-
Spies, Lies, and Algorithms
- The History and Future of American Intelligence
- Narrated by: Amy B. Zegart
- Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy for $20.99
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Active Measures
- The Secret History of Disinformation and Political Warfare
- By: Thomas Rid
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 14 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We live in the age of disinformation - of organized deception. Spy agencies pour vast resources into hacking, leaking, and forging data, often with the goal of weakening the very foundation of liberal democracy: trust in facts. Thomas Rid, a renowned expert on technology and national security, was one of the first to sound the alarm, even before the 2016 election. But this is not new. The story of modern disinformation begins with the clash between communism and capitalism after the Russian Revolution.
-
-
Grounding book for COVID 19 Media
- By fjness on 05-12-20
By: Thomas Rid
-
This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends
- The Cyberweapons Arms Race
- By: Nicole Perlroth
- Narrated by: Allyson Ryan
- Length: 18 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Zero day: a software bug that allows a hacker to break into your devices and move around undetected. One of the most coveted tools in a spy's arsenal, a zero day has the power to silently spy on your iPhone, dismantle the safety controls at a chemical plant, alter an election and shut down the electric grid (just ask Ukraine). For decades, under cover of classification levels and non-disclosure agreements, the United States government became the world’s dominant hoarder of zero days.
-
-
Decent story, cringeworthy narration and editing
- By since1968 on 02-13-21
By: Nicole Perlroth
-
The Wires of War
- Technology and the Global Struggle for Power
- By: Jacob Helberg
- Narrated by: Jesse Einstein
- Length: 11 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From 2016 to 2020, Jacob Helberg led Google’s global internal product policy efforts to combat disinformation and foreign interference. During this time, he found himself in the midst of what can only be described as a quickly escalating two-front technology cold war between democracy and autocracy.
-
-
Incredible book
- By John Alexander on 10-21-21
By: Jacob Helberg
-
The Craft of Intelligence
- America's Legendary Spy Master on the Fundamentals of Intelligence Gathering for a Free World
- By: Allen W. Dulles
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
- Length: 11 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This classic of spycraft is based on Allen Dulles's incomparable experience as a diplomat, international lawyer, and America's premier intelligence officer. Dulles was a high-ranking officer of the CIA's predecessor - the Office of Strategic Services - and was present at the inception of the CIA, where he served eight of his 10 years there as director. Here he sums up what he learned about intelligence from nearly a half-century of experience in foreign affairs.
-
-
Absorbing
- By Jean on 12-14-17
By: Allen W. Dulles
-
The Weaponisation of Everything
- A Field Guide to the New Way of War
- By: Mark Galeotti
- Narrated by: Mark Galeotti
- Length: 6 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hybrid war, grey-zone warfare, unrestricted war: Today, traditional conflict - fought with guns, bombs, and drones - has become too expensive to wage, too unpopular at home, and too difficult to manage. In an age when America threatens Europe with sanctions, and when China spends billions buying influence abroad, the world is heading for a new era of permanent low-level conflict, often unnoticed, undeclared, and unending.
-
-
Clear, concise, and thought provoking
- By Dad / Husband (who rarely reviews) on 03-08-22
By: Mark Galeotti
-
Sandworm
- A New Era of Cyberwar and the Hunt for the Kremlin's Most Dangerous Hackers
- By: Andy Greenberg
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 12 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From Wired senior writer Andy Greenberg comes the true story of the most devastating cyberattack in history and the desperate hunt to identify and track the elite Russian agents behind it. In 2014, the world witnessed the start of a mysterious series of cyberattacks. Targeting American utility companies, NATO, and electric grids in Eastern Europe, the strikes grew ever more brazen.
-
-
Thru the eyes of the Sandworm's hunters and prey
- By ndru1 on 11-12-19
By: Andy Greenberg
-
Active Measures
- The Secret History of Disinformation and Political Warfare
- By: Thomas Rid
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 14 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We live in the age of disinformation - of organized deception. Spy agencies pour vast resources into hacking, leaking, and forging data, often with the goal of weakening the very foundation of liberal democracy: trust in facts. Thomas Rid, a renowned expert on technology and national security, was one of the first to sound the alarm, even before the 2016 election. But this is not new. The story of modern disinformation begins with the clash between communism and capitalism after the Russian Revolution.
-
-
Grounding book for COVID 19 Media
- By fjness on 05-12-20
By: Thomas Rid
-
This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends
- The Cyberweapons Arms Race
- By: Nicole Perlroth
- Narrated by: Allyson Ryan
- Length: 18 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Zero day: a software bug that allows a hacker to break into your devices and move around undetected. One of the most coveted tools in a spy's arsenal, a zero day has the power to silently spy on your iPhone, dismantle the safety controls at a chemical plant, alter an election and shut down the electric grid (just ask Ukraine). For decades, under cover of classification levels and non-disclosure agreements, the United States government became the world’s dominant hoarder of zero days.
-
-
Decent story, cringeworthy narration and editing
- By since1968 on 02-13-21
By: Nicole Perlroth
-
The Wires of War
- Technology and the Global Struggle for Power
- By: Jacob Helberg
- Narrated by: Jesse Einstein
- Length: 11 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From 2016 to 2020, Jacob Helberg led Google’s global internal product policy efforts to combat disinformation and foreign interference. During this time, he found himself in the midst of what can only be described as a quickly escalating two-front technology cold war between democracy and autocracy.
-
-
Incredible book
- By John Alexander on 10-21-21
By: Jacob Helberg
-
The Craft of Intelligence
- America's Legendary Spy Master on the Fundamentals of Intelligence Gathering for a Free World
- By: Allen W. Dulles
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
- Length: 11 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This classic of spycraft is based on Allen Dulles's incomparable experience as a diplomat, international lawyer, and America's premier intelligence officer. Dulles was a high-ranking officer of the CIA's predecessor - the Office of Strategic Services - and was present at the inception of the CIA, where he served eight of his 10 years there as director. Here he sums up what he learned about intelligence from nearly a half-century of experience in foreign affairs.
-
-
Absorbing
- By Jean on 12-14-17
By: Allen W. Dulles
-
The Weaponisation of Everything
- A Field Guide to the New Way of War
- By: Mark Galeotti
- Narrated by: Mark Galeotti
- Length: 6 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hybrid war, grey-zone warfare, unrestricted war: Today, traditional conflict - fought with guns, bombs, and drones - has become too expensive to wage, too unpopular at home, and too difficult to manage. In an age when America threatens Europe with sanctions, and when China spends billions buying influence abroad, the world is heading for a new era of permanent low-level conflict, often unnoticed, undeclared, and unending.
-
-
Clear, concise, and thought provoking
- By Dad / Husband (who rarely reviews) on 03-08-22
By: Mark Galeotti
-
Sandworm
- A New Era of Cyberwar and the Hunt for the Kremlin's Most Dangerous Hackers
- By: Andy Greenberg
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 12 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From Wired senior writer Andy Greenberg comes the true story of the most devastating cyberattack in history and the desperate hunt to identify and track the elite Russian agents behind it. In 2014, the world witnessed the start of a mysterious series of cyberattacks. Targeting American utility companies, NATO, and electric grids in Eastern Europe, the strikes grew ever more brazen.
-
-
Thru the eyes of the Sandworm's hunters and prey
- By ndru1 on 11-12-19
By: Andy Greenberg
-
The New Fire
- War, Peace, and Democracy in the Age of AI
- By: Ben Buchanan, Andrew Imbrie
- Narrated by: Stephen Bel Davies
- Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing the modern world. It is ubiquitous-in our homes and offices, in the present and most certainly in the future. Today, we encounter AI as our distant ancestors once encountered fire. If we manage AI well, it will become a force for good, lighting the way to many transformative inventions. If we deploy it thoughtlessly, it will advance beyond our control. As AI policy experts Ben Buchanan and Andrew Imbrie show in The New Fire, few choices are more urgent—or more fascinating—than how we harness this technology and for what purpose.
By: Ben Buchanan, and others
-
Three Dangerous Men
- Russia, China, Iran and the Rise of Irregular Warfare
- By: Seth G. Jones
- Narrated by: Stephen Graybill
- Length: 7 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Defense expert Seth Jones argues that the US is woefully unprepared for the future of global competition. While America has focused on building fighter jets, missiles, and conventional warfighting capabilities, its three principal rivals - Russia, Iran, and China - have increasingly adopted irregular warfare: cyber attacks, the use of proxy forces, propaganda, espionage, and disinformation to undermine American power. Jones details the key steps the United States must take to alter how it thinks about - and engages in - competition before it is too late.
-
-
Flaming Liberal
- By oswaldo maldonado on 02-05-22
By: Seth G. Jones
-
The Recruiter
- Spying and the Lost Art of American Intelligence
- By: Douglas London
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 17 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This revealing memoir from a 34-year veteran of the CIA who worked as a case officer and recruiter of foreign agents before and after 9/11 provides an invaluable perspective on the state of modern spy craft, how the CIA has developed, and how it must continue to evolve.
-
-
What a whiner
- By Language Lover on 02-26-22
By: Douglas London
-
The End of the World Is Just the Beginning
- Mapping the Collapse of Globalization
- By: Peter Zeihan
- Narrated by: Peter Zeihan
- Length: 16 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For generations, everything has been getting faster, better, and cheaper. Finally, we reached the point that almost anything you could ever want could be sent to your home within days—even hours—of when you decided you wanted it. America made that happen, but now America has lost interest in keeping it going. Peter Zeihan maps out the next world: a world where countries or regions will have no choice but to make their own goods, grow their own food, secure their own energy, fight their own battles, and do it all with populations that are both shrinking and aging.
-
-
One of the best.
- By Bob Brown on 06-18-22
By: Peter Zeihan
-
The Fourth Man
- The Hunt for a KGB Spy at the Top of the CIA and the Rise of Putin's Russia
- By: Robert Baer
- Narrated by: Robert Baer, Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the aftermath of the Cold War, American intelligence caught three high-profile Russian spies: Aldrich Ames, Edward Lee Howard, and Robert Hanssen. However, rumors have long swirled of another mole, one perhaps more damaging than all the others combined. Perhaps the greatest traitor in American history, perhaps a Russian ruse to tear the CIA apart, or perhaps nothing more than a bogeyman, he is often referred to as the Fourth Man.
-
-
A Who Done it without The Who Did it
- By Amazon Customer on 05-25-22
By: Robert Baer
-
The Hacker and the State
- Cyber Attacks and the New Normal of Geopolitics
- By: Ben Buchanan
- Narrated by: Christopher Grove
- Length: 11 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Packed with insider information based on interviews, declassified files, and forensic analysis of company reports, The Hacker and the State sets aside fantasies of cyber-annihilation to explore the real geopolitical competition of the digital age. Tracing the conflict of wills and interests among modern nations, Ben Buchanan reveals little-known details of how China, Russia, North Korea, Britain, and the United States hack one another in a relentless struggle for dominance.
-
-
A good overview of hacking influence on government
- By Eric Jackson on 08-05-20
By: Ben Buchanan
-
The Dead Hand
- The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and its Dangerous Legacy
- By: David E. Hoffman
- Narrated by: Bob Walter
- Length: 20 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
During the Cold War, world superpowers amassed nuclear arsenals containing the explosive power of one million Hiroshimas. The Soviet Union secretly plotted to create the "Dead Hand," a system designed to launch an automatic retaliatory nuclear strike on the United States, and developed a fearsome biological warfare machine. President Ronald Reagan, hoping to awe the Soviets into submission, pushed hard for the creation of space-based missile defenses.
-
-
Eye opening
- By Brian on 11-16-10
By: David E. Hoffman
-
The Perfect Weapon
- War, Sabotage, and Fear in the Cyber Age
- By: David E. Sanger
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 12 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Perfect Weapon is the startling inside story of how the rise of cyberweapons transformed geopolitics like nothing since the invention of the atomic bomb. Cheap to acquire, easy to deny, and usable for a variety of malicious purposes, cyber is now the weapon of choice for democracies, dictators, and terrorists. Two presidents - Bush and Obama - drew first blood with Operation Olympic Games, which used malicious code to blow up Iran’s nuclear centrifuges, and yet America proved remarkably unprepared when its own weapons were stolen from its arsenal.
-
-
BY FAR the best book to date on this topic!
- By aaron on 07-09-18
By: David E. Sanger
-
Black Ops
- The Life of a CIA Shadow Warrior
- By: Ric Prado
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 12 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Enrique Prado found himself in his first firefight at age seven. The son of a middle-class Cuban family caught in the midst of the Castro Revolution, his family fled their war-torn home for the hope of a better life in America. Fifty years later, the Cuban refugee retired from the Central Intelligence Agency as the CIA equivalent of a two-star general. Black Ops is the story of Ric’s legendary career that spanned two eras, the Cold War and the Age of Terrorism.
-
-
Worth it
- By Blake on 03-02-22
By: Ric Prado
-
Russians Among Us
- Sleeper Cells, Ghost Stories, and the Hunt for Putin’s Spies
- By: Gordon Corera
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 12 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With intrigue that rivals the best le Carre novels, Russians Among Us tells the urgent story of Russia’s espionage efforts against the United States and the West from the end of the Cold War to the present.
-
-
Should be required reading for every citizen
- By Amazon Customer on 02-27-20
By: Gordon Corera
-
The Economic Weapon
- The Rise of Sanctions as a Tool of Modern War
- By: Nicholas Mulder
- Narrated by: Liam Gerrard
- Length: 12 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Economic sanctions dominate the landscape of world politics today. First developed in the early twentieth century as a way of exploiting the flows of globalization to defend liberal internationalism, their appeal is that they function as an alternative to war. This view, however, ignores the dark paradox at their core: designed to prevent war, economic sanctions are modeled on devastating techniques of warfare.
-
-
History of sanctions during the early 20th century
- By Mehdi Mollahasani on 03-05-22
By: Nicholas Mulder
-
Countdown to Zero Day
- Stuxnet and the Launch of the World's First Digital Weapon
- By: Kim Zetter
- Narrated by: Joe Ochman
- Length: 13 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Top cybersecurity journalist Kim Zetter tells the story behind the virus that sabotaged Iran’s nuclear efforts and shows how its existence has ushered in a new age of warfare - one in which a digital attack can have the same destructive capability as a megaton bomb.
-
-
Overzealous editing and lifeless reading
- By John Tangney on 03-01-20
By: Kim Zetter
Publisher's Summary
Spying has never been more ubiquitous - or less understood. The world is drowning in spy movies, TV shows, and novels, but universities offer more courses on rock and roll than on the CIA, and there are more congressional experts on powdered milk than espionage. This crisis in intelligence education is distorting public opinion, fueling conspiracy theories, and hurting intelligence policy. In Spies, Lies, and Algorithms, Amy Zegart separates fact from fiction as she offers an engaging and enlightening account of the past, present, and future of American espionage as it faces a revolution driven by digital technology.
Drawing on decades of research and hundreds of interviews with intelligence officials, Zegart provides a history of US espionage, from George Washington's Revolutionary War spies to today's spy satellites; examines how fictional spies are influencing real officials; gives an overview of intelligence basics and life inside America's intelligence agencies; explains the deadly cognitive biases that can mislead analysts; and explores the vexed issues of traitors, covert action, and congressional oversight. Most of all, Zegart describes how technology is empowering new enemies and opportunities, and creating powerful new players, such as private citizens who are successfully tracking nuclear threats using little more than Google Earth.
What listeners say about Spies, Lies, and Algorithms
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Cameron
- 02-01-22
Superb and insightful!
Intelligence expert Amy Zegart crisply lays out the history of the U.S. intelligence system, while at the same time looks forward at how organizations like the CIA need to adapt to new technologies like AI or risk falling behind. This is a must read/listen to for anyone interested in public affairs and the implications of technology and how we can prevent conflict.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Joel
- 02-15-22
Too political
I was expecting a fair and unbiased analysis of the intelligence community. But the author wastes too much time attacking Trump. Wish the author just stuck to the subject matter.
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- applet
- 04-29-22
Future Shock on Steroids
Not a moment to kick back and doze off during this trip around, in, through and then to the future of espionage. I know that’s a broad term. Just listen to this superb narration of a complex reality and how technology, AI is the new ARMS RACE. Fascinating.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Eddie
- 04-16-22
Bad
Thought it would be much better. I also thought it wasn’t very current and as a past government engineer it was not a particularly good evaluation. I didn’t listen to it all. I just got tired of it.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- gfphoto
- 02-17-22
Not what I was hoping for
I had heard an interview with the author and the book sounded like it would delve into the history of spying and show what it really involved, as opposed to what we generally see on TV and in the movies.
The book does that to some degree, but it's very biased for what should be a scholarly work.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jim Payne
- 06-27-22
An interesting look into a normally closed world.
Mrs. Zegart does an excellent job in explaining the world of intelligence and its often complicated operations. Written in an easy to understand, no nonsense manner that was an enjoyable read. Worth the time investment to read and a must read for anyone remotely involved in the intelligence community.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Fahd
- 06-23-22
Good overview
Above all is good book, but the naivete theme that cover US government and companies is clear
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Catherine Swanson
- 05-30-22
Also presented elsewhere better
All the content in this book has been covered better by other authors. Opinions are offered over facts and the facts don’t substantiate the opinions. She has accolades for Clapper and distain for Snowden. One lives in exile in Russia for expressing a clear moral imperative for privacy. The other, a confirmed liar before Congress on issues of privacy. The latter was also a new kind of tra$h - the kind taken out by president Donald Trump. Repeat this 100 times and you have this this book.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Chester Bell
- 04-26-22
Great for beginners, a little dry for 2022
The author does an excellent job introducing many of the threats and challenges to modern intelligence, informed by her years of work adjacent to the intelligence community.
The issue I had was this book could have been written 5 years ago with the same information, or even earlier. Most of the examples used are repeated multiple times (I.e. Stuxnet, China’s OPM hack, Russia’s election interference) and often make the same point several times throughout the book, making the reader think “wait, didn’t you already say that?”
Despite the dead horse being beaten with some pretty widely used and commonly known examples, I’d say the author did an excellent job organizing the flow and performing the reading. Would recommend overall.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- C. Tilney
- 04-16-22
superb history and analysis
the challenges of knowing what's benign and what's malignant in information warfare, full of insights from corporate, political, and academic perspectives
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Moneenroe
- 05-30-22
Tremendously Informative.
Brilliant research. Amy's narration is easy to listen to and holds your attention. Congratulations on a great piece of work.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Gareth
- 04-29-22
Good book
It’s a good listen, but there is a lot of repetitive narrative and use of same examples throughout the book. Unfortunately that had me just wanting to get it over with by the last handful of chapters.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Curtis Houghton
- 03-24-22
Well worth the listen
Great overview of how intelligence works and everything fits together in the modern world. Well worth listening to!