meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
SpyCast

Drug Cartels, Sleeper Cells, the Waco Siege & the Mob – The Life & Times of Dennis Franks

SpyCast

SpyCast

Education, News, History

4.41.7K Ratings

🗓️ 2 March 2021

⏱️ 38 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Former FBI Special Agent Dennis Franks is nothing if not interesting. He has faced off against the Columbian Cali Cartel – yes, the Cali Cartel from Season 3 of Narcos – the Mexican Gulf Cartel, MS-13, Sicilian Mafioso’s, and all manner of gangbanger, gangster and narcotraficante. He has been a firearms instructor, on an Enhanced SWAT Team, and ran his own undercover unit. He has also worked Russian intelligence and Russian organized crime: “It was very much a learning experience, because that was very different from a lot of the other organizations I have worked.” Why? Well, you’ll have to listen to find out. It doesn’t stop there though, Dennis was at the Waco Siege in 1993, and he offers listeners a particularly poignant moment involving a little girl, a rearview mirror and a knot in his stomach. He now runs his own investigative and security company out of Austin, Texas, and he was recently the Host & Executive Producer of A&E Investigates: The Plot Against America. This was not the alternative history TV series where the USA and Nazi Germany sign a treaty under President Hindenburg, based on a Philip Roth novel, but a real-life hunt for Russian sleeper agents in North-eastern Tennessee. Yes, you heard it correctly – Tennessee. Why? It might have something to do with a beautiful woman and the atomic bomb. Again, you’ll need to listen to find out! As a North Carolina man in Texas, he gives us the final word on who has the best BBQ…or maybe the controversy will continue.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

You're listening to the CyberWire Network, powered by N2K.

0:12.0

This episode of Spycast is supported by Compiler,

0:16.0

an original podcast from Red Hat, discussing tech topics big, small, and strange.

0:22.0

Compiler brings together a curious team of Red Hatters to simplify tech topics

0:27.0

and provide insight for a new generation of IT professionals.

0:31.0

The show covers topics like, what are the components of a software stack?

0:36.0

Are big mistakes that big of a deal?

0:39.0

And do you have to know how to code to get started in open source?

0:43.0

Learn more about Compiler at redhat.com slash compiler podcast.

0:49.0

Recently, I listened to one of their newest episodes called Legacies,

0:53.0

The Legend of Hadoop.

0:55.0

And yes, I will admit the silly name intrigued me.

0:58.0

But what was more interesting was the history of this so-called bygone software platform

1:03.0

that in the past 20 years has completely changed the way we look at data.

1:08.0

What happened to Hadoop?

1:10.0

You'll have to tune in to find out.

1:12.0

Listen to Compiler in your favorite podcast player.

1:15.0

We'll also include a link in the show notes.

1:18.0

My thanks to Compiler for their support.

1:23.0

Hi and welcome to Spycast from the Secret Files of the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC.

1:38.0

I'm Dr. Andrew Hammond, the museum's historian and curator.

1:43.0

Every week, Spycast brings you interesting conversations from authors, scholars and practitioners

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from SpyCast, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of SpyCast and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.