Tinker, Tailor, Stoner, Spy

Tinker, Tailor, Stoner, Spy

From Crimes of the Times by L.A. Times Studios

October 28, 2025 · 27 min · Episode 37

About this episode

The episode explores the story of Christopher Boyce and Andrew Daulton Lee, who shared government secrets with the Soviet Union.

When 21-year old college dropout Christopher Boyce got a job as a clerk at the TRW Defense and Space Systems complex in Redondo Beach, he was given access to some of the country’s biggest government secrets. And under a Robin Hood-like ethos, he and his childhood pal Andrew Daulton Lee began sharing those secrets with the Soviet Union. Their story lived on in the 1985 film “The Falcon and the Snowman,” but their friendship had a much shorter shelf life.

Topics covered

  • espionage
  • Soviet Union
  • government secrets
  • friendship
  • true crime

Keywords

  • Christopher Boyce
  • Andrew Daulton Lee
  • espionage
  • government secrets
  • Soviet Union
  • true crime

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: TRW Defense and Space Systems

Books & works: The Falcon and the Snowman

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