Jim Lawler, aka “Mad Dog”, was a CIA case officer for 25 years. In this episode we hear some of the stories he has and things he did while working in the CIA. Jim has two books out. Affiliate links below. Living Lies: A Novel of the Iranian Nuclear Weapons Program https://amzn.to/3s0Ppca In the Twinkling of an Eye: A Novel of Biological Terror and Espionage https://amzn.to/3y7B4OL Sponsors Support for this show comes from Linode. Linode supplies you with virtual servers. Visit linode.com/darknet and get a special offer. Support for this show comes from Juniper Networks. Juniper Networks is dedicated to simplifying network operations and driving superior experiences for end users. Visit juniper.net/darknet to learn more about how Juniper’s Zero Trust Data Center provides uncompromising visibility across all your data center environments. Visit juniper.net/darknet to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
A CIA officer dressed up as a dog in order to sneak into a high-security compound, with the help of a fake dog costume and a car that made it seem as though the dog was simply sleeping in the backseat. Eventually, the security guards became so used to seeing the "dog" that they didn't pay any attention, allowing the officer to successfully enter the compound multiple times.
Jim, a former CIA operative, learned techniques for finding people's names, job titles, and weaknesses to exploit during his time at the agency. He shares that people who are under stress are more recruitable and that was his focus while gathering information in other countries.
The speaker shares information about his recruitment process for foreign espionage and how he builds trust with the person he is recruiting.
The speaker talks about strategies used in espionage and intelligence gathering, including appealing to someone's ego and using their personal problems against them.
A handler's role in the CIA entails working with recruited sources to keep the information flowing and reporting it via classified channels to Washington. Today, handlers receive information via thumb drives or dead drops in prearranged spots.
A commodities trader discusses how he gained insider information about OPEC quotas from a young woman in his source's country, by offering to pay her in exchange for privileged insights on what the country was doing in the oil and gas market.
A former CIA agent discusses the delicate art of espionage and how it extends into everyday life.
Kevin Roose speaks to Chloe Barzey who was a corporate spy for two years and shares her experiences and how the people doing this job exploit other's vulnerabilities.
Jim and his team, along with the help of the tinners, broke into the office of the leader of the proliferation network and gathered valuable intelligence. This enabled them to put a stop to the network's nuclear activities, preventing dangerous regimes like Libya and Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
A novel called Living Lies written by Jim, a former CIA agent, is about a CIA agent who foils Iran's nuclear weapons program only for another agent to discover there's another nuclear program the world doesn't know about. Jim also discusses recruitment scenarios for agents and his role in dismantling Libya's nuclear technology program.
This episode includes credits for the production team and announcement of a music resource website called Q Shop.