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Hello, my name's Indra Varma, and I'm

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quickly dropping in to tell you about

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a new weekly series from Wondery that

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I think you'll like. It's

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called The Spy Who, and

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it explores true spy stories you were

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never meant to hear. The

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Spy Who reveals the invisible work

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of the world's intelligence services, unearthing

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daring missions packed with

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danger, deceit and double-crosses.

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Each season, my co-host Raza Jaffrey

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and I introduce you to shadowy

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figures who risked everything to achieve

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their mission, like Oleg Lelin, the

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spy who sabotaged the KGB, or

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Dushko Popov, the spy who inspired

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007. In

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fact, I'm about to play you a clip from this

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very season. If you'd like

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to hear more, follow The Spy Who

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wherever you listen to podcasts. Or

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you can binge full seasons early

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and ad-free with Wondery Plus on

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Apple Podcasts or the Wondery app. Dushko

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Popov wakes from his alcohol-drenched

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slumber. It's 1937, and Popov

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studying law in Freiburg, Nazi Germany.

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Popov drags himself out of bed. He's

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in his mid-twenties with short black hair. Yawning,

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he unlocks the door. Four

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Gestapo officers barge past. One

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confronts Popov as the others ransack his

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flat. Dushko Popov, you are

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under arrest. On what charge? The

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Gestapo officer punches Popov in the stomach.

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Popov crumples under the blow. Before

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he can recover, two officers grab him. They

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drag him outside to a waiting car, throw

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him into the vehicle's boot, and slam the

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door shut. Popov

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snaps awake as cold water hits his

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face. He's tied to a

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chair in a Gestapo interrogation room and he's

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been there for days. Popov's

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interrogator tosses the metal bucket aside

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and leans in close. Admit it,

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you're a communist. It's ridiculous. You

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can't think. Listen, my

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father, he owns coal

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mines and factories. Why

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would I support communism? But

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I'm a Yugoslav citizen and I want a lawyer.

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The interrogator takes a step back. If you're

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not a communist, why are you dating one?

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Popov smirks. Because she's pretty.

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The interrogator's face flashes with anger.

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A split second later, Popov sees

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his fist hurtling towards his face. A

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train blasts its whistle as it thunders through

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the Swiss Alps. On the

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road running alongside the tracks, a Mercedes

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burns rubber. The man at the wheel

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checks he's keeping it with the train. He's

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Johnny Yebesen, Popov's best friend.

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He's a wealthy German with a pencil

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moustache and he's on a rescue mission.

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Then screeches to a halt outside

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Basel train station just as Popov

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exits the station. Dushko!

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Popov runs over. Johnny,

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what are you doing here? We can't have you

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taking a taxi after all you've been through. But

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how did you know I'd be here?

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Yebesen smiles. Who do you think got

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you out? I got wind

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that you'd been arrested and called your father. He

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got the Yugoslav government to step in. Popov

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climbs into the passenger seat. They

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were going to ship me out to a concentration camp. Well,

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you're here now. No! Seriously.

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I thought I was done. Don't

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be silly. I owe you. Good.

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You can pay for dinner. I'm being

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serious. I owe

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you. Yepsen

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smiles. He won't forget that

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promise. And when he

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calls it in, Popov will be transformed

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into one of the greatest secret agents

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of World War II. From

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Wondery, I'm Indra Varma,

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and this is The Spy Who.

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Beneath the veneer of the everyday

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lurks the realm of the Spy.

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It's a dark, dangerous world full

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of shadowy corners, sinister motives

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and corrupted morals. A

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place of paranoia and

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infiltration, sabotage and manipulation.

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Every week, The Spy Who will

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take you inside that Twilight Realm.

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You'll hear true stories about the

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work of the World Intelligence

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Services and follow spies on

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daring missions packed with danger,

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deceit and double-coffee. And

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we begin by retrieving the files on

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Dusko Popov. He's

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a Serbian playboy who outfoxed Nazi

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Germany while living a life full

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of cocktails, women and casinos.

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And he also helped inspire the most famous

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fictional spy of all time, James

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Bond. What

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you're about to hear are

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dramatised reconstructions based on real

5:54

events and the information that's been made

5:56

public. But remember,

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in the end... shadow realm of

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the spy, the full story

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is rarely clear. This

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is Spy Who Inspired

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007, Episode

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1. A Friend Among

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Firms. Follow

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The Spy Who now, wherever you listen

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to podcasts.