Ep 240: Numbers Stations

All warfare is based on deception. There is no place where espionage is not used. Offer the enemy bait to lure him.
— 6th c. BCE Chinese military general, strategist, philosopher, and writer, Sun Tzu
 

Description:

Since antiquity, espionage and deceit have always been crucial weapons of warfare. As technology and strategy have advanced over the centuries, methods for governments to deliver information and orders to their secret agents in the field have become more sophisticated. Yet, one form of cryptic communication implemented in the early 20th century has proven ever effective and relatively simple. With the advent of wireless telegraphy combined with a cipher technique called a "One-time Pad," intelligence agencies have been sending coded messages to their undercover operatives abroad since World War I. It wasn't until shortwave and HAM radio enthusiasts started noticing eerie and enigmatic broadcasts of spoken series of numbers or strange electronic sounds that these coded communiqués aroused widespread curiosity during the height of the Cold War. Although the use of public airwaves for clandestine messaging seems to have declined in recent years, listeners can still hear these top-secret instructions delivered to unknown spies, perhaps even your neighbor. One can only wonder how these spooky transmissions saved or cost lives or what world-changing actions they triggered. Join us as we delve into the mysterious world of spycraft and Numbers Stations.

 
 
 

Location:

The UK Royal Air Force Base Akrotiri on the island country of Cyprus, where the MI6Lincolnshire Poacher” Numbers Station is believed to have broadcast from in the 1960s & 70s, after first originating at Bletchley Park.

 

Reference Links:

 

Related Books:

 

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CREDITS:

Episode 240: Numbers Stations. Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Audio Editing by Sarah Vorhees Wendel of VW Sound. Sound Design by Ryan McCullough; Tess Pfeifle, Producer, and Lead Researcher; Research Support from the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a.k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright 2022 Astonishing Legends Productions, LLC. All Rights Reserved.