John Kiriakou's Dead Drop
by Costard & Touchstone Productions
Latest episode
S3E8 An Enemy Within: The Plot Thickens
S3E8 An Enemy Within: The Plot Thickens
About this podcast
Join ex-CIA officer John Kiriakou on a very personal deep dive into what makes a spy tick. One of the most famous spies in the whole world, John - a spy with a conscience - blew the whistle on the CIA's torture program after the war on terror and spent 23 months in federal prison for it. As John explains, no spy is ever an "ex-spy". Why is that so? Listen to the podcast and you'll understand why. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
The newest 50 of 60 episodes
- S3E8 An Enemy Within: The Plot Thickens · 46 min · Season 3 Episode 8IN THIS EPISODE So, what happened - or seemed to happen - the night of February 28, 1986, the night someone shot Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme to death on a Stockholm street…
- S3E7 An Enemy Within: Cold Warriors · 57 min · Season 3 Episode 7IN THIS EPISODE As the hot war - WW2 - ended, a "cooler" but equally fervent Cold War replaced it. The stay-behind networks described in episode one quickly became a whole subset…
- S3E6 An Enemy Within: The Stay-Behinds · 1 h 1 min · Season 3 Episode 6IN THIS EPISODE One of the most remarkable stories that no one knows - which is remarkable in itself - is the assassinatioin of Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme on a Stockholm…
- S3E5 How To Interrogate A Monster: Saddam Hussein · 1 h 28 min · Season 3 Episode 5IN THIS EPISODE In the previous two Spy Academy episodes, we talked about liars and how to spot them. Now it's time to put all that knowledge to good use as we deep dive into…
- S3E4 The Body Language of Lying · 46 min · Season 3 Episode 4IN THIS EPISODE SHOW NOTES If you're enjoying Dead Drop, podcast, please check out the rest of Costard & Touchstone's family of podcasts. They cover everything from journalism…
- S3E3 Liars (And Lying) 101 · 47 min · Season 3 Episode 3IN THIS EPISODE Welcome to John Kiriakou's Spy Academy! Whether chatting with someone informally or conducting a full-on interrogation, every spy needs to know whether or not the…
- S3E2 The Whistleblower's Tiger Mom · 53 min · Season 3 Episode 2IN THIS EPISODE Every whistleblower should know one thing before they step forward with their secrets that demand exposing - at some point, the legal system will engage with you…
- S3E1 Whistleblowers & Spies · 45 min · Season 3 Episode 1IN THIS EPISODE Welcome to Season 3! As the title of this episode suggests, season 3 will refocus the podcast on spying and, this season, on whistleblowing, too. We may be in a…
- S2E18 Whistleblower's Roundtable with Tom Drake · 1 h 32 min · Season 2 Episode 18IN THIS EPISODE We draw the curtain on season 2 with a preview of season 3 wherein we'll ask "What Makes A Whistleblower Tick?" To get us kicked off, John roundtables with…
- S2E17 How NOT To Make A SPY Movie · 1 h 5 min · Season 2 Episode 17IN THIS EPISODE We join with another podcast in the Costard & Touchstone Family - The How NOT To Make A Movie Podcast - to explore how NOT to make a SPY movie. John and Alan Katz…
- S2E16 Free At Last · 53 min · Season 2 Episode 16IN THIS EPISODE John's time at Loretto finally comes to an end - but not without a near hiccup. Though he's free of Loretto, he's not free from the federal Bureau of Prisons…
- S2E15 The Home Stretch · 53 min · Season 2 Episode 15IN THIS EPISODE When John first entered the gates of Loretto Federal Prison, his goal was to use all his training as a spy to survive prison. But, just as with spying, prison can…
- S2E14 The Torture Report · 35 min · Season 2 Episode 14IN THIS EPISODE At Loretto Federal Prison, John can almost see the light of his release date in the not-too-distant future. Returning to the Outside World will mean having to…
- S2E13 The Crusader · 47 min · Season 2 Episode 13IN THIS EPISODE John was hardly the first person to point out corruption in America's penal system. Paul Wright was serving a 17 year sentence for murdering a drug dealer when…
- S2E12 Dangerous · 36 min · Season 2 Episode 12IN THIS EPISODE When he first arrived at Loretto Federal Prison to start serving his 30 month term, John expected to serve that term where the judge and prosecutor both advocated…
- S2E11 Unfinished Business · 35 min · Season 2 Episode 11IN THIS EPISODE With his out date - the end of his prison sentence - now starting to come into view (albeit still in the distance), John would have been best served by keeping…
- S2E10 Food, Glorious Food! · 51 min · Season 2 Episode 10IN THIS EPISODE, meet Joey Casolo. These days, Joey owns a great pizzaria in South Carolina. But, back in the day, Joey was one of the greatest prison chefs ever at Loretto. If…
- S2E9 Killing Fascism · 36 min · Season 2 Episode 9IN THIS EPISODE: How do you fight corruption when most of the corrupt deck is stacked against you? In John's case, he used his words - and the fact that becoming a federal…
- S2E8 Snowden · 40 min · Season 2 Episode 8THE BLURB: While John was serving his sentence, the American government faced the consequences of other whistleblowers speaking their truths about the corruption they'd…
- S2 Bonus Episode: Expert Witness · 9 min · Season 2THE BLURB: In this bonus episode, John tells the story of a legal case in which he testified as an expert witness - against the FBI in a case against an accused terrorist. As…
- S2E7 Letters From Loretto · 28 min · Season 2 Episode 7IN THIS EPISODE John arrived at Loretto Federal Prison having promised to write about his experiences for various independent news media outlets. He had no idea just how powerful…
- S2E6 Use Your Words · 28 min · Season 2 Episode 6THE BLURB: Already a succesful, best-selling author when the CIA put John in prison, he quickly realized that his writing - his words - were going to be his super power. John…
- S2E5 The Abyss · 47 min · Season 2 Episode 5THE BLURB: Frederich Nietsche warned us about staring into the abyss and becoming the monster we most feared. He could have been talking about being in prison. Or being a spy. In…
- S2E4 With Friends Like These · 33 min · Season 2 Episode 4THE BLURB: While, on the one hand prison is NOT the place you go to make friends, once you're there, you need to have (and be able to rely on) a tight circle of friends just to…
- S2E3 Circle Of Friends · 60 min · Season 2 Episode 3THE BLURB: In prison, nobody helps anybody. Except their friends. In this episode, John will introduce you to his circle of friends, some of whom remained his friend long after…
- S2E2 Rules Of The Game · 35 min · Season 2 Episode 2THE BLURB: One thing about prison, there are rules upon rules. Upon rules. In this episode, John realizes that he's going to have to live by his own rules in order to survive…
- S2E1 Welcome To Loretto · 31 min · Season 2 Episode 1THE BLURB: In season one, we told the story of how CIA counter terrorism officer John Kiriakou chose to tell ABC journalist Jonathan Ross the truth - that the CIA had tortured…
- S1E27 Prisoner Ex · 36 min · Season 1 Episode 27THE BLURB: Having been a prisoner despite not deserving that fate, John is extremely interested in others similarly incarcerated. To that end, back before the 2024 election, we…
- S1E26 Did John Le Carre Invent The Modern Spy? · 1 h 8 min · Season 1 Episode 26THE BLURB: In this episode, we ask a question: did author and ex-spy John Le Carre invent the modern spy by channeling his experiences as a Cold War spy into novels like "The Spy…
- S1E25 The Whistleblower · 52 min · Season 1 Episode 25THE BLURB: As John's date with prison looms, he begins prepping - financially and mentally. In the end, John's plea deal would put him inside for 30 months reduceable to 23. At…
- S1E24 Moment Of Truth · 57 min · Season 1 Episode 24THE BLURB: John demanding to see his lawyer saved him getting arrested on the spot. Almost all of the government's case against John was nonsense - which John and his lawyers…
- S1E23 Good Company, Bad Company · 56 min · Season 1 Episode 23THE BLURB: John wasn't the only CIA officer who refused training in the CIA's new "enhanced interrogation" techniques - despite assurances from the CIA's legal team. This…
- S1E22 The Good, The Bad, The Ugly · 26 min · Season 1 Episode 22THE BLURB: John finds that working in the private sector (doing corporate intel at Deloitte and Touche) for big money, perks and benefits has its advantages over working a lot…
- S1E21 End Of Times · 35 min · Season 1 Episode 21THE BLURB: Everything must end - including a CIA career. While John had planned to make a lifetime career of the agency, circumstances dictated otherwise. So, to a large degree…
- S1E20 Changes · 54 min · Season 1 Episode 20THE BLURB: Returning from the mission in Pakistan, John decided his kids needed him to stay closer to home for a whie. He applied for and got a domestic assignment. The problem?…
- S1E19 Torture · 26 min · Season 1 Episode 19THE BLURB: If this story has a heart of darkness, this is it. How did American policy find its way to legitimizing torture? In this episode, we'll take you down that terrible…
- S1E18 Cross Currents · 32 min · Season 1 Episode 18THE BLURB: After John watched Abu Zubaydah's plane rendition him to what turned out to be a black site in Thailad, he still had lots of other terrorists to interrogate. He felt…
- S1E17 Zain · 28 min · Season 1 Episode 17THE BLURB: For 70 hours, almost three days, John was responsible for handling Abu Zubaydah, the terrorist the agency believed was Al Qaeda's number three. Though their time…
- S1E16 Captured · 44 min · Season 1 Episode 16THE BLURB: The hunt for Al Qaeda's number three, an elusive terrorist with the nom de guerre Abu Zubaydah, intensifies but seems to go nowhere. The team scoops up lots of smaller…
- S1E15 The Hunt Begins · 37 min · Season 1 Episode 15THE BLURB: John lands in Pakistan where the hunt for Al Qaeda's leadership begins with the hunt for the perfect safe house. John also begins to coordinate his team with Pakistani…
- Mini Episode 5 Betrayal · 13 min · Season 1THE BLURB: Aldrich Ames was a CIA counterintelligence officer who was convicted of espionage on behalf of the soviet Union and Russia in 1994. Ames was responsible for the arrest…
- S1E14 Game On · 28 min · Season 1 Episode 14THE BLURB: With America - and the CIA - at war, everyone wants to fight, especially John. But, his skill sets aren't the required ones as the War On Terror begins. The CIA, it…
- S1E13 Hostages · 24 min · Season 1 Episode 13THE BLURB: After Joanne kidnaps John's two sons - instead of making them available for his six weeks summer vacation with them - John uses his espionage skills to track them all…
- S1E12 The Grind · 49 min · Season 1 Episode 12THE BLURB: Back in America, John settles in to a year or so "in the penalty box" because of what happened in Athens. John's divorce from Joanne gets complicated by Joanne's…
- S1E11 Have Human Spies Become Obsolete? · 57 min · Season 1 Episode 11THE BLURB: In this episode, John chats with former CIA officer turned wildly successful novelist BARRY EISLER about spying and how it lends itself to storytelling. After a three…
- S1E10 Blind Spot · 45 min · Season 1 Episode 10THE BLURB: John's assignment in Athens comes to a head when an assassination attempt on him goes awry with tragic results. But that merely compounds the situation at home when…
- S1E9 The Hothead · 37 min · Season 1 Episode 9THE BLURB: The very things that made Athens a great counter-terrorism assignment also made it incredibly dangerous. John's intensive training was designed to make him paranoid…
- S1E8 The James Bond Academy · 42 min · Season 1 Episode 8THE BLURB: When John turned his back on being a deskbound analyst in favor of risking his neck out in the field, he knew he'd made the right decision. Blowing things up…
- S1E7 The Shadow Of Richard Welch · 35 min · Season 1 Episode 7THE BLURB: On the one hand, being assigned to handle counter-terrorism in Athens was a dream job. On the other, it had nightmarish implications and very real dangers up to and…
- Mini Episode 4: Grave Concerns · 22 min · Season 1THE BLURB: Both spying and the subject of this episode - cemeteries - piqued John's youthful curiosity at roughly the same age. Spying, of course, became John's vocation. But…
