The Great Escapers | WW2

The Great Escapers | WW2

Author: SPYSCAPE July 28, 2026 Duration: 53:22
In September of 1943, thousands of British servicemen were being held in Italian PoW camps. When Mussolini fell, many stayed put, hoping to be liberated by an Allied advance. But others took their fates in to their own hands - melting into the Italian countryside. These escapees are the subject of historian Karen Farrington's latest book, The Great Italian Breakout - and in this episode, you'll hear two very different approaches to the art of escapology. From SPYSCAPE, the home of secrets. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Series producer: Joe Foley. Produced by Joe Foley. Karen Farrington is the author of The Great Italian Breakout: The Most Audacious Escapes of the Second World War. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Imagine pulling back the curtain on the most secretive missions ever conducted. That’s the experience offered by True Spies, a podcast from SPYSCAPE that moves beyond the Hollywood gloss to sit down with the actual intelligence officers, detectives, and operatives who lived these events. Hosted by a compelling roster including Hayley Atwell, Vanessa Kirby, and Daisy Ridley, each episode is a direct conversation with the people who know the answers. You’ll hear firsthand about the split-second decisions, the specialized skills, and the profound moral dilemmas faced in the shadows. This isn’t speculative fiction; it’s a deep exploration of authentic espionage cases, political intrigues, unsolved murders, and complex investigations that have shaped real-world events. The narratives covered in this podcast consistently reveal how the most astonishing truths are often more gripping than any invented thriller. By focusing on documentary-style storytelling and historical context, the series provides a rare, unfiltered look into the high-stakes worlds of crime and national security. Each story invites you to consider not just what happened, but how it felt to be in the room, and what you might have done when everything was on the line.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

True Spies: Espionage | Investigation | Crime | Murder | Detective | Politics
Podcast Episodes
True Spies Classic: The Mouse at Pearl Harbor | WW2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:58
A single spy can change the course of history - for better, or for worse. In this Classic episode of True Spies, you'll meet one of them - Takeo Yoshikawa. Stationed in Honolulu, Yoshikawa's intelligence was used by the…
Brief Histories: Spy Cities - London [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:47
In a new season of Brief Histories, True Spies producer Joe Foley is your guide to the shadowy side of the world's Espionage capitals. In London, we'll delve into early-modern counter-terrorism, an influence campaign at…
Cold SNAP | CIA [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:49
High in the Himalayan mountains, a team of climbers are attempting to plant a device that will give them eyes on a growing threat. But they'll leave behind more than they bargained for. In this shocking episode, Investig…
True Spies Classic: Sister Spies | WW2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:22
In this classic episode of True Spies, Vanessa Kirby meets Pat and Jean Owtram, two British sisters who played crucial roles as Allied codebreakers during World War 2. Bound by the Official Secrets Act, neither sister kn…
True Spies Debrief: Robert Hannigan on Work at Bletchley Park [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:45
Robert Hannigan is the former director of the British Government Communications Headquarters or GCHQ, and the author of the recent book, Counterintelligence: What the Secret World Can Teach Us About Problem Solving and C…
The Importance of Being Ernest | Historical [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:06:02
In the heart of New York City, a secret campaign of influence and espionage aimed to bring America in to a generational conflict. It was helped along by a man who, to this day, is all but invisible. Author and investigat…
True Spies Classic: The Boiling Frog | CIA [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:07
At the peak of his career, Jack Devine was one of the world's top spymasters. But everybody starts somewhere. In this classic, follow Vanessa Kirby as she recounts the tale of Jack Devine's first overseas assignment, in…
True Spies Debrief: Gordon Corera on Vasili Mitrokhin [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:54
Gordon Corera, veteran security journalist and co-host of The Rest is Classified, joins Morgan Childs to discuss the central figure in his latest book - Vasili Mitrokhin. Mitrokhin was a KGB archivist who defected to the…
The Melville Collective | FBI [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:23
During the turbulent 1960s, New York City faced the most destructive wave of domestic terror since the Anarchist bombings of the early 20th century. In True Spies' 300th week, author, military intelligence professional a…