The Czech Spy Who Stole a Son | What really goes on in the mind of a secret agent?
6/16/202637 min
What do you think of when someone mentions the word: spy? Thanks to James Bond, they're often thought of as sleek, sexy and thrill-seeking. But what really goes on in the mind of a secret agent like Václav Jelínek? Charlie Higson is joined author, lecturer, and advisor on handling human sources of secret intelligence, John Taylor. He's pulling the curtain back on the fraught psychology of spies. Including, what kind of agent poses the biggest threat to a mission. And, who he thinks makes for a better spy - men or women?
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Charlie Higson· Host0:08
[intro music] I'm Charlie Higson, and this is The Spy Who, an Audible original. Thank you for joining us on our final episode of The Spy Who Stole a Son. We've wrapped up our season on Vaclav Jelinek, the Czech deep cover spy who fooled a mother into believing he was the son she put up for adoption as a baby. It's an extreme and callous example of how far some spies will go to remain undetected. But how do spies manage to live a lie, and how do they cope with the strain of living multiple lives? To find out, I'm joined now by a man all too familiar with the inner world of spies, author, lecturer, and advisor on handling human sources of secret intelligence, John Taylor. John's co-authored the book The Psychology of Spies and Spying, and will help us get inside the mind of undercover agents to discover what really makes them tick. So John, thank you so much for being here. How are things with you?
John Taylor· Guest1:18
Great. Um, you know, I live on a boat in, uh, East London, and, uh, coming here is ve-very easy commute, so it's been a very gentle morning. I me-- Well, I didn't quite miss the rush hour,