The Live Drop

Mark Valley

Venture into the elusive world of intelligence collection and espionage to spot, assess and debrief: spies, handlers, catchers, analysts, cut-outs, dangles, diplomats, security experts and the storytellers who bring them all to life. Check your electronics and subscribe, do a thorough surveillance detection route, secure your Live Drop location, and after a mad-minute introduction, listen in on conversations with our fascinating guests who help to illuminate a complex universe. A HUMINT experiment with host Mark Valley. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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The Live Drop

Episodes (75)

Nov 12, 2025 Shawnna Morris and the Glamorous Cambridge Five
Oct 7, 2025 James Stejskal: Author, Soldier, Snake-eater, Spy
Apr 8, 2025 Thomas Maier Reveals the Invisible Spy

The Live Drop

Nov 12, 2025
57¼ minutes
46 MB

In this interview, I had the pleasure of speaking with a Cold War expert--Shawnna Morris--about her fascinating book on the Cambridge Five spy ring. We talked about how her book has been received both in the UK and the US, and she shared some insights into the cultural attitudes around this famous espionage group. Shauna guided me through the recruitment storyline, explaining how Philby, McLean, Burgess, Blunt, and Cairncross became Soviet spies, and the social dynamics that let them operate undetected for so long. We explored the complicated personalities of each member—especially Philby’s evolution from idealist to, uhm...

The Live Drop

Shawnna Morris and the Glamorous Cambridge Five

Mark Valley

00:00 -57:20