Episode 42: BEN MACINTYRE

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Episode 42: BEN MACINTYRE - summary

Over a glass of neat vodka, Ben Macintyre has a chat with Olly about his new book and how he came to know so much about the world of international espionage.

Episode 42: BEN MACINTYRE - timeline

• 00:04 - this episode is brought to you by the Bumblebee Conservation Trust

• 02:28 - Ben brings a half-bottle of Smirnoff Vodka

• 02:48 - Olly’s book of the year in 2018 was The Spy and The Traitor

• 03:45 - Ben used the National Archive to research his books

• 05:30 - Oleg Gordievsky is the central character in The Spy and The Traitor

• 08:29 - The drug used by the Soviets was sodium pentathol

• 10:55 - Ben mentions four former spies who have become novelists: John Le Carré, Graham Greene, John Buchan and Ian Fleming

• 15:18 - Ben is referring to the murder attempt on Sergei Skripal

• 19:45 - the Russian phrase that means ‘useful idiot’ is polezni durak

• 24:35 - The spy that Ben is writing about next was known as Ursula Burton

• 26:30 - Ben was listening to Vampire Weekend

• 26:48 - A film version of Operation Mincemeat, starring Colin Firth, has recently been announced

• 27:10 - Ben often returns to In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

• 30:15 - Olly gives Ben a bottle of Warre’s 1985 port. The average price is £67 per bottle.

• 30:35 - Ben and Olly discuss two spy-related wines: Spookfontein in South Africa and Spy Valley in New Zealand

Episode 42: BEN MACINTYRE - production notes

• Recorded on 21 May 2019 at 67 Pall Mall

• Hosted by Olly Smith

• Produced and edited by Richard Hemming MW

• Mastered by David Thomas

• Hardware list: 2 x AT-2020 condenser microphones with pop shields, Zoom H6 digital recorder, ATH-M20X headphones

• Software list: Audacity 2.2.2, Garageband 10.3.0