Spies Like Us Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Intricate and personal dramatization of the real-life story of one of history’s most successful spies, Kim Philby.  Intertwining narratives tell the tale of how Philby came to defect to the USSR in 1969 as well as the effects it had on British and American intelligence thereafter.  Truly one of the most intense spy stories we have covered on this cast.  Find where to watch here.

Due to the VERY complex nature of the tradecraft in this series we will be covering it over two episodes of our podcast.  Here is our analysis of episodes 1-3.  Next month we will continue with our analysis of episodes 4-6, which concludes the series.    

Music is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

‘Ice Cold’ by Audionautix

Artist: http://audionautix.com/

‘Enter the Party’ by Kevin MacLeod

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100240

Artist: http://incompetech.com/

Darkly comic Netflix television series follows a young CIA lawyer who manages to get completely in over his head in his first week at the agency.  The CIA here is portrayed as being more obsessed with plausible deniability than operational effectiveness.  Find where to watch here.

Our next topic will be the miniseries A Spy Among Friends.  Intricate drama centered on the career of Kim Philby, possibly history’s most successful spy.  Find where to watch here.

Music is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

‘Ice Cold’ by Audionautix

Artist: http://audionautix.com/

‘Enter the Party’ by Kevin MacLeod

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100240

Artist: http://incompetech.com/

Science fiction spy stories are rare, but this fits the bill and has tradecraft worth discussing.  Tod brings in some disparate guests, all of which have different relationships with the Star Wars franchise.  Together, we untangle this unique entry into the canon.    

Our next topic will be Zero Dark Thirty, an attempt at dramatizing the real-life work of the CIA in the hunt for Osama Bin Laden.  Come talk spy film and television with us at:

https://www.spieslikeus.net/contact

https://www.facebook.com/spieslikeuspodcast/

https://twitter.com/spies_likeus

Music is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

‘Ice Cold’ by Audionautix

Artist: http://audionautix.com/

‘Enter the Party’ by Kevin MacLeod

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100240

Artist: http://incompetech.com/

Robert Rodriguez takes a departure from his usual blood-soaked genre sendups to deliver his first blockbuster, a kid friendly spy adventure.  Special guest Yammering Lew joins us to discuss!  Music and SFX used under CCA license https://www.spieslikeus.net/attributions for details.

Robert Rodriguez takes a departure from his usual blood-soaked genre sendups to deliver his first blockbuster, a kid friendly spy adventure.  Music and SFX used under CCA license https://www.spieslikeus.net/attributions for details.

Gary Oldman tackles the iconic spy character George Smiley in this 2011 adaptation of the 1974 novel by John Le Carre’.  It’s a lot of story to fit into 2 hours; does the tradecraft hold up?  Music and SFX used under CCA license https://www.spieslikeus.net/attributions for details.

Gary Oldman tackles the iconic spy character George Smiley in this 2011 adaptation of the 1974 novel by John Le Carre’.  It’s a lot of story to fit into 2 hours; does the tradecraft hold up?  Music and SFX used under CCA license https://www.spieslikeus.net/attributions for details.

Our discussion of the Cardassian tailor and retired (?) spy Elim Garak continues with a look at some more of his memorable appearances, including one of the highest-regarded Trek episodes of all time, In the Pale Moonlight.  Music and SFX used under CCA license https://www.spieslikeus.net/attributions for details.

Not a lot of science fiction spies out there, but Elim Garak from the Deep Space Nine television series is one of the coolest… and definitely the smirkiest.  How does he hold up as a spy character?  Music and SFX used under CCA license https://www.spieslikeus.net/attributions for details.

We drill deeper into the tradecraft of the film’s two main characters, Charlize Theron’s Lorraine and James McAvoy’s Percival.  Will Lorraine prevail due to superior tradecraft, or simply due to being the heroine of the film?  Music and SFX used under CCA license https://www.spieslikeus.net/attributions for details.