Dead Drop: A New Podcast Series

Here's a sneak peak at a new podcast series on CIA officers killed in the line of duty.

The CIA’s Wall of Honor, or Memorial Wall, is immediately inside the entrance to the Agency’s original headquarters building in Langley, VA. There are 125 stars carved into the white Alabama marble wall, each one representing an employee who has been killed in the line of duty. A black Moroccan goatskin-bound book, called the Book of Honor, sits in a steel frame beneath the stars, its steel case jutting out from the wall. Of the 125 stars, only 91 are accompanied by names in the Book of Honor. The 34 remaining CIA heroes must remain anonymous, even in death, as their work remains classified. Their entries in the Book of Honor show only a blank line.

Above the stars, the wall bears the inscription, “In honor of those members of the Central Intelligence Agency who gave their lives in the service of their country” in gold block letters. The Wall is flanked by the flag of the United States on the left and a flag bearing the seal of the CIA on the right.

My partner Alan Katz and I envision a procedural podcast where we will focus on some of the best-known and least known cases of CIA officers killed abroad. And we’ll go deep. Let me know what you think.

Bill Buckley was a profoundly unpopular CIA officer, a fact that belied his great success at the Agency. Gruff, unfriendly, and arrogant, he succeeded in Middle Eastern operations at the Agency despite not having been an Arabic linguist. His personal and professional toughness was learned in the military, but it was off-putting to many of the more polished spies Buckley worked with at the CIA.