Today’s guest is David McCloskey — former CIA analyst, bestselling author, and co-host of the hit podcast The Rest is Classified.

Before becoming a novelist, David served at the Central Intelligence Agency where he wrote for the President’s Daily Brief, testified before Congressional oversight committees, and briefed senior White House officials, ambassadors, and military leaders. He spent years stationed across the Middle East during the Arab Spring and later worked in the CIA’s Counterterrorism Center focused on the conflicts in Syria and Iraq.

David’s acclaimed thrillers — DAMASCUS STATION, MOSCOW X, THE SEVENTH FLOOR, and THE PERSIAN — have established him as one of the most authentic new voices in modern espionage fiction. Damascus Station was a finalist for the 2022 International Thriller Writer’s Award for Best First Novel and is currently in development for television. His latest release, The Persian, takes readers deep into a shadow war in Iran and follows a dentist living in Sweden who builds an international front to conceal a covert operation.

In this episode, Jack and David discuss the inspiration behind The Persian, the real-world dynamics of the intelligence community, and the meticulous craft of writing espionage fiction rooted in truth. They talk about the creation of The Rest is Classified — a top-charting podcast exploring untold spy stories, manhunts, and historical intrigue.

David also shares insights into the writing process, balancing podcasting with novel deadlines, the surprising bureaucracy of the intelligence world — past and present — and a humorous story of running into Ben Affleck at Langley during research for Argo.