You will find below a mix and variety of podcasts, music, books, movies, and shows that have been filling the PS’s evenings, weekends, and mind for the last few weeks. I hope this provides some good ideas for new reading, listening, and viewing. Feel free to share via the button after the article & subscribe below if you enjoy!
For God, Country, & Prep -
Commute Listening
1.) This great podcast interview of Henry Schelsinger on Honey Traps from my friend Justin B. at Spycraft 101 which is very insightful & interesting:
2.) Been pretty immersed in this series on my commute to & from work on Jack Barsky & his life as an ‘illegal’ (undercover KGB agent) here in the US:
3.) Great band I discovered through Instagram last week - DURRY:
and a link to the music video below for Who’s Laughing Now:
What’s on my Kindle, desk, &/or nightstand:
1.) This article from Christo Grozev at Bellingcat about the recent ‘illegal’ GRU agent infiltrating Italian society & NATO circles from 2011 to 2018. If you don’t know who Bellingcat is or what they do, founded by Eliot Higgins, they have been involved in open source intelligence gathering & investigation, including proving Russian responsibility for the downing of the MH17 over Ukraine, the poisoning of MI6 Double Agent Sergei Skripal, & Putin Critic Alexey Navalny by GRU agents, and the documenting of war crimes in Syria. IN layman’s terms, they are a thorn in the side of the corrupt Putin regime & excellent OSINT investigators.
2.) I’m not a huge fiction reader, however, I do enjoy a good alternate history novel every now and then. I’ve read a few gripping stories that take place in the 1980s (Red Storm Rising & Team Yankee) and some decent ones that take place currently into the future (Bering Strait & 2034) over the last year, but I will say that this debut novel from Leo Barren has to be one of the better ones I’ve read so far. OPLAN Fulda: World War III, which occurs in a fictional 1989 and is based on NATO Operation 33001 (Defense of Europe in case of Soviet invasion through Germany centered on the Fulda Gap), is a great read and highly recommend it both for it’s accuracy to detail and gripping story line. One thing it does really well is avoid the ‘NATO hero genius v. the Soviet bumbling idiot’ trope that’s typical in a lot of 1980s based World War III novels.
3.) I got the hardcopy of Disciples: The World War II Missions of the CIA Directors Who Fought for Wild Bill Donovan and have been enjoying it at the pool & for a chapter a night before bedtime read. I love a good spy history book (please check out Justin Black’s book Spy Shots 101: 101 True Tales from the World of Espionage)
For Your Viewing Pleasure
1.) Mrs. PS and I just finished Season 2 of Only Murders in the Building and I can say it’s one of the most brilliantly written and produced shows I’ve seen in a long time (and maybe ever). The cast of Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez work amazingly together and provide both suspense, laughs, and an amazing story. Highly recommend.
2.) Just re-watched one of my favorite historical black comedy satires on IFC Films Unlimited last week. If you haven’t seen Death of Stalin, you are in for a treat. Directed by Armando Iannucci and starring Steve Buscemi (Nikita Khruschev), Jason Issacs (Georgy Zhukov), Adrian McLoughlin (J. Stalin), Jeffrey Tambor (Georgy Malenkov), Rupert Friend (Vasily Stalin) and many more amazing actors, it focuses on the power struggle among the Council of Ministers following the death of Joseph Stalin in 1953. In particular, Tambor (George Sr. of Arrested Development) and Buscemi play Malenkov & Khruschev so amazingly well, it’s hard to remember that’s not what they looked like in real life. Issac’s portrayal of General G. Zhukov is amazing as well.
Please watch this if you are a fan of film and/or history.
Trailer is below and you can watch it through Amazon Prime (with an IFC subscription):
Leave a comment below for any suggestions you have for the PS community!