Best Goat Rodeo Podcasts (2025)

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Russian Sabotage Operations and NATO’s Complex Alliance 29:58

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23h ago29:58

29:58

Russian drones and warplanes have been increasingly breaching the airspace of NATO countries. Admiral Joachim Rühle, (ret.) is the former Chief of Staff of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, the headquarters of Command Operations - including defense, deterrence, and training to Ukrainians - in Belgium. He talked about Moscow’s incursion…

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Opening the Foreign Influence Toolkit 32:42

7d ago32:42

32:42

Jessica Brandt knows a lot about influence. She was the director of the Foreign Malign Influence Center, which served as intermediary between the U.S. intelligence community and the public. It alerted private citizens and the public to disinformation operations orchestrated by adversaries overseas. Jessica explains how the toolkit has gotten larger…

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From the SpyCast Vault: An Assassination in Mexico 30:46

22d ago30:46

30:46

Keith Melton is a historian who’s been an advisor to the US Intelligence Community for decades. An avid collector and board member at The International Spy Museum, Keith has donated thousands of artifacts, and one of the most historically important is the axe used to assassinate Leon Trotsky. Keith found the weapon after decades of searching. In 20…

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The Dark Web Broker 35:42

28d ago35:42

35:42

Vinny Troia is at home on the Dark Web. The veteran hacker has developed relationships with cyberactors who have quietly stolen sensitive data from the far corners of the world. Vinny sells that data to law enforcement and intelligence agencies, like the CIA. His book, Grey Area: Dark Web Data Collection and the Future of OSINT, is out this October…

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To Catch a Drug Cartel 28:33

1M ago28:33

28:33

Keith Bulfin was a banker, not a spy. But then came a special client–a supposed coffee importer who was actually a banker for Mexican and Colombian drug cartels. Soon, U.S. authorities were knocking on Keith’s door. He ended up behind bars in a maximum security prison. While in prison, Bulfin ended up befriending leaders of drug cartels and eventua…

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Retracing the Hunt for Bin Laden 35:50

1M ago35:50

35:50

This Thursday marks the 24th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks, which spawned a decade-long search for the man behind them – Osama Bin Laden. Ed Bogan was the Chief of Operations for the CIA Counterterrorism Center’s Pakistan / Afghanistan Department. He takes us into agency headquarters, where he oversaw the raid on Bin Laden’s c…

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An Assassination in Athens and a CIA Officer’s Legacy 31:47

2M ago31:47

31:47

It’s been 50 years since the assassination of the CIA’s former Station Chief in Athens, Richard Welch. At the time, he was the agency’s highest level officer killed in the line of duty. A Greek, Marxist terrorist group called 17 November claimed responsibility for his death, but that was just the beginning. Former senior operations officer Ralph Ma…

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From the SpyCast Vault: Escaping Tehran with The CIA Pt. 2 29:04

2M ago29:04

29:04

We return to November, 1979 when radical Iranian students seized the US Embassy in Tehran and took dozens of Americans hostage. Mark and Cora Lijek were two American officials stuck in Tehran, and in 2008 they shared their story with the late Peter Earnest, the founding director of the International Spy Museum. And this time they were joined by ret…

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From the SpyCast Vault: Escaping Tehran with The CIA 30:41

2M ago30:41

30:41

We'll go back in time to November, 1979 when radical Iranian students seized the US Embassy in Tehran and took dozens of Americans hostage. Six US officials managed to find refuge with Canadian embassy staff, and 11 weeks later, the CIA led a daring operation to sneak them out of Iran disguised as a Hollywood film crew. Mark and Cora Lijek were two…

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Catching an Iranian-American Missile Broker 35:38

2M ago35:38

35:38

Reza Olangian, a dual US-Iranian citizen, left behind his life in Silicon Valley to spy for Iran in the capital. And by the time DEA special agent Jeffrey James Higgins found out about him in 2011, Olangian was trying to acquire hundreds of surface-to-air missiles. That kicked off an elaborate, multi-country sting operation… and a 25-year prison se…

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Lethal Dissent: Iran’s Spy Games in Turkey 29:56

3M ago29:56

29:56

Washington and Tehran have a long and complicated history, with tensions that rise, fall and then rise again. Just this summer, we watched the U.S. and Israel strike Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. This month, SpyCast is bringing you a series of special episodes on Iran, looking back and forward, to unveil the country’s intelligence priorities, capa…

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Agent 202: New Secrets Emerge on an American Who Spied for Cuba 30:32

3M ago30:32

30:32

Codenamed "Agent 202," Kendall Myers went undetected as a spy for Cuba for nearly 30 years. He worked at the State Department’s Foreign Service Institute, secretly spying for Cuba out of an earnest love for the island, its people, and their leader Fidel Castro. Myers was caught in 2009, after he retired. State Department Security Specialist and for…

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Agent of Chaos: The Austrian Fugitive Running Russia’s Global Spy Networks 31:24

3M ago31:24

31:24

Today he’s one of the most wanted men in the world, but before Jan Marsalek fled to Russia, he was the COO of payment-processing firm Wirecard. Officials and investigators say Marsalek used the company to finance Moscow’s covert operations and spy networks in Africa and Europe. In 2020, nearly €2 billion vanished from Wirecard, along with Marsalek.…

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From Intel Officer to White House Adviser: A Chat with The Museum’s Executive Director 33:03

3M ago33:03

33:03

This week we spoke with the International Spy Museum's Executive Director, Colonel Chris Costa. His decades-long career in the intelligence community spanned multiple continents, running sensitive operations in Panama, Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan, where he earned two Bronze stars for his human intelligence contributions. Later, Costa advised Navy…

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“America’s Gatekeeper”: A Conversation with DCSA’s Director David Cattler 29:00

4M ago29:00

29:00

Born out of a major Chinese cyberattack that stole personal information from millions of federal government employees, the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency calls itself ‘America’s Gatekeeper.’ Now five years into its existence, it’s responsible for overseeing most of the security clearances for government personnel and contractors. D…

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Russia's Fake Identity Assembly Line in Brazil 31:44

4M ago31:44

31:44

When a Russian spy was arrested in Brazil in 2022, authorities were shocked to discover that he seemed to have a real birth certificate and authentic citizenship documents. The incident sparked a multi-year investigation that uncovered a network of Russian operatives living and working in Brazil – Their false identities supported by genuine documen…

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Breaking the Silence: Coming Out in the CIA 32:42

4M ago32:42

32:42

Emerging alongside Joseph McCarthy’s Red Scare in the 1950s was the Lavender Scare: Widespread panic and paranoia over the inclusion of gay personnel in the federal government. Their perceived dangers led to the terminations and forced resignations of thousands. Fast forward to 1988 – Tracey Ballard, who worked at the CIA, headed in to take a polyg…

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A Conversation with House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman 32:56

4M ago32:56

32:56

What should the US Intelligence Community prioritize domestically and overseas, and how should the work be done? We sat down with Congressman Rick Crawford, Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, to learn his perspective on these questions. The conversation emphasized the growing threat of China’s influence in the West, t…

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Ghost Stories: The Hunt for Russian Spies in the US 31:15

4M ago31:15

31:15

In the early 2000s, the FBI uncovered a team of Russian operatives who had been living double lives in the United States. They were posing as professors, journalists, financial planners, real estate and travel agents, all while sending information back to Moscow. Now, 15 years after they were arrested, Alan Kohler, the former Assistant Director of …

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The Secret Navy and Their Hunt for a Nazi Sub 33:06

5M ago33:06

33:06

How do you catch an enemy’s submarine … and then make it vanish? That’s what the U.S. Navy’s elusive Tenth Fleet planned, as it tracked down Germany’s U-505 submarine. The mission came right before the Allies ran ashore on the beaches of Normandy in World War II. Historian Alexander Rose draws on long classified documents and intercepted transmissi…

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How Are Shifting Priorities Impacting National Security in America? 27:18

5M ago27:18

27:18

Most Americans would agree that the United States should be protected, but from whom … and how? Dr. Donell Harvin, the former Chief of Homeland Security and Intelligence for the District of Columbia, says the U.S. is taking its eye off the ball - focusing its large domestic intelligence apparatus in a direction that is politically expedient, but no…

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Holy Fool | Chapter 10 57:24

5M ago57:24

57:24

After two years building a mosaic of research about the Vitaly Yurchenko mystery, finally a full picture emerges: the truth.By audiochuck

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Sharing Intelligence: Challenges between US and Ukraine 31:56

5M ago31:56

31:56

After Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. rushed to create a secret center that set targets for the Ukrainians to destroy. But the counteroffensive of 2023 failed to achieve its goals. So, what went wrong? New York Times reporter Adam Entous spent more than a year reporting on this story. He joins SpyCast host Sasha Ingber to talk abo…

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In Search of a Spy | Chapter 9 39:17

5M ago39:17

39:17

The modern day hunt for Vitaly Yurchenko, the 90 year-old spy.By audiochuck

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Stories From the President's Daily Brief 23:34

5M ago23:34

23:34

Conflict has been escalating between two nuclear powers–India and Pakistan. It started in April, after India blamed Pakistan for supporting militants who carried out a massacre in Kashmir. President Trump offered to help defuse the tensions.Throughout history, India and Pakistan’s hostility has been documented in the President's Daily Brief, a high…

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Joyride | Chapter 8 52:16

6M ago52:16

52:16

Some old veterans from the Soviet and Eastern Europe division decide to take matters into their own hands and start a new hunt. It's unconventional, it's personal, and this time, it's successful.By audiochuck

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The Minions: Putin's Expendable Spies 30:36

6M ago30:36

30:36

They were a spy cell like no other — operating from quiet British suburbs, hailing from Bulgaria, and working on behalf of Russia. Their handler dubbed them “The Minions,” and their plots stretched across Europe and spanned honeytraps, abductions, and murder. At the time of this recording, six have been convicted and await sentencing. To parse out …

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It’s Hard to Find a Leak | Chapter 7.5 BONUS 56:01

6M ago56:01

56:01

BONUS EPISODE: Bodies continue to drop, despite the leaks identified by Yurchenko. Despite intensifying debate over his legitimacy, the SE division has a new desperate focus: to find answers. It creates a special task force to identify the remaining leak before any more lives are lost. In this bonus episode, we track the three fascinating reasons w…

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Escalation: Tracking the US-Ukraine Relationship 38:43

6M ago38:43

38:43

The United States and Ukraine have had a long, complicated history that has been defined by just as much partnership and collaboration as hesitation and disagreement. This dynamic is laid bare in the 7-part podcast series ‘Escalation,’ produced by our partners at Goat Rodeo, with the national security publication Lawfare. In April 2025, The Interna…

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Whiplash | Chapter 7 51:41

6M ago51:41

51:41

Yurchenko... reappears, sowing chaos. A debate begins to rage in the press, at the CIA, and even in the White House: Was Vitaly Yurchenko a plant from the very beginning?By audiochuck

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Where the ‘West V. Russia’ Plot Begins 31:17

6M ago31:17

31:17

Why does Vladimir Putin often say that the West is conspiring to weaken Russia? Historian James Crossland traces this narrative back to a British intelligence officer and a failed assassination attempt on Vladimir Lenin in 1918. The story is featured in his new book, Rogue Agent, from Secret Plots to Psychological Warfare, the Untold Story of Rober…

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Vanished | Chapter 6 52:04

6M ago52:04

52:04

To cheer up the despondent Yurchenko, the CIA takes Yurchenko on a road trip through the American Southwest, complete with a stop in Sin City. Soon after he returns from the trip, his spirits still low, Yurchenko... disappears.By audiochuck

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DOGE Layoffs and the Counterintelligence Threats They Pose 31:22

6M ago31:22

31:22

Government employees were dismissed with startling swiftness and sweeping in the midst of the Trump administration's relentless pursuit to pare down the federal workforce. The sheer number of fired personnel and the manner in which US officials let them go have led to concerns that disillusioned former employees may share what they know with foreig…

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Escalation Ep 7: Boiling The Frog 57:26

6M ago57:26

57:26

In the season finale of Escalation, Anastasiia Lapatina and Yulia Tymoshenko recount Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February, 2022. The western world is shocked, and US President Joe Biden and the US Congress attempt to send weapons to Ukraine to fight back. But fundamentally different perspectives on the fight will emerge and lead to t…

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BONUS: Conversation with John Mearsheimer 1:01:29

6M ago1:01:29

1:01:29

In this bonus episode of Escalation, hear our conversation with Professor John Mearsheimer. Mearsheimer is a historian and foreign policy expert at The University of Chicago, and he has some controversial opinions on the relationship between The United States, Ukraine, Russia and NATO. Our conversation with him was at times tense, but always intere…

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Valentina | Chapter 5 44:09

7M ago44:09

44:09

Yurchenko travels to Canada to be reunited with the love of his life, but plans go awry...By audiochuck

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Taiwan: China’s Testing Ground for Intelligence Operations 29:11

7M ago29:11

29:11

It's no secret that China has recently stepped up political and military pressure on the democratically governed island of Taiwan. But then, there are the Chinese Communist Party's covert efforts: Recruiting from the inside, gathering intelligence, and exerting influence. Executive Director of the Global Taiwan Institute Russell Hsiao breaks down B…

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Escalation Finale Preview: Making 'Escalation' 55:01

7M ago55:01

55:01

In this bonus episode of 'Escalation,' we give you a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the show, featuring a conversation with our reporting and production team of Anastasiia Lapatina, Tyler McBrien, Benjamin Wittes and Max Johnston Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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BONUS: Music from Ukrainian Cultural Forces 14:09

7M ago14:09

14:09

In this bonus episode of Escalation, you'll hear more music from the Ukrainian Cultural Forces. The Cultural Forces are a group of Ukrainian artists and veterans who travel the world as emissaries from the Ukrainian army. In September 2024, they were in Washington, DC, where our production team captured some of their performances. Hosted on Acast. …

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Introducing Targeted 33:15

7M ago33:15

33:15

Targeted uncovers harrowing stories of people who have been singled out and systematically dismantled—whether for political reasons, personal vendettas, or simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Each episode deep dives into the tactics used against someone, the devastating consequences, and the remarkable lessons they’ve learned in …

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The Safe Safehouse | Chapter 4 55:56

7M ago55:56

55:56

Yurchenko and his team of CIA and FBI officers start over in a new safehouse in the Virginia countryside. Meanwhile, the mole Yurchenko revealed... makes a run for it.By audiochuck

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Understanding Chinese Espionage Through 900 Cases 29:43

7M ago29:43

29:43

Nicholas Eftimiades’ 34 year career in government spanned the CIA, State Department and the Defense Intelligence Agency. He's published three books that examine the structure, methodology and operations of China's intelligence services. This, he says, led a Chinese communist newspaper to declare him an enemy of the state in the ‘90s. Now, Nick is r…

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Escalation Ep 6: Nothing Else Matters 56:48

7M ago56:48

56:48

In 2019, the relationship between The United States and Ukraine faces one of its biggest tests during a phone call between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The resulting scandal makes Ukraine a toxic issue for some lawmakers in the US Congress, where Ukrainian veterans are still trying to generate support for the war to this day. Hosted on Aca…

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BONUS: Conversation with Evelyn Farkas 24:54

7M ago24:54

24:54

In this bonus episode of Escalation, you'll hear our conversation with Evelyn Farkas, who is the Executive Director for The McCain Institute, and served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia in the Obama Administration. Farkas describes the US government's reaction to the invasion of Crimea, and discussions over …