S10 Ep30: Espresso Martini Epstein’s Russian Espionage Ties and a World Out of Bounds

This week on Espresso Martini, Chris and Matt examine a set of stories pointing to a more volatile intelligence and political landscape. They unpack Poland’s investigation into whether Jeffrey Epstein functioned as a long-running collector of kompromat tied to Russian interests, and what the available evidence does — and does not — tell us about his relationship with Moscow. In Germany, the expulsion of a Russian military attaché and the arrest of an alleged spy accused of mapping defense and drone infrastructure highlight Berlin’s shift toward treating Russian intelligence activity as operational preparation for sabotage on NATO soil. The episode also explores mounting concerns around DNI Tulsi Gabbard, from the delayed handling of a highly sensitive whistleblower complaint to her unusual involvement in election-related investigations, raising questions about politicization and oversight. Chris and Matt then turn to Donald Trump’s Greenland brinkmanship, the role NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte played in defusing an alliance crisis, and why attempts to “sanewash” the episode risk lasting damage to transatlantic trust, before closing on the quiet but symbolic shuttering of the CIA’s World Factbook.

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S10 Ep30: Espresso Martini Epstein’s Russian Espionage Ties and a World Out of Bounds is an episode from Secrets & Spies.

This episode is 86:13 long.

This episode was published on Feb 7, 2026.

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