The Langley Files: CIA's Podcast

How well do you know the difference between the CIA and FBI? Who undertakes which national security missions, and where? Who has which critical authorities, and when? And how do both agencies work together to keep Americans and others around the world safe? Well, you’re in luck! On this special episode of The Langley Files, CIA Deputy Director David Cohen returns to unpack just that—and this time, he’s brought an interagen...

To keep Americans and others around the world safe, CIA operates around the clock—and for some officers, that means overnight shifts. But when darkness falls over CIA Headquarters in Langley, some of those Agency officers have reported mysterious occurrences…things that might just be outside of traditional means of intelligence collection. Things that don’t appear on satellite imagery, or leave digital footprints….or maybe...

PART THREE: FINDING BIN LADEN. On May 2, 2011, officials with a “need to know” monitored the highly sensitive US operation against the most wanted terrorist in the world in real time. But for a CIA officer named Kevin watching that night, the mission against Al Qaeda’s seniormost leader had a uniquely personal resonance. Because as a young Navy officer working in the Pentagon, he had nearly died on September 11th, 2001. Su...

PART TWO: JOINING CIA'S MANHUNT. On May 2, 2011, officials with a “need to know” monitored the highly sensitive US operation against the most wanted terrorist in the world in real time. But for a CIA officer named Kevin watching that night, the mission against Al Qaeda’s seniormost leader had a uniquely personal resonance. Because as a young Navy officer working in the Pentagon, he had nearly died on September 11th, 2001. ...

PART ONE: SURVIVING 9/11. On May 2, 2011, officials with a “need to know” monitored the highly sensitive US operation against the most wanted terrorist in the world in real time. But for a CIA officer named Kevin watching that night, the mission against Al Qaeda’s seniormost leader had a uniquely personal resonance. Because as a young Navy officer working in the Pentagon, he had nearly died on September 11th, 2001. Sustain...

CIA’s digital systems need to process some of the most sensitive data in the world—intelligence that is vital to keeping Americans safe and must be kept from falling into the wrong hands. But who is responsible for ensuring the security of those systems? And do they have any best practices that you could incorporate into your own tech life? On this episode of The Langley Files, you’ll find out. Dee and Walter are sitting d...

PART TWO: CIA OPERATIONS. In Part One of this special two-part episode, George E. Hocker, Jr.—the trailblazing Black CIA operations officer who joined the Agency in the 1950s and ultimately rose to its seniormost ranks—shared with Dee and Walter the trials and triumphs of undergoing CIA operations, paramilitary, and survival training—and doing so as the only Black officer in his class. But George’s career with the Agency w...

PART ONE: CIA TRAINING. George E. Hocker, Jr. joined CIA in the 1950s, as one of just a few Black employees in the Agency’s records office. Over three decades later, he retired from CIA’s senior ranks as a veteran clandestine operations officer with a series of intelligence successes to his name—including a Cold War espionage history first. Now, for the first time ever, hear about those espionage feats—and the barriers Geo...

As part of The Langley Files’ ongoing focus on tech at CIA, Dee and Walter sit down with CIA’s Deputy Director for Digital Innovation, Juliane Gallina, and CIA’s Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer, Lakshmi Raman, to talk about the ones and zeros of spycraft in the 21st century, and how CIA is applying the latest in digital technology to help protect America from threats around the world.

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From glittering capitals to active warzones, CIA operations officers work across the world to uncover the information needed to keep Americans safe -- and ultimately, they’re all overseen by the Agency’s Deputy Director for Operations at CIA Headquarters. It’s a position traditionally shrouded in secrecy, but on this premiere of The Langley Files Season 3, Dee and Walter sit down with the CIA official who recently assumed ...

PART TWO: EXFILTRATION. In this conclusion to the two-part finale of The Langley Files Season Two, Dee and Walter follow the thread of the “Argo” operation to rescue six Americans stranded in post-1979 Iran to its final moments—because for CIA master of disguise Tony Mendez and the previously-unidentified second CIA officer who undertook this daring mission with him, getting into Iran was just the beginning. Once in Tehran...

PART ONE: INFILTRATION. In this two-part finale of the second season of The Langley Files, Dee and Walter open up the Agency’s vault on one of the most famous declassified CIA operations in history: the plan to rescue six Americans stranded in hostile post-1979 Iran, under the cover of scouting for a film called “Argo.” The first twist: the most commonly understood version of these events is missing a key piece of the pict...

You might’ve seen spies use disguises in movies, but for real-life CIA officers, masks, wigs, makeup, and clothing are just the beginning. So what else do Agency officers need to transform themselves into someone else? How do they pull off such sleight of hand under pressure—and under surveillance? And most of all, who makes their disguises and how? On this episode of The Langley Files, Dee and Walter sit down with two of ...

CIA’s workforce has a mission unlike any other, where mental and physical resiliency are often put to the test. So how does an organization like CIA best take care of its people? On this episode, Dee and Walter sit down with the surprising duo who helped drive a change in how CIA answers that critical question: Paul, a former CIA operations officer who survived a terrorist attack overseas, and Dr. Jennifer Posa, an industr...

How do CIA officers stay safe while traveling to some of the most dangerous places in the world? And how can you apply the CIA’s best practices to help stay safe during your own travels? On this episode of The Langley Files, a CIA security expert talks Dee and Walter through a notional trip abroad to reveal how he watches his back on the go—and shares how you can, too. 

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CIA is known as America's first line of defense - but who protects CIA? On this episode, Dee and Walter sit down with a member of CIA's protective service - the unit charged with keeping CIA personnel and facilities safe. They'll discuss what it takes to qualify for that team, the training its officers undergo, and the importance of not calling a day "quiet" until it's over.

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In this episode of The Langley Files, Deputy Director of CIA for Analysis, Linda Weissgold, joins Dee and Walter to discuss what makes a good CIA analyst, the unusual working hours required to be the President's briefer, and the importance of the Agency's apolitical assessments. Along the way, she shares lessons from her decades-long career with CIA - and what it's like delivering bad news to the most powerful person on th...

In 2022, CIA announced its first-ever Chief Technology Officer: Nand Mulchandani, a Silicon Valley executive with 25 years of industry experience. Since then, he’s been charting CIA’s course on technology—and now, on the Season 2 premiere of The Langley Files, he sits down with Dee and Walter for his first interview on being CTO of the world’s premiere foreign intelligence agency. Tune in to hear him discuss accelerating t...

Rogue operatives. Off the books programs. Hood-sliding CIA officers single-handedly saving the world. Is there any fact behind the spy fiction we see all the time? For this, The Langley Files’ season one finale, Dee and Walter sit down with none other than CIA Deputy Director David Cohen to break down recurring scenes in spy fiction—and reveal that, behind some of them, is a surprising degree of CIA truth. *Nothing in ...