True Lies is one of the easier-to-spot blockbusters that enjoyed US military support, and fulfilled a long-term fantasy for the... The post ‘A Unique Opportunity to Showcase the Harrier’...
https://www.spyculture.com/a-unique-opportunity-to-showcase-the-harrier-military-file-on-true-lies/
Kevin Gosztola joins us to talk about his new Medium publication The Wide Shot, a film review and industry analysis... The post ClandesTime 265 – The Wide Shot, David Robb and Phil Strub ...
https://www.spyculture.com/clandestime-265-the-wide-shot-david-robb-and-phil-strub/
What does a military movie with no heroes look like? It looks like Buffalo Soldiers, a tale of bored, criminally... The post Subscribercast #86 – Buffalo Soldiers, etc. first appeared o...
https://www.spyculture.com/subscribercast-86-buffalo-soldiers-etc/
They gone and done it – India, perhaps the world’s biggest importer of weapons has produced its own version of... The post Fighter: Indian Air Force Goes Full Top Gun first appeared on ...
https://www.spyculture.com/fighter-indian-air-force-goes-full-top-gun/
It isn’t often that you get a long-term inside view of a government propaganda office, but that’s what I’ve got... The post ClandesTime 264 – The US Marine Corps in Hollywood: 1974 t...
https://www.spyculture.com/clandestime-264-the-us-marine-corps-in-hollywood-1974-to-1982/
Gary Devore and Norman Wexler’s Raw Deal is a typically ridiculous macho action comedy set in the world of covert... The post ‘I’m Certain the DOD will Consult with the Justice Departm...
There I was, innocently flicking through hundreds of pages of documents from the Marine Corps entertainment liaison office when all... The post Rocky III, the Vietnam War and the Military Pi...
https://www.spyculture.com/rocky-iii-the-vietnam-war-and-the-military-pitching-hollywood/
Apocalypse Now and Francis Ford Coppola were rejected by the Pentagon when they asked for production support. A decade later... The post ClandesTime 263 – Gardens of Stone first appeared ...
https://www.spyculture.com/clandestime-263-gardens-of-stone/
15 years after podcasts first became a popular medium, the CIA has cottoned onto the value of pre-recorded audio content.... The post ClandesTime 262 – The CIA and Podcasts Decoded first ...
https://www.spyculture.com/clandestime-262-the-cia-and-podcasts-decoded/
Two years on from my investigation into over 3000 pages of Bureau of Prisons files on Jeffrey Epstein we return... The post Subscribercast #85 – The Epstein-Maxwell Cover-Up first appeare...
https://www.spyculture.com/subscribercast-85-the-epstein-maxwell-cover-up/
Opening battle sequence. Religious symbolism. Chronically terrible screenwriting. All this and more as Henri invites me onto Fortress on a... The post Saving Private Ryan – Tom on Fo...
https://www.spyculture.com/saving-private-ryan-tom-on-fortress-on-a-hill/
Today I received a very odd response from the DEA to a three year old FOIA request – a denial,... The post DEA Deny FOIA Request for Documents They’ve Already Released first appeared on...
https://www.spyculture.com/dea-deny-foia-request-for-documents-theyve-already-released/
Dying of the Light. Dark. The Card Counter. Aside from all being written and directed by Paul Schrader, what do... The post ClandesTime 261 – A Paul Schrader Trilogy first appeared on Spy...
https://www.spyculture.com/clandestime-261-a-paul-schrader-trilogy/
In this month’s subscriber-only podcast we tackle the final season of The Shield, and do so head on. In this... The post Subscribercast #84 – The Shield Season Seven first appeared on...
https://www.spyculture.com/subscribercast-84-the-shield-season-seven/
In 1986, during the filming of Francis Ford Coppola’s Vietnam War tragedy Gardens of Stone, his eldest child Gian-Carlo died... The post Death of Francis Ford Coppola’s Son ‘Very Favor...
https://www.spyculture.com/death-of-francis-ford-coppolas-son-very-favorable-for-the-army/
Netflix’s The Diplomat marks the first time that the British Foreign Office and the US State Department have made a... The post ClandesTime 260 – The Diplomat first appeared on Spy Cult...
For this Christmastime subscribercast we welcome back Henri to discuss the 1980s sci-fi comedy classic Back to the Future. We... The post Subscribercast #83 – Back to the Future first app...
https://www.spyculture.com/subscribercast-83-back-to-the-future/
In late 2020 I put in a FOIA request with the Pentagon for records on their support to Operation Christmas... The post Tag Us: The US Military Updates Its Contracts with Hollywood first app...
https://www.spyculture.com/tag-us-the-us-military-updates-its-contracts-with-hollywood/
Between 2018 and 2022, three major OSS spies have been canonised in film and TV – Julia Child, Moe Berg... The post ClandesTime 259 – The OSS in Popular Culture first appeared on Spy Cu...
https://www.spyculture.com/clandestime-259-the-oss-in-popular-culture/
Continuing our review series, on this month’s subscribercast we look at the sixth and penultimate season of The Shield. We... The post Subscribercast #82 – The Shield Season 6 first app...
https://www.spyculture.com/subscribercast-82-the-shield-season-6/
The CIA’s Museum is a monument to lies, murder and secret power. Not officially, of course, they use much prettier... The post ClandesTime 258 – The CIA Museum first appeared on Spy Cul...
Phil Strub has died, and since I’ve somehow found myself breaking this story I thought I’d let you know how... The post The Life and Death of Phil Strub first appeared on Spy Culture . ...
https://www.spyculture.com/the-life-and-death-of-phil-strub/
How do you hold the police accountable if Internal Affairs are corrupt? That’s the core question in The Shield season... The post Subscribercast #81 – The Shield Season Five first app...
https://www.spyculture.com/subscribercast-81-the-shield-season-five/
Ted Kaczynski a.k.a. the Unabomber died earlier this year. As a tribute, in this episode we look at the latest... The post ClandesTime 257 – Was the Unabomber Wrong? first appeared on Spy...
https://www.spyculture.com/clandestime-257-was-the-unabomber-wrong/
In this special report we examine the documentary accusing celebrity Russell Brand of sex crimes. We look at the troubling... The post ClandesTime Special – The Russell Brand Allegations ...
https://www.spyculture.com/clandestime-special-the-russell-brand-allegations/
One thing the Pentagon love to do is ‘showcase’ absurdly costly technologies to the public. This military product placement helps... The post ClandesTime 256 – Military-Industrial Prod...
https://www.spyculture.com/clandestime-256-military-industrial-product-placement/
Pissing off the US government is not the aim of what I do here, but it is what you might... The post The US Air Force Pitches Hollywood, But Their Pitches Are ████████ first...
Should the government be allowed to seize people’s property because they think it was bought with the profits from crime? ... The post Subscribercast #80 – The Shield Season Four first...
https://www.spyculture.com/subscribercast-80-the-shield-season-four/
Life is like this sometimes: you wait ages for a movie to take corporate personhood and turn it into the... The post ClandesTime 255 – Cultural Capitalism: Air vs Tetris vs Blackberry fir...
https://www.spyculture.com/clandestime-255-cultural-capitalism-air-vs-tetris-vs-blackberry/
Reality Winner was an NSA contractor who leaked a single document to The Intercept, and received a five year prison... The post ClandesTime 254 – Reality first appeared on Spy Culture . ...
The Department of Justice’s office of public affairs is the nation’s hub for information on true crime. In this episode... The post Subscribercast #79 – How the Department of Justice M...
Amazon have finally pulled the plug on Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, going out with a smudged inkblot of a final... The post ClandesTime 253 – Jack Ryan Season Four (and Specials Ops: Lioness)...
https://www.spyculture.com/clandestime-253-jack-ryan-season-four-and-specials-ops-lioness/
The Mafia. Hollywood starlets. Foreign leaders. Fake sex tapes. Illegal surveillance. Watergate. The CIA. And Howard Hughes. Robert Maheu’s life... The post ClandesTime 252 – Robert Mahe...
https://www.spyculture.com/clandestime-252-robert-maheu-the-cias-fixer-in-hollywood/
You know how it goes: you wait years for a movie that reframes the war in Afghanistan as a Saving... The post ClandesTime 251 – Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant vs Kandahar first appeared on ...
https://www.spyculture.com/clandestime-251-guy-ritchies-the-covenant-vs-kandahar/
Did Joe Colombo approve the script for The Godfather? Was Dorothy Hunt murdered by the CIA as part of the... The post Subscribercast #78 – White House Plumbers vs The Offer first appeared...
https://www.spyculture.com/subscribercast-78-white-house-plumbers-vs-the-offer/
1996’s Independence Day is corny, schlocky, nationalistic and pro-nuclear weapons. So how did it end up being rejected by the... The post ClandesTime 250 – Independence Day vs The Pentag...
https://www.spyculture.com/clandestime-250-independence-day-vs-the-pentagon/
Well, Ted Cruz has done it, and the Pentagon has been forced to rewrite its doctrine on working with Hollywood... The post Pentagon Goes Full HUAC With New Anti-China Rules for Hollywood fi...
https://www.spyculture.com/pentagon-goes-full-huac-with-new-anti-china-rules-for-hollywood/
Desert Storm. A female Army Captain. Friendly fire killings. Mutiny. White Phosphorous. Lies and cover-ups. The story of the writing,... The post ClandesTime 249 – Courage Under Fire firs...
https://www.spyculture.com/clandestime-249-courage-under-fire/
In this subscribercast we examine how the season-long arc in The Shield is a metaphor for the legacy of Iran-Contra,... The post Subscribercast #77 – The Shield Season 3 first appeared on...
https://www.spyculture.com/subscribercast-77-the-shield-season-3/
I have no idea whether the Wagner Rebellion in Russia is going to have any lasting impact, but I do... The post Renegade Ruskies: The Wagner Rebellion Predicted in Films and TV first appear...
https://www.spyculture.com/renegade-ruskies-the-wagner-rebellion-predicted-in-films-and-tv/
The CIA helps to make movies, but what does it think of them? In this episode we delve into how... The post ClandesTime 248 – The CIA on The CIA in Hollywood first appeared on Spy Culture...
https://www.spyculture.com/clandestime-248-the-cia-on-the-cia-in-hollywood/
Another one-of-a-kind finding from looking into Courage Under Fire – a film rejected by the US military but still influenced... The post Does Fear Help Form the Bonds Between Combat Vetera...
File this one under ‘I was not expecting to read that from that person’. While going through the Pentagon’s file... The post Phil Strub: ‘People should view the government with extre...
What does the Deputy Director of the CIA think about spy movies? And what about the founders of the first... The post Subscribercast #76 – More of the CIA on the CIA in Hollywood first ap...
https://www.spyculture.com/subscribercast-76-more-of-the-cia-on-the-cia-in-hollywood/
Actor and producer Jack Webb is best known for his copaganda franchise Dragnet – which spanned radio, film and TV... The post The D.I. – Copaganda Meets Military Propaganda first appear...
https://www.spyculture.com/the-d-i-copaganda-meets-military-propaganda/
When it comes to black operations during the Vietnam War, the Phoenix Program (and its parallels and predecessors) is legendary... The post ClandesTime 247 – Good Guys Wear Black vs Apocal...
https://www.spyculture.com/clandestime-247-good-guys-wear-black-vs-apocalypse-now/
The public inquiry into the 2017 Manchester bombing recently published its full and final report. In this episode, we take... The post ClandesTime 246 – The Manchester Bombing Inquiry fir...
https://www.spyculture.com/clandestime-246-the-manchester-bombing-inquiry/
The US military’s targeting of children goes back decades. In this episode we look at a classic of the children’s... The post ClandesTime 245 – Lassie vs the Pentagon first appeared o...
https://www.spyculture.com/clandestime-245-lassie-vs-the-pentagon/
The Shield season two ups the stakes on season one in every way – political, societal, personal. In this month’s... The post Subscribercast #75 – The Shield Season Two first appeare...
https://www.spyculture.com/subscribercast-75-the-shield-season-two/
If a military supported romance drama with Twitter-level gender politics sounds like a terrible movie then you aren’t wrong. In... The post ClandesTime 244 – Purple Hearts first appeare...
The Pentagon budget request for fiscal year 2024 comes in at a staggering $824 billion, the highest any country has... The post $824 Billion Pentagon Budget: Why So Many Classified Programs ...
Amazon’s foray into medieval fantasy epics – The Rings of Power, a Tolkien adaptation – is perhaps the most expensive... The post The Rings of Power Proves to be State Capitalism Off t...
https://www.spyculture.com/the-rings-of-power-proves-to-be-state-capitalism-off-the-deep-end/
When it comes to rolling over in response to demands from the world’s most powerful military, many film makers are... The post ‘Mr Coppola Will Never Agree to Rewrite the Script’ – T...
Short answer: yes, with an if. Long answer: no, with a but. In this subscribercast we look at two movies... The post Subscribercast #74 – Does Representation Matter? first appeared on...
https://www.spyculture.com/subscribercast-74-does-representation-matter/
Films about torture are often exploitative and sadistic, and even more so when they are state sponsored. In this episode... The post ClandesTime 243 – The Cinema of the Torture Program fi...
https://www.spyculture.com/clandestime-243-the-cinema-of-the-torture-program/
Good Guys Wear Black is one of very few movies to explicitly discuss the Phoenix Program – a Vietnam-era behind... The post Phoenix Program Movies: Good Guys Wear Black first appeared on ...
https://www.spyculture.com/phoenix-program-movies-good-guys-wear-black/
In 2003 one of the longest-running shows on American TV debuted: NCIS. As previously detailed on this site, the more... The post Cocaine, Bad Apples and the CIA – US Marine Corps file on...
https://www.spyculture.com/cocaine-bad-apples-and-the-cia-us-marine-corps-file-on-ncis-season-one/
In the first of several subscriber-only podcasts we look at season one of the unique and award-winning cop drama The... The post Subscribercast #73 – The Shield Season One first appeared ...
https://www.spyculture.com/subscribercast-73-the-shield-season-one/
The CIA-sponsored streaming wars hit a new high recently, when Netflix premiered The Recruit and within days Amazon released the... The post ClandesTime 242 – Jack Ryan vs The Recruit fir...
https://www.spyculture.com/clandestime-242-jack-ryan-vs-the-recruit/
Via Muckrock’s latest newsletter comes an interesting release – emails on the CIA’s twitter account, deciding what their first tweet... The post How to do Redacted Tweets: Documents on...
https://www.spyculture.com/how-to-do-redacted-tweets-documents-on-the-cias-twitter-account/
In this quick podcast I review the biographical moral drama Worth (2020) a.k.a. What is Life Worth?. It tells the... The post Subscribercast #72 – What is Life Worth? first appeared on Sp...
https://www.spyculture.com/subscribercast-72-what-is-life-worth/
In early 1977 a retired NATO general put together a team of elite military officers to write a report on... The post ClandesTime 241 – World War III first appeared on Spy Culture . (REA...
The invasion and occupation of Afghanistan was America’s longest war. In this episode we take an overview of the war... The post ClandesTime 240 – The Cinema of the War in Afghanistan f...
https://www.spyculture.com/clandestime-240-the-cinema-of-the-war-in-afghanistan/
Chris from Gorilla Radio invited me back to discuss the recent article Kit and I did on over 2,000 pages... The post Black Ops and the War in Bosnia – Tom on Gorilla Radio first appeared ...
https://www.spyculture.com/black-ops-and-the-war-in-bosnia-tom-on-gorilla-radio/
In early 1997 the Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen Charles Krulak issued an order authorising the use of video... The post US Marine Corps Order on Using Video Games for Military Training ...
https://www.spyculture.com/us-marine-corps-order-on-using-video-games-for-military-training/
The CIA recently launched a new outreach effort – its own podcast. In this subscribercast I review and analyse The... The post Subscribercast #71 – The Langley Files first appeared on...
https://www.spyculture.com/subscribercast-71-the-langley-files/
The new season of Amazon’s Jack Ryan just came out, and much like previous seasons it benefited from large scale... The post Jack Ryan Season 3 got Government Support from Everyone first ...
https://www.spyculture.com/jack-ryan-season-3-got-government-support-from-everyone/
Anyone who has followed the CIA’s relationship with the entertainment business will be familiar with the 2003 thriller The Recruit. ... The post Is Netflix’s The Recruit Sponsored by th...
https://www.spyculture.com/is-netflixs-the-recruit-sponsored-by-the-cia/
Football is the world’s biggest sport, and perhaps the most state-sponsored sport. In this episode we take a critical look... The post ClandesTime Special – State Sponsored Football and ...
https://www.spyculture.com/clandestime-special-state-sponsored-football-and-the-qatar-world-cup/
Today, Netflix released Troll – a mythological action adventure movie where a 150-foot troll menaces Norway. It is almost beat... The post Norway Enter the Military-Supported Monster Mov...
https://www.spyculture.com/norway-enter-the-military-supported-monster-movie-genre-with-troll/
Imagine a world where secret government agencies used deep fakes to create evidence of events that never happened, and used... The post Subscribercast #70 – Deep Fakes and The Capture fir...
https://www.spyculture.com/subscribercast-70-deep-fakes-and-the-capture/
In this guest article my friend and collaborator Matt Alford offers his thoughts on moviedom, deceit and the campaign to... The post Effects, Lies and Videotape first appeared on Spy Cultur...
Somehow, in the midst of all the identity politics and culture war noise, the fact that Captain Marvel was the... The post ClandesTime 239 – Captain Marvel and Space Force first appeared ...
https://www.spyculture.com/clandestime-239-captain-marvel-and-space-force/
The military-Marvel relationship has waxed and waned over the years, but 2019’s Captain Marvel was a high point – a... The post The US Military’s Captain Marvel Documents first appear...
https://www.spyculture.com/the-us-militarys-captain-marvel-documents/
Alan MacLeod’s latest cultural investigation sees him hone in on Activision’s Call of Duty franchise, and how first person shooter... The post Call of Duty – Spy Culture in MintPress N...
https://www.spyculture.com/call-of-duty-spy-culture-in-mintpress-news/
The Rampart Scandal has been called the worst police corruption story in the history of Los Angeles, and altered a... The post ClandesTime 238 – The Cultural Impact of the Rampart Scandal ...
https://www.spyculture.com/clandestime-238-the-cultural-impact-of-the-rampart-scandal/
Well well, it seems the BBC are a nest of crypto-leftist peaceniks after all – Theaters of War recently got... The post Theaters of War on Alexei Sayle’s Imaginary Sandwich Bar first ap...
https://www.spyculture.com/theaters-of-war-on-alexei-sayles-imaginary-sandwich-bar/
The 2012 attacks on a US diplomatic outpost and a nearby CIA base in Benghazi caused enormous controversy and political... The post ClandesTime 237 – 13 Hours and the Benghazi Scandal fir...
https://www.spyculture.com/clandestime-237-13-hours-and-the-benghazi-scandal/
The Office of War Information’s Bureau of Motion Pictures was the US government’s first formal office for liaising with Hollywood... The post ‘The Enemy is Militarism’ – Office of ...
https://www.spyculture.com/the-enemy-is-militarism-office-of-war-information-manual-for-film-makers/
Henri and I delved into the 2005 sci-fi alien invasion film/Tom Cruise vehicle War of the Worlds. We discuss the... The post War of the Worlds – Tom on Fortress on a Hill first appeared...
https://www.spyculture.com/war-of-the-worlds-tom-on-fortress-on-a-hill/
Mujahideen. False Flags. US interference in the peace process. Ethnic cleansing. The United Nations’ peacekeepers. All this and more as... The post Subscribercast #69 – Black O...
https://www.spyculture.com/subscribercast-69-black-ops-and-geopolitics-in-the-war-in-bosnia/
Steven Spielberg’s 2005 alien invasion adventure War of the Worlds helped kick off the recent string of military-supported extraterrestrial war... The post How the US Military Rewrote War ...
https://www.spyculture.com/how-the-us-military-rewrote-war-of-the-worlds/
The Leopold and Loeb case was one of ‘crimes of the century’, and inspired many books, plays and movies. On... The post Subscribercast #68 – Compulsion vs Rope first appeared on Spy...
https://www.spyculture.com/subscribercast-68-compulsion-vs-rope/
The story of how an FBI assistant director for public affairs wrote to Ruthless Records to complaint about Straight Outta... The post That Time the FBI Wrote a Letter of Complaint to N.W.A. ...
https://www.spyculture.com/that-time-the-fbi-wrote-a-letter-of-complaint-to-n-w-a/
Amazon Prime are making the most expensive TV show of all time. Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power... The post ClandesTime 236 – Culture Ministries and The Rings of Power first appeare...
https://www.spyculture.com/clandestime-236-culture-ministries-and-the-rings-of-power/
Obviously, I’m a movie addict but many of my favourites are low-budget features or belong to tiny sub-genres. In this... The post ClandesTime 235 – These are a Few of My Favourite Films ...
https://www.spyculture.com/clandestime-235-these-are-a-few-of-my-favourite-films/
As youtube has become a centre for emerging pop culture brands, it has also become the target of the US... The post ClandesTime 234 – Dude Perfect and the US Navy first appeared on Spy Cu...
https://www.spyculture.com/clandestime-234-dude-perfect-and-the-us-navy/
Pam and Tommy tells the story of the stolen Pamela Anderson-Tommy Lee sextape. Minx tells the story of a 1970s... The post Subscribercast 67 – Pam and Tommy vs Minx first appeared on Spy ...
https://www.spyculture.com/subscribercast-67-pam-and-tommy-vs-minx/
There I was, innocently digging through some 1970s entertainment liaison office reports from the US Marine Corps when all of... The post The US Marine Corps and The Cat From Outer Space fir...
https://www.spyculture.com/the-us-marine-corps-and-the-cat-from-outer-space/
Jerry Bruckheimer has a long history of working with the Pentagon, going all the way back to Top Gun, but... The post ‘This is not the time’ to normalise black operations – Phil Strub ...
The 1998 asteroid disaster film Armageddon is often mocked, but rarely taken seriously despite its cultural relevance and impact. While... The post ClandesTime 233 – Armageddon first appe...
I know, you weren’t expecting this, but Military Times have reviewed our documentary Theaters of War. Davis Winkie, who did... The post Theaters of War in Military Times – But is it Pr...
https://www.spyculture.com/theaters-of-war-in-military-times-but-is-it-propaganda/
Henri invited Matt and I on his podcast to discuss Theaters of War (though Matt drops in about halfway through... The post Theaters of War – Matt and Tom on Fortress on a Hill first appea...
https://www.spyculture.com/theaters-of-war-matt-and-tom-on-fortress-on-a-hill/
Matt and I were recently invited on the Dangerous History podcast to discuss our documentary Theaters of War. We talk... The post Theaters of War on the Dangerous History Podcast first appe...
https://www.spyculture.com/theaters-of-war-on-the-dangerous-history-podcast/
Jonathan Cook wrote up a very complimentary review of Theaters of War for Middle East Eye recently, that summarises the... The post How the Pentagon dictates Hollywood storylines – Theater...
75 years ago this week, President Harry Truman signed into law the National Security Act, which brought into being the... The post The National Security Act Turns 75 – and so do the US Mil...
In September 2018 the US Air Force ran a tour of Special Operations Command for a dozen Hollywood bigshots. The... The post AFSOC and the Swag Bag Controversy first appeared on Spy Cultur...
https://www.spyculture.com/afsoc-and-the-swag-bag-controversy/
In 2018, the US Air Force ran its annual Hollywood ‘industry leader tour’, this time to Air Force Special Operations... The post ClandesTime 232 – Hollywood Goes to Special Operations ...
https://www.spyculture.com/clandestime-232-hollywood-goes-to-special-operations-command/
In 2015, legendary TV producer Dick Wolf approached the FBI about developing scripted and unscripted products based around the Bureau. ... The post “I Would Like to See a Show that Makes ...
When it comes to British intelligence, there are three rules: (1) Trust no one, (2) Trust nothing that they say... The post Subscribercast #66 – The Undeclared War vs Slow Horses first ap...
https://www.spyculture.com/subscribercast-66-the-undeclared-war-vs-slow-horses/
A listener kindly alerted me to how Spy Culture was flagged up on a recent episode of the Struggle Session... The post Spy Culture on the Struggle Session Podcast first appeared on Spy Cult...
https://www.spyculture.com/spy-culture-on-the-struggle-session-podcast/
When it comes to fondly remembered cult 80s action movies, Commando has near-legendary status. In this episode we take a... The post ClandesTime 231 – Commando first appeared on Spy Cultu...
While digging into the production of The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent I contacted the Croatian Ministry of Culture for... The post No Porn, No Sitcoms and No Soap Operas: The Croatian...
Imagine a world where Nicholas Cage plays himself and is recruited by the CIA to spy on a drug kingpin,... The post Subscribercast #65 – The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent first appe...
https://www.spyculture.com/subscribercast-65-the-unbearable-weight-of-massive-talent/
Among the numerous agencies who vetted and reviewed the script for the 1994 film adaptation of Tom Clancy’s Clear and... The post The President Cannot be Racist – FBI File on Clear and P...
https://www.spyculture.com/the-president-cannot-be-racist-fbi-file-on-clear-and-present-danger/
One of the recurring propaganda techniques identified by Roger Stahl in Theaters of War is that you can remediate military... The post In Hollywood, You’re More Likely to be Rescued by the...
Over a hundred governments across the world have a culture ministry – though they often go by other names. These... The post ClandesTime 230 – The Ministries of Culture first appeared o...
https://www.spyculture.com/clandestime-230-the-ministries-of-culture/
Three years ago, when the third and final season of Designated Survivor came out on Netflix, I said the show... The post CIA Confirm Months-Long Relationship with Producers of Designated Sur...
Alan MacLeod put together a feature for MintPress on the Top Gun: Maverick documents, and how film is military recruitment... The post Top Gun: Maverick Documents Prove Film is Propaganda �...
Scott Horton invited me on his show to discuss the relationship between the Pentagon and Top Gun: Maverick. We outline... The post The Pentagon and Top Gun: Maverick – Tom on the Scott H...
https://www.spyculture.com/the-pentagon-and-top-gun-maverick-tom-on-the-scott-horton-show/
Well, it’s here. The least-needed film in cinematic history, and therefore likely the box office smash of 2022. In this... The post ClandesTime Special – Top Gun: Maverick first appeare...
https://www.spyculture.com/clandestime-special-top-gun-maverick/
Theaters of War director Roger Stahl recently wrote an op-ed that came out in the Los Angeles Times today, looking... The post Theaters of War in the LA Times first appeared on Spy Culture ...
In the summer of 2020 a former CIA officer published a book with the overt aim of countering the tide... The post Subscribercast #64 – The CIA and Fake News first appeared on Spy Culture ...
https://www.spyculture.com/subscribercast-64-the-cia-and-fake-news/
I recently spoke with Steve Rose for his feature in the Guardian about Top Gun: Maverick, and the Pentagon’s entertainment... The post Top Gun For Hire – Spy Culture (and Theaters of War...
https://www.spyculture.com/top-gun-for-hire-spy-culture-and-theaters-of-war-in-the-guardian/
In my latest piece for Shadowproof I outline the production history of Top Gun: Maverick, using documents from the Pentagon,... The post How the Pentagon Shaped Top Gun: Maverick into a PR V...
https://www.spyculture.com/how-the-pentagon-shaped-top-gun-maverick-into-a-pr-vehicle/
The Manchester Arena bombing in May 2017 killed 23 people and injured over 1,000. On the fifth anniversary of the... The post Was Manchester Arena Bomber Salman Abedi Working for MI5? fir...
https://www.spyculture.com/was-manchester-arena-bomber-salman-abedi-working-for-mi5/
Black operations make the world go round, and have become the subject of major movies and TV, from Jack Ryan... The post ClandesTime 229 – Black Operations and the Entertainment Liaison Of...
https://www.spyculture.com/clandestime-229-black-operations-and-the-entertainment-liaison-offices/
Top Gun: Maverick’s official premiere at Cannes this week has provoked renewed interest in the Hollywood – military relationship. I... The post Top Gun: Maverick – Tom Secker on News...
https://www.spyculture.com/top-gun-maverick-tom-secker-on-newsy/
Can you make an environmentalist movie with the help of the Pentagon? In this episode we answer this and other... The post ClandesTime 228 – Don’t Look Up first appeared on Spy Culture ...
The 1995 nuclear submarine mutiny thriller Crimson Tide was rejected by the US Navy, for fairly obvious reasons (the whole... The post ‘We Don’t Request Script Changes’ – US Navy Fil...
https://www.spyculture.com/we-dont-request-script-changes-us-navy-file-on-crimson-tide/
In the first of a series of releases, the FBI sent me some of their historical files on working with... The post You Can’t Get Away With It – The First Film to Star J Edgar Hoover first...
Moonfall is the latest Roland Emmerich disaster movie, and while it isn’t as bad as Don’t Look Up, it isn’t... The post Subscribercast #63 – Moonfall first appeared on Spy Culture ....
Something I recently stumbled on while researching the 2011 terrorism sci-fi thriller Source Code is a batch of contracts between... The post In Hollywood the Metro Trains Have to Run on Tim...
Roger Ailes founded and ran Fox News for the first 20 years of its existence, making it the highest rated... The post ClandesTime 227 – The Loudest Voice first appeared on Spy Culture . ...
https://www.spyculture.com/clandestime-227-the-loudest-voice/
The invasion of Iraq has been called the greatest intelligence failure of all time. This is – of course –... The post ClandesTime 226 – In the Loop vs Shock and Awe first appeared on ...
https://www.spyculture.com/clandestime-226-in-the-loop-vs-shock-and-awe/
All the waves made by Don’t Look Up have missed one key landmark – the Pentagon supported the movie. Unlike... The post How the US Military Rewrote Don’t Look Up first appeared on S...
https://www.spyculture.com/how-the-us-military-rewrote-dont-look-up/
BookAuthority – a website purporting to be an authority, or possibly the authority, on books has placed Superheroes, Movies and... The post Superheroes, Movies and the State one of the Top...
https://www.spyculture.com/superheroes-movies-and-the-state-one-of-the-top-books-of-2022-apparently/
In one of our more raucous and totally unscripted appearances, Matt and I were recently on Historic.ly, a podcast devoted... The post Battlefield Hollywood – Matt and Tom on the Historic.l...
https://www.spyculture.com/battlefield-hollywood-matt-and-tom-on-the-historic-ly-podcast/
First the CIA tried to block the public from being exposed to its dirty deeds—but now the strategy has shifted... The post Black Ops in Hollywood: From Censorship to Normalization first a...
https://www.spyculture.com/black-ops-in-hollywood-from-censorship-to-normalization/
Today I joined William Ramsey of William Ramsey Investigates to discuss some of the weird and wonderful things in the... The post Enemy of the State – Tom on William Ramsey Investigates f...
https://www.spyculture.com/enemy-of-the-state-tom-on-william-ramsey-investigates/
Perhaps unavoidably, in this month’s subscriber-only podcast we discuss the war in Ukraine – what led up to this point,... The post Subscribercast #62 – Cultural Warfare Over Ukraine, ...
A story doing the rounds on entertainment industry websites in the last couple of days revealed that Black Panther director... The post Ryan Coogler Arrest Report for Bank Robbery That Never...
Perhaps the most infamous story in the history of James Bond is the plagiarism lawsuit brought against Ian Fleming for... The post ClandesTime 225 – The Battle for Bond first appeared on ...
https://www.spyculture.com/clandestime-225-the-battle-for-bond/
Epstein didn’t kill himself. Or at least, there’s nothing in 3674 pages of his Bureau of Prisons files from his... The post Subscribercast #61 – The Epstein Prison Files first appeare...
https://www.spyculture.com/subscribercast-61-the-epstein-prison-files/
In this video I do a deep dive into Ben Affleck, his Oscar-winning film Argo, how the CIA supported and... The post How Ben Affleck (and Bryan Cranston) got into the CIA first appeared on S...
https://www.spyculture.com/how-ben-affleck-and-bryan-cranston-got-into-the-cia/
While Amazon’s new Reacher series may not have enjoyed the support of any of the usual suspects in the state-sponsored... The post Reacher Revealed: The Disturbing Background and Subtext t...
While looking through the latest post by the National Security Archive – on the Pentagon’s efforts to exempt their operations... The post Yes, Minister, the Pentagon and the Kyoto Greenh...
https://www.spyculture.com/yes-minister-the-pentagon-and-the-kyoto-greenhouse-gas-negotiations/
From the same ‘what the fuck are the CIA up to now?’ school of thought as the episode of Top... The post Subscribercast #60 – Pawn Stars Goes to Langley first appeared on Spy Culture ...
https://www.spyculture.com/subscribercast-60-pawn-stars-goes-to-langley/
Something I found while flicking through Production Weekly (a Hollywood newsletter that charts in-production TV and films) is that the... The post What Connects the next Mission: Impossible ...
Roger alerted me to a recent article in Jacobin Mag about how Spider-Man’s working class origins have been thoroughly subverted... The post Spider-Man: No Way Home – Spy Culture in Jacob...
https://www.spyculture.com/spider-man-no-way-home-spy-culture-in-jacobin-mag/
Since it’s Christmas, I thought we’d do something Biblical and look at an extremely stupid TV show that I happen... The post Subscribercast #59 – Media Breakdown: Sodom and Gomorrah f...
https://www.spyculture.com/subscribercast-59-media-breakdown-sodom-and-gomorrah/
The third season of the popular LAPD-supported cop show The Rookie is markedly different to its first two seasons. Or... The post ClandesTime 224 – The Rewriting of The Rookie first appea...
https://www.spyculture.com/clandestime-224-the-rewriting-of-the-rookie/
‘Propaganda has been in existence since the time human society came into being; it has always been most closely associated... The post Subscribercast #58 – Reflections on War Propaganda ...
https://www.spyculture.com/subscribercast-58-reflections-on-war-propaganda/
From our ‘cancelled after one season’ file come The Code, a CBS legal procedural set in the JAG corps of... The post ClandesTime 223 – The Code first appeared on Spy Culture . (READ...
Until a few weeks ago, very few people had heard of Jonathan and Diana Toebbe but now they’re finding themselves... The post Suspect in US Spy Case Keeps Quoting from CIA-Supported Movie T...
In the latest in our ongoing series of film reviews, research and analysis discussions Henri from Fortress on a Hill... The post The Rock – Tom on Fortress on a Hill first appeared on Spy...
https://www.spyculture.com/the-rock-tom-on-fortress-on-a-hill/
Iron Man launched the world’s biggest film franchise, as well as one of the most effective vehicles for military propaganda.... The post ClandesTime 222 – Iron Man first appeared on Spy...
Identity has become perhaps the key political term of our age, but how and why did identity politics rise to... The post Subscribercast #57 – The Origins and Pitfalls of Identity Politics ...
https://www.spyculture.com/subscribercast-57-the-origins-and-pitfalls-of-identity-politics/
My new book Superheroes, Movies and the State: How the US Government Shapes Cinematic Universes is now available. Co-authored with... The post Superheroes, Movies and the State Now Availab...
https://www.spyculture.com/superheroes-movies-and-the-state-now-available-for-pre-order/
James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad is a soulless, consciousless dumpster fire that uses shock value to cover for a plethora... The post Why The Pentagon Helped Make Coup Fetish Schlock The Sui...
https://www.spyculture.com/why-the-pentagon-helped-make-coup-fetish-schlock-the-suicide-squad/