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Intelligence Desk 3

The Briefing

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The essential briefing. News, analysis, new database additions, and more.

Station Chief

Deeper analysis. Exclusive content. Advance material. For those who go deeper.

Writing a Convincing Mole

Writing a Convincing Mole

Few characters are more at home in espionage fiction than the mole. A mole sits inside an intelligence service, government agency, military organization, corporation, or other institution while secretly serving an adversary. Unlike the outside spy trying to penetrate...

The Best Fictional Intelligence Officers

The Best Fictional Intelligence Officers

Ask readers to name the greatest fictional spies and the conversation quickly becomes an argument. James Bond? George Smiley? Jason Bourne? Carrie Mathison? Jackson Lamb? The problem is partly the question. “Spy” is an extraordinarily broad description. Espionage...

What Makes A Spy Novel A Spy Novel?

What Makes a Spy Novel a Spy Novel?

Everyone knows a spy novel when they see one. Until they don't. James Bond is easy. George Smiley is easy. A CIA officer running an agent in Moscow is easy. But what about a political thriller involving stolen classified documents? A military novel built around...

Writing a Convincing Mole

Writing a Convincing Mole

Few characters are more at home in espionage fiction than the mole. A mole sits inside an intelligence service, government agency, military organization, corporation, or other institution while secretly serving an adversary. Unlike the outside spy trying to penetrate...

The Best Fictional Intelligence Officers

The Best Fictional Intelligence Officers

Ask readers to name the greatest fictional spies and the conversation quickly becomes an argument. James Bond? George Smiley? Jason Bourne? Carrie Mathison? Jackson Lamb? The problem is partly the question. “Spy” is an extraordinarily broad description. Espionage...

What Makes A Spy Novel A Spy Novel?

What Makes a Spy Novel a Spy Novel?

Everyone knows a spy novel when they see one. Until they don't. James Bond is easy. George Smiley is easy. A CIA officer running an agent in Moscow is easy. But what about a political thriller involving stolen classified documents? A military novel built around...