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Washington, D.C.

Spies, Lies & Intelligence: The World of International Espionage

Program No. 16126RJ

Discover a world of espionage and learn about spy history and 21st-century intelligence threats as you explore the nation’s capital and its museums with intelligence experts.

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5 days

4 nights

10 meals

4B 3L 3D

Check-in, Orientation, Welcome Dinner, Opening Lecture

Washington, DC

National Cryptologic Museum, DC tour, Plausible Denial

Washington, DC

International Spy Museum, Free Time

Washington, DC

CIA & Congress, Spying in DC, Lafayette Sq, Farewell Dinner

Washington, DC

Cybersecurity, Program Concludes

Washington, DC

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At a Glance

The United States’ 18 national intelligence agencies have always been shrouded in secrecy. Now, some of their covert cases have been marked unclassified. On this fascinating adventure at the front line of the world’s spy coterie in Washington, D.C., delve into the history of covert intelligence in America and hear about the changing role of the CIA through America’s changing culture, foreign policy and politics. Learn about the art of espionage, find out how spies are recruited and hear stories of the many women who fly below the radar as master spies.

Activity Level

Easy Going

Standing in museums for up to two hours. Walking up to a mile a day.

Best of all, you’ll…

Uncover Washington, D.C.'s seamy world, from lesser-known spy history to famous spy cases — both the cracked and the unsolved, with retired intelligence experts and an NSA officer.
Explore the NSA’s Cryptologic Museum and the Spy Museum to learn about the secret world of code-making and code-breaking.
Hear from a cybersecurity specialist, and examine the role of intelligence in 21st-century threats from the Cuban Missile Crisis to the Sept. 11 attacks.

Featured Expert

All trip experts

Jon Wiant

Professor Jon A. Wiant is a decorated Senior Intelligence Officer with a distinguished 36-year career working on assignments at the Department of State, the White House, the Department of Defense and Central Intelligence Agency. Since retiring, he has become an adjunct professor at George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs. Jon has more than a dozen medals and awards for exceptional work in sensitive intelligence operations and has authored more than 50 articles and book chapters on intelligence and foreign policy subjects.

Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.

Jon Wiant View biography

Robert Wallace View biography

Robert Wallace is a retired senior CIA officer, author, consultant and lecturer. As a recognized authority on intelligence history and “spy gadgets.” He was an Army Ranger in Vietnam, a CIA intelligence officer for 33 years and now an author and frequent lecturer on espionage topics. His published books include Nine from the Ninth: A Vietnam Memoir; Spycraft: The Secret History of the CIA’s Spytechs from Communism to al-Qaeda, The Official Manual of CIA Trickery and Deception and Spy Sites of New York City.

Christi Pancoast View biography

Christi Pancoast is originally from Ohio and has been a teacher in Richmond, Virginia for over two decades. She is a self-proclaimed travel junkie, lifelong learner, and people enthusiast. In her free time, she enjoys Zumba, yoga, and being with her friends.

Scott White View biography

Scott J. White is an associate professor and director of the Cybersecurity Program and Cyber Academy at The George Washington University. He holds a B.A. from York University (Toronto), an M.A. from the University of Guelph, and a Ph.D. from the University of Bristol. He holds a Queen’s Commission and was an officer with Canadian Forces Intelligence Command. Following his doctoral studies, Dr. White was an officer with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. He has consulted with law enforcement agencies and Fortune 500 companies.

Ronald Marks View biography

Ronald Marks was a CIA spy for 16 years in the struggle against Russian espionage operatives. He served as Congressional interlocutor for five CIA Directors and guided America’s intelligence interests for Senate leaders Bob Dole and Trent Lott. Ron has been a national security entrepreneur, spy raconteur, cyber expert, and international affair commentator. He is the author of “Spying in America in the Post 9/11 World: Domestic Threat and the Need for Change” that focuses on the challenges and legalities of U.S. domestic intelligence collection.

Steve Flynn View biography

Steve Flynn was raised in Oregon. He pursued graduate work in intercultural studies and has extensive experience leading educational groups for students and adults both within and outside the U.S. A current resident of Washington, D.C., he has spent his professional career working in international student exchange programs for the University of North Carolina system.

Ira Deutsch View biography

Ira Deutsch was born and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. At age 20, he moved to Israel and joined the Israeli military, retiring with the rank of LTC after 26 years of military service. His service included international affairs, coordinating relationships with multiple countries including the United States military. Ira’s last assignment before retiring was as a Foreign Liaison Officer to the U.S. National Guard and FEMA, stationed in Washington, DC. His coordinating experience makes him uniquely qualified to serve as a Group Leader.

Leigh Jameson View biography

Leigh Jameson is a Virginia native and local to the D.C. area for most of her life. She has over thirty-five years' experience as an actor and storyteller, and has served as a group leader throughout the East Coast. Over the past fifteen years, Leigh has worked with some of the most prestigious museums in the country, including the Smithsonian's American History Museum, Mount Vernon, and Colonial Williamsburg, and has two published guidebooks focused on this history.

Rick Salamida View biography

Richard J. Salamida holds an M.S. in manufacturing systems engineering from Lehigh University, a B.S. in Computer Science from Rochester Institute of Technology, and an A.A.S. in mathematics from Herkimer County Community College. His career spans both the commercial and service industries, with over 30 years in consulting, business process improvement, and technical analysis in HR/payroll systems. He also owned and operated businesses in the restaurant and technology sectors, later transitioning into the travel industry as a group leader.

Suggested Reading List (12 books)

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You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.

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Spies, Lies & Intelligence: The World of International Espionage

Program Number: 16126

Charlie Wilson’s War

by Crile, George

It's common knowledge that the U.S. armed the Afghans in their fight against the Soviet Union, but until now, the fact that this was possibly the biggest, meanest covert operation in history has been absent from press reports. In one of the most detailed descriptions of a CIA operation every written, the bizarre twists and turns of the full story are told in CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR. Veteran 60 Minutes producer George Crile explains how one Congressman was able to provide the CIA with hundreds of millions of dollars to fund the Afghan program, dwarfing the price tag for arming the Nicaraguan Contras that occurred at virtually the same time.

The Literary Spy: The Ultimate Source for Quotations on Espionage & Intelligence

by Lathrop, Charles

The Literary Spy provides a unique view of the intelligence world through the words of its own major figures (and those fascinated with them) from ancient times to the present. CIA speechwriter and analyst Charles E. Lathrop has compiled and annotated more than 3,000 quotations from such disparate sources as the Bible, spy novels and movies, Shakespeare’s plays, declassified CIA documents, memoirs, TV talk shows, and speeches from U.S. and foreign leaders and officials.

Intelligence: From Secrets to Policy

by Lowenthal, Mark

Mark M. Lowenthal’s trusted guide is the go-to resource for understanding how the intelligence community’s history, structure, procedures, and functions affect policy decisions. In the fully updated Eighth Edition of Intelligence, the author addresses cyber security and cyber intelligence throughout, expands the coverage of collection, comprehensively updates the chapters on nation-state issues and transnational issues, and looks at foreign intelligence services, both large and small.

Capturing Jonathan Pollard

by Olive, Ronald J.

Jonathan Pollard, an intelligence analyst working in the U.S. Naval Investigative Service's Anti-Terrorist Alert Center, systematically stole highly sensitive secrets from almost every major intelligence agency in the United States. In just eighteen months he sold more than one million pages of classified material to Israel. No other spy in U.S. history has stolen so many secrets, so highly classified, in such a short period of time. Author Ronald Olive was in charge of counterintelligence in the Washington office of the Naval Investigative Service that investigated Pollard and garnered the confession that led to his arrest in 1985 and eventual life sentence. His book reveals details of Pollard's confession, his interaction with the author when suspicion was mounting, and countless other details never before made public. Olive points to mistaken assumptions and leadership failures that allowed Pollard to ransack America's defense intelligence long after he should have been caught.

Spy: The Inside Story of How the FBI’s Robert Hanssen Betrayed America

by Wise, David

Spy tells the full, authoritative story of how FBI agent Robert Hanssen, code name grayday, spied for Russia for twenty-two years in what has been called the “worst intelligence disaster in U.S. history”–and how he was finally caught in an incredible gambit by U.S. intelligence.

Spy Book: The Encyclopedia of Espionage

by Polmar, Norman and Allen, Thomas B.

This intriguing book covers intelligence agencies, espionage code names, terms, countries, literature, equipment, and more. Spy Book will captivate and enthrall anyone curious about espionage. Contains over 2,000 entries and references and photos and illustrations of famous spies, codes, hardware and more.

Of Spies and Lies

by Sullivan, John

Any serious study of the Vietnam War would be less than complete without accounting for the CIA's role in that conflict-a role that increased dramatically after the Tet offensive in 1968. We know most of the details of military engagement in Vietnam, given its greater visibility, but until recently clandestine operations have remained shrouded in secrecy

The Enemy Within: A History of Spies, Spymasters and Espionage

by Crowdy, Terry

Separating myth from reality, The Enemy Within traces the history of espionage from its development in ancient times through to the end of the Cold War and beyond, shedding light on the clandestine activities that have so often tipped the balance in times of war. This detailed account delves into the murky depths of the realm of spymasters and their spies, revealing many amazing and often bizarre stories along the way. From the monkey hanged as a spy during the Napoleonic wars to the British Double Cross Committee in World War II, this journey through the history of espionage shows us that no two spies are alike and their fascinating stories are fraught with danger and intrigue.

The Spy Next Door

by Shannon, Elaine and Blackman, Ann

Two veteran Time magazine reporters present the shocking, fascinating account of one of the greatest espionage scandals of our time -- the story of Robert Hanssen, one of the most mysterious traitors in American history.

Cast No Shadow: The Life of the American Spy Who Changed the Course of World War II

by Lovell, Mary S.

Relying on top-secret and heretofore unrevealed documents from British Intelligence as well as on Betty's own memoir written shortly before her death, Mary Lovell offers a remarkable portrait of a woman whose adeptness for intrigue in affairs of espionage and passion is astonishing. Cast No Shadow is a story of subterfuge and romantic expediency the exposes the hidden human intrigue of World War II and the life of a woman whose contribution to the Allied effort was invaluable and unique.

True Believer: Inside the Investigation and Capture of Ana Montes, Cuba’s Master Spy

by Carmichael, Scott W.

Ana Montes appeared to be a model employee of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), advancing quickly through the ranks to become its top analyst on Cuban affairs. But for sixteen years Montes sent Castro some of America's most closely guarded secrets and at the same time influenced what the United States thought it knew about Cuba. She is the only member of the U.S. intelligence community ever convicted of espionage for the Cuban government, yet her arrest ten days after 9/11 went largely unnoticed. This inside account of the investigation was written by the DIA counterintelligence investigator who first became suspicious of her activities and, with the FBI, worked over a period of several years to develop a solid case against Montes. Carmichael offers readers a front-row seat on that long and ultimately successful spy hunt.

Spy Sites of Washington, DC: A Guide to the Capital Region's Secret History

by Robert Wallace and H. Keith Melton

Melton and Wallace bring to life over two hundred years of the secret side to the nation's capital through history, images, and locations that readers can visit.

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Spies, Lies & Intelligence: The World of International Espionage

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At a Glance

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