DIA Connections

Fentanyl is the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 18 and 45. On this episode, you’ll hear a DIA counter narcotics officer discuss the agency’s efforts to combat the most devastating drug epidemic in U.S. history. We also spoke with Mariana Van Zeller, an investigative reporter who went deep inside the fentanyl pipeline to Mexico’s cartel country to see how it’s produced and trafficked into the United States. *Nothing in this podcast should be construed to be an endorsement by the DIA or the U.S. government of any particular company, product or service.

This episode of DIA Connections features highlights from Season Four. Catch up on this season's best moments with an American pilot who landed his plane safely after a mid-air collision with a Chinese fighter jet, a cosmochemistry professor who led NASA’s mission to an asteroid, a DIA analyst turned screenwriter, the speechwriter behind President Reagan’s challenge to “tear down this wall,” and the author of “The Monuments Men,” a book about the greatest treasure hunt in history. *Nothing in this podcast should be construed to be an endorsement by the DIA or the U.S. government of any particular company, product or service.

Wouldn’t it be unbelievable if a spaceship could land on an asteroid, collect rocks that could reveal the secrets of life’s origins, and then return to Earth? Well, believe it, because it already happened! On this episode, a conversation with Dante Lauretta, leader of NASA’s expedition to the most dangerous rock in our solar system. You’ll also hear from the chief of DIA’s Space and Counterspace office about securing the nation’s vital interests in space -- both today and tomorrow. Finally, we go back to the future with The Jetsons, the classic cartoon that was a century ahead of its time. *Nothing in this podcast should be construed to be an endorsement by the DIA or the U.S. government of any particular company, product or service.

Does public speaking cause you to quiver in fear? You're not alone - but it's not a good trait to have when briefing policymakers! On this episode, we’ll get tips on how to speak in public from DIAloguers, a group that helps DIA officers overcome their glossophobia. You’ll also hear how a great speech from a skilled speaker can echo through history. Peter Robinson, President Ronald Reagan’s speechwriter, joins us to discuss the amazing backstory of the "Tear Down This Wall" speech - four words that defined a presidency and changed the world. *Nothing in this podcast should be construed to be an endorsement by the DIA or the U.S. government of any particular company, product or service.

Who said writing intelligence reports for policymakers is boring? Not us--and certainly not former DIA intelligence analyst turned Hollywood screenwriter Mitchell LaFortune. On this episode of DIA Connections, LaFortune talks about his creative approach to intelligence writing. Learn how it helped him when he left DIA for LA to write the screenplay for the action thriller Kandahar, a movie based on his experiences in Afghanistan. *Nothing in this podcast should be construed to be an endorsement by the DIA or the U.S. government of any particular company, product or service.

How did a soccer match and a children’s magazine inspire a team of analysts to create an unclassified report proving Iranian military support to Russia in Ukraine? Find out on this episode of DIA Connections. *Nothing in this podcast should be construed to be an endorsement by the DIA or the U.S. government of any particular company, product or service.

In 2001, an American spy plane collided with a Chinese jet fighter, killing the Chinese pilot and forcing the American aircraft to land at Hainan Island, where Chinese authorities took the crew of 24 into custody for 11 days. On this episode of DIA Connections, you'll hear pilot Shane Osborn tell the riveting story of saving them from almost certain death and how the diplomatic efforts of the U.S. ambassador to China and a DIA attaché helped negotiate their freedom. *Nothing in this podcast should be construed as an endorsement by the DIA or the U.S. government of any particular company, product or service.

Picasso, Rembrandt, Renoir, da Vinci – just a few of the artists whose masterpieces were stolen by the Nazis. On this episode of DIA Connections, Robert Edsel, author of The Monuments Men, talks about the greatest treasure hunt in history and the scholar soldiers who found civilizations' most important artistic and cultural treasures. You’ll also hear about DIA’s current mission to protect our shared cultural heritage. *Nothing in this podcast should be construed to be an endorsement by the DIA or the U.S. government of any particular company, product or service.

On this special episode of DIA Connections, catch up with the best of season three. We spoke with a wide range of guests including the creator of the Iraqi Most Wanted Deck of Cards, a saxophonist who went on a spy mission behind the iron curtain, a pilot of a plane that crashed during the evacuation of children from Vietnam, two teenagers who left their war-torn country of Ukraine for America, and a photographer who captured the war's devastation on innocent civilians in one defining image. Listen to highlights from the “Best of Season Three.” *Nothing in this podcast should be construed to be an endorsement by the DIA or the US Government of any particular company, product, or service.

Memorial Day, celebrated on the last Monday in May, honors service members who died while serving in the military. On this episode of DIA Connections, a discussion on the traditional sound of remembrance – Taps. Jari Villanueva, the country’s foremost expert on America’s most familiar bugle call, joins us in a conversation about the 24 notes that must be sounded to perfection – and talk about one of the times it wasn’t ... when the whole world was listening.  *Nothing in this podcast should be construed to be an endorsement by the DIA or the US Government of any particular company, product, or service.

Diamonds, hearts, clubs and spades.  On this episode of DIA Connections, listen to how a team of analysts developed a special deck of playing cards used in Operation Iraqi Freedom.  You’ll also hear how they became one of the most significant pieces of DIA history and heritage, not to mention a red-hot collector’s item.  *Nothing in this podcast should be construed to be an endorsement by the DIA or the US Government of any particular company, product, or service.

Merryl Goldberg was followed by the KGB...interrogated by the KGB...even arrested by the KGB.  Just another spy that got caught, right? Well, not exactly. On this episode of DIA Connections, we follow the inspirational story of Merryl Goldberg, a saxophonist from Boston who in 1985 volunteered to go behind the iron curtain into the Soviet Union to help Jews seeking freedom. Hear how she hoodwinked the KGB by hiding coded information in her sheet music, and how she attracted worldwide attention for the plight of Soviet Jews.   *Nothing in this podcast should be construed to be an endorsement by the DIA or the US Government of any particular company, product, or service.

Throughout his country's invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin repeatedly denied his forces were targeting civilians. The world saw the truth for itself in a shocking image taken by photojournalist Lynsey Addario, which offered irrefutable proof of Russia’s tactics. On this episode of DIA Connections, our conversation with Addario includes her chilling account behind the historically important photograph she took at a bridge in Ukraine used as a civilian evacuation route, as well as her continued work in the world’s most dangerous places.

In June 2022, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, “Russia is stealing the childhood of our children.” Every victim of war suffers loss, but no one loses as much as children. On this episode of DIA Connections, you’ll hear from a psychologist who treats children suffering from war trauma. We spoke with the director of the War Childhood Museum, the world’s only museum focused exclusively on the impact of children and war. We also visited two brave 15-year-old young ladies who left their home in Ukraine for America after a walk home from a friend's house was interrupted by a Russian missile strike.

In April 1975, South Vietnam was on the verge of collapse. As North Vietnamese forces advanced towards Saigon, orphaned babies adopted by American families needed a way out. President Gerald Ford initiated Operation Babylift, a mass evacuation humanitarian mission that ultimately saved thousands of lives. On this episode of DIA Connections, we examine the Defense Intelligence Agency’s successful rescue mission, despite its tragic start when the first plane leaving Saigon crashed, killing 138 of the 316 on board, including five DIA employees. We spoke with two survivors who shared their emotional stories of that fateful day, the pilot, Col. Dennis “Bud” Traynor and medical crew director Regina Aune. You’ll also hear from two of the babies who were airlifted to safety and as adults have honored their past in very different ways. One writes and sings about his life as an adoptee, the other works for the Agency that helped bring her to America, the DIA.

On this special episode of DIA Connections…a chance to catch up with the best of season two. We spoke with a wide range of guests including the founder of the original Topgun flight school, a former Secretary of State, an award-winning Hollywood movie director, a journalist in Moscow during the Cuban Missile Crisis, an ex-Major League Baseball umpire, a DIA psychic, and a comedian President Reagan sought advice from on dealing with Gorbachev about nuclear disarmament. Listen to highlights from the “Best of Season Two.”

We know this is going to sound strange, but it's true! For more than a decade, the Defense Intelligence Agency - the Nation's primary manager and producer of foreign military intelligence - ran a paranormal program. On this episode of DIA Connections, learn how the Agency used psychics to collect intelligence on foreign targets. Author Annie Jacobsen joins us to discuss the secret history of the U.S. Government's investigation into psychic phenomena and about the paranormal race with the Soviet Union. Then, visit the home of Angela Dellafiora, DIA's award-winning psychic/remote viewer, who describes her visualization process and how she used her third eye to go to places where others couldn't. This one's a real mindbender.

When Tom Cruise landed the role of Maverick in the 1986 box office hit "Top Gun," he probably wasn’t aware of how the Defense Intelligence Agency’s exploitation of captured MIGs played a crucial role in the Navy’s Fighter Weapons School program depicted in the movie. On this episode of DIA Connections, you’ll hear about it in a fascinating conversation with Dan Pedersen, the founder of TOPGUN. We also have a discussion with flight instructor Dave “BIO” Baranek, who not only flew aerial sequences in the film and participated in the editing process, but who also swapped stories off set with Cruise about the need for speed.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. It’s a story about the most powerful person on Earth, and his comedian friend from the Soviet Union, and how they ultimately saved the world from nuclear disaster. Wanna laugh? On this episode of DIA Connections, we explore how the humor of President Ronald Reagan and Yakov Smirnoff may have paved the way for a nuclear arms reduction treaty.

The 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty marked the first time the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to reduce their nuclear arsenals, and is just one example of DIA supporting treaty compliance by extensive on-site inspections for verification. On this episode of DIA Connections, we visit the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum for an up-close look at nuclear missiles, and then speak with a naval officer at the ready to execute a launch order on a nuclear submarine. Finally, Hollywood director Nicholas Meyer explains how his 1983 television movie, “The Day After,” a raw and vivid look at a nuclear attack on the United States, caused such alarm that psychologists suggested people watch it in large groups for fear of mass hysteria. White House staff members even tried to make changes prior to the movie airing, and may have even been the tipping point for President Ronald Reagan to meet with Mikhail Gorbachev and change the course of history.