Cover Stories: Spies, Books & Entertainment Archives

Cover Stories: Spies, Books & Entertainment is a new podcast from The Cipher Brief hosted by Cipher Brief CEO & Publisher Suzanne Kelly and Cipher Brief Senior Book Editor and author, Bill Harlow exploring the entertainment side of espionage as well as non-fiction books and media on national security issues that are making a difference. Join us each week for new episodes with authors, former intelligence officers, actors, directors, television and movie producers, agents, publishers and more.

Raiding The Admiral’s Bookshelf

Admiral Jim Stavridis isn’t just a prolific writer – having written a number of both fiction and non-fiction books since retiring from the military where he served as former Supreme Allied Commander, Europe at NATO – he’s also an avid reader. His latest book, The Admiral’s Bookshelf brings those two worlds together as she shares the 25 books that he says have had the most impact on him over the years. Some of the books on his list may surprise you, as they surprised our host, Cipher Brief CEO & Publisher Suzanne Kelly.

The Traitor’s Tale

James Lawler was a highly-decorated CIA officer who conducted some legendary textbook level operations for the Agency. He now excels as a novelist and is out with his third work of fiction “The Traitor’s Tale: A Novel of Treachery Within the CIA.” We will talk with Lawler not only about the book – but about his career and how his art sometimes imitates his life.

Story of a CIA Wife

In "Story of a CIA Wife," Rosie Mowatt-Larssen shares her journey from Germany to the United States, where her life took an unexpected turn when her husband joined the CIA. Suddenly immersed in a world of secrecy, Rosie grappled with anxiety and doubt as she adjusted to her husband's covert career. We will talk with her about the unique challenges CIA spouses face—supporting high-stakes missions while raising a family, often with limited insight into their partner's work.

Secret Servants of the Crown

Dr. Claire Hubbard-Hall has broken the code on how to discover and report on the remarkable history of women who have silently served British intelligence over the years. In her book “Secret Servants of the Crown: The Forgotten Women of British Intelligence” (published in the U.S. on February 25, 2025, tells heretofore untold tales of the real women who have largely worked in the shadows. We’ll ask her about how she managed to obtain the stories that remain hidden in British intelligence archives – including that of Kathleen Pettigrew - who was the inspiration for Ian Fleming’s “Miss Moneypenny” in the James Bond novels.

The Eurasian Century

Hal Brands, a renowned expert on global affairs, talks with us about his new book: “The Eurasian Century: Hot Wars, Cold Wars, and the Making of the Modern World. Brands argues that Eurasia’s strategic geography can illuminate the contours of rivalry and conflict in today’s world. We will talk with him about what can be learned from Eurasian wars of the past century and the implications of those lessons for the next.

Professional Courage – Telling It Like It Is

To say that retired Army Major General Jack Leide had a remarkable military career would be an understatement.. He has been inducted into four different halls of fame - the US Military Attaché Hall of Fame, the US Military Intelligence Hall of Fame, the Defense Intelligence Agency’s “Torch Bearers Hall of Fame” and the Army Foreign Area Officer Hall of Fame.He had four combat tours - three as an airborne company commander and the fourth as Director of Intelligence for the U.S. Central Command during Desert Storm. We will talk with him about his book “Professional Courage: My Journey in Military Intelligence Through Peace, Crisis and War.” We will ask him about all that and the challenges of telling a demanding boss what they need to know – rather than what they want to hear.

The Penguin Press Publisher’s Perspective

Scott Moyers is a veteran executive of the publishing industry. Today he is Vice President and Publisher of Penguin Press. He has acquired and edited countless bestsellers – including many authored by Cipher Brief experts. He was also director of the New York office of the Wylie Agency – one of the most prominent and influential literary agencies in the U.S. We talk with him about his insights about publishing books touching on the national security, foreign policy and intelligence arenas – both fiction and non-fiction. We also ask about do’s and don’t for aspiring authors, changes in the publishing industry – and what does someone who reads for a living – read for pleasure?

Jack Carr’s Transition from Navy SEAL to Author

Thriller writer Jack Carr didn’t just serve 20 years in the elite Navy SEALS teams – retire and write a book about his experiences. He retired from a career of service (as a sniper) and then followed his ‘other’ passion – writing. His first book, The Terminal List is now an Amazon Prime television series starring Chris Pratt. Since then, he’s written six more novels and has co-authored a non-fiction book called Targeted Beirut, about the 1983 Marine Barracks Bombing and the Untold Story of the War on Terror. Cover Stories talked to Jack about his journey from SEAL teams to author and he has some advice for others making similar transitions from military to civilian life.

The Paranormal Ranger

From 2007 – 2012, the Pentagon secretly funded a small program called the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program tasked with investigating reports of military encounters with Unidentified Aerial Phenomena. In 2020, the Defense Department launched a new unit called the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force led by the U.S. Navy. And in 2022, the Pentagon created the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office – meant to identify, track and better share information with Congress and the public about the events they could not explain and looking at those events through the lens of national security. But Navajo Ranger Stanley Milton, Jr. was way ahead of them in terms of tracking and sharing information he was gleaning during his three decades working as a law enforcement officer in the Navajo Nation. So what does he want you to know about UFOs?

Mystery and Intrigue in 1930s Shanghai: Marty Petersen on the Creation of “City of Lost Souls”

Long-time CIA officer Marty Petersen is an acknowledged expert on Asia. He is a current Cipher Brief exert who writes frequently on Asian matters. But rather than focusing on modern day China policy for once, he has just published his first novel: City of Lost Souls which is set in 1932 Shanghai and tells of a private detective who helps a young woman search for her missing brother. We’ll ask him about what attracted him to writing fiction and particularly this region and era. We’ll also discuss how writing a novel requires a different skill set from that required of a top Asia analyst for the CIA and if there are lessons and insights that can be derived from his novel that can be applied to current U.S. - China relations. After listening to the podcast – be sure an check out the review of City of Lost Souls in The Cipher Brief.

Admiral Stavridis Navigates The Restless Wave

Description: Admiral Jim Stavridis (Ret.) is out with his fourteenth book, The Restless Wave - a tale of historical fiction taking place during World War II. Cover Stories co-host Suzanne Kelly caught up with the retired Admiral for a Cipher Brief Book Club virtual meeting to talk about just how much of ‘himself’ was written into his main character – about what inspired his writing and then, she couldn’t help but ask about those love scenes.

The Accidental Joe: A Spy Novel That Really Cooks

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.

Might of the Chain

We talk with retired Navy Rear Admiral Mike Studeman about his book “Might of the Chain: Forging Leaders of Iron Integrity about why trust in leaders in the public and private sector has sunk to all-time lows and his formula for restoring and keeping that trust.Drawing on his naval experience (and heritage) Studeman explains how every person in an organization must pull their share of the load – because one weak link may sink the enterprise.The book has great value for sailors and non-sailors alike, giving readers insights on how to harden their own leadership mettle.

The Many Lives of the Prisoner of Lies – Jack Downey

Jack Downey was an up and coming young Yale student. When he graduated in 1951, like a surprising number of his fellow Elis, he signed up to work for the CIA looking to serve and for adventure. A little more than a year later, during the Korean War, he found himself on a transport airplane attempting an “agent extraction” over China. The plane was shot down and Downey spent the next 21 years in captivity – the longest serving prisoner in an undeclared war in U.S. history. But his story does not end with his release in 1972. Downey went to law school, married a Chinese-American classmate and became a juvenile court judge in Connecticut. We will talk with author Barry Werth whose new book: Prisoner of Lies: Jack Downey’s Cold War has just been published. After listening to the podcast: check out The Cipher Brief’s review of the book.

Tracking Putin’s Propagandists – With Julia Davis

Julia Davis joins us to discuss her new book: “In Their Own Words: How Russian Propagandists Reveal Putin’s Intentions.” Davis regularly monitors Russian state TV and posts videos and writes columns providing translations and context about some of the crazy things are being fed to Russian viewers. We talk with her about the odd collection of TV hosts, commentators and pundits who over the past several years have spun wild tales regarding the Kremlin’s intentions regarding Ukraine, paranoia over NATO, musing about possible Russian intervention in U.S. elections and amazingly – why nuclear war might be a good thing. Davis’ motto on X is “I watch Russian state TV so you don’t have to.” We ask her what she has learned from her immersion in that swamp.

David Ignatius’ Phantom Orbit

David Ignatius is an award-winning columnist for the Washington Post, a frequent national security commentator on cable TV, and the author of New York Times bestselling novels. His twelfth novel, Phantom Orbit, like all the previous ones - reveals a deep understanding of the way governments and espionage agencies work. Many of his novels have presciently foreshadowed real-world threats. We’ll talk to him about what his latest page-turner reveals about the vulnerability of the satellites that the world relies so heavily on. We’ll also discuss his process for writing books which are consistently praised for their fidelity to the real world of espionage and how he balances his journalistic duties with that of his second-calling as a novelist. After listening to the podcast, be sure to check out the review of Phantom Orbit in The Cipher Brief by former National Reconnaissance Office Director Jeffrey Harris.

The Art Of Diplomacy – With Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat

Stuart Eizenstat is one of the most experienced diplomats in U.S. history. In this episode we talk with him about his new book “The Art of Diplomacy” in which he discusses some of the most important international agreements over the past 50 years. For his book, Ambassador Eizenstat interviewed about 150 key U.S. and foreign officials ranging from Presidents, Secretaries of State and Defense and many more. We’ll ask him what he learned over the course of his career about why diplomacy did (and sometimes did not) work. And what these lessons might mean for current crises like the ongoing one between Israel and Hamas. After listening to the podcast - be sure to check out the review of “The Art of Diplomacy” in The Cipher Brief by Jonathan Winer.

If Confirmed – How to earn the consent of the Senate – with Arnold Punaro

Arnold Punaro spent 24 years as a U.S. Senate staffer including 14 years as the Staff Director of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Since leaving government in 1997 he has advised the Senate, Department of Defense and other Executive Branch agencies on navigating the complex process of getting Senate approval for Presidentially appointed positions. We’ll talk with him about why getting a nominee confirmed takes so long, what candidates can do to increase their chances of success and systemic improvements that the executive and legislative branch should take to help ensure that the best possible candidates get through the process more quickly. If Confirmed: An Insider’s View of the National Security Confirmation Process.

The (Situation) Room Where It Happens

ABC News journalist George Stephanopoulos joins us to discuss his new book “The Situation Room: The Inside Story of President in Crisis.” As someone who became intimately familiar with the SITROOM during the Clinton administration, Stephanopoulos is our guide with stories about the crisis management center came to be created under JFK and shares dramatic stories of hinge points in history that were seen within the walls of this small but pivotal part of the Executive Mansion.