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Our American Stories

Wild Bill Donovan: The Spymaster Who Built America’s Secret War Machine

Our American Stories

iHeartPodcasts

Society & Culture, Documentary

4.3737 Ratings

🗓️ 2 December 2025

⏱️ 30 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

On this episode of Our American Stories, "Wild Bill" Donovan was one of America’s most exciting and secretive generals—the man President Franklin Roosevelt made his top spy in World War II. “Wild” Bill was the director of the Office of Strategic Services (the country’s first national intelligence agency). He is known as the founding father of both the CIA and the military's Special Operations Forces, along with being credited as the father of psychological and cyber warfare. Here to tell the story is Douglas Waller. He is the author of the bestseller, Wild Bill Donovan: The Spymaster Who Created the OSS and Modern American Espionage.

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Transcript

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0:00.0

This is an I-Heart podcast.

0:02.3

Guaranteed human.

0:14.1

And we continue with our American stories.

0:18.1

While Bill Donovan was one of America's most exciting and secretive generals,

0:23.1

the man President Franklin Delano Roosevelt made his top spy in World War II.

0:29.1

Wild Bill was the director of the Office of Strategic Services, the country's first

0:34.1

National Intelligence Agency. He is known as the founding father of both the CIA and the military special operations forces,

0:42.3

along with being credited as the father of psychological and cyber warfare.

0:48.3

Here to tell the story is Douglas Waller.

0:50.3

He's the author of the bestseller, Wild Bill Donovan, the spymaster who created the OSS and modern American espionage.

0:59.0

Let's take a listen.

1:01.0

Wild Bill Donovan. He slept five hours or less a night. Speed read about three books a week.

1:12.6

He was an excellent ballroom dancer.

1:14.6

He loved to sing Irish songs.

1:16.6

In fact, you go to Broadway and buy up the latest sheet music

1:19.6

so he can memorize the words.

1:21.6

He didn't smoke, rarely drank, enjoyed fine dining,

1:24.6

although it tended to add to the weight.

1:26.6

He spent lavishly had no concept for a dollar.

1:30.3

In fact, when he was roaming the world visiting his different OSS stations,

1:34.3

he was always bumming dollars and quarters off the aides who were with him

1:38.3

because he never kept any money with him.

...

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