The Secret World of Espionage with Multiple Professors

Consider how integral spies have been in shaping our world, often in ways we can't possibly fathom. They've created governments. They've expanded economies and overthrown monarchies. They've even helped nations avoid catastrophic wars. (They've sometimes enabled them, too.) When it comes to the secret world of espionage, it's fair to say that facts are often better than fiction.
In the nine episodes of The Secret World of Espionage, shine a light into the shadowy world of spy craft with a distinguished panel of historians-including a former intelligence case officer-in search of the secret meeting places, complex codes, stealth observations, and cutting-edge technologies spies have used throughout history. How much does pop culture get wrong about espionage? What traits make for exceptional spies and possible double agents? What happens when intelligence operations fail? Learn why the answers are more intriguing than anything pop culture could come up with.
Learn How Spies Work
The first step in dispelling myths about spies and espionage is learning how spies really work. Throughout these episodes, you'll consider why someone would want to become a spy (or a double agent) in the first place.
Experts have a term for the four most common factors: MICE. Most assets end up working for the Money. When it comes to Ideology, perhaps the spy dislikes the system of government they're spying on. Sometimes, an individual is Compromised into working as a spy (possibly via blackmail). Then there are those who want to fuel their Ego-perhaps they've even seen a lot of spy movies and want to be just like their heroes.
Of course, there are plenty of other skills, strategies, and methodologies involved in successful statecraft. In The Secret World of Espionage, you'll discover
How spies gather different sources of intelligence information, including from other people (known as HUMINT);
How spies exploit the social expectations of their times (including gender) to avoid scrutiny and suspicion;
How spies use 21st-century tech tools to gather and analyze more and more granular information; and even
How spies, unlike many of their fictional counterparts, learn to be "forgettable" while on the job.
Real Stories about Real Spies
Sure, James Bond is a cool spy. But he's not real. The men and women you encounter throughout The Secret World of Espionage, however, are indeed real, and their stories of daring (including close calls and even double-crosses) is enough to pack this series with plenty of adventure and intrigue. A few of the agents you will meet include
Sir Francis Walsingham. The charismatic secretary of Queen Elizabeth I, Walsingham invented the spymaster role in the early modern period, developing new methods and institutions where none had existed before. Walsingham's famous Babington Description (which led to the death of Mary, Queen of Scots) is thought of by some more as more a provocation than a successful example of statecraft.
Peggy Shippen. For Americans, the name Benedict Arnold is synonymous with betrayal. What many don't know is the role his wife, Peggy Shippen, played in his treachery. Shippen not only introduced Arnold to British spymaster John André, historians have discovered that the love letters between Arnold and Shippen contained coded messages in invisible ink. Shippen was, in essence, Arnold's case officer.
Antoine Rossignol. Rossignol, cryptologist to the Bourbon kings of France, was tasked by Louis XIV with creating an uncrackable cypher. The result, known as The Great Cypher, had two features. First, every message included meaningless symbols to thwart standard analysis. Second, proper names and terms were replaced with code words. The keys to The Great Cypher were lost after the fall of Napoleon-and took 80 years to be recreated.
William Stefanson. Appointed by Winston Churchill as head of MI6, Stefanson was instructed to use any means necessary to persuade the United States to join World War II. Stefanson's solution: an all-out propaganda campaign feeding false information to American intelligence and the American press. By the time Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Americans were ready to join the fight.
Aldridge Ames. In the 1980s, afraid his divorce would bankrupt him, Ames collaborated with the Russians for $50,000 to cover his legal expenses. The Russians estimated that, within the first four years working for them, Ames received $1.8 million (valued at around $5 million today). Alas, what tripped up Ames was what reveals most double agents: unexpected sources of wealth.
With insights from espionage experts including a former senior intelligence analyst (and spy novelist), history professors, and a New York Times bestselling author, The Secret World of Espionage will change the way you think about how intelligence agencies, from MI6 to the CIA, operate both in the shadows and sometimes even in plain sight.
This is, in short, history seen through the eyes of spies.
What Will You Learn?
Explore how spies use money, ideology, coercion, and ego to find new recruits
Consider the role espionage played in global events, including economic ones
Discover how moles and double-agents are tracked down and exposed
Bust myths about espionage popularized by film, television, and literature
Learn how female spies exploited the misogyny of their time to avoid notice
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