SPYCRAFT 101

Today Justin is joined again by Zach Dorfman. Zach is a national security reporter whose work has appeared in Politico, The Atlantic, Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, and many other publications. He received his vachelor's degree from Skidmore College and a Master's degree in International Relations and Affairs from the University of Chicago. Zach is a former senior fellow at the Carnegie Council for Ethics and International Affairs. He's also the host of the Spy Valley Podcast from Project Brazen about a Cold Wars era spy in the heart of Silicon Valley. You might remember Zach from his previous appearance when he discussed operation entering a highly successful and never before reported operation against Soviet Block Intelligence operatives targeting US technology in the early 1980s, which Zach uncovered and reported about. Now he's back to talk about another previously unknown Cold War spy story about a Czech spy living in San Francisco at the end of the Cold War, and how he navigated the collapse of the government that sent him here to spy on the US.

Check out Zach's first appearance on ep 160: How the FBI Sabotaged Soviet Tech Spies here.

Connect with Zach

[email protected]

Twitter/X: @zachsdorfman

Spy Valley Podcast: brazen.fm/podcasts/spy-valley

Check out Zach's Politico story: "They Came to Spy on America. They Stayed to Coach Little League" here.

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2026/03/07/soviet-spy-america-cold-war-00755831

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Today Justin sits down with Allie Mellen (@hackerxbella). Allie is a leading industry analyst who advises global 2000 organizations on cybersecurity policy and practice with a focus on detecting and responding to nation state attacks. Previously she held engineering and research roles at multiple early stage technology startups. She's also spent years conducting research at MIT and Boston University and supported the University of Oxford Business Leaders Program as a cybersecurity expert. Allie is here today discuss the ever-shifting balance of power online, which she has written about in her new book.

Connect with Allie:

hackerxbella.xyz

Substack: substack.com/@hackerxbella

LinkedIn: Allie Mellen

Twitter/X: @hackerxbella

IG: @hackerxbella

Check out the book, Code War: How Nations Hack, Spy, and Shape the Digital Battlefield, here.

https://a.co/d/09dtr4sY

Connect with Spycraft 101:

Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.

spycraft101.com

IG: @spycraft101

Shop: shop.spycraft101.com

Patreon: Spycraft 101

Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.

Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.

Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.

Kruschiki

The best surplus military goods delivered right to your door. Use code SPYCRAFT101 for 10% off!

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This week continues our tribute to Lee Gossett with his second Spycraft 101 episode. Not only did he appear on the podcast twice, but he and Justin were regularly in contact via email from 2021 and on. He was an avid listener to the podcast and on many occasions had some inside knowledge of the events that we discussed. Today's interview originally aired as episode 75. In late 2022, Lee came back to discuss life after Laos, including his time in Central America and Somalia, and his work with early UAV programs. Even with the many stories he has shared, we likely  only know a fraction of his true adventures all over the world. Rest in peace, Lee.

Check out Lee's book, Smoke Jumper to Global Pilot: a True Odyssey, here.

https://www.amazon.com/Smokejumper-Global-Pilot-True-Odyssey/dp/0578614715

Connect with Spycraft 101:

Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.

spycraft101.com

IG: @spycraft101

Shop: shop.spycraft101.com

Patreon: Spycraft 101

Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.

Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.

Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.

Kruschiki

The best surplus military goods delivered right to your door. Use code SPYCRAFT101 for 10% off!

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This week, Spycraft 101 returns to the archives to say goodbye to one of our earliest guests. Lee Gossett got his start as a smoke jumper with the US Forest Service in the late 1950s and later served with Air America and Continental Air Services during the Secret War in Laos. He worked and flew all over the world for the Central Intelligence Agency and various special operations units. He appeared twice on the podcast. Although these interviews were recorded several years ago, Lee and Justin stayed in touch on at least a monthly basis, and he's been a regular listener since that time.

He was a friend as well, and we'll miss him. But we're grateful that we had the chance to get to know him in the first place. Rest in peace, Lee.

Check out Lee's book, Smoke Jumper to Global Pilot: a True Odyssey, here.

https://www.amazon.com/Smokejumper-Global-Pilot-True-Odyssey/dp/0578614715

Connect with Spycraft 101:

Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.

spycraft101.com

IG: @spycraft101

Shop: shop.spycraft101.com

Patreon: Spycraft 101

Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.

Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.

Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.

Kruschiki

The best surplus military goods delivered right to your door. Use code SPYCRAFT101 for 10% off!

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week Justin sits down with Shane Osborn. Shane is a veteran of the US Navy and a graduate of the University of Nebraska Lincoln. From 2007 until 2011, he served as the treasurer for the State of Nebraska. He's also the founder of the Nebraska Soldiers Foundation, which helps soldiers and their families cope with post-traumatic stress disorder. In early 2001, Shane was serving as a pilot with Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron one based in Okinawa on April 1st of that year while flying a mission over the Pacific Ocean. His EP3E Orion was involved in a mid-air collision with a Chinese fighter jet. Shane was forced to land his badly damaged aircraft on a Chinese island where he and his crew were detained and interrogated for 11 days in an event that made headlines worldwide as The Hainan Island incident. He's here today discuss his career in Navy aviation, the near fatal collision over the Pacific, and his time in the custody of the Chinese government, which he wrote about in his book.

Connect with Shane:

Check out the book, Born to Fly, here.

https://a.co/d/0bld5G8Z

Shane is currently supporting African Educational Support here:

https://www.africaneducationalsupportinc.org/

Connect with Spycraft 101:

Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.

spycraft101.com

IG: @spycraft101

Shop: shop.spycraft101.com

Patreon: Spycraft 101

Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.

Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.

Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.

Kruschiki

The best surplus military goods delivered right to your door. Use code SPYCRAFT101 for 10% off!

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.