Episode notes
After two years building a mosaic of research about the Vitaly Yurchenko mystery, finally a full picture emerges: the truth.
Podcast
The Redefector
Audiochuck · Society & Culture · English
It was 1985, the so-called “Year of the Spy”. The CIA had been losing Soviet assets left and right; the first loss seemed like bad luck, but four in a row? That wasn't coincidence — it was a deadly leak. And just as the Agency was scrambling to find answers, across the world, a KGB colonel named Vit
More from The Redefector All episodes →
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S1 · E9 · 14 May 2025 · 39 min
In Search of a Spy | Chapter 9
The modern day hunt for Vitaly Yurchenko, the 90 year-old spy.
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S1 · E8 · 7 May 2025 · 52 min
Joyride | Chapter 8
Some old veterans from the Soviet and Eastern Europe division decide to take matters into their own hands and start a new hunt. It's unconventional, it's personal, and this time, it's successful.
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S1 · 30 Apr 2025 · 56 min
It’s Hard to Find a Leak | Chapter 7.5 BONUS
BONUS EPISODE: Bodies continue to drop, despite the leaks identified by Yurchenko. Despite intensifying debate over his legitimacy, the SE division has a new desperate focus: to find answers. It creates a special task force to identify the remaining leak before any more lives are lost. In this bonus episode, we track the three fascinating reasons why the task force took years: Masterful deception campaigns by the Soviets; the ghost of James Jesus Angleton; and a scandal at the White House.
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S1 · E7 · 23 Apr 2025 · 52 min
Whiplash | Chapter 7
Yurchenko... reappears, sowing chaos. A debate begins to rage in the press, at the CIA, and even in the White House: Was Vitaly Yurchenko a plant from the very beginning?
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S1 · E6 · 16 Apr 2025 · 52 min
Vanished | Chapter 6
To cheer up the despondent Yurchenko, the CIA takes Yurchenko on a road trip through the American Southwest, complete with a stop in Sin City. Soon after he returns from the trip, his spirits still low, Yurchenko... disappears.
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