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Wading River, New York

Benson House

This house was used by the FBI to broadcast disinformation to the Nazis during World War II.
Kalsoy, Faroe Islands

James Bond's Grave

This tombstone marks the spot where the legendary British spy met his end.
libraries

Podcast: Spaces for Spies

Where real-world American espionage comes to life.
The Podcast Team July 25, 2023
I spy
List

11 Places to Explore Spycraft

Go deep undercover at these locations dedicated to the covert trade.
Jonathan Carey January 27, 2023
Cher Ami, a black checker pigeon, earned his fame carrying messages for the American military during World War I. The pigeons recruited by the CIA during the Cold War were trained to undertake more clandestine tasks.
cold war

When the CIA Spied on American Citizens—Using Pigeons

The seemingly birdbrained Cold War experiment is still partially classified.
Steven Ewin January 11, 2023
The President's Daily Brief is protected in a leather tablet cover. Only the president, vice president, and a select group of senior officials with high-level security clearances receive the daily briefing of national security issues.
museums

Get a Peek Inside the New CIA Museum

The clandestine government organization is digitizing its collection.
Line Sidonie Talla Mafotsing November 4, 2022
Many women joined the French resistance, making up 15 to 20% of the army that secretly battled the Nazis from within. Some of those women would go on to become English spies with the SOE.
nazis

The Female Spies Who Helped Win World War II

The women of England’s SOE fought on the beaches of Normandy, sabotaged the Nazis within France, and turned the tides of the war.
Sarah Durn April 5, 2022
Video • Object of Intrigue

A Former CIA Chief of Disguise Shows Off a Five-Second Mask

3:59
A U-2 spy plane takes off on from RAF Fairford, UK, in 2014. While the exterior looks the same as it did decades ago, the interior has been modernized.
archaeology

U-2 Spy Plane Photos Are Windows Onto Ancient Civilizations

Traces from the ancient past are hidden in photographs from the Cold War.
Emily Hammer March 2, 2020
objects of intrigue

A CIA-Issued Rectal Tool Kit for Spies

This imaginative gadget was designed to get operatives out of difficult situations.
Lizzie Philip January 24, 2019
Video • Object of Intrigue

A CIA-Issued Rectal Tool Kit for Spies

2:44
nazis

The Nazi Spy Tactic That Almost Destroyed Britain's Economy

The German army's Operation Bernhard sought to flood the British economy with counterfeit bills.
Lizzie Philip January 9, 2019
Video • Object of Intrigue

The Spy Tactic That Almost Destroyed WWII Britain

2:40
Installation shots from inside the exhibition.
museums and collections

The Secret London Exhibition for Spies' Eyes Only

During World War II, the Natural History Museum showcased tools for sabotage.
Carianne Whitworth August 28, 2018
Base of the lamp post; the small door can be seen towards the top of the photo.
London, England

Audley Square Spy Lamp Post

This overlooked street light once served as a KGB dead letter box.
Spies may have used fake teeth, but did any of them have cyanide in them?
suicide

The Cyanide Tooth Is a Cold War Fairy-Tale

The popular spy movie trope would have been a rather risky thing to carry around in your mouth.
Eric Grundhauser April 11, 2018
A chromolithograph of <em>Fragaria ananassa</em>.
food

The 18th-Century Spy Who Gave Us Big Strawberries

Two American strawberries reunited in Europe, and gave us the fruit we love today.
Mike Allen November 16, 2017
Looking out towards the Hungarian Embassy.
Washington, D.C.

Peirce Mill Spy Station

Cold War intelligence agents monitored communist embassies from an attic in a former pigeon coop.