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SPYCRAFT 101

SPYCRAFT 101

By: Justin Black
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Welcome to your clandestine classroom.© 2025 SPYCRAFT 101 Political Science Politics & Government World
Episodes
  • 230. Tortured and Held Hostage in Venezuela with Matthew John Heath
    Jan 12 2026

    Today Justin sits down with Matthew John Heath. Matthew served in the US Marine Corps from 1999 until 2003, including a combat deployment to Iraq. Afterwards, he worked with the US State Department as a private contractor in Afghanistan. In 2020, Matthew was arrested inside Venezuela, near the Colombian border, and charged with multiple false offenses, including treason and arms trafficking. He spent more than two years captive in prison in Caracas before he was released in a prisoner exchange in October, 2022 along with several other American citizens. He's here today to discuss his service in the Marine Corps, his time working in Afghanistan and elsewhere, his arrest and imprisonment in Venezuela, and readjusting to life back home after the ordeal.

    Connect with Matthew:
    matthewjohnheath.com
    hostageus.org

    Connect with Spycraft 101:
    Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.
    spycraft101.com
    IG: @spycraft101
    Shop: shop.spycraft101.com
    Patreon: Spycraft 101
    Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.
    Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.
    Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.

    Kruschiki
    The best surplus military goods delivered right to your door. Use code SPYCRAFT101 for 10% off!


    Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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    1 hr and 1 min
  • 229. In the Shadows: US Naval Intelligence in the Indo-Pacific with Dr. Brian J. Ellison
    Jan 5 2026

    Today Justin sits down with Dr. Brian J. Ellison. Brian has a Master's degree in International Security from American University and a PhD in War Studies from King's College London. He's worked as a senior research scientist at the Center for Naval Analysis and at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory where he has specialized in Chinese strategic affairs, naval warfare and intelligence. His work has led to significant policy, operational, and institutional changes within the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Navy, the Marine Corps, and the overall intelligence community. In 2014, Brian was awarded the commendation for Meritorious Civilian Service by Commander Mar Fork Pack for his research and analysis of the Marine Corps's organizational challenges in the Indo-Pacific. He's here today to discuss human intelligence operations by the US Navy in the Pacific Theater of Operations, which he details in his new book.

    Connect with Brian:
    brian.j.ellison@gmail.com
    Check out the book, Quiet Wars: U.S. Naval Human Intelligence Operations during Crises with China, 1931–1965, here.
    https://a.co/d/7CS3Gs9

    Connect with Spycraft 101:
    Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.
    spycraft101.com
    IG: @spycraft101
    Shop: shop.spycraft101.com
    Patreon: Spycraft 101
    Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.
    Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.
    Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.

    Kruschiki
    The best surplus military goods delivered right to your door. Use code SPYCRAFT101 for 10% off!


    Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    Show More Show Less
    54 mins
  • 228. Data, Privacy, and Power: How Commercial Information Became the Next Frontier of Global Intelligence with Mike Yeagley
    Dec 29 2025

    This week Justin talks with Mike Yeagley. Mike is a graduate of St. Lawrence University and is currently the Chief Strategy Officer for cohort.ID. For the past decade, Mike has been working in a variety of positions to understand and reveal how advertising and marketing data can be both an asset and a detriment in intelligence and targeting operations. He's here today to discuss his work regarding the many ways that data can be bought, sold, and used worldwide, and how anyone can effectively understand change and reduce their own data profiles.

    Connect with Mike and cohort.ID:
    LinkedIn: cohort.ID

    Connect with Spycraft 101:
    Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.
    spycraft101.com
    IG: @spycraft101
    Shop: shop.spycraft101.com
    Patreon: Spycraft 101
    Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.
    Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.
    Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.

    Kruschiki
    The best surplus military goods delivered right to your door. Use code SPYCRAFT101 for 10% off!


    Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 2 mins
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