The Rise Of Putin: Joining The KGB

A KGB officer is recruited by MI6 in Iran at a time of revolutionary upheaval. His intelligence helped shape the Cold War. But how far is agent Redwood motivated by some rather personal difficulties? Listen as David and Gordon are joined by renowned author and journalist, Ben Mac ...  Show more

What was the nature of the intelligence failures leading up to 9/11? Could the attacks have been prevented? And what is the enduring impact, 25 years on, of that grim day in September 2001? Listen as David and Gordon reach the dramatic conclusion of their exploration of the 9/11 ...  Show more

[Episode 4 of 4] 'In the noughties, Russian democracy becomes a form of show business' In the final instalment of our Russia mini-series, Tom and Dominic reach the climax of Putin’s rise to power, charting how a former KGB agent managed to climb from relative obscurity to becom ...  Show more

[Episode 1 of 4] Welcome to our new four part series on the latter years of the Soviet Union, its fall, Putin's early life and his subsequent rise to power. Today's episode focuses on Brezhnev, Putin's formative years, his early KGB career and Gorbachev's descent into chaos. W ...  Show more

Catherine Belton joins Dan on the podcast to discuss the remarkable story of Vladimir Putin's rise to power. After working from 2007-2013 as the Moscow correspondent for the Financial Times, Catherine's career has offered an exclusive insight into the workings of Putin's Kreml ...

Vladimir Putin has been running Russia since 2000 when he was first elected as President. How did a former KGB officer make his way up to the top seat — was it political prowess or was he just the recipient of a lot of good fortune? In this episode, we dive into the life of Vladi ...  Show more