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Welcome to SpyC, the official podcast of the International Spy Museum.

I'm your host, Sasha Inber, and each week I take you into the shadows of espionage, intelligence, and covert operations across the globe.

In 1947, a new civilian intelligence agency was established, the CIA. But a series of intelligence

failures undermined its credibility. The White House and Congress were up in arms, and a new

mission was formed to recruit Ivy League professors with uncanny skills. Leaving their so-called ivory tower, the academics

brought new ways of thinking about national security to the CIA, helping the U.S.

navigate the complexities of the Cold War. In one year, the academics analysis revolutionized the service, cementing the CIA as one of

America's finest agencies. Political scientist Peter Grace, author of The Intelligence Intellectuals,

sits down with me to unfold how these bright minds shaped the agency.

Good morning, Peter. Thank you for joining.

Thank you, Session, for having me.

So let's talk about some of the major intelligence failures that Americans saw.

For one, the Soviets acquired an atomic bomb earlier than the CIA had predicted in the summer

of 1949.

Yes, that's correct.

It's an interesting way of leading into this because in 1945, in July 1945, Truman meets

Stalin at the Potsdam Conference.

And he tells Stalin that they've, the Americans have come up with this unusual weapon of amazing power and destruction.

And Stalin doesn't bat an eyelid.

And there's a little bit of surprise at that because there's an expectation that Stalin would be shocked.

But Stalin already knew about

...