Shows
John Kiriakou's Dead DropS1E5 Singin' In BahrainTHE BLURB: At first glance Bahrain was a good starting assignment. It was a veritable paradise, a great place to learn without much pressure. The US Navy was based there. And, it was a literal paradise. Working (on the surface) for the State Department, John pissed off Bahrain's Prime Minister while charming its Emir. The days of no pressure ended with a literal bang when terrorists blew up the Khobar Tower, a building housing US Air Force personnel in nearby Saudi Arabia, plunging John into action.SHOW NOTESFor more great...
2025-11-2437 min
John Kiriakou's Dead DropS1E4 Good Spies, Bad EndingsTHE BLURB: Among the things that make spies tick is fear. Fear of being caught - and then tortured and/or killed. Stories like Beirut Station Chief Bill Bradley's are what keep spies like John Kiriakou up at night. Bradley came to the CIA from the US Army where he was a highly decorated special forces officer. Once recruited by the CIA, Bradley served successfully in places like Cambodia, Egypt and Pakistan. Beirut was another story - a difficult one filled with questions.SHOW NOTESYou can find Fred Burton and...
2025-11-1742 min
John Kiriakou's Dead DropMini Episode 2: Pete Seeger, American HeroTHE BLURB: From the time he was 5 or 6 and became aware of him, John always admired and wanted to know folk singer and activist Pete Seeger. In fact, John vowed to become friends with the legend - which, in fact, John did: he and Pete did become friends. How an event that echoed across Pete's life also echoed across John's. SHOW NOTESFor more great podcasts like Dead Drop, please visit https://costardandtouchstone.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2025-11-1012 min
John Kiriakou's Dead DropS1E3 Golden BoyTHE BLURB: Having been recruited into the CIA by legendary CIA officer Jerry Post - and by applying himself completely - John's CIA career took off with a bullet. If ever there was a CIA Golden Boy, John was it. That fact that he came up as a golden boy would prove ironic in the end. In this episode, John goes from briefing the President in the Oval Office to the theatre of war itself: Iraq. It's good to be a "Golden Boy". But it isn't all good.SHOW NOTESFor...
2025-11-0348 min
Soundtrack Your Life | A Film and TV PodcastTales From the Crypt Writer/Showrunner Alan Katz on the Legendary Composers on Tales*Trigger Warning: This episode has references to self harm and sexual assault.
Alan Katz, formerly a writer/showrunner for the TV show, Tales from the Crypt, joins Nicole Barlow and Ryan Pak to talk about his new career in podcasting. Alan owns Costard and Touchstone Productions, which is home to podcasts such as The How Not to Make a Movie Podcast, The Donor: A DNA Horror Story, The Hall Closet, John Kiriakou's Dead Drop: What Makes a Spy Tick, and more!
Nicole and Ryan also talk to Alan about the amazing composers...
2025-10-3146 min
John Kiriakou's Dead DropMini Episode 1: Sadam's ShrinkTHE BLURB: Talk about getting thrown into the deep end of the pool! When Iraq and Kuwait - John's new "area of expertise" - suddenly go to war (Iraq invaded Kuwait), John unexpectedly finds himself called to the White House - where, as a 25 year old newbie - he's asked to brief President George H W Bush, Vice President Dan Quayle and the the intelligence chiefs on what Saddam will do next. That's what happens when you become the CIA's Sadam Whisperer. Or his shrink.SHOW NOTESFor more great podcasts...
2025-10-2707 min
John Kiriakou's Dead DropS1E2 The New RecruitTHE BLURB: After a graduate class professor recruits John, he throws himself into a mystifying series of tests all seemingly designed to trip up his desire to become a spy for America. How exactly does an institution like the CIA train people to spy for it? Welcome to your first class! SHOW NOTESFor more great podcasts like Dead Drop, please visit https://costardandtouchstone.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2025-10-2036 min
John Kiriakou's Dead DropS1E1 What Makes THIS Spy TickTHE BLURB: John Kiriakou knew when he was 9 years old that he wanted to be a spy. Plenty of people want to be spies but only a few ever actually become spies. In E1, John tells his origin story. Where he and his family came from had a lot to do with his success as an intelligence officer working in dangerous places. From wanting to be James Bond to actually becoming something a lot like Bond. It's "How To Be A Spy, Part 1".SHOW NOTESFor more great podcasts like...
2025-10-1057 min
John Kiriakou's Dead DropS1E0 Coming Very SoonTHE BLURB: Enjoy this brief preview of "John Kiriakou's Dead Drop: What Makes A Spy Tick" - a brand new podcast that will take you deep inside the mind of one of the best known spies in the whole world: former CIA officer John Kiriakou. You've heard former spies talk about spying, but you've never heard a spy go this deep into a spy's psyche - starting with his own.SHOW NOTESFor more information and an even deeper dive into the show - jkdeaddrop.com
2025-10-0805 min