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In 2017, Chloé Aeberhardt, a French journalist, released a book entitled, “Les Espionnes Racontent” about the stories of six female intelligence officers. In this clip she talks about the women’s undercover lives from the CIA operative designing spy gadgets with Hollywood to a Russian spy in Argentina. It took her five years to find and …

Nancy Wake, New Zealand born and SOE (Special Operations Executive) trained, was one of the few female agents who received wide acclaim for her WW 2 accomplishments. She was honoured with medals by Britain, France and the U.S. governments. Early on, Nancy Wake decided that she was not going to sit at home while the …

Harriet Tubman has been inducted into the Military Intelligence Corps Hall of Fame for her work as an intelligence operations specialist during the Civil War. (also see this Washington Post article which may be behind a paywall) Harriet is the only woman, Black or White, who inspired and carried out a devestating raid of military command in …

Last month the Indian Army warned its personnel against interacting with unknown Facebook and WhatsApp social media profiles, and specifically about being “honey-trapped”. They had discovered 150 fake profiles built by Pakistan’s Inter-Services intelligence (ISI) agents posing as fellow Army officers, police and women. The ISI was targeting military officers and clerks for sensitive, confidential …

Actor, Lorraine Toussaint, comments that it’s exciting to play the strong and clever Black female spy character, McCall in The Equailzer, a drama series reboot from the 80s.  Originally played by Denzel Washington, it’s timely that black women be reflected in more complex roles that some already inhabit in daily life as spies and black ops. Further, actor, Elizabeth …

Spies posing as journalists is not new in espionage especially in first-world countries where political and economic information is desired, but it still works — at least for awhile. Recently, MI5 in the UK, expelled three agents from China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) when it realised they were using UK press agencies as cover. …

Although settling in the English countryside with three children and a husband, Ursula Kuczynski was a deep spy and colonel in the Red Army with a transmitter in her Cotswold outhouse. The stakes were extremely high but she was a mistress of deception being able to carry a “double identity” for decades while stealing UK …

In 1944, Aline Griffith was sent to Spain by the OSS to search out Nazi sympathisers. She infiltrated Spanish society through high profile soirées and nightclubs. Post WW 2, it was unusual for a woman to write spy novels based on their experiences but Griffith did. Now, through meticulous researching, Larry Loftis, in the The …

Before the CIA had women at the helm, a philanthropist and abolitionist, Elizabeth Van Lew (1818-1900), ran an underground spy network called the “Richmond Underground” which included clerks in the War and Navy Departments of the Confederacy.  During the Civil War she relayed valuable Confederate military secrets regarding troop movements to Union officers. Her network also …

In 1918 when women were not considered as serious war correspondents, Marguerite Harrison, a journalist, linguist and adventurer turned to the U.S. Army Military Intelligence asking if she could become an agent for them. Being financially independent and a world traveler, she had established the Society of Women Geographers and would pose as a writer …

Even prior to WW 2, Elizebeth Smith Friedman was indispensable to the U.S. government because of her unique perspective on patterns and language rhythms. At a time when the FBI was in its infancy and cryptology nonexistent, she did what the crime agency had no capacity to do. She broke codes and figured out their …

By 1944 and as the Nazis became more astute at discovering Allied male agents, the US Office of Strategic Services (OSS) working in France began using women from the Free French Intelligence organisations to infiltrate enemy territory to carry out reconnaissance. Reducing the number of intelligence operations and using brave yet less suspicious French women …

A powerful espionage agent from the WW 2 era, Lidia Menapace, who fought Fascists in Italy died in December 2020 at the age of 96 from Covid-19. She was a resistance soldier couriering bombs and helping Jews escape the anti-Semitic grasp. Post-war she began her battle for women’s rights when sexist Italian leaders didn’t invite women …

Recently, I attended a virtual Smithsonian Institute seminar created by the American Women’s History Initiative called, Female Spies of World War II given by two CIA men. These presenters reviewed Virginia Hall’s story as well as those women whose narratives have not been as visible, yet who were involved in classic espionage and analysis for …

Women made excellent spies in WW 2 partly because of western gendered projections about them not being astute, strategic or creative enough to be a threat. Stereotypically, women were believed to be virtuous virgins or hungry vamps (as discussed in IW Episode 3). These beliefs, promoted through Allied propaganda, also allowed Ursula Kuczynski, a non-Russian Soviet …

When mandatory spying, like mandatory military training is imposed on a country’s citizens, it has a direct impact on foreign countries and potentially the balance of power in the world. This coupled with the fact that espionage is not conceptualised internationally as an Act of War for example, the recent tremendous U.S. government breach of …

To do their job well, code breakers usually have different ways of perceiving and solving puzzles than most of us. The UK’s Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) is consistently looking for women and men who analyze problems creatively; they value individuals and ways of thinking that are outside the cultural box. This year they are tempting …

Some western countries are being flooded by short and long-term spies who are planted by their enemies into the political and technological fabric of a country. These women and men are astute, have perfect language skills and are adept at befriending targeted individuals to attain information or influence. Blackmail usually follows as the relationship becomes …

Richard Moore, the new head of the UK’s SIS, the Secret Intelligence Service, has put out a call for those with disabilities to join the intelligence community. He is broadening the diversity of skills and backgrounds at MI6 beyond “inspiring” women spies. The woman behind the idea is his blind wife who helped build the …

From this article in the local Bowen Island newspaper, to listeners around the world. It’s gratifying to see the genuine and cross-cultural interest and enthusiasm in these women’s brave war stories. It is heartening that people from 60 countries have listened to their acts of courage and their perspectives on espionage. Also, I’m grateful for …

A Call to Spy, releasing this week, is a movie about three Special Operations Executive (SOE) women agents in WW 2 who were initially selected to spy behind enemy lines because they easily passed through Nazi checkpoints. By using cultural mores of the time, these women, like their resistance sisters, made inroads where male spies …

“Female barristers say men-only club is symbolic of diversity problems within legal profession” and it is condoning an “invisible pattern of networking between male colleagues” that shuts out others. Article via The Guardian

Women’s Spy Craft in WW 2, as discussed in Episode 2 (releases Dec. 11. 20), includes how women were selected, how they were trained and what types of espionage work they performed at home and on foreign soil. Behind the lines women agents had an advantage over male agents as they used the cultural projection …

President-elect Joe Biden has announced two women to the highest positions in U.S. intelligence, Avril Haines will be the director of national intelligence while Gina Haspe will head up the CIA. These promotions are a groundbreaking step for women in an industry in which they have been employed for over a hundred years. Until recently, …