Secret Squirrel Files

It's episode nine, and the squirrels are digging into two Cold War cases. First, a quick case update: new court filings on the David Rush gold bars case, including an extended indictment deadline and a judge's ruling on flight risk. Then we head underground with Operation Monopoly — the FBI's decades-long, multimillion-dollar tunnel dug beneath the Soviet Embassy in Washington, D.C., a project so secret it was betrayed before it even started by FBI turncoat Robert Hanssen. We go beyond the espionage to look at the family Hanssen left behind: his wife Bonnie, their six children, and the decades of fallout from a betrayal that went far beyond national security. From there, we cross into the Ural Mountains for the Dyatlov Pass Incident: nine experienced hikers, a tent slashed open from the inside, and a death certificate that blames it all on an "unknown compelling force." Avalanches, infrasound, failed missile tests, and a decades-old nuclear cover-up all make their case — but sixty-plus years later, no single theory explains everything investigators found. Stay curious and stay cautious, because in a world of secrets, the truth always leaves a trail.

What happens when America's most closely guarded secrets fall into the wrong hands?In this episode of Secret Squirrel Files, Phoebe tells the incredible story of the USS Pueblo, a U.S. Navy intelligence ship captured by North Korea in 1968. With thousands of classified documents onboard and only minutes to destroy them, the crew faced impossible choices before spending nearly a year as prisoners of war.Then Katie explores one of the most consequential insider threat cases in modern history: Chelsea Manning. From Iraq to WikiLeaks, discover how one intelligence analyst's decision to leak hundreds of thousands of classified documents reshaped government cybersecurity, insider threat programs, and the way classified information is protected today.From Cold War espionage to the digital age, this episode examines two moments that forever changed American intelligence.

What connects a West Point cadet who vanished without a trace and a top-secret U.S. plan to hide hundreds of nuclear missiles beneath Greenland's ice?In this episode of The Secret Squirrel Files, we dive into two fascinating Cold War mysteries.Richard Cox remains the only West Point cadet known to have disappeared without a trace while attending the academy. More than 75 years later, his fate remains unknown. Was he murdered? Did he willingly disappear? Was he recruited into covert intelligence work? Or did Cold War espionage play a role?Then we travel to Greenland to uncover Project Iceworm, the classified U.S. Army proposal to construct a massive underground network capable of hiding hundreds of nuclear missiles beneath the Arctic ice. Publicly known as Camp Century, the facility was presented as a scientific research station while secretly testing one of the most ambitious military concepts of the Cold War. Ultimately, Mother Nature had other plans.If you enjoy espionage, military history, true crime, and Cold War secrets, subscribe for more episodes of The Secret Squirrel Files.

Did the military recover a mysterious acorn-shaped object from the woods of Pennsylvania in 1965—or was the Kecksburg Incident simply a meteor that became one of America's greatest UFO legends?In this episode of Secret Squirrel Files, Phoebe explores the decades-old mystery surrounding the Kecksburg UFO, examining eyewitness testimony, Project Blue Book records, government investigations, and the competing theories that continue to divide researchers more than 60 years later.Then Katie shifts from extraterrestrial mysteries to modern corporate espionage, breaking down the explosive legal battle between HR software companies Rippling and Deel. Allegations of undercover employees, secret Slack searches, insider threats, and a federal investigation raise important questions about how organizations protect sensitive information in the digital age.From Cold War intrigue to insider threats in Silicon Valley, this episode explores how secrecy, trust, and intelligence shape both history and today's workplace.Have a national security mystery, espionage case, or corporate scandal you'd like us to cover? Let us know!

A British weapons expert caught in a political firestorm. A German immigrant who became America's first double agent. In this episode of the Secret Squirrel Files, Katie and Phoebe explore the mysterious death of Dr. David Kelly and the remarkable story of William Sebold, whose work helped dismantle the largest Nazi spy ring ever uncovered in the United States. Two cases, decades apart, that reveal the human side of intelligence, espionage, and national security.

Dive into one of the most devastating espionage betrayals in American history — and one of the strangest unsolved disappearances tied to the military intelligence world. In this episode of Secret Squirrel Files, we unpack the shocking case of CIA officer Aldrich Ames, the Cold War double agent who sold out U.S. intelligence assets to the Soviet Union, compromising more than 100 operations and changing national security vetting forever. From financial red flags and polygraphs that should have failed, to the insider threat lessons that still shape security clearance policy today, this case reveals how one trusted insider caused catastrophic damage from within.Then, we shift to the eerie and unresolved disappearance of Army specialist Justin Burgwinkel. A young soldier fascinated by covert operations, Burgwinkel vanished in 1993 after exhibiting increasingly paranoid behavior, making cryptic references to “missions,” carrying a mysterious briefcase, and warning loved ones that if his dog tags were ever found, it meant he was dead. Was he suffering a psychological breakdown, fabricating a secret identity, or caught up in something far more dangerous?From Cold War espionage to unsolved military mysteries, this episode explores the blurry line between secrecy, paranoia, intelligence culture, and real-world consequences. 

This week on Secret Squirrel Files, Katie and Phoebe explore two terrorism cases that permanently reshaped national security, aviation safety, and America’s understanding of extremism. First, Katie unpacks Operation Bojinka — the terrifying 1995 terror plot that foreshadowed 9/11 and nearly brought down multiple commercial airliners over the Pacific. Then, Phoebe examines the Oklahoma City bombing and the radicalization of Timothy McVeigh, the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history at the time.The conversation dives into the warning signs investigators uncovered, the failures and vulnerabilities exposed by both attacks, and how these events transformed counterterrorism efforts in the United States. From aviation security protocols to the lasting effects of extremist ideology, this episode explores the real-world consequences of terror plots that still shape our lives today.⚠️ Listener discretion advised: this episode discusses terrorism, mass casualties, and violence involving children. 

Case 1: Operation Ghost Stories was a decade-long FBI counterintelligence investigation that culminated in the June 2010 arrest of 10 "deep-cover" Russian sleeper agents (or "illegals") in the U.S.. These agents, including Anna Chapman, lived in suburban neighborhoods with fake identities, attempting to gather information on U.S. policy for the SVR.Case 2: On September 25, 2000, life at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas, took a dark and unexpected turn. Eleven-year-old Christopher Aaron Morris was found dead inside a dishwasher in his home—an unsettling and tragic discovery that defied explanation. What followed was a case marked by confusion, lingering questions, and a deep sense that something wasn’t right. Years later, the mystery surrounding Christopher’s death continues to haunt those who have followed it.

Welcome to our first episode of Secret Squirrel Files, where national security meets the shadows of true crime.Case 1: A trusted U.S. Navy insider quietly fed America’s most sensitive secrets to the Soviets for years—but what made the John Walker spy ring truly devastating wasn’t just what he stole… it was who he brought in with him.Case 2: A brilliant scientist with access to some of America’s most sensitive space secrets thought he was selling information to a foreign power—but the real twist is who was on the other end of the deal.