Spybrary Spy Podcast

Smiley goes to America. Roy Bland goes to Leningrad. And Nick Harkaway goes back inside his father's Circus.

In Paul Burke's first interview as Spybrary's Head of Fiction, he sits down with Nick Harkaway to talk about The Taper Man. It's Nick's second novel set in John le Carré's Circus and the follow-up to Karla's Choice. The year is 1965. Polyakov has arrived in London and the pieces are moving into place for Tinker Tailor. George Smiley is in Los Angeles, about as far from home as he could be, chasing a Moscow mole hunt. In Leningrad, Roy Bland is running a dangerous operation..


Nick talks about absorbing Smiley before he could read: his father read pages aloud across the table to his mother every day. He also explains the family meeting where he agreed to take on the series, and why Smiley's world comes with strict rules about what can and can't happen in it.

What you'll hear

How growing up with Smiley read aloud every day shaped Nick's ear for the books
The family meeting, and his brother Simon's nudge, that turned "I won't do it" into "all right"
Why a true CIA story about an inflatable decoy spy could never appear in a Smiley novel
The "Indiana Jones warehouse" rule for writing Karla: every answer should open up more questions
Inventing the Taper Man as new Circus lore, plus le Carré's gift of the term "honey trap"
Smiley as an "archaeologist of espionage" and the "original sin" at the heart of every Circus story
Roy Bland's backstory and why The Taper Man goes in for proactive spying
Hungary, Finland and the idea that history doesn't come packaged in neat periods
A not-quite-CIA, illegals in America, and the question of who counts as a "proper American"
What comes next: a third Circus book is under contract, a Harkaway book is also on the way, and his thoughts on a WWII Smiley or a modern le Carré

Sara Paretsky, legendary creator of V.I. Warshawski, joins me on the Spybrary Spy Podcast to talk about Bad Company — her new spy thriller featuring retired CIA officer Lily, a woman who discovers that you never really leave the Company.
We talk about Sara's leap from detective fiction into espionage, creating the fictional Central Asian country of Hayalistan, women inside the CIA, and why an older female intelligence officer offers such a different take on the traditional spy hero. Sara also reveals why she needed eight drafts to find Bad Company, the dog-sled exfiltration scene that survived every rewrite, and how questions of power, anger and voicelessness drive her fiction.
And, naturally, we talk spy books: John le Carré, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Mrs Pollifax, Manning Coles and the wonderful Walter Matthau and Glenda Jackson espionage caper Hopscotch.
A fascinating conversation with one of crime fiction's most influential writers about what happens when she enters the world of spies.

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Full Shownotes with links to buy Sara Paretsky's Bad Company herehttps://www.spybrary.com/311

Paul Burke joins Spybrary hosts Shane Whaley and Michael Huie to discuss his new book, Spies on Screen, an ambitious guide to more than 900 spy films and television series.
From James Bond and John le Carré to Slow Horses, The Bureau, The Americans and forgotten spy thrillers, Paul explores how espionage on screen has evolved from glamorous secret agents to damaged, morally complex intelligence officers.
Along the way, the trio debate which Bond actor is closest to Ian Fleming's original creation, why The Spy Who Came in from the Cold remains one of the great adaptations, what makes The Day of the Jackal such an enduring classic, and which overlooked spy films and TV series deserve to be rediscovered.
Paul also explains why many of the best spy stories are really anti-spy stories, how streaming has transformed the genre, and why international espionage dramas are becoming more important than ever.
Plus, stay to the end for the Spybrary quick-fire round, where Paul reveals his picks for best Bond, best spy film, best spy TV series, most underrated espionage movie and more.
If you love spy films, spy TV shows and discovering hidden gems, this episode is for you.
In this episode:
The evolution of spy films and TV
James Bond, Timothy Dalton and Ian Fleming
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
The Day of the Jackal
Slow Horses
The Bureau
The Americans
Forgotten Cold War spy films
Underrated espionage TV
The future of spy stories on screen
Spies on Screen by Paul Burke is out now.
Visit Spybrary for more spy books, films, TV, interviews and intelligence history.

What makes a great spy novel?
For William Boyd, it is complexity, uncertainty and that irresistible feeling that, as a reader, you are constantly trying to work out who can be trusted.


In this SPOILER FREE special Spybrary conversation, Boyd joins Ollie Webb Carter (History Book Club Podcast) to discuss his Gabriel Dax novels and the latest instalment, Cold Sunset.
They explore Boyd's lifelong fascination with espionage fiction, the influence of John le Carré, the real history that feeds into his novels, and why the analogue world of Cold War spying remains such fertile ground for a novelist.
Along the way, William reveals the remarkable real-life MI6 figure who helped inspire Faith Green, shares his thoughts on the JFK assassination, reflects on the old-boy network that once dominated British intelligence, and explains how a television project that never came to fruition ultimately helped give birth to Gabriel Dax.
They also discuss:
• Why the best spy novels force the reader to think
• Betrayal, false identities and the double and triple bluff
• John le Carré and the literary tradition of spy fiction
• How Gabriel Dax is gradually becoming a more accomplished spy
• The real intelligence officer behind Faith Green
• MI6, the CIA and Cold War regime change
• Why modern surveillance makes contemporary espionage harder to write
• The unexpected origins of the Gabriel Dax series
• What could come next for Gabriel
A fascinating conversation with one of Britain's most celebrated novelists about spies, history, writing — and the enduring appeal of espionage fiction.
Featuring William Boyd in conversation with Ollie Webb Carter for Spybrary.

What if the CIA and MI6 stopped behaving like allies—and started spying on each other?
David McCloskey joins Tim Shipman to discuss London Station, his fifth spy novel, and the real intelligence relationship behind its central premise.
McCloskey explains why the CIA–SIS "Special Relationship" can sometimes resemble a dysfunctional marriage, what the CIA Chief of Station in London actually does, and how conversations with former American and British intelligence officers shaped the book. He also introduces the wonderfully British intelligence concept of "deep chat"—those unofficial conversations where trusted allies may share rather more than appears in the official cables.
There's plenty for Artemis Procter fans too. David discusses her move to London, why she is spectacularly ill-suited to the diplomatic side of the job, and the changes the character is going through.
And then comes one of the episode's best stories: McCloskey reveals what happened when he unexpectedly came face-to-face at CIA headquarters with the former colleague he had in mind when he first created Artemis.
Plus: Bobby Jerome, CIA vs MI6 tensions, how McCloskey researched Vauxhall Cross, his direct sequel to Damascus Station, the Artemis TV series, Moscow X on film, and what's coming next.
A must-listen for David McCloskey readers, Artemis Procter devotees, and anyone fascinated by the real world behind modern spy fiction.