Podcast Review: Espionage

• SA Engages

June 18, 2020

I am always looking for a new podcast to sink my teeth into, this past year I listened to over 20,000 minutes of podcasts according to my Spotify Wrapped Up. While I enjoy listening to a podcast any chance I get, it also comes with the struggle of finding new ones to keep my constant stream of information going. This past year I was at a crossroads, I had listened to all of the available episodes of my, then, everyday podcasts and was unsure where to dip my toes next. I’d like to say that it was by chance that I stumbled across the Parcast Network and their seemingly endless collection of storytelling podcasts, but it was just Spotify ad that caught my attention.

I have always loved storytelling, whether it be in written word, a good TV show or film, or even listening to friends’ detail a past situation – a good story is always worth listening to. That might be what gripped me most when I gave Parcast Network’s “Espionage” a chance. It’s a well scripted, which typically I am not a fan of but when retelling history, I find it appropriate, and captivating. Carter Roy, the host of the show, does a great job detailing the history of the world’s spies. With episodes covering the first clandestine operations of the United States, with George Washington’s Spies, all the way to the well-known Cold War espionage couple the Rosenbergs.

In between this vast space of world history, Carter fills in the gaps with enthralling stories of seemingly normal people, swept into life as a spy, whether through greed, ideologies, or patronage to their country. Episodes lasting just 35 to 50 minutes cover some of the most interesting historical happenings in such great detail. This podcast is like taking Spies 101, but you don’t have any homework to turn in. Just tune in and listen to stories like that of Nancy Wake, who operated in the British Special Operations Executive branch as a spy responsible for recruiting British allies in the fight against Nazi Germany. In her time undercover, she was responsible for saving thousands of Allied soldiers and Jewish refugees out of France and to safety. The Nazi military could not get to the bottom of who was wreaking havoc on their operations. Only hearing murmurs of a woman operative connecting rebels across Europe, they dubbed her the White Mouse and placed a bounty on her head. Even then, Nancy did not stand down.

As June 6, 1994 approached, Nancy unified over 7,000 French country men and women to trap Nazi forces on the beaches of Normandy by destroying all of their supply stations and equipment that would have been used in a Nazi retreat. The most interesting aspect of this story to me, while her achievements and impact on French morale and military success are unescapable, was the fact that she was just a normal girl living in France when the war broke out. She saw injustice and chose to help in any way she could. Constantly escaping deaths’ grip to do what was right.

This is just one of the many stories that Carter Roy discusses in the “Espionage” series. The storytelling alone is enough to catch your attention, and the content is almost unreal. So, if you’re interested in history, even in the slightest, or just looking for a good story to listen to, check out Parcast Network’s “Espionage” and get your fix.

 

Sources

Espionage, Nancy Wake Pt. 1 & 2, August 2019.

Espionage. (n.d.). Retrieved June 11, 2020, from https://www.parcast.com/espionage

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