John Kiriakou's Dead Drop

John Kiriakou & Alan Katz

Join ex-CIA officer John Kiriakou on a very personal deep dive into what makes a spy tick. One of the most famous spies in the whole world, John - a spy with a conscience - blew the whistle on the CIA's torture program after the war on terror and spent 23 months in federal prison for it. As John explains, no spy is ever an "ex-spy". Why is that so? Listen to the podcast and you'll understand why.

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45 episodes
Updated Monday
Explicit

Episodes45

Newest first

March 16 · 26 min
S1E19 Torture
What Makes THIS Spy Tick, Part 17
March 9 · 32 min
S1E18 Cross Currents
What Makes THIS Spy Tick, Part 16
March 2 · 28 min
S1E17 Zain
What Makes THIS Spy Tick, Part 15
February 23 · 44 min
S1E16 Captured
What Makes THIS Spy Tick, Part 14
February 16 · 36 min
S1E15 The Hunt Begins
What Makes THIS Spy Tick, Part 13
February 13 · 13 min
Mini Episode 5 Betrayal
Aldrich Ames & Harold James Nicholson
February 9 · 28 min
S1E14 Game On
What Makes THIS Spy Tick, Part 12
February 2 · 23 min
S1E13 Hostages
What Makes THIS Spy Tick, Part 11
January 26 · 48 min
S1E12 The Grind
What Makes THIS Spy Tick, Part 10
January 19 · 56 min
S1E11 Have Human Spies Become Obsolete?
THE BLURB: In this episode, John chats with former CIA officer turned wildly successful novelist BARRY EISLER about spying and how it lends itself to storytelling. After a three year stint as a covert officer in the CIA’s Directorate of Operations, Barry worked as a technology lawyer and startup executive in Silicon Valley and Japan, earned a black belt at the Kodokan Judo Institute and began writing great, award-winning thrillers including the #1 bestsellers Livia Lone, The Night Trade, and The Killer Collective. John and Barry discuss the current state of spies, spying and spycraft - and whether it might be over for straight humint and the human spies who cultivate it. SHOW NOTES For more information about Barry Eisler, please visit barryeisler.com. For more great podcasts like Dead Drop, please visit https://costardandtouchstone.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
January 12 · 45 min
S1E10 Blind Spot
What Makes THIS Spy Tick, Part 9
January 5 · 37 min
S1E9 The Hothead
What Makes THIS Spy Tick, Part 8
Dec 29, 2025 · 41 min
S1E8 The James Bond Academy
What Makes THIS Spy Tick, Part 7
Dec 22, 2025 · 34 min
S1E7 The Shadow Of Richard Welch
What Makes THIS Spy Tick, Part 6
Dec 15, 2025 · 22 min
Mini Episode 4: Grave Concerns
THE BLURB: Both spying and the subject of this episode - cemeteries - piqued John's youthful curiosity at roughly the same age. Spying, of course, became John's vocation. But John's love for cemeteries - especially for the people buried in them - became a very happy ridealong. Working around the world for the CIA meant visiting cemeteries around the world. In this episode, we preview "GRAVE CONCERNS", a new podcast series that we'll begin dropping in March 2026 (that's soon)! The podcast is based on a brand new book John's written - "REMAINS OF THE DAY: The Definitive Guide to the Historic Cemeteries of Washington, DC" which also will drop in March 2026. As we hope you'll agree, graveyards should have no secrets! SHOW NOTES In this episode, John visits The Rock Creek Cemetery in northewest Washington, DC. Among the graves he'll visit: John Harlan Marshall, Alice Longworth, Arkady Nikolayevich Shevchenko and Gore Vidal. To pre-order "REMAINS OF THE DAY", please visit For more great podcasts like Dead Drop, please visit https://costardandtouchstone.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Dec 8, 2025 · 36 min
S1E6 A Failure Of Analysis
What Makes THIS Spy Tick, Part 5
Dec 1, 2025 · 13 min
Mini Episode 3: A Spy's Guide To... Sofia
THE BLURB: In this episode, we preview a new podcast series that we'll start dropping in Spring 2026 - "A Spy's Guide To" which will look at the great cities of the world (and the not-so-great) entirely from the perspective of spies and spying. It'll be like a travel guide for spooks. Since spies have to live in these cities (in addition to working them), we'll approach and appreciate our first city guide - to SOFIA, BULGARIA - as we will all of these cities - like a spy would. A City is a place to recruit agents, locate safe houses and begin collecting secrets. SHOW NOTES For more great podcasts like Dead Drop, please visit https://costardandtouchstone.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Nov 24, 2025 · 39 min
S1E5 Singin' In Bahrain
What Makes THIS Spy Tick, Part 4
Nov 17, 2025 · 42 min
S1E4 Good Spies, Bad Endings
A Conversation About Bill Buckley
Nov 10, 2025 · 12 min
Mini Episode 2: Pete Seeger, American Hero
THE BLURB: From the time he was 5 or 6 and became aware of him, John always admired and wanted to know folk singer and activist Pete Seeger. In fact, John vowed to become friends with the legend - which, in fact, John did: he and Pete did become friends. How an event that echoed across Pete's life also echoed across John's. SHOW NOTES For more great podcasts like Dead Drop, please visit https://costardandtouchstone.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John Kiriakou's Dead Drop

S1E19 Torture

S1E18 Cross Currents

S1E17 Zain

S1E16 Captured

S1E15 The Hunt Begins

Mini Episode 5 Betrayal

S1E14 Game On

S1E13 Hostages

S1E12 The Grind

S1E11 Have Human Spies Become Obsolete?

S1E10 Blind Spot

S1E9 The Hothead

S1E8 The James Bond Academy

S1E7 The Shadow Of Richard Welch

Mini Episode 4: Grave Concerns

S1E6 A Failure Of Analysis

Mini Episode 3: A Spy's Guide To... Sofia

S1E5 Singin' In Bahrain

S1E4 Good Spies, Bad Endings

Mini Episode 2: Pete Seeger, American Hero