I Spied

After spending the last month looking at Australian terrorist incidents, it’s high time to look at where these people are coming from. What makes a terrorist, how does someone get radicalised and what can we do to stop it? And just what is a Secret Policeman’s Ball really like and why does David like dancing so much?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australia has long been a refuge for the Irish but what about the IRA? This week we look at terrorism from the Emerald Isle, it’s influence from the early days of the colony and into the 21st century. And David reveals a dark family secret involving an uprising, a rebellion and a drunken horse & buggy ride along Parramatta Road. Sláinte!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At 12.40am, 13 February 1978, Australia was thrown into the international spotlight when a bomb exploded outside the Hilton Hotel in Sydney. This week we attempt to unpack that story - the causes, the controversies, the casualties and the repercussions. Probably the truly defining moment in Australian intelligence that saw counter terrorism become ASIO’s big target. Not to be missed.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this bite-size ep. we look at the Five Eyes - the intelligence-sharing alliance between the US, UK, Canada, Australia and NZ. What does it do, why was it set up and how do the member states feel about Five Eyes becoming Six? An interesting glimpse at a little-known feature of the  Western intelligence landscape, along with David’s terrible Churchill impersonation. A perfectly ludicrous way to ease into your weekend.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we look at the literal explosion of Yugoslav terrorism in Australia in the 60s & 70s. What did the terrorists want, how did they manage to stay active for so long and why was ASIO seemingly unable to stop them? And just why would the AG raid the ASIO offices? A fascinating piece of almost forgotten history that reshaped ASIO and put counter-terrorism firmly on the map.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Following a spirited debate on the @ISpiedppodcast twitter feed re. Christine Holgate asking Senate Estimates for the records of her telephone conversations with ministers and the Auspost board, we decided to look at telephone intercepts. How does ASIO go about bugging your phone, what are the legal ramifications and who else is involved? This one definitely warrants a listen.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week a listener request takes us down the rabbit hole of terrorism in Australia, and does that hole go deep! In the first of a multi-episode series, we look at some of the stranger incidents, including the Battle of Broken Hill and the only ever reported attack by the Queensland Republican Army. Far from a new phenomenon, terrorism has been a feature of the security environment down under for over a century. Strap yourselves in, folks. This is going to take a few eps!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this bite size ep. we say farewell to one of American security’s craziest characters - George Gordon Battle Liddy. Former FBI agent, Watergate conspirator and all-round whack job, Liddy exemplified the paranoia and clandestine chicanery of the Nixon era. You woudn’t leave your pencils lying around if George was in the room.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, in the wake of the Channel 9 and Parliament House hacks, we are joined by Jason Brown, National Security Director for Thales and globally renowned cyber expert to look at just what is going on online. Who are the big players, what are the threats, and just how prepared is Australia to face the digital future? And why was the printer at ASIO given it’s own office? You’ll want to be sure to check you password and make sure your anti-virus software is up-to-date after you’ve listen to this ep!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For the second year ASIO DG Mike Burgess has addressed the public with his annual threat assessment. This week we have a look at what the speech contained - from changes to how ASIO describe extremists to the “nest of spies” ASIO recently uncovered - and what this all means to Australia.Not just the contents of the speech, but also the extraordinary new openness DG Burgess is promoting.  And just why are so many countries spying on us these days?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our intelligence agencies have a lot of confidential material and in this bite-size episode, we look at how they determine just how they classify them and how they determine who can look at them. From your birth certificate to your online footprint, ASIO takes a good long look at you before sharing their secrets and after this ep. you’ll be even more mystified at how David ever cleared to the top echelons of national security.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Back in the day, a claim that a Satanic Cult of sex-trafficking paedophilic cannibals working out of a pizza shop was running the world would immediately find itself relegated to the ASIO Crank file. And yet people are jumping on the QAnon bandwagon in droves. This week we take a long, penetrating look at QAnon: what does it mean, why do people believe it and what are the security implications? It’s a murky world of 4Chan, 8Kun, Storms, Great Awakenings and the cult of Trump. You may need a shower after this one!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we slip across the 38th parallel for a look at the most secretive totalitarian state on the planet - the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Living on an almost permanent war footing, starving its citizens to build nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles and being ruled by a family that make what the Windsors did to Meghan look positively welcoming, the aptly named Hermit Kingdom is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside a bad haircut.Welcome to North Korea, the last place on Earth where you want to give your tour guide the slip.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this bite-size episode we look at embassies, consulates and all that stuff around diplomats. What kind of immunity do they have? Is an embassy actually a sovereign part of the country that occupies it? And how did Julian Assange get to live in an Ecuadorian bathroom for so long? From defectors to diplomatic bags, this mini ep. tells you everything you never knew about diplomatic missions.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With the release of the CIA report into the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, David and Michelle take a deep dive into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its latest Crown Prince and likely prime suspect, Muhammad Bin Salman. What is the relationship between the US and the Sauds? What is its future with MSB in the mix? And just what was David and Michelle up to when they visited the Middle East? Available wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this week’s episode we look at women in the world of espionage and discover that far from the bubbly Bond girls we’re used to, women have shaped intelligence world and can be as badass as the best of them. Running resistance cells, rescuing downed pilots, skiing over mountains into enemy territory, nothing was too hard for these femme fatales. From Mata Hari to Avril Haines it becomes pretty clear that behind every man in intelligence there is likely a woman who showed him how it’s done. A cracker of an episode!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week is the story of Mordechai Vanunu, just an average guy who winds up caught in a web of international intrigue, honey traps, Mossad black ops, kidnapping and nuclear weapons. From Israel to Sydney to London to Rome and back to Israel, this is truly a gobsmacking spy expose which also sees David get accosted at the Civic bus interchange in Canberra. Not to be missed!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Vladimir has a problem and that problem is Alexie Navalny - lawyer, activist and all-round pain in Putin’s posterior. This ep we have a look at Alexie and his 20 year fight against corruption in Russia. From poisonings to prison sentences, Putin can’t seem to be able to get rid of this problem, much like ASIO’s DDG when David started editing the in-house newsletter. A real David vs Goliath episode!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to 2021 and I Spied - the embarrassingly overweight insurrectionist of Australian intelligence. We feel we can’t start the year without talking about the ruckus in the US. David and Michelle look at how the storming of the Capitol happened, where US security failed, and David talks about how ASIO handled a similar crisis when protesters tried to storm the Canberra Central Office. I Spied is available wherever get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you feel like betraying your country, maybe you should listen to this first. From Kim Philby to the Petrovs and beyond, we take a glimpse at the life of a defector: how it’s done, what are the rewards and what are the downsides. Spying is hardly glamorous, and defecting is even less so.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While we often take a long laughing look at how spies are depicted in fiction, some of the true stories are seriously wired. In this bite-size I Spied we look at the CIA’s operations in Moscow during the Cold War and some of the stranger devices they came up with to foil the KGB. How about a dog skin created by the CIA wig department? Or how rats were used to send messages. Fact is often stranger than fiction, and when it comes to US spies, a whole lot weirder!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A special episode of the stuff we couldn’t fit into the interview with friend of the podcast and all-round intelligence security guru Neil Fergus. We look at his experience as the Head of Security for the Olympic Games, the terrorist threats we didn’t hear about during the Sydney Games, and the most awkward phone call Neil had when the President of the Brazil Olympic Committee called to offer him a job.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Osama Bin Laden. The most recognisable name in terrorism and a major case study for all things ASIO and security. On this week’s snack-sized episode of I Spied, we unpack how Bin Laden came about, 9/11 and how he outsmarted the American Security System.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Atomic Blonde. Does the hit movie accurately represent the intelligence industry and is everyone as badass as Charlize Theron? Welcome back to the snackable I Spied episodes to listen to over your Christmas break. Today on another bite-sized ep we analyse spy movies and investigate if the cookie-cutter plots are closely aligned to any possible truth of the real world spy industry.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Would you believe that ASIO has a file on Santa? Welcome back to the snackable I Spied episodes to listen to over your Christmas break.  When you consider Santa’s criminal abilities, technology, obviously far-reaching surveillance capabilities, constant flouting of sovereign borders and his obviously socialist ideology of giving every child a present, why wouldn’t they? We look at the most dangerous man in the world that every intelligence service would love to get their hands on.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tis the season for love, giving and your Uncle Barry’s wild conspiracy theories that he thinks are worth discussing over Christmas Dinner. Welcome to the bite-sized episodes of I Spied over the Christmas/New Year period. Today we unpack why your Uncle Barry can’t just shut his mouth and how you can avoid crazy conspiracy theories this Christmas.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We've talked a lot about what it’s like to work for ASIO, but what is it like to be targeted by ASIO? This week we are joined by former politician, life-long activist and editor of Dirty Secrets: Our ASIO Files - an expose of the files of famous Australians - to talk about being followed by ASIO and the NSW Special Branch, the people ASIO targeted during the 60s and 70s and running onto the SCG pitch to protest apartheid during the 1971 Springbok tour.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I Spied - the Twitter troll of Australian Intelligence - This week we take a long, hard look at power and pitfalls of social media - how intelligence services use it to gather information, how extremist organisations use it to recruit members, how terrorists use it to plan and carry out attacks. We examine how everything you post - from selfies to Fitbit data -  reveals far more than you think, and David talks about how a single incorrect keystroke on the ASIO internal messaging system led him into a romantic tryst with a real-life Bond girl.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I Spied - the steamed tripe on the Yum Cha trolley of Australian intelligence. With Australian trade taking a shellacking from China recently, we are joined by Neil Fergus, CEO of Intelligent Risks and security consultant to the IOC to take a deep dive into the Middle Kingdom and figure out just what is going on. From walking Olivia Newton John the length of the Great Wall to dealing with the MSS during the Beijing Olympics, Neil shows us that  dealing with China is like playing a game of poker blindfolded, where you only have one card and they hold all the aces.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I Spied - the podcast that is the embarrassing sext message on the iPhone of Australian intelligence. This week, with Australian political philandering being exposed on the ABC, we look at compromise: how it happens; how to avoid it; and what to do when you have been, and David reveals how he found himself in a rather compromising situation involving Shakespeare, the High Court, a vegemite jar and a large marijuana plant.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I Spied - the podcast that is the bamboo sliver under the fingernail of security. We hear about “enhanced interrogation techniques” but what really happens if you’re captured by the other side? This episode, we look at interrogation, torture, and a training exercise became the longest night & day & night & day of Frosty’s life. https://twitter.com/ISpiedpodcast Here is a link to ASIO's questioning and detention powers report talked about in the Ep - www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Intelligence_and_Security/ASIO/Report  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I Spied - the podcast that is the crossed lines of telephone interception. This week we look at extremism from far left to far right and Frosty tells of the afternoon he had to listen to a murder over the phone. We all know James Bond gets a gun, but what does your average ASIO officer have to protect himself?    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Frosty regards the collapse of Soviet Communism as some of his finest work, and when the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, ASIO was certain the Cold War was over and Russia was done.  There was just one little detail every western intelligence organisation missed… a young KGB Officer named Vladimir Putin. On the eve of the US election I Spied is thrilled to be joined by Matt Bevan, ABC journo and the man behind the “America, If You’re Listening” podcast, to talk about Trump, Putin and everything you need to know about overthrowing a government. America If You're Listening Podcast   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I spied, the podcast that is the unwanted briefcase at the bus stop of Life. In today's episode, David tells us how the ASIO building was shut down by a briefcase. We also unpack the inner workings of the ASIO building itself.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I Spied the podcast that is the economy legroom on a flight to Bali. Today David tells us what he did to get pistol-whipped on a plane and all we dive in to all things Terrorism.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I Spied the podcast that is the inappropriate foot placement in a hot tub after a party. In today's episode David reveals how he ended up in the CIA Station Chief’s spa tub with two Marines and his secretary. We also discuss the 'Five Eyes' and sharing of infomation between nations.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I Spied, the Podcats that guarantees if you didn’t have a file you’ve got one now.  This week we discuss what everyone really wants to know - what does my file at ASIO say about me. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I Spied, the bug in the ointment of the spy industry. This weeks episode David explains the perils of bugging someone's house and we unpacks surveillance, encryption and all the tech of the spy industry.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I Spied,  the podcast that is the tea in a Russian poison plot. In todays episode, Michelle Stephenson Nova journalist and, David Callan ex ASIO Spook turned comedian discuss counterintelligence, the KGB and how following an agent from Russia ended in a live sex act. A DM Podcast www.diamantina.com.auSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to I Spied,  the podcast that aims to undress the spy industry only to find a hairy overweight middle-aged man.In this episode, Michelle Stephenson Nova journalist and, David Callan ex ASIO Spook turned comedian discuss how David wound up working there, his first job and how a chance glance at a photo revealed a high school mate may have been a terrorist bomb maker. Twitter: @ISpiedpodcastA DM Podcast www.diamantina.com.auSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I Spied will take a look at the dark underbelly of the intelligence world and give its love-handles a damn good shake. A DM Podcast www.diamantina.com.auSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.