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SpyTalk, a podcast at the intersection of intelligence,

foreign policy, national security and military operations

with Jeff Stein and Jean Miserve.

Hi there, I'm Jeff Stein.

And I'm Jean Miserve.

Welcome to another edition of SpyTalk.

You know, Jean, I've long been curious about why Israel produces such

superior espionage and counterterrorism dramas.

So this week I posed the question to Stuart Shoffman,

an American expat writer and film professor in Jerusalem.

It's about intimate connections, he said.

Everybody knows somebody, everybody knows somebody who's been involved

in wars either distant or recent,

and everybody really has security on their minds.

I mean, I had this conversation the other day with my son,

and he said, well, it's simple.

We're living in a security-obsessed country,

...