How did the spy-fi literary and cinematic genre come to be? This week Joseph and Nathan chronicle how detective fiction authors took inspiration from sensational espionage cases such as The Dreyfus Affair and The Rosenberg Trial to imagine what the front lines of The Cold War might look like. The boys cover “realistic” spy movies such as James Bond’s Dr. No, Three Days of the Condor, and The Bourne Trilogy before going into fantastical depictions of spies in Children’s media like The Spy Kids, Kim Possible, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Amongst other things they discuss the difference between state and industrial espionage, Austria’s constitutionally mandated status of neutrality, and Edward Snowden’s modeling portfolio. 

Links:

Nathan’s Instagram

Was the Rosenberg trial America’s Dreyfus Affair

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy

The Thirty-Nine Steps by Charles Buchan

Ep. 53: Bond Girl Summer by Nymphet Alumni

Photos from young Edward Snowden’s brief modeling career

Trying to Make Sense of Hannah Diamond and Post-Ringtone Music by VICE

The Real Life Spy Behind Charlie And The Chocolate Factory

Children of undercover Russian spy couple only learned their nationality on flight to Moscow

Exclusive: Suspected Chinese spy targeted California politicians

Artwork:

Sean Connery playing James Bond in From Russia With Love

Recorded on 8/16/2024