SPY AFFAIR - New from Wondery
A Date With Dateline
Kimberly and Katie - ADWDL
4.6 • 5.6K Ratings
🗓️ 30 March 2021
⏱️ 6 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
A charismatic Russian woman arrives in the US on a mission to improve relations between the
two countries, and she soon makes some powerful friends. But who is Maria Butina? And who is
she working for? As Maria gets closer to the rich and connected she also attracts the attention
of the FBI. In the politically charged world of US-Russia relations, everyone has secrets and
almost nothing is what it seems. From Wondery, the makers of The Shrink Next Door and Dr.
Death comes SPY AFFAIR a story about deception, appearances and betrayal. Hosted by Celia
Aniskovich.
Listen today at http://wondery.fm/SAADateWithDateline
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey listeners, we want to tell you about a new true crime miniseries from Wundery called Spy Affair. |
| 0:05.9 | In 2016, news of Russian interference in the American presidential election shook the nation to its core. |
| 0:13.1 | Two years later, Maria Bhutina, an alleged Russian operative, sent to America to influence U.S. politics, |
| 0:21.0 | was arrested on charges of being a foreign agent. |
| 0:24.4 | She quickly found herself in the people around her, embroiled in a massive FBI investigation. |
| 0:30.4 | Maria would be portrayed as a spy and a woman who strung a web of lies, all focused on completing her primary mission. |
| 0:38.4 | Influence government officials in positions of power to benefit her home country, Russia. |
| 0:44.8 | Wundery's new miniseries Spy Affair is the inside look at the shocking true story of a woman who started her time in America with a trip to Disneyland |
| 0:54.3 | and ended it as a convicted criminal. |
| 0:56.9 | We're about to play you a brief clip from the show, but while you're listening, make sure to follow Spy Affair on Apple Podcast, |
| 1:04.3 | or you can listen early and add free by starting your free trial on Wundery Plus in the Wundery app. |
| 1:10.3 | Las Vegas, Sin City, the marriage capital of the world, home to America's most beloved casinos. |
| 1:24.3 | And in July 2015, the site of what was billed as the largest libertarian conference in the country, Freedom Fest. |
| 1:34.3 | Thousands of business leaders, politicians, journalists, activists, finance bros flocked to Planet Hollywood Hotel. |
| 1:42.3 | Among them was Maria Bhutina. Maria was from Russia, and she was there with her American boyfriend, Paul Erickson. |
| 1:51.3 | A long time conservative campaigner. |
| 1:54.3 | There was his idea to go there. He showed me the American political world. |
| 2:00.3 | Paul was my guide in this world, so he brought me to the Freedom Fest. |
| 2:04.3 | There was one last minute addition to the speakers list, who was getting a lot of attention that year. |
| 2:10.3 | And suddenly I start seeing that people are moving in, so they're coming in and it's like people like bees. |
| 2:16.3 | You know, they're like starting buzzing there. |
| 2:18.3 | This is the reason why there's not a single empty seat in the room. We have a packed house. I've never seen anything like this in Freedom Fest. |
... |
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