AFIO Podcast

In this episode, Doug Ollivant, Senior National Security Studies Fellow at New America, discusses the war in Iraq from his perspective first as an Army officer serving in-country and then as Director for Iraq on the National Security Council under the Bush and Obama administrations. Recorded 13 Jan 2022. Interviewer: Jim Hughes, AFIO President and former CIA Operations Officer. 

Bryan Denson, author of the 2015 book "The Spy's Son: The True Story of the Highest-Ranking CIA Officer Ever Convicted of Espionage and the Son He Trained to Spy for Russia" tells the riveting story of the Nicholsons—father and son co-conspirators who deceived their country by selling national secrets to Russia. Recorded 10 Jan 2022. Interviewer: Jim Hughes, AFIO President and former CIA Operations Officer. 

In this episode, journalist and author Toby Harnden discusses his book "First Casualty," the true story of the secret mission of CIA’s Team Alpha, the first Americans to be dropped behind enemy lines in Afghanistan after 9/11. Recorded 6 Dec 2021. Interviewer: Jim Hughes, AFIO President and former CIA Operations Officer. 

John Lenczowski PhD, former NSC Staff Expert and current Chancellor of the Institute of World Politics, discusses Chinese influence operations in the US and how the Chinese expertly use the media, academic institutions, think tanks, businesses, politicians, and Hollywood to steal intellectual property and advance their propaganda operations. Recorded 12 Nov 2021. Interviewer: Jim Hughes, AFIO President and former CIA Operations Officer. 

Steve Vogel, a veteran journalist who reported for The Washington Post for more than two decades, offers a deep-dive into the double agent George Blake, featured in his 2019 book, "Betrayal in Berlin: The True Story of the Cold War's Most Audacious Espionage Operation." Recorded 10 Nov 2021. Interviewer: Jim Hughes, AFIO President and former CIA Operations Officer. 

In this episode, former Senior CIA Operations Officer Douglas London discusses his latest book, "The Recruiter: Spying and the Lost Art of American Intelligence." Mr. London reflects on the changes he has seen in the operations side of the Agency -- good and bad -- and provides frank assessments of the missteps and successes of the intelligence community. Recorded 20 Sept 2021. Host: James Hughes, AFIO President and former CIA Operations Officer. 

In this episode, Mark E. Mitchell - Former Director for Counterterrorism on the National Security Council and Former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations/Low-Intensity Conflict - discusses the first ground battle after 9/11 which occurred in Mazār-i-Sharīf, the fourth largest city in Afghanistan. An uprising during the battle of Qala-i-Jangi -- to overthrow the Taliban's Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, which had been harboring al-Qaeda operatives -- resulted in the death of Johnny Micheal Spann, an American paramilitary operations officer in the CIA's Special Activities Division. Spann was the first American killed in combat during this late 2001 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. Recorded 29 Jun 2021. Host: James Hughes, AFIO President and former CIA Operations Officer. 

In this episode, Dr. Nicholas Dujmovic - Professor, Author, and former CIA Analyst -  discusses his experiences developing an intelligence program at Catholic University and explains his journey to academia and teaching intelligence at the college level in retirement. Recorded 9 Oct 2020. Host: James Hughes, AFIO President and former CIA Operations Officer. 

In this episode, former Director of CIA's Clandestine Information Technology Office and one of the nation's foremost experts on cybersecurity, James Gosler, discusses the pervasive and existentially disruptive cyber threats the U.S. faces from adversaries. He describes what is required to warn, educate, prepare for, and possibly mitigate these growing threats. Recorded 16 Jun 2021. Host: James Hughes, AFIO President and former CIA Operations Officer. 

In this special episode, AFIO Now assembled a panel of experts to discuss proposed legislation which would place controls on former military and intelligence officers working overseas with foreign governments. Participants include: The Honorable Mike Rogers, former Chairman of HPSCI; Christopher Bing, Cybersecurity Reporter, Reuters who broke story of Project Raven; Stewart Baker, former General Counsel, NSA and AFIO Chairman; and James Hughes, former CIA Operations Officer and AFIO President. Recorded 22 Oct 2021