
The Pentagon's Deep-Cover Plans, Israel's Deadlock, and China's Spaceplane | Espresso Martini
Chris and Matt open with two reports, from the Washington Post and Politico, that point to a more aggressive Pentagon intelligence posture: a planned deep-cover program with officers posing as businesspeople as part of economic warfare against China, and a quietly created Technology Support Office built to sabotage rivals’ military technology. The Pentagon calls the reporting “simply not true.” They weigh which model of non-official cover the Pentagon might borrow, JSOC’s or the CIA’s, and what oversight should look like. From there: MI5 Director General Ken McCallum’s annual threat update and social media’s role in radicalization; Israel’s inconclusive election, which left neither Benjamin Netanyahu nor Gadi Eisenkot within reach of a majority; Austria’s expulsion of four Russian diplomats from Vienna, long a hub for Russian intelligence in Europe; and a Defense Intelligence Agency report with the clearest image yet of China’s secretive spaceplane. Subscribe and share to stay ahead in the world of intelligence, global issues, and current affairs. Andrew R Bird Album "Automatopia" https://music.imusician.pro/a/xfpkGB99 Support Secrets and Spies Become a “Friend of the Podcast” on Patreon for £3/$4: https://www.patreon.com/SecretsAndSpies Buy us a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/secretsandspies Subscribe to our YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDVB23lrHr3KFeXq4VU36dg Articles discussed in today’s episode "Pentagon looks to build a deep-cover spy program to confront China" by Zach Dorfman & Warren P. Strobel | The Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/10/21/pentagon-looks-build-deep-cover-spy-program-confront-china/ "The Pentagon is quietly building an elite new tech sabotage agency" by John Sakellariadis, Jack Detsch & Paul McLeary | Politico: https://www.politico.com/news/2026/10/22/technology-support-office-dod-tech-spyware-sabotage-01100327 “Unpacking MI5’s Warning on a ‘New Era’ of Security Threats” by Farah Pandith | Council on Foreign Relations: https://www.cfr.org/articles/unpacking-mi5s-warning-on-a-new-era-of-security-threats “Israel’s Election: When Will We Know Who Will Be Prime Minister?” by Ephrat Livni | The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/25/world/middleeast/israel-election-guide-netanyahu-eisenkot.html “Spies Suspected at Russian Embassy and OSCE Mission in Vienna. Austria Orders Four Diplomats to Leave” by Katherina Poplinichenko | United24 Media: https://united24media.com/world/spies-suspected-at-russian-embassy-and-osce-mission-in-vienna-austria-orders-four-diplomats-to-leave-23759 "U.S. Intel Confirms This Is China’s Secret Spaceplane" by Joseph Trevithick | The War Zone: https://www.twz.com/news-features/u-s-intel-confirms-this-is-chinas-secret-spaceplane Connect with us on social media Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/secretsandspies.bsky.social X: https://x.com/SecretsAndSpies Instagram: https://instagram.com/secretsandspies Follow Chris and Matt on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/chriscarrfilm.bsky.social https://bsky.app/profile/mattfulton.net Secrets & Spies is produced by Films & Podcasts LTD: https://filmsandpodcasts.co.uk/ Music by Andrew R. Bird Photos by Eric Lee/NYT, Canva, Aaron Favila/Reuters Secrets and Spies sits at the intersection of intelligence, covert action, real-world espionage, and broader geopolitics in a way that is digestible but serious. Hosted by filmmaker Chris Carr and writer Matt Fulton, each episode examines the very topics that real intelligence officers and analysts consider on a daily basis through the lens of global events and geopolitics, featuring expert insights from former spies, authors, and journalists. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
















