Season 2 · Episode 333
Before the CIA: The Secret History of Spying
Before the CIA, spying was a world of forged wax seals and secret post offices. Discover how intelligence evolved into an institution.
My Weird Prompts · Daniel Rosehill
January 28, 202629m 53s
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Show Notes
Long before the existence of the CIA or Mossad, the world of espionage was a decentralized web of personal favors, diplomatic gossip, and "Black Chambers." In this episode, Herman and Corn trace the evolution of intelligence from Renaissance ambassadors to the birth of modern signals intelligence. They explore how the need for institutional memory transformed spying from a temporary wartime necessity into the permanent global infrastructure we see today.