Episode Details

How do intelligence agencies know when a source is telling the truth? This episode explores the machinery of deception — from Operation Mincemeat's forged love letters on a dead body to the Double-Cross System's controlled double agents and the devastating damage of moles like Kim Philby and Aldrich Ames. We unpack the uncomfortable truth that source validation is fundamentally a human problem, one that confirmation bias and institutional hierarchy can catastrophically undermine. And we look at what all of this means for anyone trying to figure out what's real in a world of viral disinformation.