Dead Drops and Disguises - A Female CIA Officer in 1980s Moscow (441)

Cold War Conversations - "vivid & compelling" The NY Times

Ian Sanders

History, Documentary, Society & Culture

4.8 • 865 Ratings

🗓️ 31 January 2026

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

I explore the remarkable journey of a CIA operations officer who transitioned from a quiet childhood in California to the thrilling world of espionage. What began as a joke application to the CIA turned into a life-changing opportunity. The episode delves into her rigorous training, including paramilitary courses that prepared her for the realities of fieldwork and thrilling stories from her time in Moscow during the late 1980s. Susan also gives tradecraft insights on surveillance techniques and the unique challenges faced by women in intelligence roles during that era. Episode extras ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://coldwarconversations.com/episode441 Part two here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://coldwarconversations.com/episode442 Help me preserve Cold War history via a simple monthly donation, You’ll become part of our community, get ad-free episodes, and get a sought-after CWC coaster as a thank you and you’ll bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history. Just go to ⁠⁠⁠https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/⁠⁠⁠ If a monthly contribution is not your cup of tea, We also welcome one-off donations via the same link. Find the ideal gift for the Cold War enthusiast in your life! Just go to ⁠⁠⁠https://coldwarconversations.com/store/⁠⁠⁠ CONTINUE THE COLD WAR CONVERSATION Follow us on BlueSky ⁠⁠⁠https://bsky.app/profile/coldwarpod.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠ Follow us on Threads ⁠⁠⁠https://www.threads.net/@coldwarconversations⁠⁠⁠ Follow us on Twitter ⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod⁠⁠⁠ Facebook ⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/⁠⁠⁠ Instagram ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/coldwarconversations/⁠⁠⁠ Youtube ⁠⁠⁠https://youtube.com/@ColdWarConversations⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Cold War Conversations, the home of real stories of the Cold War.
0:06.3	Abby's just woken up. It's 7.31 and she's forgotten to ring the doctor. There's no point
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0:35.0	Apply with £100,000 annual income or £100,000 savings or investments with HSBC UK or Premier status abroad.
0:35.8	Hi everyone. I'm Connor, head of programming at Intelligence Squared.
0:40.3	As we head in to the festive season, what is for many of us a time of comfort, celebration
0:45.5	and gatherings round a table, most of us won't think twice about the clean water running from
0:50.8	our taps that make it all possible. But for millions of people around the world, this is something they simply don't have.
0:58.9	That's why here at the Intelligence Squared podcast, we're proud to partner with WaterAid,
1:03.6	a charity working to change this and to shine a spotlight on something that connects us all.
1:09.0	In a special episode of our podcast,
1:11.3	journalist Cocoa Kan speaks to Amika Godfrey,
1:14.8	WaterAid's executive director of international programs.
1:18.4	Amica has spent more than 25 years
1:20.7	working across the world in the water, sanitation and hygiene sector.
1:25.1	She shares powerful stories about how clean water keeps children in school,
	...

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