WTH Should I Read This Summer? Spies: The Epic Intelligence War between East and West by Calder Walton
What the Hell Is Going On
AEI Podcasts
4.4 • 633 Ratings
🗓️ 23 August 2023
⏱️ 48 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Little known fact: the intelligence war between the East and the West started long before 1945. And not only that; it did not end with the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 90s either. Indeed, this silent conflict has been lurking in the background of virtually every major historical event since 1917. The intelligence wars of the past century have been defined by theft, driven by fear, and dictated by tyrants from Stalin then to Putin and Xi Jinping now. But today, the age of the traditional clandestine secret service is over, and open source is the coin of the realm. So are we prepared to compete with China and Russia on these new battlegrounds?
Calder Walton is an historian at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He received a doctorate in history from Trinity College, Cambridge, where he also helped to write MI5’s authorized hundred-year history. He is the general editor of the three-volume Cambridge History of Espionage and Intelligence. His previous book, Empire of Secrets, won the Longman-History Today Book of the Year award. His new book is Spies: The Epic Intelligence War Between East and West.
Download the transcript here.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | This podcast is brought to you by the American Enterprise Institute. |
| 0:03.1 | If you like what you hear, please subscribe, rate, review, and share. Thanks for listening. Here's our show. What the hell's going on? What the hell is going on? What the hell is going on? I don't know what the hell is talking about. You don't have to know what the hell is on it. What hell's the matter with these guys? We don't know what's going on. Hotels gone on. |
| 0:01.0 | Who in God's name knows what it's all about? |
| 0:23.6 | Hi, I'm Danielle Pledka. |
| 0:36.6 | And I'm Martisan. Welcome to our podcast. What the hell is going on? Mark, what the hell is going on in August? Well, what the hell is going on is we are continuing our summer book series. What the hell should I read this summer? It's August. You're on vacation with your family. Things are quieting down in the office and you have a little bit more time to yourself. And so we're highlighting some of the most interesting books that are out there. Some of them new. Some of them have been out there for a little while, but things that we are reading and think you should read. And we have a wonderful book to talk to you about today. So rather than Mark and I arguing with each other, for once, |
| 1:11.5 | we actually agree. And the author we're talking to you today is a fellow named Calder Walton. He's |
| 1:16.8 | an historian at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, but he actually received his doctorate |
| 1:22.7 | in history, as you will hear, because he sounds very English, from Trinity College in Cambridge. |
| 1:28.3 | He helped write MI5's authorized 100-year history. |
| 1:32.3 | He's the general editor of the three-volume Cambridge History of Espionage and Intelligence, |
| 1:37.8 | which I have to admit I now want to get. |
| 1:39.9 | His previous book, Empire of Secrets, won the Longman History Today Book of the Year Award, |
| 1:44.1 | and his new book, which we're talking about today, is called Secrets, won the Longman History Today, Book of the Year award. |
| 1:50.4 | And his new book, which we're talking about today, is called Spies, the Epic Intelligence War between East and West. |
| 2:02.5 | And with everything that's going on right now, with Ukraine, with China, just having a chance to talk to him about this 100-year spy war between the West and the East and how it impacts what's happening today in Ukraine, what's happening with China and Taiwan. It's a fascinating discussion. |
| 2:07.4 | And of course, Mark managed to work in Hunter Biden as well. So listen in for that. |
| 2:12.6 | Here's our interview. |
| 2:16.7 | Well, Calder, welcome to the podcast. Thanks for having me. It's absolutely great to be here. |
| 2:21.8 | We're so excited to have you. So you're part of our summer book series and you've written a |
| 2:25.8 | fascinating book about the 100-year epic intelligence war between the East and the West. |
| 2:31.3 | And you say the Cold War started, not in 1945, as most people suggest, |
| 2:36.7 | but in 1917. Tell us about that and tell us why you wrote this book. Well, let's take the |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from AEI Podcasts, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of AEI Podcasts and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.