In the spy game, if you can listen, you can learn, and gaining that crucial ability to eavesdrop has required some deeply creative ingenuity.

29 min . 2021-01-20

For some covert missions, the goal is not information, but assassination, and lethal toxins have been deployed by spy agencies to kill perceived foes.

31 min . 2021-01-20

As long as there has been espionage, sex and the promise of it have been powerful tools of persuasion and blackmail — practices that continue today.

33 min . 2021-01-20

Methods for covertly capturing sensitive data have grown infinitely more advanced as the devices used to do so have become exponentially smaller.

36 min . 2021-01-20

From old-school "dead drops" to high-tech digital transfers: Learn how intelligence officers actually acquire the information collected by sources.

33 min . 2021-01-20

Special ops require the very best people to execute them. But some of the most famous missions in modern history relied on elite technology as well.

30 min . 2021-01-20

Encryption is a key tool for keeping valuable information secret — but some ingenious minds have managed to crack seemingly impenetrable codes.

36 min . 2021-01-20

What leads someone to spy against their own nation? Motivations vary but tend to fall into one of four categories, as notorious cases demonstrate.

38 min . 2021-01-20