International Spy Museum

Agents, shop our curated Bond gift guide, now on sale for a limited time. Don't miss the chance to snag the coolest deals of the season. Act fast and keep your cool!

Only at spymuseumstore.org. 🥂 🕶️

Join us on the latest episode of as we delve into the fascinating world of art crimes with retired FBI Special Agent Robert Wittman, hailed as "the most famous art detective in the world."

Discover the crucial role played by the FBI's Art Crimes Unit in recovering stolen treasures and safeguarding cultural heritage.

Listen now at https://bit.ly/47NzFeI your favorite podcast platform! 🎧🖼️

Join us tomorrow for an exciting episode of as we delve into the fascinating world of art crime investigation with retired FBI Special Agent Robert Wittman, aka "the most famous art detective in the world."

Discover the secrets of the FBI's Art Crimes Unit and their mission to recover stolen art and cultural property. Tune in tomorrow, 7 AM sharp, on all podcast platforms! 🎧🔍

https://thecyberwire.com/podcasts/spycast

why do spies never use capitalization?

because they like to stay low-key. 👀

Happy December, Agents! ❄️

Did you know there is a surprising link between Starbucks and espionage? ☕

CIA officers-in-training were taught to communicate via Starbucks gift cards.

Former CIA operative Amaryllis Fox says, "He gives one [gift card] to each of his assets and tells them, 'If you need to see me, buy a coffee.' Then he checks the card numbers on a cybercafé computer each day, and if the balance on one is depleted, he knows he's got a meeting. Saves him having to drive past a whole slew of different physical signal sites each day [to check for chalk marks and lowered window blinds]. And the card numbers aren't tied to identities, so the whole thing is pretty secure."

Enjoy those peppermint mochas with caution, agents.

Read the full article: https://bit.ly/3ur5N9J

Join us next Wednesday, December 6 at 6:30 PM for a discussion featuring Museum Historian and Curator Dr. Andrew Hammond and retired FBI agent Peter J. Lapp, the author of Queen of Cuba: An FBI Agent's Insider Account of the Spy Who Evaded Detection for 17 Years for a discussion of this incredible case.

They’ll discuss her motivation, the harm she did, and the clues—including never-released information—that led the FBI team to catch one of the United States’ most dangerous spies

A very special artifact related to this case will be on display before the program.

Queen of Cuba will be available for sale and signing after the program

More intel: https://bit.ly/3R2cYgp

*NEW* - “The Eye of Horus: Egyptian Intelligence” – with Dina Rezk.

This week, Spy Historian, Andrew Hammond is joined by Dina Rezk to discuss Egyptian intelligence. Rezk is an Associate Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History at the University of Reading.

You'll learn about...
➡️ Egyptian leadership & intelligence
➡️ The intelligence landscape of Egypt
➡️ Egypt’s relationship with neighboring countries
➡️ Ashraf Marwan’s story from the Egyptian perspective

Listen now at https://bit.ly/47zAdoQ. Also available wherever you get your podcasts.

Today is ! Did you know the International Spy Museum is a nonprofit?

A charitable gift to SPY helps support the Museum's thought-provoking programs, unique exhibitions, and community initiatives that educate and inspire all. We hope you keep SPY in your giving plans this season.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/3PkXhxQ

Happy ! Shop the Spy Museum Store online for holiday gifts and save 35% off a wide selection of gadgets, books, apparel, toys and more! 📱 📕 👕

Use code SPYDAY35 at checkout.

https://spymuseumstore.org

This holiday, get them the gift they've always wanted: an exclusive spy gnome (codename: Yps Emong) 🕶️

Available in store and online. And remember, Agents, Spy Store is 35% off with code SPYDAY35. This offer self-destructs soon, act fast.

Shop now ➡️ https://spymuseumstore.org/

Looking for the perfect holiday gifts? 🎁 Check out our Sale at the Spy Store and enjoy unbeatable discounts on a wide range of toys, apparel, gadgets, books, and more! 🕵️😎🥂

Shop now at http://spymuseumstore.org

Happy Thanksgiving from our SPY family to yours! 🦃

We are feeling extra grateful for the Trabant-driving couple, Ingrid and Roger, who took it upon themselves to make Ana Montes' personal cheesecake recipe! Their recreation of the cheesecake recipe originally developed by one of America’s most infamous double agents, truly takes the cake! 🍰

“I always give my bird a generous butter massage before I put it in the oven. Why? Because I think the bird likes it – and, more important, I like to give it.” —Julia Child (OSS agent)

Happy Thanksgiving from our SPY family to yours! 🦃

Join us on our mission to provide an inclusive experience at SPY this holiday season! 🕵️‍♀️🌟

Discover our sensory backpacks, equipped with a sensory map, visual schedule, and a fidget/stress ball - all available for free at the front desk (while supplies last). Just ask our friendly staff at the ticketing counter for one!

For a seamless, successful mission, we offer noise-cancelling headphones in both adult and youth sizes, on a first-come, first-served basis.

And don't forget to access our pre-visit resources, designed to ensure a successful mission for individuals in the neurodiverse community.

We also host exclusive Access Days that allow neurodivergent folks to enjoy SPY with less noise, fewer people, and a designated quiet room. Mark your calendars, Agents. Our next Access day is Sunday, December 12 from 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM.

More intel: https://bit.ly/40zBidC

📸 : Taylor Mickal

*NEW* - “British Defence Attaché, U.S.A.” – with Rear Admiral Tim Woods. Andrew Hammond sits down with Woods to discuss Woods' role as Britain's Attaché to the United States. 🇬🇧

This episode covers...
✅ What does a Defense Attaché do
✅ How intelligence impacts military strategy
✅ Admiral Woods’ experience of the 2021 Russian invasion of Ukraine
✅ What it’s like to constantly be surveilled

➡️ Listen now at bit.ly/49PwFAG or wherever you get your podcasts.

MISSION ALERT: In observance of , the International Spy Museum will be closed on Thursday, November 23. We're open with extended hours during the holiday weekend.

November 20 – 22 | 9AM – 7PM
November 23 (Thanksgiving Day) | Closed
November 24 – 25 | 8:30AM – 8PM
November 26 | 9AM – 6PM

http://spymuseum.org

Be our guest this holiday season! Planning an end of year celebration? Our private event spaces + landscaped rooftop terrace puts the class in classified! 😎

Learn more: https://www.spymuseum.org/host-an-event/

Overheard In D.C. via DCist: A man meets up with the rest of his family at the L’Enfant Plaza promenade during the International Spy Museum’s Parade of Trabants. The family’s dog has an adornment around its neck.

Man to family: “The dog got lei’d!” 😄 https://bit.ly/46fgSIg

Operation Holiday Hunt is here 🕵️ 🥂 ! Give your loved ones a peek into the intriguing world of espionage with curated gift guides from our very own store.

Buy your very own piece from the largest collection of espionage-related books in the world.

More intel: https://spymuseumstore.org/

Happy ! 🧔

The man behind the fabulous facial hair above is Dmitri Bystrolyotov (Дмитрий Быстролётов), a Russian spy during the 1920s and 1930s.

Bystrolyotov was much more than just a pretty face. He was a master of deception, fluent in more than a dozen languages, he assumed a dizzying array of identities, charming his way into the hearts of secretaries and embassy typists to steal codes and secrets.

Despite being fiercely loyal to Mother Russia, he was rewarded by his homeland with a Gulag sentence. He spent 16 years in the Siberian labor camps, but against all odds, he survived to tell his tale.

He spent his last years writing and drawing, vowing, “I mustn’t even dare to die without giving my eyewitness testimony to the Soviet people.” He died in 1975. Today, Russian intelligence celebrates his feats but glosses over his torture and imprisonment.

📸 : S.S. Milashov

“This is what I do. I get people out. And I’ve never left anyone behind.”

On this day in 1940, a true American hero was born. Former CIA Chief of Disguise, Tony Mendez, would have turned 83 today. Mendez led the rescue of six American hostages from Iran, inspiring the Oscar-winning film “Argo."

📸 : Herald-Mail Media

“When they got into the service they were told, ‘Now you're going to use your language to develop a code.’ They said, ‘But, back at home they told us not to speak Navajo, and now they want us to develop a code in Navajo?’ So, they were not only astounded, they were puzzled why they would be asked to do this when they were in a school where their identity was being erased.” -Laura Tohe on SpyCast

*NEW* - “My Father the Navajo Code-Talker” – with Laura Tohe. Tohe joins Andrew Hammond to discuss the stories of the WWII Navajo Code Talkers. Laura is a Diné author and the Poet Laureate of the Navajo Nation.

Available at https://bit.ly/3FV8SBw, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Today in - On November 13, 1995 hosted the world premiere of , the 17th James Bond film, starring Pierce Brosnan as 007.

Learn more about pop culture's favorite spy in the License to Thrill exhibit, only at SPY.

📸 : James Bond 007

Today and every day, we honor the nation's veterans who selflessly answered the call to serve and protect, including the unsung men and women in the intelligence community (IC).

Thank you for your service.

Spying on us this Veterans Day weekend? All veterans, active duty, and retired military receive a discount on general admission tickets! Simply present a valid military ID to redeem discount (valid in-person or online). The Museum is OPEN with special holiday hours: Friday, November 10, 9 a.m. – 7 p.m., Saturday, November 11, 9 a.m. – 8 p.m.

NOTE: Holiday weekends can be busy at SPY. Guests may expect lines and a wait to enter the exhibit. We recommend advance ticket purchase.

34 years ago today: the fall of the Berlin Wall. The guarded concrete barrier both physically and ideologically divided Berlin, Germany. On November 9, 1989, East Germany opened its borders, allowing its citizens to travel freely to the West.

Explore the Spy Museum’s Berlin: City of Spies immersive exhibit and view two original segments of the Berlin Wall on display.

📸 : AP

Did you miss our most recent Spy Chat with Christopher P. Costa and Zamawang Almemar? Watch the recording of their conversation and see current news concerning intelligence, terrorism, and national security from their perspectives.

Almemar has over a decade of experience supporting Special Operations Forces in Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction as a Program Manager at the Department of Defense.

Costa is a former intelligence officer of 34 years with 25 of those in active duty in hot spots such as Panama, Bosnia, Afghanistan, and Iraq, is also a past Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counterterrorism on the National Security Council.

Virtual Spy Chat with Chris Costa | Special Guest: Zamawang Almemar Join us for an online discussion of the latest intelligence, national security, and terrorism issues in the news. Spy Museum Executive Director Chris Costa w...

*NEW* - “Agent of Betrayal, FBI Spy Robert Hanssen” – with CBS' Major Garrett and Friends. Andrew Hammond leads a SPY Museum panel discussion between four experts on the most damaging mole in FBI history, Robert Hanssen.

Listen now at https://bit.ly/3QNu8PT or wherever you get your podcasts.

Gary gets it.

📸 : Ellis Rosen

Today in - On November 4, 1952, the NSA was first established. This year marks the NSA's 71st birthday! 🎉

The organization was established by order of President Harry Truman and originally focused its efforts on code breaking in a post WWII era. Now, the agency focuses on on collecting and providing signals intelligence (SIGINT) to US military and lawmakers.

Go go! Don't miss the ONLY Trabant car rally in the US! The 17th Annual Parade of Trabants kicks off today at the Spy Museum from 10AM-4PM. 🚗

Drop in for a car show unlike any other and view the famous “cardboard” cars and other vintage Cold War autos, vans, scooters, and cycles all very far from their original homes. You can even vote on your favorite! The vintage vehicles will be parked around the Museum on L’Enfant Plaza, SW. https://bit.ly/3S4EHPq

"Check out a collection of vintage vehicles outside the Spy Museum during this 17th annual celebration, which also features live German music from the Alte Kameraden Band, plus chances to try Berlin Wall-style graffiti and try to cram into tiny spaces, as East Germans did when they were smuggled by car to West Berlin."

The Washington Post has intel on the coolest place to be this weekend. 👀

The 29 best things to do in D.C. this weekend and next week Enjoy fall with festivals and a bike ride, celebrate Diwali on the Mall, hear dozens of bands outdoors in Adams Morgan, or dive into food at the Smithsonian.

Tonight, the Spy Museum is lighting up teal with the Alzheimer's Foundation of America to help shine a light on . 💙

Over 50 million people worldwide live with or a related dementia. The Spy Museum is proud to host Spy With Me, our virtual program for individuals living with dementia and their care partners. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3P7qYWp

Join us on Thursday, November 9 at 12:00 PM ET for an online discussion of the latest intelligence, national security, and terrorism issues in the news.

Spy Museum Executive Director Chris Costa will lead the briefing. He will be joined by Elizabeth Sizeland, former UK Deputy National Security Adviser and Prime Minister’s Adviser on National Resilience and Security in the Cabinet Office.

Sizeland has accrued over 20 years of national-security experience in the UK government, and her areas of expertise include security strategy and policy, countering state threats, investment security, cybersecurity, national resilience, serious and organized crime, counterterrorism, and crisis response.

Following their discussion of key issues, you’ll be able to ask questions via our online platform.

Learn more and register: https://bit.ly/45MyPNW

It should come as no surprise that at the International Spy Museum, we take our Halloween disguises very, very seriously.

Happy Halloween from all of us at SPY! 🎃 🦇 👻

Who you gonna call? Spybusters! 🕵️ 🚫

Happy Halloween, agents! 🎃 Check out this an amazing - An Official FBI Spybusters Poster, circa. 1986.

*NEW* - Double Bill: “Former Head of Counter-terrorism Analysis, IDF” – with Shlomo Mofaz and “Former Head of Intelligence, Mossad” – with Zohar Palti. Col. (Ret.) Mofaz and Col (Ret.) Palti join Andrew Hammond to discuss their respective careers in the Israeli Defense Forces and the Mossad.

Listen now at https://bit.ly/3Mnp81R or wherever you get your podcasts.

Double Bill: “Former Head of Counter-terrorism Analysis, IDF” – with Shlomo Mofaz and “Former Head of Intelligence, Mossad” – with Zohar Palti Col. (Ret.) Shlomo Mofaz and Col (Ret.) Zohar Palti join Andrew Hammond to discuss their respective careers in the Israeli Defense Forces and the Mossad.

‘Twas the night before Halloween at the International Spy Museum...

The spies were all dressed in their finest attire,
Their costumes so clever, their wits so on fire.

The moon was full, the shadows were deep,
And the museum's halls were filled an eerie creep.

The exhibits were alive, their stories so rich,
Of espionage and intrigue, of secrets that twist.

The night was a thrill, the tension so high,
As the spies prepared for their mission to come nigh.

So if you ever find yourself in this place,
Be sure to look closely, for secrets are in every face.

📷: Jordan Lockner

Do you have what it takes to be a spy? Join us on Sunday, November 5, 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM ET for Girl Scout Day at the International Spy Museum! Test your troop's tradecraft abilities as you complete a TOP SECRET scavenger hunt throughout the Museum's galleries.

Upon completion of your mission, each Girl Scout will receive a special SPY fun patch to commemorate their accomplishment!

REGISTRATION INFORMATION: There is no special ticket for this event. You must purchase Museum admission for November 5th to attend the event. Museum admission tickets will include a special FUN PATCH and SCAVENGER HUNT for each Girl Scout attending.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/3QwF9EX