Dead Drop: October 27

RT, PHONE HOME:  According to The New Voice of Ukraine,  Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate recently convinced 19 Russian soldiers to surrender – not using the many weapons at his disposal – but by talking to them over the radio. We’re not exactly sure what words Budanov used against the Russian soldiers – but no doubt they were less lethal than some of the other devices in his kit.  The chief of military intelligence is known for his sense of both strategy and adventure, as he often spends time on the front lines. Cipher Brief CEO & Publisher Suzanne Kelly interviewed Budanov earlier this year in his heavily-fortified office near Kyiv and asked him how this war will end. Want to know what he told her?

TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, LIAR:  The noted writer, John le Carré (whose true name was David Cornwell), observed many times that lying is essential to both espionage and novels. And his facility at fictionalizing the truth undoubtedly helped him in both fields. Now, there is a new documentary (with some actor reenactments) called “The Pigeon Tunnel” directed by Errol Morris streaming on Apple TV+.  It features interviews with the author conducted shortly before his 2020 death. In it, he spins tales while promising to tell the truth – but by all accounts does not completely do so.  Slate notes that Le Carré was also the subject of a 2015 biography by Adam Sisman not too imaginatively titled: “John le Carré: The Biography.”  Sisman has just released a new book called The Secret Life of John le Carré in which he reveals some of the ways the novelist misled him the first time around.