spy week

Meet the ‘Real-Life Q’ Who Builds Secret Spy Gadgets for a Living

I grew up watching James Bond films. My favorite part was always the same: the part where “Q” would outfit our hero with the latest in spy technology. Ralph Osterhout also grew up loving Bond — but he took it to the next level. He spent his life building real spy gadgets, for operators in…

Phèdre From Kushiel’s Dart Is The Greatest Courtesan-Spy In Epic Fantasy

Fantasy has lots of sex workers or courtesans who also work as spies — but for our money, the best is Phèdre nó Delaunay de Montrève, the hero of the first Kushiel trilogy by Jacqueline Carey. She thwarts a major conspiracy, stops an invasion, saves her country and avenges her master… with kinky sex. Top…

All the Tech We’ve Used to Intercept Every Kind Of Communication

Spy cameras are probably the most axiomatic gadgets when we talk about intelligence-gathering techniques. But intercepting and decoding messages is just as important as taking pictures. Here’s a look at all the devices spies have used to tap into voice, mail, phone, radio, morse, electronic messages, and other signals. This letter removal device was used…

A History of Internet Spying, Part I

In last year’s documentary Citizenfour, Edward Snowden said, “I remember what the internet was like before it was being watched.” Snowden is just 31 years old, so there’s simply no way this is true. Intelligence agencies have been keeping tabs on the internet since before Snowden was even born. They were instrumental in creating it.…

Why Are All The Best Spies British?

Kingsman: The Secret Service comes out this week, the latest in a long line of spy fiction featuring British secret agents. And that brings to mind the question of why so many of our most famous fictional spies are British. When you’re looking at a comprehensive list of the greatest fictional spies, it becomes apparent…

How You Can Track Every Spy Satellite In Orbit

Nobody should be surprised that spy satellites are kept secret. But it’s actually more complicated. The launches are aired, but with scheduled media blackouts. We get mission patches, but no details on the nature of the payload. But the weirdest thing is how easy it is to track these satellites. https://gizmodo.com/decoding-hidden-messages-in-those-geeky-spy-satellite-m-1671164600 Top image: The National…

Supercut Of Knight Rider‘s Sexytime Scenes Will Make You Uncomfortable

You probably don’t remember quite how skeevy David Hasselhoff could get on Knight Rider. So here’s a refresher course, compiled for you by the peeps at NBC.com and premiered exclusively at io9. As we mentioned before, NBC.com is posting full episodes of classic shows for free on their website and their app. And to promote…

Matthew Vaughn Explains The Problem With Modern-Day Spy Movies

This weekend Kingsman, the movie director Matthew Vaughn left the “800 million dollar gorilla” Days of Future Past to make, hits theaters. And with it come back the glory days of actually fun spy movies — something Vaughn thinks is sorely lacking in today’s culture. A few months back, after a very early screening of…

How to Turn Your Smartphone Into the Ultimate Spy Tool

You don’t need to be Bond to get your own spy gadgets. You’ve already got the ultimate spy tool in your pocket: a smartphone. And who would suspect you’re spying when you’re probably just texting a friend? Here are the apps and peripherals you need to take your phone on a covert mission without Q…

Which Fictional Spy Has the Best Cover?

One of the things that make fictional spies interesting characters is the tension between who they really are and who they are pretending to be. And how many lies they are telling. So who has the best deep cover? Tell us!

The Best Undercover Spy Is: The Manchurian Candidate‘s Mrs. Iselin

If you’ve seen a brainwashed secret agent in fiction recently, it probably owes a lot to The Manchurian Candidate, the Academy Award-winning 1962 film based on the novel by Richard Condon. As great as the film is, the greatest character in it is Angela Lansbury as Eleanor Iselin. For those of us who grew up…

First Official Footage From Spectre Has James Bond Fighting In the Alps

The 24th James Bond film’s first official behind-the-scenes footage has just been tweeted by the official account. And it looks like we’ll be getting the giant snow chase scene that is required of any Bond film that visits the Alps. There are cars on fire, gondolas, a modern building that looks like some sort of…

First Trailer For Guy Ritchie’s Man From UNCLE Is Stylish As Hell

As you might have expected, when Guy Ritchie takes on the iconic 1960s spy-fi series, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., the result is cool-looking, self-mocking, and full of funny action. At least, this first trailer makes the U.N.C.L.E. movie look like a total blast. In this new version of U.N.C.L.E., Henry Cavill (aka Superman) is Napoleon…

The Most Fascinating Spy Gear From The Spy Museum’s Archives

To celebrate all things espionage, Washington, DC’s very own International Spy Museum has rounded up their collection of completely wicked spy gadgetry and goodies. Behold the wonders of the pigeon cam! All captions and images are courtesy of the Spy Museum. THE BOND CAR, ASTON MARTIN DB5 The Aston Martin DB5 first appeared in the…

The Weirdest Spy Action Novels Ever Published

The “Men’s Adventure” novel is a strange thing. At the height of its popularity, in the late 60s and 70s, it was being written by dozens of peculiar and reclusive authors. But the influence of this weird genre is still felt today. Here’s the strange history of Mack Bolan and his many imitators. This whole…

Just in time for spy week: CIA veteran Lynn Boughey and International Spy Museum executive director Peter Earnest’s book Harry Potter and the Art of Spying, which analyzes the spy techniques in J.K. Rowling’s fantasy novels, is free today on Kindle.

Who Is the Best Spy in Fantasy Fiction?

As is traditional for io9 nights here during spy week, we’re following upthe essay on my pick for the best spy fiction within a category with a chance for you to have your say. Use the poll below or simply battle away in the comments — you’re giving all of us a bunch of new…

The Best Fantasy Spy Is: All of Drasnia From The Belgariad

Fictional spies aren’t restricted to stories in more modern times, filled with gadgets and acronyms. There are also spies in traditional sword and sorcery fantasy. Of all those creations, the best one is the entire country of Drasnia in David Eddings’ The Balgariadand its sequels, prequels, and side works. David Eddings’ books are designed to…

Peter Kuper’s Spy Vs. Spy Comics Are A Work Of Heart-Rending Brilliance

We’ve loved the Spy vs. Spy comics in Mad Magazine forever — but for the last 17+ years, they’ve been the work of comics superstar Peter Kuper. And Kuper’s take on the two dueling spies is anarchic, and wonderful to behold. Top image via School Library Journal In an interview with Time Out, Kuper was…

A Guide to the Not-So-Secret Spy Palaces of The World

Where do spies meet when they plan their secret missions? Often, they gather in buildings that look like giant fortresses that are anything but covert. Here are some of the most incredible spy palaces from around the world. At least — these are the ones we know about. The Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) is one…