The Rest Is Classified
Enter the secretive world of spies, espionage, and covert operations. Hosted by former CIA analyst turned spy novelist, David McCloskey, and veteran security correspondent, Gordon Corera, this podcast unravels real-life spy stories, intelligence secrets, and the hidden power struggles shaping global events. From Cold War espionage to modern-day intelligence agencies like the CIA, MI6, and Mossad, explore the world of double agents, classified missions, and the shadowy figures who operate in them. Whether you're a true crime addict, a thriller fan, or fascinated by spy stories, this is the show for you.
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Recent Episodes
Introducing: The Rest Is Science
Dec 11, 2025Summary Preview
In this episode of The Rest Is Science, hosts Michael Stevens and Professor Hannah Fry explore the fundamental nature of gravity, from basic Newtonian mechanics to Einstein's revolutionary theory of spacetime curvature. They discuss how gravity works at every scale, explain why objects fall, debunk common misconceptions about mass and attraction, and reveal how gravity literally warps both space and time differently across Earth's surface. Through accessible analogies and concrete examples, they demonstrate how Einstein's insights solved long-standing mysteries like Mercury's orbital precession.
- Explaining Gravity to an Alien: The Basics of Attraction
- Debunking Astrology with Physics
107. Hunting Al-Qaeda: The War On Terror (Ep 2)
Dec 10, 2025Summary Preview
This episode examines the critical phase of the Humam al-Balawi case, where the CIA and Jordanian intelligence believed they had recruited a jihadist blogger to infiltrate al-Qaeda. After his arrest and release, Balawi travels to Pakistan's tribal areas and begins sending intelligence back to his handlers, including shocking claims of access to al-Qaeda's top leadership. The episode explores the dangerous dynamics of trust, the pressure for results in counterterrorism operations, and the warning signs that were overlooked as the case rapidly escalated to the highest levels of the U.S. government.
- The Surveillance and Recruitment of Balawi
- Balawi's Mission to Pakistan's Tribal Areas
106. Hunting Al-Qaeda: Anatomy Of A Terrorist (Ep 1)
Dec 08, 2025Summary Preview
This episode examines the devastating 2009 Camp Chapman bombing in Afghanistan, where seven CIA officers were killed by a suicide bomber working for al-Qaeda. The story begins by introducing Humam Khalil al-Balawi, a Jordanian doctor who maintained a bloodthirsty online persona as jihadist blogger 'Abu Dujana Al-Khorasani.' The episode explores how U.S. and Jordanian intelligence services discovered his identity, arrested and interrogated him, and believed they had turned him into a cooperative asset - setting the stage for one of the CIA's darkest days.
- Setting the Stage: The War on Terror in 2009
- Abu Dujana: The Jihadist Blogger
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This episode examines the case of Kevin Mallory, a former CIA officer recruited by Chinese intelligence through LinkedIn, illustrating how China's MSS uses digital platforms to identify, approach, and ultimately turn intelligence targets. The hosts explore how Mallory's recruitment progressed from an initial LinkedIn message to in-person meetings in Shanghai, the provision of covert communications devices, and eventually his arrest when the FBI discovered evidence of espionage on the very phone he voluntarily showed them.
- LinkedIn as China's Digital Recruitment Tool
- Kevin Mallory's Background and Vulnerabilities
Summary Preview
This episode of The Rest is Classified examines China's expanding espionage operations, focusing on how Chinese intelligence services use LinkedIn and other digital platforms to target Western officials, parliamentary staff, and even former intelligence officers. Hosts David McCloskey and Gordon Carrera analyze recent MI5 alerts about Chinese spying in the UK Parliament, the dramatic collapse of a high-profile espionage prosecution, and the scale of Chinese intelligence operations that now dwarf those of the Soviet KGB at its height.
- The Scale and Scope of Chinese Intelligence Operations
- LinkedIn as a Recruiting Tool: The Parliamentary Alert
The Rise Of Putin: Becoming President
Nov 28, 2025Summary Preview
This exclusive club episode explores Vladimir Putin's rapid rise from deputy mayor of St. Petersburg to leader of Russia during the chaotic 1990s. Mark Galeotti joins as a special guest to explain how Putin's reputation as a loyal, discreet 'bagman' propelled him through increasingly powerful positions in Moscow's murky political world, ultimately positioning him as Boris Yeltsin's successor amid a system rife with corruption and oligarchic influence.
- Putin's Transition from St. Petersburg to Moscow
- The Presidential Property Management Agency: A Lucrative Position
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This is the final episode of a six-part series examining the life of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Russian oligarch who built a mercenary empire through Wagner Group. The episode chronicles Prigozhin's final months, from his increasingly public conflicts with Russian military leadership over the brutal battle of Bakhmut, through his shocking June 2023 mutiny when Wagner forces marched toward Moscow, to his mysterious death in a plane crash two months later. Hosts David McCloskey and Gordon Carrera analyze how Prigozhin's escalating confrontations with Defense Minister Shoigu exposed deep fractures in Putin's autocratic system, ultimately leading to his downfall.
- Growing Tensions and the Battle for Bakhmut
- Crossing the Line: Public Criticism of the War
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This episode chronicles the transformation of Wagner Group from a small mercenary force into a massive army of 85,000 troops during Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Yevgeny Prigozhin, Putin's former chef turned warlord, recruits tens of thousands of prisoners with promises of pardons, creating brutal 'meat wave' assault units. As Wagner grows more powerful and Prigozhin's public profile rises, he begins to challenge the Russian military establishment, setting up a dangerous imbalance in Putin's carefully managed power structure that will lead to dramatic consequences.
- Russia's Failed Invasion and Wagner's Opportunity
- The Prison Recruitment Campaign
The Rise Of Putin: Spying With The Stasi
Nov 21, 2025Summary Preview
This episode examines Vladimir Putin's trajectory during the final days of the Soviet Union, focusing on the August 1991 coup attempt that changed Russian history. Expert Mark Gagliotti joins to discuss the chaotic three-day coup by hardliners attempting to remove Gorbachev, the unexpected resistance led by Boris Yeltsin, and Putin's murky role during this pivotal moment. The episode draws parallels between the failed 1991 coup and Prigozhin's 2023 mutiny, revealing how both events caught intelligence services completely off guard.
- Setting the Scene: Putin Between Collapsing Regimes
- The Unexpected Coup: Intelligence Failure and Improvisation
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This episode traces Yevgeny Prigozhin's transformation from caterer and election interference specialist into a mercenary warlord building a global empire. The podcast explores how Wagner Group expanded across Africa, offering a package of military training, security services, and propaganda campaigns to governments in exchange for lucrative mining concessions. By 2022, Prigozhin had perfected this business model but remained frustrated by his inability to break into Putin's inner circle, setting the stage for the dramatic events to come during Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
- Wagner's African Business Model Perfected
- The Dark Side of Wagner's Operations
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This episode chronicles Yevgeny Prigozhin's transformation from restaurateur and disinformation specialist into a mercenary warlord. After meeting former Russian special forces lieutenant colonel Dmitry Utkin in 2014, Prigozhin establishes the Wagner Group, deploying mercenaries first in Ukraine's Donbass region, then expanding to Syria where they fight alongside Assad's forces. The episode details Wagner's brutal reputation, their business model of securing resource extraction deals, and culminates with the disastrous February 2018 battle in Syria where U.S. forces annihilated Wagner fighters, deepening Prigozhin's fury with Russia's Ministry of Defense.
- The Birth of Wagner: Meeting Dmitry Utkin
- Ukraine 2014: Wagner's First Deployment