How Academics Shaped the CIA
From What Happens Next in 6 Minutes by Larry Bernstein
May 2, 2026 · 30 min
About this episode
Peter Grace discusses the role of American academics in shaping the CIA's research and analysis during the Cold War.
Our speaker is Peter Grace who is a New Zealand based academic who has a recent book entitled The Intelligence Intellectuals: Social Scientists and the Making of the CIA. I want to learn from Peter about how just after World War 2 and at the height of the Cold War, American academics worked inside the CIA’s research and analysis department to forecast enemy activity, and how they set up methods and processes that have been applied by the CIA ever since. Get full access to What Happens Next in 6 Minutes with Larry Bernstein at www.whathappensnextin6minutes.com/subscribe
People in this episode
Host: Larry Bernstein
Guest: Peter Grace
Topics covered
- CIA
- academics
- intelligence
- Cold War
- social scientists
- research
Keywords
- CIA
- academics
- intelligence
- Cold War
- social scientists
- research methods
- enemy activity
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: CIA
Books & works: The Intelligence Intellectuals: Social Scientists and the Making of the CIA
Places: New Zealand
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