Inside the CIA: Andrew & Jihi Bustamante Expose Government Spin, Honeypots, Epstein Questions & Lines the U.S. Won’t Cross PT 2

Tom Bilyeu's Impact Theory

Impact Theory

Education, News, News Commentary, Philosophy, Technology, Society & Culture, Business, Self-improvement

4.7 • 5.1K Ratings

🗓️ 13 August 2025

⏱️ 83 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In Part 2 of this electrifying episode, Tom, Andrew, and Jihi Bustamante journey even deeper into the modern intelligence labyrinth—where fact, fiction, and agenda collide. The Bustamantes not only expose sobering truths about personal privacy, data, and AI, but also provide an insider look at how CIA tradecraft and manipulation work at both the institutional and personal level. This half opens with practical spy tactics for processing information and protecting yourself in an age where digital privacy is vanishing. The conversation then pivots, as Jihi joins, to reveal how real-world targeting and psychological profiling unfolds inside the Agency. Together, they share the wild intricacies and emotional costs of undercover work—especially as a married couple raising kids, forced to navigate secrets and moral ambiguity both in the field and at home. Riveting stories from their new book, "Shadow Cell," bring espionage’s personal toll to life, from perilous captures to the difficulty of reentering “normal life.” SHOWNOTES 45:07 - Building an ACH (Analysis of Competing Hypotheses) and Thinking in Threes1:05:18 - American Mythology and the Cold Reality of Global Competition1:18:43 - Why You Always Have the Option to Leave1:26:11 - Real-Life Espionage: Uncovering Leverage, Risks, and Moral Dilemmas1:49:07 - High-Risk Missions & The Toll on Family1:55:26 - Gender, Manipulation, and Cultural Profiling in Espionage2:03:12 - Shadow Cell: From Book to Screen (What’s Next for the Bustamantes?) FOLLOW ANDREW & JIHI BUSTAMANTE:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everydayspy/Twitter: https://twitter.com/EverydaySpyYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EverydaySpyWebsite: https://www.everydayspy.com/ Want to learn more from Andrew? Find your Spy Superpower: ⁠⁠https://yt.everydayspy.com/4l9HmlM⁠ Read Andrew’s CIA book ‘Shadow Cell’: ⁠https://geni.us/ShadowCellBook ⁠ Follow Andy on YouTube: ⁠⁠https://youtube.com/@Andrew-Bustamante⁠ Explore Spy School: ⁠⁠https://everydayspy.com/ ⁠ Support Andy's sponsor Axolt Brain: ⁠⁠https://axoltbrain.com/andy⁠ Listen to the podcast: ⁠⁠https://youtube.com/ ⁨@EverydaySpyPodcast⁩ ⁠ CHECK OUT OUR SPONSORS Vital Proteins: Get 20% off by going to ⁠https://www.vitalproteins.com⁠ and entering promo code IMPACT at check out Allio Capital: Macro investing for people who want to understand the big picture. Download their app in the App Store or at Google Play, or text my name “TOM” to 511511. SleepMe: Visit ⁠https://sleep.me/impact⁠ to get your Chilipad and save 20% with code IMPACT. Try it risk-free with their 30-night sleep trial and free shipping. ButcherBox: Ready to level up your meals? Go to ⁠https://butcherbox.com/impact⁠ to get $20 off your first box and FREE bacon for life with the Bilyeu Box! Netsuite: Download the new e-book Navigating Global Trade: 3 Insights for Leaders at ⁠http://NetSuite.com/Theory⁠Shopify: Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial period at ⁠https://shopify.com/impact⁠Hims: Start your free online visit today at ⁠https://hims.com/IMPACT⁠. ********************************************************************** What's up, everybody? It's Tom Bilyeu here: If you want my help... STARTING a business:⁠ join me here at ZERO TO FOUNDER⁠: ⁠https://tombilyeu.com/zero-to-founder?utm_campaign=Podcast%20Offer&utm_source=podca[%E2%80%A6]d%20end%20of%20show&utm_content=podcast%20ad%20end%20of%20show⁠ SCALING a business:⁠ see if you qualify here.⁠: ⁠https://tombilyeu.com/call⁠ Get my battle-tested strategies and insights delivered weekly to your inbox:⁠ sign up here.⁠: ⁠https://tombilyeu.com/⁠ ********************************************************************** FOLLOW TOM: Instagram:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/tombilyeu/⁠ Tik Tok:⁠ https://www.tiktok.com/@tombilyeu?lang=en⁠ Twitter:⁠ https://twitter.com/tombilyeu⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Tom Billu and this is Impact Theory.
0:02.8	Welcome back to my conversation with former CIA covert officer Andrew Bustamante.
0:08.0	In part two, we're digging into the dark arts of persuasion, how power is wielded behind closed doors,
0:14.1	and how you can start applying spy tactics to regain control of your own life.
0:18.2	Let's jump right back in.
0:19.7	Have you seen a few good men? I have.
0:21.4	All right. There's a really phenomenal speech that makes its way on social media all the time
0:25.4	as a meme, but it's like you wake up and sleep under the umbrella of protection that I provide
0:31.7	you and I resent you asking me or criticizing the method in which that I keep you safe.
0:39.3	So there's that side. I tend to get really gassed up every time I hear that speech like it speaks to me.
0:44.3	But then there's Eric Weinstein who I respect tremendously who's like, we have to really be concerned about what he calls the jessipification of America, where we're all just like, yeah,
0:55.7	go do whatever you need to do, just keep me safe. Where do you fall on that spectrum? Is this
1:01.0	whatever the fuck it takes? I certainly fall on the you need me on that wall. You want me on that
1:06.5	wall side of the argument. Because the other side of the argument isn't really arguing the same point.
1:13.2	There's a tool that we use in manipulation called switch tracking. And switch tracking is when you
1:18.5	see that an argument is happening and the argument is about A and you want the argument to be
1:24.9	about something else because you can't win the argument about A. Like let's say the arguments about your emails, but you don't want us to be about your email. You don't want us to be about your emails. So then you have to argue about something else. So your wife is yelling at you because you're checking email at the dinner table. Well, I'm talking about HRC and her using a private email server. So Hillary Rodham Clinton has a private email server and that's what the argument is about.
1:47.0	Well, they know they can't win that argument.
1:49.0	So they have to make it about something else. So how do they make it about something else?
1:52.0	Well, they talk about the lack of security around the previous email server that they were using.
1:57.0	Well, now all of a sudden the response to that argument becomes about the other
2:01.5	email server, not the private email server. And now you can have a whole, you can completely
	...

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