Spy Valley: An Engineer's Nuclear Betrayal

This week on Spy Valley we’re sharing the first episode of a new four-part series from Brazen called ‘The Professor’.

William Veres is in trouble. In 2018 he was arrested following the largest ever investigation by the Italian police’s art squad. They accuse him of running a pan-European art-smuggling ring with ties to the Sicilian mafia. He is alleged to have stolen $40 million worth of art and antiquities from Italy. Charged with 14 counts, including money laundering, forgery, wire fraud and conspiracy, he faces a jail term of up to 20 years. But he has a plan to get out of trouble.

In this four-part podcast, host Simon Willis follows him as he puts that plan into action. It’s a story that takes listeners deep into the underworld and into the dark heart of the most famous criminal organization of them all – Cosa Nostra. It is a story of drug dealers, hitmen, smugglers, spies – even a corrupt prime minister. And in the middle of it all is William Veres’s quest to save himself. How? By solving the coldest cold case in the history of art crime – the theft of Caravaggio’s Nativity.

The Professor is a series for Hidden Worlds, the home of unbelievable true stories and gripping investigations into shadowy places. Subscribe to Hidden Worlds and get brand new series delivered to your favorite podcast app year-round. One podcast, endless stories. For more, visit brazen.fm/hidden-worlds.

Don’t want to wait for the next episode? Subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts or at brazen.fm/plus to listen to the full series today, and get ad-free listening.

In collaboration with SpyCast, this week on Spy Valley we're sharing a bonus episode recorded live atthe International Spy Museum in Washington, DC. The panel was moderated by Sharon Weinberger, the national security and foreign policy editor at The Wall Street Journal, featuringSpy Valleyhost Zach Dorfman with Dr. Raymond J. Batvinis, a historian and former FBI Special Agent, John Gibbons, who headed the US Attorney's prosecution team in the case against James Harper, and nuclear historian and National Cryptologic Museum Director, Dr. Vince Houghton.

For more espionage stories from the International Spy Museum, listen to SpyCast, hosted by the museum’s Historian and Curator, Dr. Andrew Hammond.

Thanks for listening to Spy Valley. If you’re looking for a new podcast to follow, we think you’ll enjoy Agent of Betrayal: The Double Life of Robert Hanssen. Listen here for a special preview of the series.

Amid the nuclear threat of the Cold War, America's prized secrets were falling into the hands of its sworn enemy—the Kremlin. The FBI's hunt for the leak led to an astonishing discovery—the mole was one of its own, special agent Robert Hanssen.

For two decades, Hanssen masqueraded as a devoted patriot while ruthlessly selling out his country, trading classified intelligence to the Soviet Union and later Russia, in exchange for cash and diamonds. He was a whirlwind of contradictions—a self-proclaimed patriot and a traitor; a family man who sexually betrayed his wife; an ardent man of God and a sinner.

In this CBS News limited series, CBS News Chief Washington Correspondent Major Garrett delves into the double life of Robert Hanssen and unravels the chilling truth about the most damaging spy in FBI history. Listen to Agent of Betrayal: The Double Life of Robert Hanssen wherever you get your podcasts.

The man codenamed “Caribou” plays a critical role in James Harper’s story, but his own story remains in the shadows. In this bonus episode, Spy Valley host Zach Dorfman sits down with Hanna Kozlowska, journalist and translator of the Polish archives used in the series, to discuss Caribou’s position as a mole for the US within the Polish spy service—and what happened when the Poles found out about his double-cross.

For more, visitbrazen.fm/spy-valley.

Spyhunters and prosecutors are closing in on James Harper. They need one last fount of information that could help put him away for good. But obtaining it could prove fatal for its source.

For more from Spy Valley, subscribe to Brazen+ and get ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content from the show. To sign up, head to the Brazen channel in Apple Podcasts or visit brazen.fm/plus.

In this bonus episode, we bring you an intimate conversation with Zach Dorfman, an award-winning intelligence and national security journalist and host of the podcast Spy Valley: An Engineer's Nuclear Betrayal. Recorded live at the Podcast Garage at KQED in San Francisco earlier this month, the conversation delved into the making of the podcast series and featured audio clips from the show. The discussion was moderated by Ian Enright, founder and CEO of Goat Rodeo and an executive producer of Spy Valley.

Spy Valley is a new six-part podcast series from Project Brazen that explores the story of James Harper, a Silicon Valley engineer turned nuclear spy during the Cold War.

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ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:

Zach Dorfman is a National Security Writer and the Writer and Host of Spy Valley. He was previously a National Security Correspondent for Yahoo News and a Senior Staff Writer at the Aspen Institute. His work has appeared at Foreign Policy, Politico, The Atlantic, the Wall Street Journal, and elsewhere. He was also a Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, where he spent over half a decade as a full-time staff editor. Dorfman is a past winner of the Gerald R. Ford Prize for Defense Reporting and a Livingston Award finalist.

Ian Enright is the founder and CEO of Goat Rodeo, a creative podcasting company. As a senior audio producer and creative executive, Goat Rodeo’s work includes award winning and groundbreaking podcasts such as The Report, Allies, Cornbread Mafia, and Long Shadow. He is an executive producer on Spy Valley.

For more, visit brazen.fm/spy-valley.

James Harper is in dire need of protection—and money. But the nuclear spy has exhausted his options and left breadcrumbs of his trail. The FBI is watching.

Don't want to wait for the next episode? Subscribe to Brazen+ and binge all six episodes today. Subscribers also get ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content from the show. To sign up, head to the Brazen channel in Apple Podcasts or visit brazen.fm/plus.

For more, visit: brazen.fm/spy-valley

Nuclear tensions between Moscow and Washington are reaching a fever pitch. When a desperate James Harper doubles down on spying for the Soviet Bloc, he gets his big payday.  But in a game of double-cross and deception, even your friends start to feel like enemies.

Don't want to wait for the next episode? Subscribe to Brazen+ and binge all six episodes today. Subscribers also get ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content from the show. To sign up, head to the Brazen channel in Apple Podcasts or visit brazen.fm/plus.

For more, visit: brazen.fm/spy-valley

One million dollars, lives on the line, and a spy who keeps a diary. James Harper’s wild ride selling nuclear secrets as the cold war heats up—secrets that might still help Moscow in a nuclear exchange today.

Don't want to wait for the next episode? Subscribe to Brazen+ and binge all six episodes today. Subscribers also get ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content from the show. To sign up, head to the Brazen channel in Apple Podcasts or visit brazen.fm/plus.

For more, visit: brazen.fm/spy-valley

Silicon Valley blossoms, but there’s a dark side to all this newfound wealth and ambition. With his technical savvy and a penchant for scheming, one of America’s most notorious cold war nuclear spies gets his start.

Don't want to wait for the next episode? Subscribe to Brazen+ and binge all six episodes today. Subscribers also get ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content from the show. To sign up, head to the Brazen channel in Apple Podcasts or visit brazen.fm/plus.

For more, visit: brazen.fm/spy-valley