Putin’s Paramilitary 2.0

SpyCast by SpyCast

Jun 23, 202640:16Society & Culture

Since its emergence in 2014, the Wagner Group operated as the Kremlin's shadow army, deploying mercenaries across Africa and the Middle East. It gave Vladimir Putin plausible deniability, expanding Moscow's geopolitical...

Related Episodes

Continue listening to more episodes from SpyCast.

A House Divided: The CIA, State, and a Coup in South Vietnam

Sep 15, 2026 - 36:04

It's a dark moment in American history that leads to a lot of what-ifs. By the spring of 1963, eight year...

25 Years After 9/11: The CIA's First Moments Behind Enemy Lines in Afghanistan

Sep 8, 2026 - 48:25

Retired Colonel Justin Sapp was a Green Beret detailed to the CIA after the September 11th terrorist atta...

Japanese Surveillance, Enslavement, and Experimentation in Wartime China

Sep 1, 2026 - 41:07

Graphic content warning: Not recommended for younger listeners. This episode contains material that may b...

Peter Ortiz: The WWII Marine Who Foreshadowed Modern-Day Special Forces

Aug 25, 2026 - 38:37

In 2017, journalist Katie Sanders discovered an episode of a radio program called This Is Your Life. It w...

What It Takes to Run the CIA's Southeast Asia Department

Aug 18, 2026 - 42:29

You might find Meredith Cavan playing music in an Irish pub. But long before her first album dropped, she...

Cuba's Spies, Defectors, and the Ex-FBI Agent Who Met Them All

Aug 11, 2026 - 41:48

For decades, Cuban intelligence has been seen as a force that punches above its weight. Shaped during the...

Smears, Fakes & Phantoms: Cold War Britain's Secret Propaganda Department

Aug 4, 2026 - 41:05

In Cold War Britain, a secret propaganda department saw its list of targets and tactics widen. Personnel...

Murder in Mexico City: The Assassination of Leon Trotsky

Jul 28, 2026 - 42:19

For those of you who have visited the International Spy Museum, you may be familiar with one of our most...