The Importance of Being Ernest | Historical

The Importance of Being Ernest | Historical

Author: SPYSCAPE February 10, 2026 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 investigative journalist Thomas Maier reveals the half-forgotten history of Ernest Cuneo - the White House fixer who facilitated British espionage in the U.S.A in the lead-up to World War Two and beyond. From SPYSCAPE, the home of secrets. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Series producer: Joe Foley. Produced by Joe Foley. Thomas Maier is the author of The Invisible Spy: Churchill's Rockefeller Center Spy Ring and America’s First Secret Agent of World War II 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 Debrief: Stephan Talty on The American School of Spies [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:55
Beginning with the invasion by Mussolini's army in October 1940, Greece was pulled into the Second World War and with it came a band of archeologists, classicists, and intellectuals who risked their lives to protect the…
Bitter Fruit and Black Ops | CIA/MI6 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:53
As the Iron Curtain descends across Eastern Europe, the West is determined to roll back the march of Communism - starting with Albania. Historian Stephen Long is your guide to Operation BGFiend/Valuable - the joint MI6-C…
Brief Histories: Spy Cities - Berlin [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:44
Content Warning: This episode contains sex references. In the second season of Brief Histories, True Spies producer Joe Foley is your guide to the shadowy side of the world's espionage capitals. In Berlin, we'll meet a 1…
True Spies Classic: Hunting The Wolverine | CIA [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:01
In the desert of Southern Afghanistan, CIA Case Officer Douglas Laux is on the hunt. He's traced a number of deadly IED attacks to a shadowy figure with ties to the Taliban. In this classic episode of True Spies, his mis…
An Extremely Violent Year | DEA [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:21
It's the summer of 2006, and former DEA Agent Jeffrey James Higgins is your guide to an audacious HUMINT operation against an Afghan narco-terrorist. But in a lawless part of the world, the life of a lawman is a dangerou…
True Spies Classic: New Russia, New Rules | CIA [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:29
It's 1993, and Russia is tearing itself apart. A violent coup is threatening to derail Boris Yeltsin's fragile post-Soviet government. Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, Deputy Chief of Station for the CIA in Moscow, is caught in the…
True Spies Debrief: Sean Wiswesser on Russian Intelligence Strategy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:10
True Spies producer Morgan Childs joins ex-CIA officer and Russia expert Sean Wiswesser to go deep on the strategy, ideology and political goals of the Russian intelligence community. From SPYSCAPE, the home of secrets.…
Brief Histories: Spy Cities - Beijing [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:57
Content Warning: This episode contains references to torture and mutilation. In the second season of Brief Histories, True Spies producer Joe Foley is your guide to the shadowy side of the world's Espionage capitals. In…
Red Rag to a Grey Bull | Private Sector [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:50
Bryan Stern and his team at Grey Bull are specialists in exfiltrating Americans from highly volatile contexts. In this episode, we follow Bryan into the heart of the conflict in Ukraine, where he'll need to rely on his w…