From Covert to Overt: Valerie Plame on political retaliation

SpyCast

News, Education, History

4.4 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 18 March 2025

⏱️ 28 minutes

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Summary

Valerie Plame’s clandestine life made headlines in 2003 after her CIA cover was leaked to the press. Her husband, an ambassador, had gone to Niger to investigate whether yellowcake uranium had been transferred to Iraq to make weapons of mass destruction. He publicly challenged the Bush administration on what we now know was false intelligence. Valerie’s unmasking was seen as retaliation. Now, over 20 years later, she reflects on the political scandal, and where her concerns lie today. If you liked this episode, check out these links: Author Debriefing: Burned with Valerie Plame National Security Now: An Evening with Gina Bennett and Peter Bergen Join Valerie aboard the Spies at Sea cruise August 30 - September 8, 2025! On this 10-day voyage across the Mediterranean, you’ll explore beautiful sights and ancient cities while immersing yourself in the world of espionage with exclusive seminars. Learn more here: https://www.spiesliesnukes.com/spies-at-seas-2025 Subscribe to Sasha's Substack, HUMINT, to get more intelligence stories: https://sashaingber.substack.com/ And if you have feedback or want to hear about a particular topic, you can reach us by E-mail at [email protected]. This show is brought to you from Goat Rodeo, Airwave, and the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, this is Matt and McKinley from History Dispatches.
0:07.6	We are the father-son duo bringing you the weird, the wild, the wacky, and the craziest tales from across time.
0:13.2	From the Ice Bowl to the Great Heathen Army.
0:15.8	And the head of Oliver Cromwell.
0:17.6	The same head they kept on a pike for three years?
0:20.1	Yep, all here on History Dispatches. New episodes every weekday. Find out. over Cromwell. The same head they kept on a pike for three years? Yep.
0:21.1	All here on History Dispatches.
0:22.8	New episodes every weekday.
0:24.5	Find out more at history dispatches.com or wherever you get your podcast app.
0:30.9	Welcome to SpyCast, the official podcast of the International Spy, and the oldest spy podcast in the United States.
0:41.8	I'm your host, Sasha Ingberg, and each week I take you into the shadows of espionage, intelligence, and covert operations across the globe.
0:53.9	Valerie Plame's clandestine life made headlines in 2003,
0:58.7	after her CIA cover was leaked to the press.
1:02.2	Her husband and ambassador had gone to Niger to investigate
1:05.8	whether yellow cake uranium had been transferred to Iraq
1:09.5	to make weapons of mass destruction. He publicly challenged
1:13.5	the Bush administration on what we now know was false intelligence. Valerie's unmasking was seen as
1:20.2	retaliation. And from her home in New Mexico, she reflects on the political scandal and where her
1:27.0	concerns lie today. Welcome, Valerie. It's good to
1:31.2	have you with us. Getting your cover blown in 2003, it completely changed your life. All these years
1:39.3	later, I'm wondering, has your perspective on this in any way changed?
1:50.4	Yeah, it's been a minute since that happened, and my whole life changed in a moment.
	...

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