S1E26 Did John Le Carre Invent The Modern Spy?

S1E26 Did John Le Carre Invent The Modern Spy?

From John Kiriakou's Dead Drop by John Kiriakou & Alan Katz

May 4, 2026 · 1h 8m · Season 1 · Episode 26

About this episode

This episode explores whether John Le Carre invented the modern spy through his novels based on his Cold War experiences.

THE BLURB: In this episode, we ask a question: did author and ex-spy John Le Carre invent the modern spy by channeling his experiences as a Cold War spy into novels like "The Spy Who Came In From The Cold", "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy", "The Night Manager, The Constant Gardner, Russia House and The Little Drummer Girl? What about real spies did le Carre capture that makes real spies respond to his fictional spies - and then imitate them and their language? We'll also talk shop about writing and the many challenges of repurposing a life in espionage as art. SHOW NOTES For more information about Barry Eisler, visit barryeisler.com . For more information about Glenn Carle, visit For more great podcasts like Dead Drop, please visit https://costardandtouchstone.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Hosts: John Kiriakou, Alan Katz

Topics covered

  • espionage
  • literature
  • Cold War
  • spy fiction
  • writing challenges

Keywords

  • John Le Carre
  • modern spy
  • espionage novels
  • Cold War
  • writing

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, The Night Manager, The Constant Gardner, Russia House, The Little Drummer Girl

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