Chatter: Spy Satire with Alex Finley

David Priess, Shane Harris, Alex Finley
Thursday, April 21, 2022, 12:00 PM

For this episode, Shane Harris joined David Priess to speak jointly with Alex Finley about her career in the CIA's Directorate of Operations, her keen observation and analysis of Russian oligarchs' mega-yachts and and her experience writing a series of spy satire novels.

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No one understands the surreal aspects of a large, long-established bureaucracy like one who has worked in it. And few have written satire about the particular bureaucracy known as the Central Intelligence Agency like former intelligence officer, prominent yacht-watcher, and book author Alex Finley.

For this episode, Shane Harris joined David Priess to speak jointly with Finley about her career in the CIA's Directorate of Operations (which became the National Clandestine Service during her tenure there), her keen observation and analysis of Russian oligarchs' mega-yachts (which brought her onto cable news networks this spring after several countries started to seize the ships in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine), and her experience writing a series of spy satire novels (which take espionage absurdity to a new level). The three of them also kicked around views on a range of spy satire films, from 1985's Spies Like Us to the puppet-centric Team America to Spy with Melissa McCarthy.

Chatter is a production of Lawfare and Goat Rodeo. This episode was produced and edited by Cara Shillenn of Goat Rodeo. Podcast theme by David Priess, featuring music created using Groovepad. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Works discussed in this episode:

Victor in the Rubble by Alex Finley

Victor in the Jungle by Alex Finley

Victor in Trouble by Alex Finley

The Miernik Dossier by Charles McCarry

The Thunderbirds (TV show)

Movies mentioned include Office Space, The Interview, Team America, Spies Like Us, the James Bond series, Central Intelligence, Spy, Burn After Reading, and the Austin Powers series.

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David Priess

David Priess

davidpriess
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David Priess is Director of Intelligence at Bedrock Learning, Inc. and a Senior Fellow at the Michael V. Hayden Center for Intelligence, Policy, and International Security. He served during the Clinton and Bush 43 administrations as a CIA officer and has written two books: “The President’s Book of Secrets,” about the top-secret President’s Daily Brief, and "How To Get Rid of a President," describing the ways American presidents have left office.
Shane Harris

Shane Harris

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Shane Harris is a staff writer at The Atlantic covering national security and intelligence. He can be reached on Signal at shaneharris.64. He has written about intelligence, security, and foreign policy for more than two decades, including as a staff writer for The Washington Post, where he was part of the team that won the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. In 2023, he co-reported the documentary The Discord Leaks with PBS Frontline, which was nominated for an Emmy for outstanding investigative news coverage. He is the author of two books, The Watchers and @War.
Alex Finley

Alex Finley

AlexZFinley
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Alex Finley is the pen name of a former CIA officer. She has written for a number of media outlets and is the author of two satires about the CIA. “Victor in the Rubble” looks at the absurdity of the war on terror, and “Victor in the Jungle” explores the pitfalls of populism.
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