New York Has Been America's Capital of Spying Since the Beginning of the U.S.

History Unplugged Podcast

History Unplugged

Society & Culture, History

4.2 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 25 February 2020

⏱️ 61 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

If you visit New York, your waiter, your cabbie, or the lady on the train playing Candy Crush could very well not be who they appear to be. That's because there are more spies working in New York City today than ever before, according to H. Keith Melton, the espionage advisor on The Americans, and Robert Wallace, the former chief of the CIA’s Office of Technical Service. But, as today's guests and the authors of the new book Spy Sites of New York City argue, the city has always been a hotbed of international intrigue.

From George Washington's downtown spy ring to Alger Hiss meeting his handler in a Park Slope movie theater to the hundreds of agents using the UN as a cover at this very moment. Espionage is as much a part of the city as honking horns and delayed subways. In this episode we discuss centuries of spying in the five boroughs and beyond, walking the reader through surprising meeting places, secret drop-sites, and the everyday bars, hotels, and park benches where so much shadowy history has been made.

Transcript

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0:00.0	June 2023 French Paper 1
0:03.8	After the question is announced, there will be a pause to allow students to read the instructions
0:09.2	and to consider all the things they do not know.
0:12.4	However, note every highlighter, every hand cramp has been for nothing.
0:17.2	But this is incorrect. All they need is a gentle reminder that whatever the result,
0:22.4	Ilnesson past you peed.
0:24.8	A proper chat can ease exam stress.
0:27.6	Written get talking ITV.
0:34.4	The History of North America podcast is a sweeping historical saga of the United States, Canada, and Mexico
0:41.4	from their deep origins to our present epoch.
0:44.4	Join me, Mark Vinet, on this exciting, fascinating epic journey through time,
0:49.4	focusing on the compelling, wonderful, and tragic stories of North America's inhabitants,
0:55.0	heroes, villains, leaders, environment, and geography.
0:59.8	I invite you to come along for the ride.
1:04.8	Welcome to the History Unplugged Podcast.
1:07.8	The unscripted show that celebrates unsung heroes,
1:11.4	myth busts historical lies, and rediscoveres the forgotten stories that changed our world.
1:18.0	I'm your host, Scott Rank.
1:21.6	If there's a global center of spycraft, it's probably New York City.
1:27.6	More than Washington, DC, more than London, more than Vienna.
1:31.6	New York, especially Manhattan, offers all sorts of factors that make it great for spying.
1:36.6	The presence of the United Nations, plenty of diplomats, plenty of state intelligence.
	...

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