sentence into permanent exile-affecting 80,000 people and producing a peak death rate of 75%. How did a legal mechanism called Forced Residency erase lives more effectively than any chain, and who paid its price?

In this episode, we trace the history and mechanics of the Bagne de Cayenne, from Napoleon III’s 1851 decision to create an overseas penal colony to the 1854 Law of Forced Residency and its 1885 extension. We describe the camps, the islands, the corruption, and the human toll-and ask how an administrative rule became a tool for lifelong banishment.

Person: Napoleon III
Date: May 30, 1854
Event: Passage of the Law of Forced Residency
Case: Bagne de Cayenne (penal colony)
Statistic: Peak death rate 75%

- Approximately 80,000 men and women passed through the Bagne de Cayenne during its documented operation.
- The Law of Forced Residency required a convict to remain in French Guiana for a period equal to their sentence (doublage).
- Anyone sentenced to more than eight years was required by law to remain in the territory for life.
- In 1763 roughly 12,000 French colonists were transported to the coast of present-day French Guiana, with about 75% dying in the first year.
- Devil’s Island housed political prisoners and held at most 12 people at any given time.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1254falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-spy-who-brought-concorde-s-blueprints-to-la-flambee--73074795
Inside a Paris restaurant on February 1, 1965, a Soviet national walked out in handcuffs with technical drawings of Concorde’s landing gear and anti-lock braking system in his briefcase - and weeks later he was promoted to deputy minister for civil aviation. How did one lunch unravel a decade-long program to steal supersonic secrets, and why did Moscow reward the man who was caught?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events that began at La Flambée and trace the broader effort that targeted Concorde’s engineering: who was involved, what documents were seized, and how the operation unfolded across borders. What did French counterintelligence uncover about the coordinated program aimed at the Olympus 593 engine team, and how did those discoveries reshape the race for supersonic flight?

Person: Sergei Pavlov
Date: February 1, 1965
Event: Arrest at La Flambée for possession of Concorde blueprints
Topic: Concorde technical drawings including landing gear and anti-lock braking system
Organization: DST (French counterintelligence)

- The briefcase seized at La Flambée contained technical drawings of Concorde’s landing gear and schematics for its anti-lock braking system.
- The DST had been tracking movements and constructed a lunch sting specifically targeting Pavlov on February 1, 1965.
- By late 1964 the DST was already aware of a systematic program and had arrested East German national Herbert Steinbrecher for infiltrating a French aircraft factory.
- The Tu-144 reached Mach 2 on May 26, 1970, while Concorde reached Mach 2 on November 4, 1970, sustaining it for 50 minutes at 52,500 feet.
- Despite his arrest and deportation, Sergei Pavlov later became the Soviet deputy minister for civil aviation.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074795Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:36:44 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Spy Who Brought Concorde's Blueprints to La Flambée Inside a Paris restaurant on February 1, 1965, a Soviet national walked out in handcuffs with technical drawings of Concorde’s landing gear and anti-lock braking system in his briefcase - and...
Inside a Paris restaurant on February 1, 1965, a Soviet national walked out in handcuffs with technical drawings of Concorde’s landing gear and anti-lock braking system in his briefcase - and weeks later he was promoted to deputy minister for civil aviation. How did one lunch unravel a decade-long program to steal supersonic secrets, and why did Moscow reward the man who was caught?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events that began at La Flambée and trace the broader effort that targeted Concorde’s engineering: who was involved, what documents were seized, and how the operation unfolded across borders. What did French counterintelligence uncover about the coordinated program aimed at the Olympus 593 engine team, and how did those discoveries reshape the race for supersonic flight?

Person: Sergei Pavlov
Date: February 1, 1965
Event: Arrest at La Flambée for possession of Concorde blueprints
Topic: Concorde technical drawings including landing gear and anti-lock braking system
Organization: DST (French counterintelligence)

- The briefcase seized at La Flambée contained technical drawings of Concorde’s landing gear and schematics for its anti-lock braking system.
- The DST had been tracking movements and constructed a lunch sting specifically targeting Pavlov on February 1, 1965.
- By late 1964 the DST was already aware of a systematic program and had arrested East German national Herbert Steinbrecher for infiltrating a French aircraft factory.
- The Tu-144 reached Mach 2 on May 26, 1970, while Concorde reached Mach 2 on November 4, 1970, sustaining it for 50 minutes at 52,500 feet.
- Despite his arrest and deportation, Sergei Pavlov later became the Soviet deputy minister for civil aviation.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1343falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/he-apologized-in-a-cell-why-nambi-stayed-46-days-longer--73074793
Fear and outrage: the head of the Central Bureau of Investigation walked into a prison cell and quietly said "sorry" to a man who would spend forty-six more days behind bars-an apology never made public, for a scientist accused of selling rocket secrets. How did a decorated ISRO project director end up arrested in November 1994 on charges that later collapsed, and why did his formal reckoning take twenty-seven years?

In this episode, we lay out the timeline and the people involved, describing Nambi Narayanan's career, the arrests in Kerala, the allegations about cryogenic engine documents and a supposed $50,000 payment, and the gaps that courts later found in the case. What was built-and what was manufactured-around his name, and what did the surviving interrogation videos reveal?

Person: Nambi Narayanan
Date: November 1994 (arrest warrant signed)
Location: Kerala, India
Topic: Allegations of passing cryogenic engine drawings to foreign contacts
Event: Arrests of Nambi Narayanan, D. Sasikumaran, Mariam Rasheeda, and Fauzia Hassan

- Nambi Narayanan spent fifty days in custody and then remained in a cell for forty-six more days after an internal apology was made.
- He was born in 1941 in a town in Kerala and had a master's in chemical rocket propulsion from Princeton University.
- By the early 1990s he was project director of the Vikas engine program and had applied for voluntary retirement at age 52.
- The Intelligence Bureau alleged transfer of cryogenic drawings in 1989 to Brazil and claimed a $50,000 payment via Fauzia Hassan's daughter.
- The United States had pressured Russia in 1993 to cancel a transfer of cryogenic technology to India, heightening geopolitical stakes around the program.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074793Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:36:41 +0000Creator at ObomediaHe Apologized in a Cell - Why Nambi Stayed 46 Days Longer Fear and outrage: the head of the Central Bureau of Investigation walked into a prison cell and quietly said "sorry" to a man who would spend forty-six more days behind bars-an apology never...
Fear and outrage: the head of the Central Bureau of Investigation walked into a prison cell and quietly said "sorry" to a man who would spend forty-six more days behind bars-an apology never made public, for a scientist accused of selling rocket secrets. How did a decorated ISRO project director end up arrested in November 1994 on charges that later collapsed, and why did his formal reckoning take twenty-seven years?

In this episode, we lay out the timeline and the people involved, describing Nambi Narayanan's career, the arrests in Kerala, the allegations about cryogenic engine documents and a supposed $50,000 payment, and the gaps that courts later found in the case. What was built-and what was manufactured-around his name, and what did the surviving interrogation videos reveal?

Person: Nambi Narayanan
Date: November 1994 (arrest warrant signed)
Location: Kerala, India
Topic: Allegations of passing cryogenic engine drawings to foreign contacts
Event: Arrests of Nambi Narayanan, D. Sasikumaran, Mariam Rasheeda, and Fauzia Hassan

- Nambi Narayanan spent fifty days in custody and then remained in a cell for forty-six more days after an internal apology was made.
- He was born in 1941 in a town in Kerala and had a master's in chemical rocket propulsion from Princeton University.
- By the early 1990s he was project director of the Vikas engine program and had applied for voluntary retirement at age 52.
- The Intelligence Bureau alleged transfer of cryogenic drawings in 1989 to Brazil and claimed a $50,000 payment via Fauzia Hassan's daughter.
- The United States had pressured Russia in 1993 to cancel a transfer of cryogenic technology to India, heightening geopolitical stakes around the program.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1356falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/headless-in-a-pirelli-suit-the-diver-britain-erased--73074792
A headless body in a Pirelli diving suit washed up in Chichester Harbour on 9 June 1957 - fourteen months after a decorated Royal Navy diver vanished after swimming under a Soviet warship carrying Nikita Khrushchev. Who was Lionel Crabb, and what secret did British intelligence bury about the dive that cost him everything?

In this episode, we tell the story of the diver who became an intelligence asset, the motives for the mission in Portsmouth Harbour, and the deliberate acts that followed his disappearance. What exactly happened beneath the Soviet cruiser on 19 April 1956, and why did the official record remain sealed until 2057?

Person: Lionel Crabb
Date: 9 June 1957
Event: Body found in Pirelli diving suit
Date: 19 April 1956
Location: Portsmouth Harbour

- Crabb was born in 1909 in Streatham, south London.
- He was awarded the George Medal for disarming Italian limpet mines in Gibraltar in 1942.
- By 1943 he was Principal Diving Officer in northern Italy and received the OBE.
- On 19 April 1956 Crabb dived under the Soviet cruiser Ordzhonikidze in Portsmouth Harbour and never resurfaced.
- The British government sealed the full documentary record of the case until the year 2057.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074792Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:36:38 +0000Creator at ObomediaHeadless in a Pirelli Suit: The Diver Britain Erased A headless body in a Pirelli diving suit washed up in Chichester Harbour on 9 June 1957 - fourteen months after a decorated Royal Navy diver vanished after swimming under a Soviet warship...
A headless body in a Pirelli diving suit washed up in Chichester Harbour on 9 June 1957 - fourteen months after a decorated Royal Navy diver vanished after swimming under a Soviet warship carrying Nikita Khrushchev. Who was Lionel Crabb, and what secret did British intelligence bury about the dive that cost him everything?

In this episode, we tell the story of the diver who became an intelligence asset, the motives for the mission in Portsmouth Harbour, and the deliberate acts that followed his disappearance. What exactly happened beneath the Soviet cruiser on 19 April 1956, and why did the official record remain sealed until 2057?

Person: Lionel Crabb
Date: 9 June 1957
Event: Body found in Pirelli diving suit
Date: 19 April 1956
Location: Portsmouth Harbour

- Crabb was born in 1909 in Streatham, south London.
- He was awarded the George Medal for disarming Italian limpet mines in Gibraltar in 1942.
- By 1943 he was Principal Diving Officer in northern Italy and received the OBE.
- On 19 April 1956 Crabb dived under the Soviet cruiser Ordzhonikidze in Portsmouth Harbour and never resurfaced.
- The British government sealed the full documentary record of the case until the year 2057.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1220falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/he-would-have-done-it-for-free-the-loyal-hitman-of-hamilton--73074791
The line "He would have done it for free" reframes three murders across twelve years as something not bought but given - devotion over money. A janitor killed for a relative's debt, a boss gunned down in a parking lot, and a killer who called the payment irrelevant: what drove Kenneth Murdock to cross that line?

In this episode, we tell the story of Kenneth Murdock and the killings linked to the Musitano family, laying out how a promise became the hinge for violence and what the costs were for those who stood in the way. How did proximity, loyalty, and a single vow produce three deaths and a buried arithmetic of obligation?

Person: Kenneth Murdock
Date: May 31, 1997
Location: Galaxy Vending parking lot, 20 Railway Street, Hamilton, Ontario
Event: Murders of Salvatore Alaimo, Johnny Papalia, and Carmen Barillaro
Debt: Approximately $250,000 owed to Johnny Papalia by Angelo and Pat Musitano

- Salvatore Alaimo was killed on November 21, 1985 after Murdock arrived with a submachine gun and was paid $3,000.
- Kenneth Murdock was paroled in October 1984 and became chauffeur and bodyguard to Dominic Musitano.
- By spring 1997, Angelo and Pat Musitano owed Johnny Papalia approximately $250,000.
- On May 31, 1997, Johnny Papalia was shot in the head in the Galaxy Vending parking lot after turning his back.
- One account lists Papalia’s payment to Murdock as $2,000 plus 40 grams of cocaine.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074791Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:36:35 +0000Creator at ObomediaHe Would Have Done It For Free: The Loyal Hitman of Hamilton The line "He would have done it for free" reframes three murders across twelve years as something not bought but given - devotion over money. A janitor killed for a relative's debt, a...
The line "He would have done it for free" reframes three murders across twelve years as something not bought but given - devotion over money. A janitor killed for a relative's debt, a boss gunned down in a parking lot, and a killer who called the payment irrelevant: what drove Kenneth Murdock to cross that line?

In this episode, we tell the story of Kenneth Murdock and the killings linked to the Musitano family, laying out how a promise became the hinge for violence and what the costs were for those who stood in the way. How did proximity, loyalty, and a single vow produce three deaths and a buried arithmetic of obligation?

Person: Kenneth Murdock
Date: May 31, 1997
Location: Galaxy Vending parking lot, 20 Railway Street, Hamilton, Ontario
Event: Murders of Salvatore Alaimo, Johnny Papalia, and Carmen Barillaro
Debt: Approximately $250,000 owed to Johnny Papalia by Angelo and Pat Musitano

- Salvatore Alaimo was killed on November 21, 1985 after Murdock arrived with a submachine gun and was paid $3,000.
- Kenneth Murdock was paroled in October 1984 and became chauffeur and bodyguard to Dominic Musitano.
- By spring 1997, Angelo and Pat Musitano owed Johnny Papalia approximately $250,000.
- On May 31, 1997, Johnny Papalia was shot in the head in the Galaxy Vending parking lot after turning his back.
- One account lists Papalia’s payment to Murdock as $2,000 plus 40 grams of cocaine.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1134falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/they-owned-germany-s-spies-how-london-rewrote-the-bombing-map--73074790
London secretly controlled every German agent sent to Britain, turning their radios into a puppet network that misreported bomb impacts so convincingly Berlin rewrote its targeting - one falsified ratio moved hundreds of rockets away from the city. How did a bureaucratic system of turned agents, precise radio lies, and weekly oversight meetings steer V-1s and V-2s for years without Germany realizing it?

In this episode, we tell how MI5 captured, turned, and then controlled German agents through Camp 020, Section B1A and the Twenty Committee, and how their choices of what to report changed where bombs fell. What decisions, personalities, and falsified reports made that control possible?

Person: John Masterman
Person: Thomas Argyll Robertson
Person: Lieutenant Colonel Robin Stephens
Location: Camp 020, Latchmere House, Richmond, Surrey
Event: V-1 and V-2 impact misreporting

- On 22 June 1944 a German analyst was told one in seven V-1s landed south of the Thames, when the true figure was closer to three quarters.
- By 1941 MI5 actively ran and controlled the German espionage system in the United Kingdom, according to John Masterman’s post-war account.
- Falsified impact reports shifted the mean point of impact of V-2 missiles roughly two miles east per week through the final winter of the war.
- Fewer than 25 Abwehr agents arrived in Britain in the months after July 1940, most poorly trained and quickly arrested.
- Every Abwehr agent dispatched to Britain was either captured or surrendered, with possibly one exception who may have killed himself before capture.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074790Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:36:32 +0000Creator at ObomediaThey Owned Germany's Spies: How London Rewrote the Bombing Map London secretly controlled every German agent sent to Britain, turning their radios into a puppet network that misreported bomb impacts so convincingly Berlin rewrote its targeting -...
London secretly controlled every German agent sent to Britain, turning their radios into a puppet network that misreported bomb impacts so convincingly Berlin rewrote its targeting - one falsified ratio moved hundreds of rockets away from the city. How did a bureaucratic system of turned agents, precise radio lies, and weekly oversight meetings steer V-1s and V-2s for years without Germany realizing it?

In this episode, we tell how MI5 captured, turned, and then controlled German agents through Camp 020, Section B1A and the Twenty Committee, and how their choices of what to report changed where bombs fell. What decisions, personalities, and falsified reports made that control possible?

Person: John Masterman
Person: Thomas Argyll Robertson
Person: Lieutenant Colonel Robin Stephens
Location: Camp 020, Latchmere House, Richmond, Surrey
Event: V-1 and V-2 impact misreporting

- On 22 June 1944 a German analyst was told one in seven V-1s landed south of the Thames, when the true figure was closer to three quarters.
- By 1941 MI5 actively ran and controlled the German espionage system in the United Kingdom, according to John Masterman’s post-war account.
- Falsified impact reports shifted the mean point of impact of V-2 missiles roughly two miles east per week through the final winter of the war.
- Fewer than 25 Abwehr agents arrived in Britain in the months after July 1940, most poorly trained and quickly arrested.
- Every Abwehr agent dispatched to Britain was either captured or surrendered, with possibly one exception who may have killed himself before capture.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1445falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/he-trained-spies-then-sold-their-identities-to-moscow--73074788
His betrayal was methodical: a senior CIA instructor quietly copied operational files and, over nearly two years, sold the identities of trainees-futures, not past secrets-to Russian intelligence. How did a man who taught counterintelligence become the architect of its undoing, and why did it take his son's arrest to stop him?

In this episode, we lay out the facts of Harold James Nicholson's career and the timeline of his espionage, from his enlistment to his arrest, and ask how institutional safeguards failed while he continued teaching the agency's newest recruits. What gaps allowed him to turn classroom trust into a pipeline to Moscow?

Person: Harold James Nicholson
Date: November 16, 1996
Event: Arrest at Dulles International Airport
Location: Dulles International Airport / one-way ticket to Zurich
Period: CIA service from 1980, contact with Russian intelligence beginning 1994

- Nicholson was one day short of his 46th birthday when arrested on November 16, 1996.
- He joined the CIA in 1980 at age 29 and served in Manila, Bangkok, Tokyo, Bucharest, and Kuala Lumpur.
- His family moved 21 times in 23 years during his CIA career.
- He failed three polygraph examinations, beginning in 1995, before his arrest.
- $12,000 appeared in his savings account in the summer of 1996 with no documented source.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074788Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:36:29 +0000Creator at ObomediaHe Trained Spies - Then Sold Their Identities to Moscow His betrayal was methodical: a senior CIA instructor quietly copied operational files and, over nearly two years, sold the identities of trainees-futures, not past secrets-to Russian...
His betrayal was methodical: a senior CIA instructor quietly copied operational files and, over nearly two years, sold the identities of trainees-futures, not past secrets-to Russian intelligence. How did a man who taught counterintelligence become the architect of its undoing, and why did it take his son's arrest to stop him?

In this episode, we lay out the facts of Harold James Nicholson's career and the timeline of his espionage, from his enlistment to his arrest, and ask how institutional safeguards failed while he continued teaching the agency's newest recruits. What gaps allowed him to turn classroom trust into a pipeline to Moscow?

Person: Harold James Nicholson
Date: November 16, 1996
Event: Arrest at Dulles International Airport
Location: Dulles International Airport / one-way ticket to Zurich
Period: CIA service from 1980, contact with Russian intelligence beginning 1994

- Nicholson was one day short of his 46th birthday when arrested on November 16, 1996.
- He joined the CIA in 1980 at age 29 and served in Manila, Bangkok, Tokyo, Bucharest, and Kuala Lumpur.
- His family moved 21 times in 23 years during his CIA career.
- He failed three polygraph examinations, beginning in 1995, before his arrest.
- $12,000 appeared in his savings account in the summer of 1996 with no documented source.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1508falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/he-spied-on-george-orwell-then-china-jailed-him-for-loyalty--73074786
Fear of betrayal and the dizzying flip from loyal spy to imprisoned believer: David Crook spied on George Orwell in 1936, later taught in China, and ended up jailed by the government he served - but what turned the watchman into a convert and then a prisoner?

In this episode, we follow David Crook’s life from London to Madrid to Shanghai and Chengdu, tracing his work for Soviet intelligence, his teaching cover at Saint John's University, and the choices that led him to rejoin British life in 1941 - and ultimately to imprisonment in China. How did surveillance, war, and shifting convictions rip a lifelong commitment apart?

Person: David Crook
Date of birth: August 14, 1910
Event: Spied on George Orwell in 1936 while recruited by the NKVD
Location: Saint John's University, Shanghai; Chengdu; Madrid
Status: Imprisoned for six years in China

- Crook joined the International Brigades in Spain in 1936 and was wounded on his first day of combat.
- At age 25 in 1936, Crook was recruited by the NKVD to surveil Trotskyite POUM members, including George Orwell.
- Crook graduated from Columbia University in 1935 after studies at Cheltenham College and Columbia.
- In 1941, after Hitler invaded the Soviet Union, Crook returned to England, rejoined the Communist Party of Great Britain, and enlisted in the Royal Air Force.
- Crook spent six years in a Chinese prison before being freed and later has a bronze bust on a Beijing campus with an inscription reflecting his identity.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074786Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:36:25 +0000Creator at ObomediaHe Spied on George Orwell - Then China Jailed Him for Loyalty Fear of betrayal and the dizzying flip from loyal spy to imprisoned believer: David Crook spied on George Orwell in 1936, later taught in China, and ended up jailed by the government he...
Fear of betrayal and the dizzying flip from loyal spy to imprisoned believer: David Crook spied on George Orwell in 1936, later taught in China, and ended up jailed by the government he served - but what turned the watchman into a convert and then a prisoner?

In this episode, we follow David Crook’s life from London to Madrid to Shanghai and Chengdu, tracing his work for Soviet intelligence, his teaching cover at Saint John's University, and the choices that led him to rejoin British life in 1941 - and ultimately to imprisonment in China. How did surveillance, war, and shifting convictions rip a lifelong commitment apart?

Person: David Crook
Date of birth: August 14, 1910
Event: Spied on George Orwell in 1936 while recruited by the NKVD
Location: Saint John's University, Shanghai; Chengdu; Madrid
Status: Imprisoned for six years in China

- Crook joined the International Brigades in Spain in 1936 and was wounded on his first day of combat.
- At age 25 in 1936, Crook was recruited by the NKVD to surveil Trotskyite POUM members, including George Orwell.
- Crook graduated from Columbia University in 1935 after studies at Cheltenham College and Columbia.
- In 1941, after Hitler invaded the Soviet Union, Crook returned to England, rejoined the Communist Party of Great Britain, and enlisted in the Royal Air Force.
- Crook spent six years in a Chinese prison before being freed and later has a bronze bust on a Beijing campus with an inscription reflecting his identity.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1390falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/he-sold-his-country-for-drapes-how-aldrich-ames-betrayed-dozens--73074785
The CIA lost over one hundred operations and at least ten sources were executed because one analyst took cash for secrets - the KGB paid him $4.6 million while he earned $60,000 a year and bought a $50,000 Jaguar; how did a drapes remark become the thread that unraveled him? What single detail finally pulled the case together?

In this episode, we tell the chronological story of Aldrich Hazen Hazen from his birth on May 26, 1941, through his CIA career, his secret payments from the KGB beginning in 1985, and the investigative thread that started with a comment about drapes - could a casual remark expose the most damaging mole in CIA history?

Person: Aldrich Hazen Hazen
Date: Born May 26, 1941
Event: Began spying for the Soviets in 1985
Amount: KGB payments totaling $4.6 million
Outcome: At least ten sources executed; over 100 operations destroyed

- Arrested in Arlington, Virginia, on a Monday morning in February 1994 while driving a Jaguar XJ-6 paid for with $50,000 cash.
- Earned $60,000 per year as a CIA employee while receiving $4.6 million from the KGB.
- From 1985 to 1986, more than ten top CIA and FBI Soviet sources were exposed.
- Adolf Tolkachev was arrested in 1985 and executed in 1986 after being compromised.
- A comment that Rosario was having drapes done prompted CIA officer Diana Worthen to file a report that later became part of the investigation.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074785Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:36:21 +0000Creator at ObomediaHe Sold His Country for Drapes: How Aldrich Ames Betrayed Dozens The CIA lost over one hundred operations and at least ten sources were executed because one analyst took cash for secrets - the KGB paid him $4.6 million while he earned $60,000 a...
The CIA lost over one hundred operations and at least ten sources were executed because one analyst took cash for secrets - the KGB paid him $4.6 million while he earned $60,000 a year and bought a $50,000 Jaguar; how did a drapes remark become the thread that unraveled him? What single detail finally pulled the case together?

In this episode, we tell the chronological story of Aldrich Hazen Hazen from his birth on May 26, 1941, through his CIA career, his secret payments from the KGB beginning in 1985, and the investigative thread that started with a comment about drapes - could a casual remark expose the most damaging mole in CIA history?

Person: Aldrich Hazen Hazen
Date: Born May 26, 1941
Event: Began spying for the Soviets in 1985
Amount: KGB payments totaling $4.6 million
Outcome: At least ten sources executed; over 100 operations destroyed

- Arrested in Arlington, Virginia, on a Monday morning in February 1994 while driving a Jaguar XJ-6 paid for with $50,000 cash.
- Earned $60,000 per year as a CIA employee while receiving $4.6 million from the KGB.
- From 1985 to 1986, more than ten top CIA and FBI Soviet sources were exposed.
- Adolf Tolkachev was arrested in 1985 and executed in 1986 after being compromised.
- A comment that Rosario was having drapes done prompted CIA officer Diana Worthen to file a report that later became part of the investigation.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1589falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-spy-who-warned-moscow-hung-forgotten-saved-a-nation--73074784
Danger and defiance: a German-born Soviet agent dined with Goebbels, walked with a limp from shrapnel in 1917, and was hanged in Sugamo Prison on November 7, 1944 - his country denied him and refused his body; could one ignored warning still have saved Moscow? Who was the man who carried secrets from the prime minister's office in Tokyo to the Kremlin?

In this episode, we tell the life and operations of Richard Sorge, the journalist-turned-GRU-agent codenamed RAMSAY, and outline how his five-person network in Japan operated and what he reported back to Moscow that may have altered the course of World War II. How did his access to Japanese government deliberations and friendships with figures like the German military attaché produce intelligence that was both ignored and possibly decisive?

Person: Richard Sorge
Date: November 7, 1944 (execution); October 4, 1895 (birth)
Location: Sugamo Prison, Tokyo; born in Sabunchi near Baku
Codename: RAMSAY
Organization: GRU, Fourth Department

- He was hanged at 10:20 AM and died nineteen minutes later on November 7, 1944.
- He lost three fingers and fractured both legs from shrapnel in April 1917; his legs never healed properly and he walked with a limp.
- He became a Soviet citizen in 1924 and was recruited by the GRU in 1929.
- He arrived in Yokohama on September 6, 1933, with credentials from the Frankfurter Zeitung to operate in Japan.
- His Tokyo network consisted of five members including Max and Anna Clausen, Branko Vukelić, Miyagi Yotoku, and Hotsumi Ozaki, who had access to the prime minister's inner circle.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074784Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:36:17 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Spy Who Warned Moscow - Hung, Forgotten, Saved a Nation? Danger and defiance: a German-born Soviet agent dined with Goebbels, walked with a limp from shrapnel in 1917, and was hanged in Sugamo Prison on November 7, 1944 - his country denied him...
Danger and defiance: a German-born Soviet agent dined with Goebbels, walked with a limp from shrapnel in 1917, and was hanged in Sugamo Prison on November 7, 1944 - his country denied him and refused his body; could one ignored warning still have saved Moscow? Who was the man who carried secrets from the prime minister's office in Tokyo to the Kremlin?

In this episode, we tell the life and operations of Richard Sorge, the journalist-turned-GRU-agent codenamed RAMSAY, and outline how his five-person network in Japan operated and what he reported back to Moscow that may have altered the course of World War II. How did his access to Japanese government deliberations and friendships with figures like the German military attaché produce intelligence that was both ignored and possibly decisive?

Person: Richard Sorge
Date: November 7, 1944 (execution); October 4, 1895 (birth)
Location: Sugamo Prison, Tokyo; born in Sabunchi near Baku
Codename: RAMSAY
Organization: GRU, Fourth Department

- He was hanged at 10:20 AM and died nineteen minutes later on November 7, 1944.
- He lost three fingers and fractured both legs from shrapnel in April 1917; his legs never healed properly and he walked with a limp.
- He became a Soviet citizen in 1924 and was recruited by the GRU in 1929.
- He arrived in Yokohama on September 6, 1933, with credentials from the Frankfurter Zeitung to operate in Japan.
- His Tokyo network consisted of five members including Max and Anna Clausen, Branko Vukelić, Miyagi Yotoku, and Hotsumi Ozaki, who had access to the prime minister's inner circle.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1340falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/he-smuggled-bletchley-s-secrets-in-his-trousers-uncharged-spy--73074782
A British codebreaker folded classified pages into his trousers and walked out with 5,832 documents destined for Soviet intelligence - yet he was never charged. How did John Cairncross move such a haul unnoticed, convince handlers it was genuine, and still avoid prosecution?

In this episode, we present the life and actions of John Cairncross, from his Lesmahagow origins to his work inside the private office of Lord Maurice Hankey, and the methods and consequences of the intelligence he passed to the Soviets. What did he take, why did he admit it in detail, and did that espionage save lives or cost them?

Person: John Cairncross
Date of birth: 25 July 1913
Location: Lesmahagow, Clyde Valley, Scotland
Event: Passed 5,832 documents to Soviet intelligence
Assignment: Private office of Lord Maurice Hankey; access to MAUD Committee and Tube Alloys material

- Cairncross left Bletchley Park in spring 1943 carrying 5,832 documents tucked into his trousers.
- He was the youngest of eight children and born into a family where his father ran an ironmonger's shop.
- By 1936 he had first-class honors in both French and German from Trinity College, Cambridge.
- In 1936 he came first on both the Civil Service domestic list and the Foreign Office list, beating the second-place Foreign Office candidate by 100 points.
- In September 1940 he was assigned to Lord Maurice Hankey’s private office, giving him access to MAUD Committee and Tube Alloys discussions.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074782Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:36:14 +0000Creator at ObomediaHe Smuggled Bletchley's Secrets in His Trousers - Uncharged Spy A British codebreaker folded classified pages into his trousers and walked out with 5,832 documents destined for Soviet intelligence - yet he was never charged. How did John Cairncross...
A British codebreaker folded classified pages into his trousers and walked out with 5,832 documents destined for Soviet intelligence - yet he was never charged. How did John Cairncross move such a haul unnoticed, convince handlers it was genuine, and still avoid prosecution?

In this episode, we present the life and actions of John Cairncross, from his Lesmahagow origins to his work inside the private office of Lord Maurice Hankey, and the methods and consequences of the intelligence he passed to the Soviets. What did he take, why did he admit it in detail, and did that espionage save lives or cost them?

Person: John Cairncross
Date of birth: 25 July 1913
Location: Lesmahagow, Clyde Valley, Scotland
Event: Passed 5,832 documents to Soviet intelligence
Assignment: Private office of Lord Maurice Hankey; access to MAUD Committee and Tube Alloys material

- Cairncross left Bletchley Park in spring 1943 carrying 5,832 documents tucked into his trousers.
- He was the youngest of eight children and born into a family where his father ran an ironmonger's shop.
- By 1936 he had first-class honors in both French and German from Trinity College, Cambridge.
- In 1936 he came first on both the Civil Service domestic list and the Foreign Office list, beating the second-place Foreign Office candidate by 100 points.
- In September 1940 he was assigned to Lord Maurice Hankey’s private office, giving him access to MAUD Committee and Tube Alloys discussions.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1620falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-wing-that-almost-sparked-nuclear-war-the-u-2-shot-down-over-cuba--73074779
A single U-2 wing has sat in Havana for more than sixty years - the remains of aircraft 56-6676 shot down at 10:19 a.m. on October 27, 1962, and the mission that helped bring the world to the brink of nuclear war. How did one pilot’s sixth flight in twelve days turn photographs into a crisis that almost escalated beyond control?

In this episode, we tell the story of Rudolf Anderson Jr., his path from Greenville, South Carolina to the U-2 cockpit, and the sequence of reconnaissance missions whose images revealed Soviet missiles on Cuban soil. What did Anderson’s flights show Washington, and how did his death change the stakes of the Cuban Missile Crisis?

Person: Rudolf Anderson Jr.
Date: October 27, 1962
Time: 10:19 a.m.
Aircraft serial: 56-6676
Unit: 4028th Strategic Reconnaissance Weather Squadron

- Anderson was 35 years old at the time of his death.
- He had flown six U-2 overflights of Cuba in twelve days during the crisis.
- He accumulated more than 1,000 hours in the U-2 by autumn 1962.
- The U-2 could cruise above 70,000 feet, beyond most radar and conventional weapons of the time.
- Eleven pilots flew U-2 reconnaissance missions over Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis; Anderson was the only American combatant killed by enemy fire.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074779Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:36:10 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Wing That Almost Sparked Nuclear War: The U-2 Shot Down Over Cuba A single U-2 wing has sat in Havana for more than sixty years - the remains of aircraft 56-6676 shot down at 10:19 a.m. on October 27, 1962, and the mission that helped bring the...
A single U-2 wing has sat in Havana for more than sixty years - the remains of aircraft 56-6676 shot down at 10:19 a.m. on October 27, 1962, and the mission that helped bring the world to the brink of nuclear war. How did one pilot’s sixth flight in twelve days turn photographs into a crisis that almost escalated beyond control?

In this episode, we tell the story of Rudolf Anderson Jr., his path from Greenville, South Carolina to the U-2 cockpit, and the sequence of reconnaissance missions whose images revealed Soviet missiles on Cuban soil. What did Anderson’s flights show Washington, and how did his death change the stakes of the Cuban Missile Crisis?

Person: Rudolf Anderson Jr.
Date: October 27, 1962
Time: 10:19 a.m.
Aircraft serial: 56-6676
Unit: 4028th Strategic Reconnaissance Weather Squadron

- Anderson was 35 years old at the time of his death.
- He had flown six U-2 overflights of Cuba in twelve days during the crisis.
- He accumulated more than 1,000 hours in the U-2 by autumn 1962.
- The U-2 could cruise above 70,000 feet, beyond most radar and conventional weapons of the time.
- Eleven pilots flew U-2 reconnaissance missions over Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis; Anderson was the only American combatant killed by enemy fire.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1331falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-man-they-shadowed-mi5-s-secret-suspicion-of-graham-mitchell--73074777
A senior MI5 officer spent 24 years building Britain’s counterintelligence machine - and yet his own service opened a seven-year secret inquiry into whether he was a Soviet mole. Mitchell played sixteen correspondence chess games across three years, finished fifth in the inaugural World Correspondence Chess Championship, and handed the eventual champion his only loss - but did those quiet skills mask betrayal or simply uncanny competence?

In this episode, we trace Graham Mitchell Mitchell’s life from Winchester and Magdalen College through a rise to deputy director general of MI5, the Fluency investigation launched in 1964, and the unresolved questions that followed his death. What did the chess games, career record, and classified files really mean for the man his colleagues came to suspect?

Person: Graham Mitchell Mitchell
Date: Born 4 November 1905
Event: Secret investigation codenamed Fluency opened in 1964 and ran seven years
Honor: OBE awarded 1951; CB awarded 1957
Achievement: Finished 5th in the inaugural World Correspondence Chess Championship and defeated champion Cecil Purdy

- Served 24 years in MI5 and retired on health grounds in September 1963
- Joined MI5 in November 1939 and was assigned to F Division under Roger Hollis
- Headed D Division (counter-espionage) from 1953 and became deputy director general in 1956
- Sixteen of his correspondence chess games from 1950-1953 are preserved in public databases
- The Fluency investigation survived a Cabinet-level review yet produced no charge or evidence of treachery

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074777Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:36:07 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Man They Shadowed: MI5's Secret Suspicion of Graham Mitchell A senior MI5 officer spent 24 years building Britain’s counterintelligence machine - and yet his own service opened a seven-year secret inquiry into whether he was a Soviet mole....
A senior MI5 officer spent 24 years building Britain’s counterintelligence machine - and yet his own service opened a seven-year secret inquiry into whether he was a Soviet mole. Mitchell played sixteen correspondence chess games across three years, finished fifth in the inaugural World Correspondence Chess Championship, and handed the eventual champion his only loss - but did those quiet skills mask betrayal or simply uncanny competence?

In this episode, we trace Graham Mitchell Mitchell’s life from Winchester and Magdalen College through a rise to deputy director general of MI5, the Fluency investigation launched in 1964, and the unresolved questions that followed his death. What did the chess games, career record, and classified files really mean for the man his colleagues came to suspect?

Person: Graham Mitchell Mitchell
Date: Born 4 November 1905
Event: Secret investigation codenamed Fluency opened in 1964 and ran seven years
Honor: OBE awarded 1951; CB awarded 1957
Achievement: Finished 5th in the inaugural World Correspondence Chess Championship and defeated champion Cecil Purdy

- Served 24 years in MI5 and retired on health grounds in September 1963
- Joined MI5 in November 1939 and was assigned to F Division under Roger Hollis
- Headed D Division (counter-espionage) from 1953 and became deputy director general in 1956
- Sixteen of his correspondence chess games from 1950-1953 are preserved in public databases
- The Fluency investigation survived a Cabinet-level review yet produced no charge or evidence of treachery

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1277falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/a-coworker-filed-a-report-about-friday-documents-nobody-acted-on-it--73074776
The thought that a seventy-pound suitcase of classified Navy material could be handed to a neighbor on a November Friday evening and still trigger no prior action is chilling; those documents included the ten-volume RASIN manual and remained a national security risk as of 2016. How did at least five missed interventions fail to stop Jonathan Jay Pollard from delivering this cache?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events that led from Pollard's Navy employment to the suitcase on the doorstep, outlining his background, access, handlers in Israel, and the specific missed opportunities that preceded the November encounter. What choices, misreads, and bureaucratic gaps allowed him to copy and pass America’s electronic surveillance architecture?

Person: Jonathan Jay Pollard
Date: born August 7, 1954
Location: Washington apartment at 1733 Twentieth Street Northwest
Event: neighbor opened door on a Friday evening in November 1985 to find a woman holding a 70-pound suitcase
Topic: RASIN manual - ten volumes describing the United States' global electronic surveillance network

- Pollard was hired by the United States Navy on September 19, 1979, after a rejected CIA application.
- Pollard received $10,000 per month and a diamond engagement ring as compensation from Israeli handlers.
- Anne Henderson used the code word "cactus" and stored classified documents related to China in their apartment.
- A technical director, Richard Haver, recommended Pollard be terminated within weeks of his arrival; the recommendation was overruled.
- An anonymous coworker filed a report in 1985 about documents Pollard was taking out on Fridays; no action was taken.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074776Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:36:04 +0000Creator at ObomediaA coworker filed a report about Friday documents. Nobody acted on it The thought that a seventy-pound suitcase of classified Navy material could be handed to a neighbor on a November Friday evening and still trigger no prior action is chilling;...
The thought that a seventy-pound suitcase of classified Navy material could be handed to a neighbor on a November Friday evening and still trigger no prior action is chilling; those documents included the ten-volume RASIN manual and remained a national security risk as of 2016. How did at least five missed interventions fail to stop Jonathan Jay Pollard from delivering this cache?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events that led from Pollard's Navy employment to the suitcase on the doorstep, outlining his background, access, handlers in Israel, and the specific missed opportunities that preceded the November encounter. What choices, misreads, and bureaucratic gaps allowed him to copy and pass America’s electronic surveillance architecture?

Person: Jonathan Jay Pollard
Date: born August 7, 1954
Location: Washington apartment at 1733 Twentieth Street Northwest
Event: neighbor opened door on a Friday evening in November 1985 to find a woman holding a 70-pound suitcase
Topic: RASIN manual - ten volumes describing the United States' global electronic surveillance network

- Pollard was hired by the United States Navy on September 19, 1979, after a rejected CIA application.
- Pollard received $10,000 per month and a diamond engagement ring as compensation from Israeli handlers.
- Anne Henderson used the code word "cactus" and stored classified documents related to China in their apartment.
- A technical director, Richard Haver, recommended Pollard be terminated within weeks of his arrival; the recommendation was overruled.
- An anonymous coworker filed a report in 1985 about documents Pollard was taking out on Fridays; no action was taken.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1407falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-86-missing-pages-cheney-s-redactions-that-rewrote-history--73074775
The White House removed 86 pages from the Rockefeller Commission report before anyone outside could read them - an action documented in internal records and carried out by Dick Cheney when he was a young aide. Those missing pages touched on CIA activities including assassination plots and domestic surveillance; what exactly was excised, and how did those redactions shape the public record of intelligence oversight?

In this episode, we tell how a presidential commission was created after Seymour Hersh’s December 22, 1974 New York Times story and how competing priorities - examine the charges, protect the agency - drove decisions that followed. We trace the commission’s access to the CIA’s Family Jewels, its review of assassination-related documents and the Zapruder film, and ask whether the 86-page removal changed the course of American oversight.

Person: Dick Cheney
Event: Release of the Rockefeller Commission final report
Date: June 11, 1975
Document: The Family Jewels (compiled 1973)
Media story: Seymour Hersh New York Times article, December 22, 1974

- 86 pages were removed from the Rockefeller Commission final report before public release.
- The Family Jewels was a roughly 700-page internal CIA accounting compiled in 1973.
- President Gerald Gerald signed the executive order creating the Commission on January 4, 1975.
- The commission had a six-month mandate and was chaired by Vice President Nelson Rockefeller.
- Gerald privately told New York Times editors that CIA secrets included assassination plots, introducing that issue into the public debate.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074775Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:36:01 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe 86 Missing Pages: Cheney's Redactions That Rewrote History The White House removed 86 pages from the Rockefeller Commission report before anyone outside could read them - an action documented in internal records and carried out by Dick Cheney...
The White House removed 86 pages from the Rockefeller Commission report before anyone outside could read them - an action documented in internal records and carried out by Dick Cheney when he was a young aide. Those missing pages touched on CIA activities including assassination plots and domestic surveillance; what exactly was excised, and how did those redactions shape the public record of intelligence oversight?

In this episode, we tell how a presidential commission was created after Seymour Hersh’s December 22, 1974 New York Times story and how competing priorities - examine the charges, protect the agency - drove decisions that followed. We trace the commission’s access to the CIA’s Family Jewels, its review of assassination-related documents and the Zapruder film, and ask whether the 86-page removal changed the course of American oversight.

Person: Dick Cheney
Event: Release of the Rockefeller Commission final report
Date: June 11, 1975
Document: The Family Jewels (compiled 1973)
Media story: Seymour Hersh New York Times article, December 22, 1974

- 86 pages were removed from the Rockefeller Commission final report before public release.
- The Family Jewels was a roughly 700-page internal CIA accounting compiled in 1973.
- President Gerald Gerald signed the executive order creating the Commission on January 4, 1975.
- The commission had a six-month mandate and was chaired by Vice President Nelson Rockefeller.
- Gerald privately told New York Times editors that CIA secrets included assassination plots, introducing that issue into the public debate.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1457falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/they-sent-martin-luther-king-a-suicide-tape-fbi-files-revealed--73074773
Two days after Martin Luther King Jr. accepted the Nobel Peace Prize, an audio recording and a letter arrived at his home telling him there was "only one way out" and urging suicide. That package was assembled by an FBI technician and was part of a decade‑long, federally authorized program that surveilled and sabotaged Americans; how did a law enforcement agency weaponize paperwork to destroy lives without consequence?

In this episode, we outline the FBI program COINTELPRO, how it began, who authorized it, and the concrete actions taken against Martin Luther King Jr. and other targets - including the package delivered to King on November 21, 1964 - to ask how such methodical abuses continued for fifteen years without accountability.

Person: Martin Luther King Jr.
Date: November 21, 1964
Program: COINTELPRO
Official: J. Edgar Hoover
Assistant Director: William C. Sullivan

- The package to King arrived two days after the Nobel Peace Prize announcement on November 21, 1964.
- The FBI program COINTELPRO operated for fifteen years and consumed less than 0.2% of the Bureau's total workload.
- J. Edgar Hoover directed the FBI since 1924 and by 1956 had led the Bureau for 32 years.
- Assistant Director William C. Sullivan labeled King "the most dangerous Negro of the future" in an August 1963 memo after the March on Washington.
- Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy gave written approval for limited wiretapping on a trial basis before Hoover broadened its use.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074773Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:35:58 +0000Creator at ObomediaThey Sent Martin Luther King a Suicide Tape - FBI Files Revealed Two days after Martin Luther King Jr. accepted the Nobel Peace Prize, an audio recording and a letter arrived at his home telling him there was "only one way out" and urging suicide....
Two days after Martin Luther King Jr. accepted the Nobel Peace Prize, an audio recording and a letter arrived at his home telling him there was "only one way out" and urging suicide. That package was assembled by an FBI technician and was part of a decade‑long, federally authorized program that surveilled and sabotaged Americans; how did a law enforcement agency weaponize paperwork to destroy lives without consequence?

In this episode, we outline the FBI program COINTELPRO, how it began, who authorized it, and the concrete actions taken against Martin Luther King Jr. and other targets - including the package delivered to King on November 21, 1964 - to ask how such methodical abuses continued for fifteen years without accountability.

Person: Martin Luther King Jr.
Date: November 21, 1964
Program: COINTELPRO
Official: J. Edgar Hoover
Assistant Director: William C. Sullivan

- The package to King arrived two days after the Nobel Peace Prize announcement on November 21, 1964.
- The FBI program COINTELPRO operated for fifteen years and consumed less than 0.2% of the Bureau's total workload.
- J. Edgar Hoover directed the FBI since 1924 and by 1956 had led the Bureau for 32 years.
- Assistant Director William C. Sullivan labeled King "the most dangerous Negro of the future" in an August 1963 memo after the March on Washington.
- Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy gave written approval for limited wiretapping on a trial basis before Hoover broadened its use.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1589falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-professor-who-walked-into-night-vanished-by-a-dictator-s-men--73074772
A respected academic disappeared from a Manhattan subway at 10:10 PM on March 12, 1956, while a small plane took off from an Amityville airstrip that same night carrying an unnamed "patient"-could these two vanishings be the same coordinated abduction ordered by a dictator? Files later tied the case to a $25,000 demand for a dissertation and testimony that a murder order followed refusal to hand over the manuscript.

In this episode, we trace the timeline from a Columbia doctoral dissertation about Rafael Trujillo’s regime to the overnight transports and clandestine flights that followed, asking how a professor, a pilot, and a prisoner became linked in a chain of events that culminated in assassination and disputed deaths.

Person: Jesús de Galíndez Suárez
Date: March 12, 1956
Location: Manhattan subway station and Amityville airstrip, New York
Event: Disappearance and secret air transfer of an unnamed "patient"
Topic: Manuscript titled The Era of Trujillo: A Case Study of a Hispanic American Dictatorship

- Galíndez was last seen entering a subway station at 10:10 PM on March 12, 1956.
- An ambulance arrived at a private Amityville airstrip after dark on March 12, 1956, carrying a stretchered "patient."
- A pilot, Gerald Lester Murphy, loaded the "patient" onto a rented Beech Aircraft and flew south the same night.
- Trujillo’s agents reportedly offered $25,000 for Galíndez’s manuscript before March 1956.
- Testimony by John J. Frank in November 1956 claimed Trujillo ordered Galíndez killed after he refused to hand over the dissertation.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074772Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:35:52 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Professor Who Walked Into Night: Vanished by a Dictator's Men A respected academic disappeared from a Manhattan subway at 10:10 PM on March 12, 1956, while a small plane took off from an Amityville airstrip that same night carrying an unnamed...
A respected academic disappeared from a Manhattan subway at 10:10 PM on March 12, 1956, while a small plane took off from an Amityville airstrip that same night carrying an unnamed "patient"-could these two vanishings be the same coordinated abduction ordered by a dictator? Files later tied the case to a $25,000 demand for a dissertation and testimony that a murder order followed refusal to hand over the manuscript.

In this episode, we trace the timeline from a Columbia doctoral dissertation about Rafael Trujillo’s regime to the overnight transports and clandestine flights that followed, asking how a professor, a pilot, and a prisoner became linked in a chain of events that culminated in assassination and disputed deaths.

Person: Jesús de Galíndez Suárez
Date: March 12, 1956
Location: Manhattan subway station and Amityville airstrip, New York
Event: Disappearance and secret air transfer of an unnamed "patient"
Topic: Manuscript titled The Era of Trujillo: A Case Study of a Hispanic American Dictatorship

- Galíndez was last seen entering a subway station at 10:10 PM on March 12, 1956.
- An ambulance arrived at a private Amityville airstrip after dark on March 12, 1956, carrying a stretchered "patient."
- A pilot, Gerald Lester Murphy, loaded the "patient" onto a rented Beech Aircraft and flew south the same night.
- Trujillo’s agents reportedly offered $25,000 for Galíndez’s manuscript before March 1956.
- Testimony by John J. Frank in November 1956 claimed Trujillo ordered Galíndez killed after he refused to hand over the dissertation.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1352falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/a-woman-dragged-shoeless-across-sydney-airport-tarmac-her-husband-defected-without-telling-her--73074771
The image of a woman in stockinged feet being hauled across Sydney Airport on April 19, 1954 shocked the world and exposed a raw, personal consequence of Cold War espionage: her husband had defected sixteen days earlier without telling her. Who was Evdokia Petrova, why was she sent home under guard, and what did the photographs hide about the true political stakes?

In this episode, we tell how the Petrovs arrived in Canberra, the roles they held, and the sequence of events from Vladimir Petrov's defection to Evdokia's escorted departure that provoked a Royal Commission and political fracture in Australia. How did documents, fear of Lavrentiy Beria's fall, and ASIO's cultivation of Vladimir lead to that moment on the tarmac?

Person: Evdokia Petrova
Person: Vladimir Petrov
Date: April 19, 1954
Event: Vladimir Petrov walked out of the Soviet embassy on April 3, 1954; Evdokia escorted from the embassy on April 19, 1954
Author: Robert Manne (1987 analysis of declassified ASIO records)

- Vladimir Petrov was 40 years old when posted to Canberra in 1951.
- Vladimir brought documents to Australian authorities when he defected on April 3, 1954.
- Evdokia had sixteen days inside the embassy after Vladimir's defection before being sent to the airport.
- Photographs of Evdokia on the tarmac, with her shoes left behind, were published worldwide on April 19, 1954.
- Historian Robert Manne's 1987 analysis concluded the Petrov documents were largely political gossip.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074771Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:35:49 +0000Creator at ObomediaA woman dragged shoeless across Sydney Airport tarmac - her husband defected without telling her The image of a woman in stockinged feet being hauled across Sydney Airport on April 19, 1954 shocked the world and exposed a raw, personal consequence...
The image of a woman in stockinged feet being hauled across Sydney Airport on April 19, 1954 shocked the world and exposed a raw, personal consequence of Cold War espionage: her husband had defected sixteen days earlier without telling her. Who was Evdokia Petrova, why was she sent home under guard, and what did the photographs hide about the true political stakes?

In this episode, we tell how the Petrovs arrived in Canberra, the roles they held, and the sequence of events from Vladimir Petrov's defection to Evdokia's escorted departure that provoked a Royal Commission and political fracture in Australia. How did documents, fear of Lavrentiy Beria's fall, and ASIO's cultivation of Vladimir lead to that moment on the tarmac?

Person: Evdokia Petrova
Person: Vladimir Petrov
Date: April 19, 1954
Event: Vladimir Petrov walked out of the Soviet embassy on April 3, 1954; Evdokia escorted from the embassy on April 19, 1954
Author: Robert Manne (1987 analysis of declassified ASIO records)

- Vladimir Petrov was 40 years old when posted to Canberra in 1951.
- Vladimir brought documents to Australian authorities when he defected on April 3, 1954.
- Evdokia had sixteen days inside the embassy after Vladimir's defection before being sent to the airport.
- Photographs of Evdokia on the tarmac, with her shoes left behind, were published worldwide on April 19, 1954.
- Historian Robert Manne's 1987 analysis concluded the Petrov documents were largely political gossip.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1384falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-threw-away-her-phone-the-surveillance-simply-moved-to-everyone-she-d-called--73074770
The thought of escaping surveillance by ditching a phone feels decisive - but in this case her number was entered into a secret list the day after she fled, and investigators later traced infections that harvested microphones, cameras, locations and private messages; how did a discarded handset lead to a networked manhunt, and who paid to build that system?

In this episode, we lay out the timeline and evidence uncovered by Amnesty, Citizen Lab and the Pegasus Project, describing how a leaked list of over 50,000 phone numbers triggered forensic examinations and global reporting that linked the spyware to confirmed intrusions - could a tool sold to fight crime have been used against journalists, activists and world leaders?

Person: Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed Al Maktoum
Date: February 25, 2018
Company: NSO Group
Tool: Pegasus
Publication date: July 18, 2021

- Her phone number entered the secret list the day after she slipped away from her family's compound.
- Pegasus could exploit zero-click vulnerabilities like a missed call or corrupted message preview to infect devices without user action.
- A leaked list contained more than 50,000 phone numbers that flagged individuals as targets of interest.
- Seventeen media organizations and over eighty journalists collaborated in the Pegasus Project and published findings simultaneously on July 18, 2021.
- Forensic traces of Pegasus were found on Hatice Cengiz's phone on October 6, 9 and 12, 2018, days after Jamal Khashoggi's murder.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074770Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:35:46 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe threw away her phone. The surveillance simply moved to everyone she'd called The thought of escaping surveillance by ditching a phone feels decisive - but in this case her number was entered into a secret list the day after she fled, and...
The thought of escaping surveillance by ditching a phone feels decisive - but in this case her number was entered into a secret list the day after she fled, and investigators later traced infections that harvested microphones, cameras, locations and private messages; how did a discarded handset lead to a networked manhunt, and who paid to build that system?

In this episode, we lay out the timeline and evidence uncovered by Amnesty, Citizen Lab and the Pegasus Project, describing how a leaked list of over 50,000 phone numbers triggered forensic examinations and global reporting that linked the spyware to confirmed intrusions - could a tool sold to fight crime have been used against journalists, activists and world leaders?

Person: Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed Al Maktoum
Date: February 25, 2018
Company: NSO Group
Tool: Pegasus
Publication date: July 18, 2021

- Her phone number entered the secret list the day after she slipped away from her family's compound.
- Pegasus could exploit zero-click vulnerabilities like a missed call or corrupted message preview to infect devices without user action.
- A leaked list contained more than 50,000 phone numbers that flagged individuals as targets of interest.
- Seventeen media organizations and over eighty journalists collaborated in the Pegasus Project and published findings simultaneously on July 18, 2021.
- Forensic traces of Pegasus were found on Hatice Cengiz's phone on October 6, 9 and 12, 2018, days after Jamal Khashoggi's murder.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1415falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/coffee-on-the-flight-deck-the-collision-that-stole-a-crew-s-secrets--73074769
A sailor poured coffee into a computer drive while the EP-3E rolled past 130 degrees of bank and fell 14,000 feet-an image that summed up a mission gone from routine to crisis over the South China Sea. What exactly triggered the mid-air collision that left a reconnaissance plane disabled and forced an unauthorized landing on Hainan Island?

In this episode, we recount the April 1, 2001 flight of Bureau Number 156511, the roles of the EP-3E ARIES II and the J-8 interceptor, and the immediate aftermath that became a diplomatic flashpoint between the United States and China. What happened in those thirty seconds that made an ordinary signals collection mission into the most serious U.S.-China military confrontation in a generation?

Person: Lieutenant Commander Wang Wei
Person: Lieutenant Commander Osborn
Date: April 1, 2001
Aircraft: Lockheed EP-3E ARIES II, Bureau Number 156511
Mission: PR32, six-hour signals collection flight

- The EP-3E rolled past 130 degrees of bank and dropped 8,000 feet in 30 seconds.
- The flight lost an additional 6,000 feet after the initial 8,000-foot descent.
- The crew totaled 24 American service members aboard the aircraft.
- The J-8 interceptor involved bore serial number 81192 and made three passes before the collision.
- Over 15 distress calls were transmitted on international emergency frequencies with no answer.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074769Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:35:43 +0000Creator at ObomediaCoffee on the Flight Deck: The Collision That Stole a Crew's Secrets A sailor poured coffee into a computer drive while the EP-3E rolled past 130 degrees of bank and fell 14,000 feet-an image that summed up a mission gone from routine to crisis...
A sailor poured coffee into a computer drive while the EP-3E rolled past 130 degrees of bank and fell 14,000 feet-an image that summed up a mission gone from routine to crisis over the South China Sea. What exactly triggered the mid-air collision that left a reconnaissance plane disabled and forced an unauthorized landing on Hainan Island?

In this episode, we recount the April 1, 2001 flight of Bureau Number 156511, the roles of the EP-3E ARIES II and the J-8 interceptor, and the immediate aftermath that became a diplomatic flashpoint between the United States and China. What happened in those thirty seconds that made an ordinary signals collection mission into the most serious U.S.-China military confrontation in a generation?

Person: Lieutenant Commander Wang Wei
Person: Lieutenant Commander Osborn
Date: April 1, 2001
Aircraft: Lockheed EP-3E ARIES II, Bureau Number 156511
Mission: PR32, six-hour signals collection flight

- The EP-3E rolled past 130 degrees of bank and dropped 8,000 feet in 30 seconds.
- The flight lost an additional 6,000 feet after the initial 8,000-foot descent.
- The crew totaled 24 American service members aboard the aircraft.
- The J-8 interceptor involved bore serial number 81192 and made three passes before the collision.
- Over 15 distress calls were transmitted on international emergency frequencies with no answer.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1491falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/trapped-by-a-beer-barrel-the-cipher-that-sent-a-queen-to-death--73074768
The thought of a beer barrel carrying a sealed cork with a watertight box that hid an encrypted letter - and a cipher supplied by the queen’s enemy - turns an ordinary delivery into a slow-moving execution. How did a brewer’s routine, a planted courier, and a compromised code together push Mary, Queen of Scots, toward the block?

In this episode, we tell how a chain of decisions and deceptions created a channel into Chartley Hall and what passed through it, from the first intercepted barrel in January 1586 to the letters that sealed Mary’s fate. Did Mary walk into a trap she could not have seen, or did she make choices that led to her own conviction?

Person: Mary, Queen of Scots
Location: Chartley Hall, Staffordshire
Date: January 1586 (first intercepted letter delivery)
Person: Gilbert Gifford, age 25
Person: Thomas Phelippes, linguist and cipher expert

- Mary had been a prisoner in England for 17 years by winter 1585.
- The first letter in the barrel method arrived at Chartley Hall in January 1586.
- Gilbert Gifford was 25 years old when he agreed to work for Walsingham.
- Mary signed the Bond of Association in 1584, a document used against claimants.
- Thomas Phelippes could read six languages and cracked substitution ciphers used at Chartley.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074768Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:35:40 +0000Creator at ObomediaTrapped by a Beer Barrel: The Cipher That Sent a Queen to Death The thought of a beer barrel carrying a sealed cork with a watertight box that hid an encrypted letter - and a cipher supplied by the queen’s enemy - turns an ordinary delivery into a...
The thought of a beer barrel carrying a sealed cork with a watertight box that hid an encrypted letter - and a cipher supplied by the queen’s enemy - turns an ordinary delivery into a slow-moving execution. How did a brewer’s routine, a planted courier, and a compromised code together push Mary, Queen of Scots, toward the block?

In this episode, we tell how a chain of decisions and deceptions created a channel into Chartley Hall and what passed through it, from the first intercepted barrel in January 1586 to the letters that sealed Mary’s fate. Did Mary walk into a trap she could not have seen, or did she make choices that led to her own conviction?

Person: Mary, Queen of Scots
Location: Chartley Hall, Staffordshire
Date: January 1586 (first intercepted letter delivery)
Person: Gilbert Gifford, age 25
Person: Thomas Phelippes, linguist and cipher expert

- Mary had been a prisoner in England for 17 years by winter 1585.
- The first letter in the barrel method arrived at Chartley Hall in January 1586.
- Gilbert Gifford was 25 years old when he agreed to work for Walsingham.
- Mary signed the Bond of Association in 1584, a document used against claimants.
- Thomas Phelippes could read six languages and cracked substitution ciphers used at Chartley.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1430falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/he-smiled-holding-volpe-s-license-the-informant-who-feared-death--73074767
The recording captured a smile as one man looked at Paul Volpe’s driver’s licence - Volpe was alive and hiding in an RCMP office three miles away. That single moment on May 16, 1981 helped convict dozens, but the man who smiled, Cecil Kirby, says he acted out of fear, not conscience; how did a motorcycle enforcer become the deepest informant in Canadian organized crime history?

In this episode, we tell the story of Cecil Kirby from his August 17, 1950 birth in Weston to his rise in Satan’s Choice and later work for the Commisso family, following the trail of bomb plots, cross-border contracts, and one death that stands out - what drove him from sergeant-at-arms to paid killer and then to informant?

Person: Cecil Kirby
Date: May 16, 1981
Event: Volpe hiding in RCMP office; licence shown on wire recording
Case: Wah Kew Chop Suey House bombing, May 3, 1977
Person: Paul Volpe

- Born August 17, 1950 in Weston, Toronto.
- Joined Satan’s Choice in August 1969 and rose to sergeant-at-arms of the Richmond Hill chapter.
- On May 3, 1977, a bomb placed by Kirby killed cook Chong Yin Quan and wounded three others.
- Kirby began working for the Commisso family in 1976 as an outside contractor due to not being Italian.
- The wire recording of May 16, 1981 showing Volpe’s licence helped convict dozens of people.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074767Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:35:36 +0000Creator at ObomediaHe Smiled Holding Volpe's License - The Informant Who Feared Death The recording captured a smile as one man looked at Paul Volpe’s driver’s licence - Volpe was alive and hiding in an RCMP office three miles away. That single moment on May 16, 1981...
The recording captured a smile as one man looked at Paul Volpe’s driver’s licence - Volpe was alive and hiding in an RCMP office three miles away. That single moment on May 16, 1981 helped convict dozens, but the man who smiled, Cecil Kirby, says he acted out of fear, not conscience; how did a motorcycle enforcer become the deepest informant in Canadian organized crime history?

In this episode, we tell the story of Cecil Kirby from his August 17, 1950 birth in Weston to his rise in Satan’s Choice and later work for the Commisso family, following the trail of bomb plots, cross-border contracts, and one death that stands out - what drove him from sergeant-at-arms to paid killer and then to informant?

Person: Cecil Kirby
Date: May 16, 1981
Event: Volpe hiding in RCMP office; licence shown on wire recording
Case: Wah Kew Chop Suey House bombing, May 3, 1977
Person: Paul Volpe

- Born August 17, 1950 in Weston, Toronto.
- Joined Satan’s Choice in August 1969 and rose to sergeant-at-arms of the Richmond Hill chapter.
- On May 3, 1977, a bomb placed by Kirby killed cook Chong Yin Quan and wounded three others.
- Kirby began working for the Commisso family in 1976 as an outside contractor due to not being Italian.
- The wire recording of May 16, 1981 showing Volpe’s licence helped convict dozens of people.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1486falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/body-without-papers-15-miles-from-athens--73074766
A strangled man, no ID, found fifteen miles outside Athens in February 1997 turned out to be a Russian three-time prison escapee and contract killer who built a fifty-man organization on Athens’s outskirts - so how did a man who outran armies, prisons and Interpol end up anonymous and dead in a Greek suburb? What part did the myth he cultivated play in signing his death warrant?

In this episode, we lay out the life and trajectory of Alexander Viktorovich Solonik from his birthplace to the body found outside Athens, tracing the key events and contradictions that lead from Kurgan to murder in Greece. We explore the criminal roles he assumed, the violence he survived and inflicted, and the unanswered question of how his reputation ultimately failed him.

Person: Alexander Viktorovich Solonik
Date found: February 1997
Age: 36
Origin: Kurgan, Soviet Union
Criminal role: Contract killer, three-time prison escapee

- Body discovered fifteen miles outside Athens with no identification documents.
- Solonik was thirty-six years old at the time of death and identified by Greek authorities.
- Born in Kurgan on October 16, 1960, and later worked as a gravedigger with future criminal associates.
- First documented killing occurred in 1990; subsequent notable hits in 1992 and six months later included two thieves-in-law.
- Solonik built a criminal organization of roughly fifty men operating on the outskirts of Athens.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074766Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:35:32 +0000Creator at ObomediaBody without papers, 15 miles from Athens A strangled man, no ID, found fifteen miles outside Athens in February 1997 turned out to be a Russian three-time prison escapee and contract killer who built a fifty-man organization on Athens’s outskirts...
A strangled man, no ID, found fifteen miles outside Athens in February 1997 turned out to be a Russian three-time prison escapee and contract killer who built a fifty-man organization on Athens’s outskirts - so how did a man who outran armies, prisons and Interpol end up anonymous and dead in a Greek suburb? What part did the myth he cultivated play in signing his death warrant?

In this episode, we lay out the life and trajectory of Alexander Viktorovich Solonik from his birthplace to the body found outside Athens, tracing the key events and contradictions that lead from Kurgan to murder in Greece. We explore the criminal roles he assumed, the violence he survived and inflicted, and the unanswered question of how his reputation ultimately failed him.

Person: Alexander Viktorovich Solonik
Date found: February 1997
Age: 36
Origin: Kurgan, Soviet Union
Criminal role: Contract killer, three-time prison escapee

- Body discovered fifteen miles outside Athens with no identification documents.
- Solonik was thirty-six years old at the time of death and identified by Greek authorities.
- Born in Kurgan on October 16, 1960, and later worked as a gravedigger with future criminal associates.
- First documented killing occurred in 1990; subsequent notable hits in 1992 and six months later included two thieves-in-law.
- Solonik built a criminal organization of roughly fifty men operating on the outskirts of Athens.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1321falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-skeleton-at-dawn-did-king-kong-really-escape-justice--73074765
A cracked ankle and a coffin opened at dawn: the skeleton found in Rotterdam in 1986 had an irregular left-ankle fracture that matched a motorcycle accident from 1936, yet the headstone named Christiaan Antonius Lindemans - the wartime figure known as King Kong. If the bones belonged to him, how did a man who saved hundreds and possibly betrayed thousands die before a trial could decide his guilt?

In this episode, we follow the documented events from Lindemans’s birth and wartime activity to the 1986 exhumation, tracing the facts about his languages, escape line, relationships, and official cause of death to ask whether the body in Crooswijk cemetery was really his or if King Kong walked free.

Person: Christiaan Antonius Lindemans
Date (birth): 24 October 1912
Date (exhumation): 17 June 1986
Location: Crooswijk cemetery, Rotterdam
Cause of death (official): eighty aspirin, 18 July 1946

- Lindemans stood six feet three inches tall and weighed two hundred and sixty pounds by his mid-twenties.
- He broke his left ankle in a motorcycle accident in 1936, leaving an irregular healed fracture.
- By spring 1940 he was working as a British informant and by September 1942 ran an escape line based in Abbeville.
- Two hundred and forty agents, soldiers, and civilians were later assessed to have passed through networks he helped run.
- He died on 18 July 1946 in a psychiatric ward before any trial began; his NARA files remained classified as of 2015.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074765Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:35:29 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Skeleton at Dawn: Did King Kong Really Escape Justice? A cracked ankle and a coffin opened at dawn: the skeleton found in Rotterdam in 1986 had an irregular left-ankle fracture that matched a motorcycle accident from 1936, yet the headstone...
A cracked ankle and a coffin opened at dawn: the skeleton found in Rotterdam in 1986 had an irregular left-ankle fracture that matched a motorcycle accident from 1936, yet the headstone named Christiaan Antonius Lindemans - the wartime figure known as King Kong. If the bones belonged to him, how did a man who saved hundreds and possibly betrayed thousands die before a trial could decide his guilt?

In this episode, we follow the documented events from Lindemans’s birth and wartime activity to the 1986 exhumation, tracing the facts about his languages, escape line, relationships, and official cause of death to ask whether the body in Crooswijk cemetery was really his or if King Kong walked free.

Person: Christiaan Antonius Lindemans
Date (birth): 24 October 1912
Date (exhumation): 17 June 1986
Location: Crooswijk cemetery, Rotterdam
Cause of death (official): eighty aspirin, 18 July 1946

- Lindemans stood six feet three inches tall and weighed two hundred and sixty pounds by his mid-twenties.
- He broke his left ankle in a motorcycle accident in 1936, leaving an irregular healed fracture.
- By spring 1940 he was working as a British informant and by September 1942 ran an escape line based in Abbeville.
- Two hundred and forty agents, soldiers, and civilians were later assessed to have passed through networks he helped run.
- He died on 18 July 1946 in a psychiatric ward before any trial began; his NARA files remained classified as of 2015.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1419falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-missing-folder-what-leonie-brandt-never-had-to-answer-for--73074764
A vanished intelligence folder, a woman who carried four names through two world wars, and a Dutch secret service still searching: one dossier labeled "Reference C, Pr. B. espionage" existed in 2022 and then it did not. Who decided what to keep secret, and why did a file covering the years before 1948 disappear from the BVD record?

In this episode, we follow the archival trail and the life narrative assembled from documents and testimony to show what is known about Leonie Brandt and what remains missing. What did the missing folder contain, and how does it change the story of a woman alternately recorded as an actress, double agent, concentration camp prisoner, postwar operative, or blackmailer?

Person: Leonie Brandt (born Gertrud Franziska Pütz)
Date: born 1901; died 27 January 1978
Location: Amsterdam; German-Dutch borderlands; Bad Godesberg (Rheinhotel Dreesen)
Case: missing dossier folder labeled "Reference C, Pr. B. espionage"
Author: researcher Gerard Aalders (book published 2003, reissued 2019)

- The archive box originally contained four folders in the BVD intelligence dossier; the fourth folder was missing when later opened in 2022.
- The missing folder was labeled "Reference C, Pr. B. espionage" and covered the years before 1948.
- Leonie Brandt was born in 1901 and died in Amsterdam on 27 January 1978.
- In 1929 she met Johan van Thiel and sat across a table from Adolf Hitler at the Rheinhotel Dreesen in Bad Godesberg.
- In 1939 she opened the Paneelclub in Amsterdam, reportedly financed by both the Dutch and German governments, and began working for the Sicherheitsdienst that same year.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074764Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:35:26 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Missing Folder: What Leonie Brandt Never Had To Answer For A vanished intelligence folder, a woman who carried four names through two world wars, and a Dutch secret service still searching: one dossier labeled "Reference C, Pr. B. espionage"...
A vanished intelligence folder, a woman who carried four names through two world wars, and a Dutch secret service still searching: one dossier labeled "Reference C, Pr. B. espionage" existed in 2022 and then it did not. Who decided what to keep secret, and why did a file covering the years before 1948 disappear from the BVD record?

In this episode, we follow the archival trail and the life narrative assembled from documents and testimony to show what is known about Leonie Brandt and what remains missing. What did the missing folder contain, and how does it change the story of a woman alternately recorded as an actress, double agent, concentration camp prisoner, postwar operative, or blackmailer?

Person: Leonie Brandt (born Gertrud Franziska Pütz)
Date: born 1901; died 27 January 1978
Location: Amsterdam; German-Dutch borderlands; Bad Godesberg (Rheinhotel Dreesen)
Case: missing dossier folder labeled "Reference C, Pr. B. espionage"
Author: researcher Gerard Aalders (book published 2003, reissued 2019)

- The archive box originally contained four folders in the BVD intelligence dossier; the fourth folder was missing when later opened in 2022.
- The missing folder was labeled "Reference C, Pr. B. espionage" and covered the years before 1948.
- Leonie Brandt was born in 1901 and died in Amsterdam on 27 January 1978.
- In 1929 she met Johan van Thiel and sat across a table from Adolf Hitler at the Rheinhotel Dreesen in Bad Godesberg.
- In 1939 she opened the Paneelclub in Amsterdam, reportedly financed by both the Dutch and German governments, and began working for the Sicherheitsdienst that same year.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1334falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/trinity-s-quiet-traitor-the-manhattan-mole-called-godsend--73074763
The man who crouched in the New Mexico desert on July 16, 1945 watched a light visible for 200 miles and later surfaced in Venona intercepts as the Soviet codename "Godsend." He was Oscar Seborer, a 24-year-old seismological technician at Trinity whose name only appeared publicly in a CIA journal seventy years later-dead four years by then. How long had he been passing secrets, and how did security miss him standing in plain sight?

In this episode, we tell the story of Oscar Seborer from his childhood in New York and Palestine through his training and service with the Special Engineer Detachment, to his work at Oak Ridge and Los Alamos and eventual disappearance to France and later Moscow. We trace the connections in his family and the security reviews that cleared him, asking whether the system failed or was simply blind.

Person: Oscar Seborer
Date: July 16, 1945
Location: Trinity test site, Jornada del Muerto, New Mexico
Age: 24 at Trinity; died at 93 in Moscow
Codename: Godsend

- He recorded the shockwaves from the Trinity detonation at 5:29 AM on July 16, 1945, after a fireball visible for 200 miles.
- He completed a master's degree at the University of Michigan in August 1948 before resigning his government post in 1951.
- Oscar was flagged as a security risk in 1949 but a review board overturned that finding.
- Twelve days after resigning in 1951 he sailed on a ship bound for France; thirty-two days after his resignation he was gone.
- Venona intercepts later confirmed he was one of at least four Soviet agents who penetrated the Manhattan Project.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074763Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:35:23 +0000Creator at ObomediaTrinity's Quiet Traitor: The Manhattan Mole Called "Godsend" The man who crouched in the New Mexico desert on July 16, 1945 watched a light visible for 200 miles and later surfaced in Venona intercepts as the Soviet codename "Godsend." He was Oscar...
The man who crouched in the New Mexico desert on July 16, 1945 watched a light visible for 200 miles and later surfaced in Venona intercepts as the Soviet codename "Godsend." He was Oscar Seborer, a 24-year-old seismological technician at Trinity whose name only appeared publicly in a CIA journal seventy years later-dead four years by then. How long had he been passing secrets, and how did security miss him standing in plain sight?

In this episode, we tell the story of Oscar Seborer from his childhood in New York and Palestine through his training and service with the Special Engineer Detachment, to his work at Oak Ridge and Los Alamos and eventual disappearance to France and later Moscow. We trace the connections in his family and the security reviews that cleared him, asking whether the system failed or was simply blind.

Person: Oscar Seborer
Date: July 16, 1945
Location: Trinity test site, Jornada del Muerto, New Mexico
Age: 24 at Trinity; died at 93 in Moscow
Codename: Godsend

- He recorded the shockwaves from the Trinity detonation at 5:29 AM on July 16, 1945, after a fireball visible for 200 miles.
- He completed a master's degree at the University of Michigan in August 1948 before resigning his government post in 1951.
- Oscar was flagged as a security risk in 1949 but a review board overturned that finding.
- Twelve days after resigning in 1951 he sailed on a ship bound for France; thirty-two days after his resignation he was gone.
- Venona intercepts later confirmed he was one of at least four Soviet agents who penetrated the Manhattan Project.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1457falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/from-lubyanka-lift-to-gestapo-lines-the-korotkov-walkout--73074762
Fear rides in daylight: on June 22, 1941, with German forces crossing the Soviet border and the Gestapo surrounding the Soviet embassy in Berlin by midday, Aleksandr Korotkov walked out carrying a radio transmitter and a large sum of cash - and then walked back through enemy lines several times. How did an orphan elevator operator-turned-NKVD operative survive and build a network that outlived him, and what did it cost those he recruited?

In this episode, we tell the episode’s narrative arc from Korotkov’s childhood in Moscow to his work in Berlin and Paris, covering his recruitment, foreign deployments, language training, and clandestine tradecraft; what drove him, what he achieved, and the human toll his networks took are the questions that follow every step he made.

Person: Aleksandr Korotkov
Date: June 22, 1941
Location: Soviet embassy, Berlin
Event: Walked through enemy lines carrying a radio transmitter and cash
Period: 1928-1936

- Born November 22, 1909 in Moscow and sent to an orphanage during the post‑Revolution famine.
- Hired at the Lubyanka in October 1928 as an elevator operator at age 18; transferred to the Foreign Department in December 1928.
- By January 1930 he was an assistant operations officer studying languages and agent tradecraft.
- First foreign deployment in 1933 under Czech papers and an Austrian cover, traveling via Vienna, Switzerland, and Paris and enrolling at the Sorbonne.
- Returned to Berlin in April 1936 under the cover name Vladimir Petrovich Korotkikh to collect industrial intelligence for operation Krona.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074762Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:35:20 +0000Creator at ObomediaFrom Lubyanka Lift to Gestapo Lines: The Korotkov Walkout Fear rides in daylight: on June 22, 1941, with German forces crossing the Soviet border and the Gestapo surrounding the Soviet embassy in Berlin by midday, Aleksandr Korotkov walked out...
Fear rides in daylight: on June 22, 1941, with German forces crossing the Soviet border and the Gestapo surrounding the Soviet embassy in Berlin by midday, Aleksandr Korotkov walked out carrying a radio transmitter and a large sum of cash - and then walked back through enemy lines several times. How did an orphan elevator operator-turned-NKVD operative survive and build a network that outlived him, and what did it cost those he recruited?

In this episode, we tell the episode’s narrative arc from Korotkov’s childhood in Moscow to his work in Berlin and Paris, covering his recruitment, foreign deployments, language training, and clandestine tradecraft; what drove him, what he achieved, and the human toll his networks took are the questions that follow every step he made.

Person: Aleksandr Korotkov
Date: June 22, 1941
Location: Soviet embassy, Berlin
Event: Walked through enemy lines carrying a radio transmitter and cash
Period: 1928-1936

- Born November 22, 1909 in Moscow and sent to an orphanage during the post‑Revolution famine.
- Hired at the Lubyanka in October 1928 as an elevator operator at age 18; transferred to the Foreign Department in December 1928.
- By January 1930 he was an assistant operations officer studying languages and agent tradecraft.
- First foreign deployment in 1933 under Czech papers and an Austrian cover, traveling via Vienna, Switzerland, and Paris and enrolling at the Sorbonne.
- Returned to Berlin in April 1936 under the cover name Vladimir Petrovich Korotkikh to collect industrial intelligence for operation Krona.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1024falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/viennese-exile-to-stasi-agent-the-man-who-spoke-china--73074760
He escaped Vienna in 1938 after being expelled under Reich racial laws, taught himself classical Chinese in Buddhist monasteries during the Shanghai occupation, and later appears in a 1994 file as a Stasi collaborator - how did one man end up both in the University of Vienna Memorial Book for victims of National Socialism and in East Germany's Ministry for State Security records? What piece of his life links exile, Buddhist sanctuary, diplomatic service, and secret police files?

In this episode, we tell the life of Ernst Josef Schwarz from his birth in Hietzing to the discovery of the 1994 file, covering his flight to Shanghai, his studies in monasteries, his work at the National Socialism Library, and the unresolved question raised by the Stasi personnel record.

Person: Ernst Josef Schwarz
Date of birth: August 6, 1916
Event: Expelled from the University of Vienna in March 1938 under Reich racial laws
Location: Shanghai (French Concession; sheltered in Fan Cheng's monastery 1941-1943)
Event: File surfaced in 1994 indicating he worked for the Stasi

- Born in Hietzing on August 6, 1916, youngest of four children to Berta and Desiderius Schwarz
- Enrolled at the University of Vienna in 1935 studying medicine, then philosophy and Egyptology; expelled at age 21 in March 1938
- Traveled to Shanghai in 1938 with his brother Egon as one of the few cities accepting Jewish refugees without visas
- Sheltered inside Fan Cheng's Buddhist monastery approximately 1941-1943, during which he learned classical Chinese and could read Tang poetry
- Employed by the National Socialism Library in Nanjing after 1945 and worked on an English translation of Shen Deqian's Gǔshīyuán with poet Mao Yumei

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074760Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:35:17 +0000Creator at ObomediaViennese Exile to Stasi Agent: The Man Who Spoke China He escaped Vienna in 1938 after being expelled under Reich racial laws, taught himself classical Chinese in Buddhist monasteries during the Shanghai occupation, and later appears in a 1994 file...
He escaped Vienna in 1938 after being expelled under Reich racial laws, taught himself classical Chinese in Buddhist monasteries during the Shanghai occupation, and later appears in a 1994 file as a Stasi collaborator - how did one man end up both in the University of Vienna Memorial Book for victims of National Socialism and in East Germany's Ministry for State Security records? What piece of his life links exile, Buddhist sanctuary, diplomatic service, and secret police files?

In this episode, we tell the life of Ernst Josef Schwarz from his birth in Hietzing to the discovery of the 1994 file, covering his flight to Shanghai, his studies in monasteries, his work at the National Socialism Library, and the unresolved question raised by the Stasi personnel record.

Person: Ernst Josef Schwarz
Date of birth: August 6, 1916
Event: Expelled from the University of Vienna in March 1938 under Reich racial laws
Location: Shanghai (French Concession; sheltered in Fan Cheng's monastery 1941-1943)
Event: File surfaced in 1994 indicating he worked for the Stasi

- Born in Hietzing on August 6, 1916, youngest of four children to Berta and Desiderius Schwarz
- Enrolled at the University of Vienna in 1935 studying medicine, then philosophy and Egyptology; expelled at age 21 in March 1938
- Traveled to Shanghai in 1938 with his brother Egon as one of the few cities accepting Jewish refugees without visas
- Sheltered inside Fan Cheng's Buddhist monastery approximately 1941-1943, during which he learned classical Chinese and could read Tang poetry
- Employed by the National Socialism Library in Nanjing after 1945 and worked on an English translation of Shen Deqian's Gǔshīyuán with poet Mao Yumei

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1534falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-man-between-revolutions-frank-sturgis-secret-double-life--73074759
A photograph of a man standing on a mass grave above 71 executed bodies made him infamous: he was on San Juan Hill, Cuba, on January 11, 1959, holding a rifle the morning after the killings. How did a former U.S. Marine end up training Ernesto Guevara, smuggling weapons, working with organized crime, and also acting as a CIA informer?

In this episode, we trace the moves and contradictions of Frank Sturgis from his birth as Frank Angelo Fiorini through military service, police work, covert operations in Cuba, and his ties to figures on both sides of the Cold War. Which parts of his story are proven fact, and which remained claims he insisted were incomplete until his death?

Person: Frank Angelo Fiorini (later Frank Anthony Sturgis)
Date: January 11, 1959
Event: Photographed on San Juan Hill above 71 executed people
Date: December 9, 1924 (birth)
Country: Cuba

- He stood on a mass grave on San Juan Hill on January 11, 1959, above 71 people executed the day before.
- He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps on October 5, 1942, at age 17 and was discharged as a corporal in 1945.
- He legally changed his name to Frank Anthony Sturgis on September 23, 1952.
- In 1958 he was registered as an informer by Sam Jenis at the U.S. Consulate in Santiago while also smuggling arms into Cuba.
- In March 1958 he opened a guerrilla training camp in the Sierra Maestra and taught ambush and mountain tactics to fighters including Ernesto Guevara.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074759Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:35:14 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Man Between Revolutions: Frank Sturgis' Secret Double Life A photograph of a man standing on a mass grave above 71 executed bodies made him infamous: he was on San Juan Hill, Cuba, on January 11, 1959, holding a rifle the morning after the...
A photograph of a man standing on a mass grave above 71 executed bodies made him infamous: he was on San Juan Hill, Cuba, on January 11, 1959, holding a rifle the morning after the killings. How did a former U.S. Marine end up training Ernesto Guevara, smuggling weapons, working with organized crime, and also acting as a CIA informer?

In this episode, we trace the moves and contradictions of Frank Sturgis from his birth as Frank Angelo Fiorini through military service, police work, covert operations in Cuba, and his ties to figures on both sides of the Cold War. Which parts of his story are proven fact, and which remained claims he insisted were incomplete until his death?

Person: Frank Angelo Fiorini (later Frank Anthony Sturgis)
Date: January 11, 1959
Event: Photographed on San Juan Hill above 71 executed people
Date: December 9, 1924 (birth)
Country: Cuba

- He stood on a mass grave on San Juan Hill on January 11, 1959, above 71 people executed the day before.
- He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps on October 5, 1942, at age 17 and was discharged as a corporal in 1945.
- He legally changed his name to Frank Anthony Sturgis on September 23, 1952.
- In 1958 he was registered as an informer by Sam Jenis at the U.S. Consulate in Santiago while also smuggling arms into Cuba.
- In March 1958 he opened a guerrilla training camp in the Sierra Maestra and taught ambush and mountain tactics to fighters including Ernesto Guevara.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1379falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/he-walked-in-and-confessed-how-klaus-fuchs-gave-the-a-bomb-secret--73074758
He walked into MI5 on January 24, 1950, asked to speak, and calmly confessed to giving the Soviet Union atomic secrets - after surviving Gestapo persecution, internment camps in Canada, and a decade of double life. How did a refugee, two‑time PhD physicist, and former Communist decide to hand over the most guarded secrets of the Western Allies?

In this episode, we follow Klaus Fuchs from his childhood in Rüsselsheim through exile, two doctoral degrees in Britain, internment in Canada, and recruitment into Tube Alloys, asking how those losses and choices led to the confession that reshaped the Cold War. What in his life broke the silence that had held his double life together?

Person: Klaus Emil Julius Fuchs
Date (confession): January 24, 1950
Birth Date: December 29, 1911
Location (birth): Rüsselsheim, Germany
Project: Tube Alloys

- Fuchs arrived in Britain on September 24, 1933, as a refugee with almost nothing.
- He earned his first doctorate from Bristol in 1937 and a second under Max Born at Edinburgh.
- He was arrested as an enemy alien in June 1940 and interned on the Isle of Man and in Canada.
- He returned to Britain on December 25, 1941, and nine months later was recruited into Tube Alloys.
- His confession meeting was the fourth of four scheduled meetings with MI5 officer William Skardon.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73074758Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:35:10 +0000Creator at ObomediaHe Walked In And Confessed: How Klaus Fuchs Gave the A‑Bomb Secret He walked into MI5 on January 24, 1950, asked to speak, and calmly confessed to giving the Soviet Union atomic secrets - after surviving Gestapo persecution, internment camps in...
He walked into MI5 on January 24, 1950, asked to speak, and calmly confessed to giving the Soviet Union atomic secrets - after surviving Gestapo persecution, internment camps in Canada, and a decade of double life. How did a refugee, two‑time PhD physicist, and former Communist decide to hand over the most guarded secrets of the Western Allies?

In this episode, we follow Klaus Fuchs from his childhood in Rüsselsheim through exile, two doctoral degrees in Britain, internment in Canada, and recruitment into Tube Alloys, asking how those losses and choices led to the confession that reshaped the Cold War. What in his life broke the silence that had held his double life together?

Person: Klaus Emil Julius Fuchs
Date (confession): January 24, 1950
Birth Date: December 29, 1911
Location (birth): Rüsselsheim, Germany
Project: Tube Alloys

- Fuchs arrived in Britain on September 24, 1933, as a refugee with almost nothing.
- He earned his first doctorate from Bristol in 1937 and a second under Max Born at Edinburgh.
- He was arrested as an enemy alien in June 1940 and interned on the Isle of Man and in Canada.
- He returned to Britain on December 25, 1941, and nine months later was recruited into Tube Alloys.
- His confession meeting was the fourth of four scheduled meetings with MI5 officer William Skardon.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1564falsefull