The Langley Files: CIA's Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

CIA’s digital systems need to process some of the most sensitive data in the world—intelligence that is vital to keeping Americans safe and must be kept from falling into the wrong hands. But who is responsible for ensuring the security of those systems? And do they have any best practices that you could incorporate into your own tech life? On this episode of The Langley Files, you’ll find out. Dee and Walter are sitting down with Jennifer Link, CIA’s Chief Information Security Officer, to discuss her background and responsibilities, and how she goes about keeping herself cyber-safe in everyday life. So, from mystery phone calls and online pop ups to the increasing world of cyber-enabled home appliances—this is an episode chock full of CIA cyber safety news you can use.

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Interested in cyber security and want to take your skills to the next level? Put them to the test defending CIA—and the nation—from cyber threats. Check out career opportunities as a CIA Cyber Security Officer here.  

 

Looking for handy factsheets on keeping yourself, your family, or your business safe online? The US Government’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has you covered. 

 

Did you know that Morocco borders both the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea? Learn incredible facts about places near and far with CIA’s World Factbook. 

PART TWO: CIA OPERATIONS. In Part One of this special two-part episode, George E. Hocker, Jr.—the trailblazing Black CIA operations officer who joined the Agency in the 1950s and ultimately rose to its seniormost ranks—shared with Dee and Walter the trials and triumphs of undergoing CIA operations, paramilitary, and survival training—and doing so as the only Black officer in his class. But George’s career with the Agency was just getting started—and only going to get more intense. In Part Two, you’ll hear about the CIA operations George led overseas—directly from this legendary CIA officer himself. Tune in to learn how George ended up on the wrong end of an AK-47 rifle, in the middle of a mystery that had beguiled the local CIA station for years, and tasked with getting a key Soviet officer sharing information with CIA to safety under cover of darkness. It’s a journey that’ll see George overcome discrimination and break down barriers at Langley, serve as a trusted advisor to not one but two Directors of Central Intelligence, and ultimately achieve a feat still considered a Cold War espionage first.   

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Want to dive deeper into today’s episode? Here's a look into more of Langley's (unclassified) files:
 
Read more about George E. Hocker, Jr.’s remarkable career—and see photos from his time at CIA, including his original Agency job offer letter—here.

Want to follow in George’s footsteps and become one of the CIA operations officers gathering intelligence across the globe to keep Americans and others around the world safe? Apply here.  

Interested in the other high-impact CIA Directorate of Operations jobs? Check out the Collection Management Officer, Targeting Officer, Staff Operations Officer, Directorate of Operations Language Officer positions.

Does this episode’s trivia have you curious about the adventures of Mischief the Fox and Secret Squirrel? Check out this article.

CIA is known as America's first line of defense - but who protects CIA? On this episode, Dee and Walter sit down with a member of CIA's protective service - the unit charged with keeping CIA personnel and facilities safe. They'll discuss what it takes to qualify for that team, the training its officers undergo, and the importance of not calling a day "quiet" until it's over.

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Want to dive deeper into today’s episode? Here's a look into Langley's (unclassified) files:

Where did David learn to master a controlled vehicular spin? Check out the FLETC website.

Interested to joining CIA's protective service cadre? See the requirements and desired qualifications.

Looking for more on today’s trivia answer? Your friends at the CIA World Factbook have you covered. 

In this episode of The Langley Files, Deputy Director of CIA for Analysis, Linda Weissgold, joins Dee and Walter to discuss what makes a good CIA analyst, the unusual working hours required to be the President's briefer, and the importance of the Agency's apolitical assessments. Along the way, she shares lessons from her decades-long career with CIA - and what it's like delivering bad news to the most powerful person on the planet.

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Overview of CIA’s Directorate of Analysis and the analytic positions available at the Agency

 

Is perhaps the most exclusive publication in the world still delivered on paper? Check out the evolution of the President’s Daily Brief (PDB)

 

Curious about the women OSS members Linda mentioned? Read stories from the “Sisterhood of Spies”

 

See the iconic words inside the final President’s Intelligence Checklist (PICL) ever produced by CIA

 

Want to try your hand at searching out the answer to today’s trivia question? Head over to the CIA World Factbook—where that information, and much more, awaits.

In 2022, CIA announced its first-ever Chief Technology Officer: Nand Mulchandani, a Silicon Valley executive with 25 years of industry experience. Since then, he’s been charting CIA’s course on technology—and now, on the Season 2 premiere of The Langley Files, he sits down with Dee and Walter for his first interview on being CTO of the world’s premiere foreign intelligence agency. Tune in to hear him discuss accelerating technological innovation at CIA—and whether his habit of wearing jeans to work is catching on at Langley.

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CIA Announces CTO Nand Mulchandani

In the private sector and have an idea to share with CIA? https://www.cia.gov/tech/

For more about today's trivia answer:
From the CIA Museum
Argo Artist Concept
The Debrief: Behind the Artifact on Argo

Rogue operatives. Off the books programs. Hood-sliding CIA officers single-handedly saving the world. Is there any fact behind the spy fiction we see all the time? For this, The Langley Files’ season one finale, Dee and Walter sit down with none other than CIA Deputy Director David Cohen to break down recurring scenes in spy fiction—and reveal that, behind some of them, is a surprising degree of CIA truth. *Nothing in this podcast should be construed to be an endorsement by the CIA or the US Government of any particular company, product, or service.

A top secret mission to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. A legendary CIA officer who postponed retirement to lead the Agency's response to 9/11. An entire building turned into a listening post. Where can you find artifacts from these chapters of hidden history and many more? The museum at the heart of CIA Headquarters. Since this museum is not open to the general public, in this episode of The Langley Files, Dee and Walter catch up with the museum's director and deputy director for a behind the scenes tour ... podcast-style. *Nothing in this podcast should be construed to be an endorsement by the CIA or the US Government of any particular company, product, or service.

On this episode of The Langley Files, CIA's Chief Historian joins Walter and Dee to talk about the Agency's cadre of in-house historians. They'll discuss how these officers' work studying the past supports CIA's mission in the present, what it's like going through the Agency's archives ... and how one of the fastest, highest-flying operational jet aircraft ever built ended up in the parking lot of CIA Headquarters. *Nothing in this podcast should be construed to be an endorsement by the CIA or the US Government of any particular company, product, or service.

On this episode, Dee and Walter sit down with an Agency recruitment leader to learn what characteristics CIA is looking for when selecting candidates, how CIA differs from the private sector, and the number of occupations that the Agency has to offer—which may surprise you. *Nothing in this podcast should be construed to be an endorsement by the CIA or the US Government of any particular company, product, or service.

2022 marks the Central Intelligence Agency's 75th Anniversary. On this episode, our hosts Dee and Walter talk with two Agency officers who are leading efforts to commemorate this milestone for the Agency. They will discuss the CIA's evolution over time, what events marked this year's celebration, and how CIA is learning from its past to best serve the American people.