386: Barry Black – Hazardous Devices, FBI Special Agent Bomb Tech

386: Barry Black – Hazardous Devices, FBI Special Agent Bomb Tech

From FBI Case File Review by Jerri Williams

February 5, 2026 · 1h 2m

About this episode

Retired agent Barry Black discusses two significant bombing cases he worked on as an FBI special agent bomb technician.

Retired agent Barry Black reviews two bombing cases he worked as a special agent bomb tech (SABT) assigned to the Oklahoma City Division. The first case covers the detonation of a bomb at a University of Oklahoma football game in 2005, where the subject used a type of homemade explosive that had only been used by international terrorists. The second is an undercover investigation code-named Operation Mischief Mayhem Barry worked just before he retired, where he thwarted the subject's plan to build and deploy a 1000-pound device similar to the one Timothy McVeigh used to bomb the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. These cases are included in Barry's new book, Hazardous Devices: Memoir of an FBI Bomb Technician, Accountant, and Sniper . He served in the FBI for 31 years. Check out the episode show notes, photos, and related articles: https://jerriwilliams.com/386-barry-black-hazardous-devices-fbi-special-agent-bomb-tech/ Join my Reader Team to get the FBI Reading Resource - Books about the FBI, written by FBI agents, the 20 clichés about the FBI Reality Checklist, and keep up to date on the FBI in books, TV, and movies via my monthly email. Join here . http://eepurl.com/dzCCmL Buy…

People in this episode

Host: Jerri Williams

Guest: Barry Black

Topics covered

  • bombing cases
  • FBI investigations
  • homemade explosives
  • undercover operations
  • memoir of a bomb technician

Keywords

  • FBI
  • bomb technician
  • Barry Black
  • Oklahoma City
  • homemade explosives
  • Operation Mischief Mayhem
  • true crime

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: FBI

Books & works: Hazardous Devices: Memoir of an FBI Bomb Technician, Accountant, and Sniper

Places: Oklahoma City, University of Oklahoma

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