What does it take to get a foreign spy to help another country? According to Robin Dreeke, it has nothing to do with pressure, leverage or manipulation. It comes down to one thing, making the other person feel genuinely understood.
Robin spent 22 years inside the FBI, eventually leading theBureau's elite Counterintelligence Behavioral Analysis Program. His primary mission was recruiting foreign intelligence officers to work as assets for the United States. Russian military intelligence. Diplomats at the UN. Sources buried so deep inside foreign networks that their existence will likely neverbe publicly acknowledged.
Then came September 11th 2001. Robin was blocks away fromthe towers when they were hit. What he witnessed that morning, and what he was asked to do in the weeks and months that followed, changed the trajectory of his entire career.
Within 24 hours of the attacks, Robin had pivoted his entire source network away from Cold War targets and toward a crisis no one had a playbook for. What came out of that pivot was a series of operations that Robin believes contributed to preventing conflict between nuclear powers, all builton the same foundation he had been quietly developing his entire career, the ability to make someone trust him with their life.
In this episode Robin breaks down the human psychologybehind why people cooperate, what Russian intelligence officers and foreign diplomats actually wanted when they agreed to risk everything, and why the FBI agents who recruited the most valuable sources were almost never the ones you'dexpect.
WEBSITE: robindreeke.com
BOOKS: It's Not All About Me | The Code of Trust | SizingPeople Up | Unbreakable Alliances
SOCIAL MEDIA: Instagram | LinkedIn | Youtube | X/Twitter: @rdreeke, Facebook: @PeopleFormula
PODCAST: Hidden Killers with Tony Brueski (co-host)
CREDITS:
Guest - Robin Dreeke. Retired FBI Special Agent & Chiefof the Counterintelligence Behavioral Analysis Program, US Marine Corps Veteran, Bestselling Author & Human Behaviour Expert
Host, Producer and Editor - Chris Baron
Music - OpenMindAudio, Music_Unlimited and Saavane
Sound effects - Pixabay and FreeSound
Podcast Access - https://pods.link/noordinarymonday
TOPICS: FBI counterintelligence, spy recruitment, 9/11eyewitness, building trust without manipulation, behavioral analysis, human motivation, national security, rapport building, active listening, confidential human sources, Cold War intelligence
SUPPORT US - NOM is a 100% independent show. Help us keep the lights on by buying us a coffee (or a beer) - https://buymeacoffee.com/noordinarymonday. We're deeply grateful for any level of support.
SHOW SOME LOVE - click five-stars on whatever platform you're on, and leave us a review, or tell a friend about the show.
WANT TO BE A GUEST? You can submit your own career story through our website at www.noordinarymonday.com, or email us at hello@noordinarymonday.com.
VISIT THE WEBSITE - Noordinarymonday.com
SOCIALS - https://linktr.ee/Noordinarymonday
