The Cipher Brief: National Security news, analysis and expert commentary.

The Defense Counterintelligence & Security Agency touches more than 90% of the personnel security background checks that help determine whether a job candidate receives a security clearance. But the agency has other missions as well, all focused on enhancing national security. State Secrets podcast host Suzanne Kelly talks with Director David Cattler about the agency’s responsibilities, about just how long it takes to get a clearance, the challenges associated with clearing a workforce and about whether that marijuana you once tried really is a dealbreaker (we couldn’t resist the urge to ask).

Tom Straw is a former Top 40 radio disc jockey, TV weathercaster, and someone who has written and executive produced prime time and late night TV shows. He is also a best-selling writer of crime novels (under the pseudonym “Richard Castle,”) so friends like to say he can’t keep a job. For his latest gig he has served up a spy novel called “The Accidental Joe”about a maverick celebrity chef whose travel TV series ends up as cover for a dangerous CIA espionage mission. Former CIA officer Rodney Faroan’s review of the book for The Cipher Brief called it a “refreshing, rip-roaring tale of a spy operation gone awry.” We talk with Straw about his multifaceted career, his process of cooking up tasty plots – and how writing spy thrillers differs from detective novels and TV comedies.