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Think Like a Spy
- By: Tazeen Ahmad, LaRae Quy, Jason Hanson, James Glancy, John Ryan
- Podcast
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Think Like a Spy
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Summary
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Jan 2 202033 minsAdd to basket failed.
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Jan 2 202027 minsAdd to basket failed.
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What listeners say about Think Like a Spy
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Paolo Caldato
- 27-01-20
Spies like us....
This had so much potential but was actually a bit embarrassing in execution. The three "spies" comprised James Glancy, a decorated British former SBS officer, and two somewhat mid-tier US former CIA and FBI officers.
The series came across as a bit of a vehicle for Glancy, who was interesting and had some sensible (if not particularly earth-shattering) tips and suggestions for the day-to-day conduct of one's life and business, based upon his experiences as a special forces operative in a number of theatres.
The two US agency personnel, by contrast, were largely self-congratulatory and self-aggrandising, and frequently illustrated over-simplified high-falutin' "tips" with trivial and/or ridiculous examples of their professional experiences. For example, CIA dude explained how being able to spot deception was a key part of his former role (no, really?). He described how, despite apparently not looking like Brad Pitt, he had been unaccustomedly and unaccountably hit upon in a bar by a very attractive woman (played in the scenario by an actress with a very hammy Russian accent). He then recounted how he had "baselined" her as part of his human lie-detector routine; according to him this involves innocuous questions like "is this carpet blue? What year is it?" which don't really strike me as innocuous at all, but rather as guaranteed to make one's interlocutor's weirdo antennae start to tingle. Once he had "baselined" her, he hit her with the left-field, penetrating question:
"I'll bet you come here all the time to pick up guys."
Apparently, her stuttering response confirmed his suspicions that she was an enemy agent trying to deceive him. Leaving aside that that's not actually a question, perhaps it did not occur to him that she was just flabbergasted by his finger-munchingly crass comment.
Other low points included when "I AM AN F - B - I AGENT" informed listeners of the clichéd fact that the Chinese character for "crisis" also means "opportunity" - except that she said that the character for "crisis" comprised two characters, one meaning "crisis" and the other meaning "opportunity". Really, Flowers By Irene? That sounds like a rather circular definition.
Also, when CIA dude said " I get up at 4:30 every morning so that I can be the best of the best of the best", he was promptly one-upped by Special Agent FBI who informed listeners that she got up the night before.
Overall, very disappointing. A podcast ostensibly about spies where two of the three panellists were not spies at all, and the only one worth listening to was not even really involved in intelligence or counter-intelligence.
Oh, and incredibly formulaic. Every episode ended with the trite interviewer asking what the three interviewees had been particularly struck by in the episode, and inevitably we got "Well I really agreed with Jason and LaRae"; " Yeah and I really agreed with James and Jason"; "Golly, I really agreed with LaRae and James." At no point did anyone say anything like, "I didn't really agree with what Jason said - asking the hot lady in the bar whether water is wet won't out her as an evil Russian spy, it will just make you look like a socially-awkward ring-piece." There was no real challenge or discussion, just a reasonably engaging and informative former Royal Marine and his two comic Keystone Kops friends.
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150 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Rabah B.
- 05-02-20
self-congratulating bunch
A group of people telling tales of their own heroism and amazing achievements. Boastful, self-aggrandising and completely pointless
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15 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Bob
- 20-01-20
Bit of a waste of time
The theory is good. How can spies demonstrate skills that can be used every day. The problem is that the experts set up problems, which they then solve, that haven very little transferability to normal life.
Yes there are occasionally crisis that require fast thinking. But face it, most of our problems are not that sort. Where are the spy skills when mum is is exhausted with the kids and trying to make ends meet. There are skill sets that can help but not with these spies.
Or the terrible boss, the lousy job. The always tired. Even the chapter on the self discipline was useless because the exponents already had motivation. It was was self selecting.
Listen for mid entertainment but not education.
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13 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Dane
- 26-01-20
Quite misleading
The content was semi helpful but quite contrived to specific situations which most people will never experience. It felt very forced and the people involved made it sound obvious that they were reading from a script at points. Still okay pass time
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6 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rich
- 15-01-20
Fantastic content and production
Fantastic content and production. Really interesting guests, advice and care studies. definitely recommended for all listeners.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 16-01-20
Thrilling self-help
Definitely a uniqie and fun to listen approach to somewhat overbundant topic of self help.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Steven Nigel Ibbotson
- 13-01-20
great listen
if spy's are your thing then this is for you . good doc worth the time .
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Duncan Williamson
- 12-03-20
A lot of mainstream advice
Even though the title was Think like a spy, the emphasis was on using spycraft in your everyday life. Some very useful tips here. Some swashbuckling stories in here too: people who REALLY did do what James Bond pretends to do!
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Tracy
- 09-03-20
Excellent
This has excellent information in for everyday life and it is so exciting to hear about the 3 lives of the different agents involved.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Daniela Todorova
- 06-03-20
loved it
Loved all the stories and it was very insightful and inspiring. Would like to hear more about their lives
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Miss Sneha Vadgama
- 05-09-20
Interesting and applicable to our lives
Fun to hear real life stories of having to think about smart on your feet. Also found this podcast Motivational and ideas we can apply ourselves!
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 10-01-21
Act Like a Spy Everyday
This podcast series was extremely interesting. I enjoyed how the Interviewees recalled their own personal experiences from their careers and explained how the skills that they learned can be applied to everyday life from people who don't live in Jason Bourne or James Bond worlds. Persuasion, confidence and decision making under pressure are all just some of the skills that are discussed. The interviewer was fantastic and I enjoyed how each of the former spies built on the stories of each other.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mercedes
- 22-12-20
The other side of espionage fiction
We all think like spies at times whether it's a furtive break in the midst of a deadline, crossing the street to avoid a pest, or simply figuring out a fictional protagonist's next move. The "how to" is what's central here, and nicely done in short, info driven podcast form.
Tazeen Ahmed is an engaging interviewer, weaving advice, tips and remembrances from a CIA agent, FBI recruiter, and royal marine through well structured thematic conversations with casual sophistication.
I was deeply saddened there were no other Tazeen audio offerings; her depth and warmth will be missed. This is an entertaining insight into her well respected skills.
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1 person found this helpful