Origins of the CIA

Warfare

History Hit

History

4.5 • 943 Ratings

🗓️ 2 December 2022

⏱️ 38 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

2022 marks the 75th anniversary of the Central Intelligence Agency, more colloquially known as the CIA. While viewed today as one of the most advanced and powerful intelligence agencies in the world, the United States didn't always sit at the top of this list.

Long before the CIA had been created, Great Britain, China, and even the Soviet Union had long standing intelligence agencies, aiding in matters of foreign affairs and espionage. So why was the United States so late to the intelligence game? And did this late arrival into espionage hinder the CIA's development and success?

In the first episode of our new mini-series on the CIA, James is joined by Pulitzer Prize winning investigative journalist Tim Weiner, to talk about the history of this clandestine government organisation. From looking at the CIA's murky origins, to their post 9/11 purpose and their recent infiltration of the Kremlin, Tim takes us through the agency's tumultuous history.

For more Warfare content, subscribe to our Warfare Wednesday newsletter here.

If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - enter promo code WARFARE for 7 days free + 50% off your first three months' subscription. To download, go to Android or Apple store.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hello everyone. I'm your host James Rogers and we have a special month here on the
0:04.6	Warfare podcast. It is CIA month. To mark 75 years since President Truman gave the
0:10.9	US Central Intelligence Agency its top secret mandate
0:15.0	I've decided to run a special mini-series all through December with world-leading
0:20.2	CIA experts. I've been fascinated by the CIA for years and this gives us the opportunity
0:26.2	to take a deep dive into everything CIA. From the remarkable drone program to the most unbelievable accounts of how the CIA recruited former Nazis after
0:37.1	the Second World War.
0:38.8	And to kick us off today, I've invited the Pulitzer Prize winning investigative journalist and National Book Award winning
0:45.6	author Tim Weiner onto the podcast. Tim is the author of Legacy of Ashes, The History of the
0:52.4	CIA. And he takes history of the CIA.
0:53.6	And he takes us through the organization's most controversial military coups, assassinations,
0:58.6	and intelligence gathering operations.
1:01.1	We even get to hear about the many, some would say too many attempts to blow up Cuba's
1:06.0	Fidel Castro.
1:07.6	So make sure you don't miss out, subscribe and drop us a five-star review wherever you get your
1:11.4	podcast and share us far and wide with everyone who
1:14.2	loves history but here is Tim Weiner on the history of the CIA. Hi Tim, welcome to the Warfare Podcast, how you're doing?
1:23.0	Very well, James, thanks. Hi Tim, welcome to the Warfare Podcast. How you doing?
1:33.2	Very well, James, thanks.
1:34.8	Well, it's great to have you on the podcast, especially as part of our special month,
1:38.9	I guess marking 75 years since the start of the CIA and well we need to start there.
1:46.1	Maybe you could start by telling us what the CIA is.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from History Hit, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of History Hit and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.