NSA vs CIA: A Former Analyst Explains the Difference | Alma Katsu
The Team House
dee takos
4.7 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 6 May 2026
⏱️ 107 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This episode also digs into Iraq War planning, the failure of Phase Four strategy, AI, propaganda, tech regulation, and the challenges women faced inside the intelligence community.
Check out Alma's books here:⬇️
https://www.amazon.com/stores/Alma-Katsu/author/B004FRX5WO?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_3&qid=1778022974&sr=8-3&shoppingPortalEnabled=true&ccs_id=7dde9421-b9aa-439f-b0ce-7413359f4d42
GhostBed ⬇️
https://www.ghostbed.com/house
FOR 10% off!
For ad free video and audio and access to live streams and Eyes On Geopolitics...JOIN OUR PATREON!
https://www.patreon.com/c/TheTeamHouse
To help support the show and for all bonus content including:
-live shows and asking guest questions
-ad free audio and video
-early access to shows
-Access to ALL bonus segments with our guests
Subscribe to our Patreon! ⬇️
https://www.patreon.com/TheTeamHouse
Support the show here:⬇️
https://www.patreon.com/TheTeamHouse
___________________________________________________
PRE ORDER JACK'S NEW BOOK "THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN"
⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/803651/the-most-dangerous-man-by-jack-murphy/paperback/
Subscribe to the new EYES ON podcast here:⬇️
https://www.youtube.com/@EyesOnGeopoliticsPod/featured
__________________________________
Jack Murphy's new book "We Defy: The Lost Chapters of Special Forces History" ⬇️
https://www.amazon.com/We-Defy-Chapters-Special-History-ebook/dp/B0DCGC1N1N/
——————————————————————
Or make a one time donation at: ⬇️
https://ko-fi.com/theteamhouse
Social Media: ⬇️
The Team House Instagram:
https://instagram.com/the.team.house?utm_medium=copy_link
The Team House Twitter:
https://twitter.com/TheTeamHousePod
Jack’s Instagram:
https://instagram.com/jackmcmurph?utm_medium=copy_link
Jack’s Twitter:
https://twitter.com/jackmurphyrgr?s=21
Dave’s Twitter:
https://twitter.com/dave_parke?s=21
Team House Discord: ⬇️
https://discord.gg/wHFHYM6
"Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio"
00:00 — Start
01:34 — Writing spy fiction after a career at NSA and CIA
05:02 — Real spies, “Slow Horses,” and the myth of James Bond
07:15 — From aspiring writer to accidentally joining NSA
10:56 — Starting as an NSA analyst and learning the intelligence world
13:51 — NSA before computers: analog intel, index cards, and the digital transition
16:53 — Inside one of NSA’s first hacking teams
22:13 — Building the CIA’s early social media intelligence program
31:08 — AI, propaganda, and the collapse of trust in open-source information
39:44 — Iraq War planning and the failure of Phase Four strategy
54:23 — Leaving NSA for CIA after the Patriot Act era
01:00:02 — Secret backchannels, Havana Syndrome, and real incidents behind the novels
01:21:19 — CIA publishing battles, pre-publication review, and returning to NSA
01:36:34 — Substack, viewer questions, NSA vs. CIA culture, and final thoughts
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-team-house--5960890/support.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hey, everyone. Welcome to episode 411 of the Team House. I'm Jack Murphy here with tonight's guest, |
| 0:06.8 | Alma Katsu. She served as an analyst at NSA and CIA, also delving into the technical side as well, |
| 0:16.4 | some of the technological development work that they do. And she is the author of 10 books, including some spy novels, the bigger one being Black Volt, |
| 0:26.1 | which is being made into a television show, and an upcoming novel about Havana syndrome. |
| 0:32.1 | So, OMA, thank you for joining us on the show tonight. |
| 0:35.0 | Your name has been circulating around for a while. I think I've |
| 0:39.8 | had you on our list for a while, actually. I'm glad this is finally happening. Yeah, thanks for having me |
| 0:45.4 | here. I'm really looking forward to this. I know it's kind of confusing because I'm not really |
| 0:50.2 | known for my spies stories, but then when people find out my background, they're like really |
| 0:55.2 | surprised that's not all I write. Yeah. I mean, I mean, I think it's always enjoyable when somebody |
| 1:03.0 | kind of brings their personal experience into the novel, whatever kind of novel, you know, |
| 1:07.4 | if you were a police officer or a CIA officer or whatever the case may be |
| 1:11.3 | and kind of lend that sort of like, that insider baseball is what I think kind of like, at least for me, |
| 1:17.4 | kind of makes the book what it is. It was really interesting. I never thought that I would actually |
| 1:23.6 | write a spy novel. I tried early on when I was, you know, my very first book was, |
| 1:29.4 | it came out in 2011. And it took me 10 years to write that book. And while I was writing it, |
| 1:35.1 | I would jump in and try to write, you know, like a spy thriller. And I was terrible at it. So I just |
| 1:40.7 | figured I'd never write one. And then after the first three books came out and I was |
| 1:47.1 | retiring from NSA, actually, it was 2017. And my editor at Putnam, and I'd done a couple books with |
| 1:56.0 | her. And she said, you know, I know you've always wanted to write a spy novel. Why don't you give it a |
| 2:00.3 | try? Because she knew I wanted to write a spy novel. Why don't you give it a try? |
| 2:09.4 | Because she knew I wanted to write one about the female experience in the spy business and in CIA. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from dee takos, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of dee takos and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.