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Audible subscribers can listen to all episodes of the Spy who ad free right now. Join Audible today by downloading the Audible app. February 2003. Natanz, Iran. UN weapons inspector Ollie Heyonen watches through the window as his car rumbles down a remote dirt towards a cluster of concrete buildings. He and his team work for the International Atomic Energy Agency, the watchdog charged with containing the spread of nuclear weapons. They're here following a tip off that this facility is enriching uranium as part of Iran's secret weapons program. Heinen is keeping an open mind. The tip came from a group opposed to Iran's theocratic regiment. It has every incentive to exaggerate its claims. It might even have been fed information by foreign intelligence agencies who also want change in Iran. But as they get closer, he sees anti aircraft missile batteries guarding the site and that sets alarm bells ringing. An Iranian guide leads them inside, down a corridor lined with photographs and diagrams for advanced centrifuges. It is designed to impress Iranian dignitaries and show them their money is being well spent. Then they enter a vast room where more than 160 centrifuges are spinning at speed and ranged in parallel cascades. The lines run far into the distance and the space is big enough to house a thousand centrifuges. Hainan takes a deep breath. The opposition group was right. His mission now is not to find out if Iran has a nuclear weapons program, but how it advanced so far. He turns to the guide. This is an impressive facility. When did construction start? Who helped you build it? About five years ago. We built it ourselves. There is information on the Internet. This is highly advanced technology. The designs are closely guarded. We have very competent scientists. Another inspector moves in for a closer look, then beckons Haynen over. This design's familiar. I've seen it before. Where? If I'm not mistaken, this resembles the Urenko centrifuge, built in the 70s. The same one Pakistan used for its weapons program. Yes. Then that means both men understand the terrifying implications. This means Iran is getting help from Pakistan. But Pakistan is a US ally in the war on terror, so if its government isn't behind this, someone with deep knowledge of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program is. There's only one man it could be. Dr. A Q Carter. And if he's selling nuclear secrets to Iran, he's probably selling them to others too. Heinen looks out across the huge room with hundreds of spinning centrifuges with space for a thousand more. He and his team got here a decade too late. Alice and Matt here from British Scandal. Matt, some news for you. British Scandal is going to Broadway. What? Sorry, not literally. I just mean we're taking it to the stage. Is this your festival? Crossed Wires, where all the UK's biggest podcasts do live shows across iconic venues in Sheffield between the 2nd and 5th of July. That was a beautiful read, Matt and I cordially invite you to our British Scandal live Show on Sunday, July 5th. And if we're doing the story I think we are, it is potentially one of the most ridiculous scandals we've ever told. So grab a ticket at Crossedwires Live. That's C R O S S E D Wires Live. You know that moment when you order food and suddenly everyone around you gets very interested in your dinner? Yeah. That's what GrubHub does. Gives you deals so good you' Gold. Days of grubhub plus is here. Four weeks of grubhub's best offers all month long in May, only for Grubhub plus members. And if you're not a member, you can sign up now for just 99 cents a month for six months. That's 90% off Grubhub plus membership, auto renews and terms apply. Sign up now on the app or@grubhub.com plus gold. Don't miss it. I'm Raza Jafre and this is the Spy who An Audible original. In the last episode, a Q Khan became a hero in Pakistan for giving the country nukes. Libya became his latest customer and the CIA recruited a mole inside his network. But as Khan's black market operation expands, the effort to stop him spreading nuclear weapons worldwide is intensifying. You're listening to the spy who sold nuclear secrets to Iran. This is episode three, Cargo of Doom. One month after the weapons inspection in Iran. March 2003, London, England. It's late evening and the riverside headquarters of the Secret Intelligence Service MI6 is a frenzy. Britain is about to invade Iraq as part of a US led coalition. The invasion is being justified by claims that Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein has or is developing weapons of mass destruction. And with war close, MI6 is monitoring the situation and laying the groundwork. An officer on the Libya desk is typing up an urgent report when his secure phone rings. He snatches up the receiver, wedges it between his shoulder and neck and keeps typing. Yes, speaking. He stops typing and focuses on the call. It's a Palestinian contact who serves as a back channel for communications between MI6 and the Libyan regime. Seriously, Colonel Gaddafi wants a meeting. For years, Libya's dictator has been A thorn in the west side and a bankroller of terrorism. But now, with America and its allies moving to force regime change in Iraq, Gaddafi must want to avoid becoming the next target. Tell him if he's serious and willing to discuss his weapons program, we're open to it. A week later, the desert just outside Sirt, Libya. Inside his thickly carpeted Bedouin tent, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi sits on a low sofa in traditional flowing robes. He holds out his hands and smiles as MI6's head of counterterrorism, Mark Allen, is ushered past his ring of female bodyguards. Welcome. I hope your journey was smooth. Gaddafi shakes Allen's hand. The Iraq war began a few hours ago with a barrage of air and missile strikes on Baghdad. The timing of the meeting is no coincidence. Gaddafi wants to reopen diplomatic channels as fast as possible. For too long, Libya and the west have regarded each other with suspicion. But now is the time for change. We wish to establish better, warmer relations. That will be welcome. But there is an issue that must be addressed first. Libya will have to give up its nuclear weapons program. Libya does not have nuclear weapons. Those weapons are a means of terrorizing humanity. With the greatest respect, Colonel, we know that Libya is seeking nuclear weapons capability. We also know you are getting help with that from outside Libya. Gaddafi's confidence wavers. If Britain really knows about his secret nuclear program, America will too. I am merely the guide of the Libyan people's revolution. About these matters, you should speak to my intelligence chief. Several weeks later, Washington, D.C. cIA officer Jim Lawler and his team sit opposite their MI6 counterparts. MI6 and the CIA have been at odds for years about when to move against Khan. The CIA wanted a complete picture of his nuclear network. First, Britain wanted to move sooner, but now the threat's too serious to hold back any longer. UN weapons inspectors have found direct links between Khan and Iran's nuclear program. And Lawler's got intel about Khan preparing a major shipment to Libya. Urs Tinna, our source at the Malaysian factory, says he's already sabotaged production, so it's really junk. But once the Libyans realize, Khan will investigate the problem. How are talks with the Libyans? Guy Gaddafi wants to come in from the cold. He's frightened he'll be next after Saddam. But he and his people are still denying having a nuclear weapons program. We need something he can't deny. We could push Urs to get details about the shipment. Now that we've recruited his brother and father too, we can't really refuse. Can he and his family be Trusted. What Urs has provided so far is checked out. The question's more what are they not giving us? Yup. There could be customers we don't know about. We've tracked Khan traveling repeatedly to Syria, which is why we now need to move. But it has to be a KO Take the whole network down in one go. So it can't be rebuilt. Khan will be difficult. He's a national hero in Pakistan. The government won't act against him unless we can force its hand. The tenors have worked closely with Khan for years. Maybe it's time to tease out whatever secrets they're still holding back from us. Three MONTHS later Vaduz, the capital of Liechtenstein. The tiny principality sandwiched between Switzerland and Austria. In a hotel suite, Lawler lays down the law to the tinners who arranged along the couch. This is how it works. You will remain here in this hotel for nine days. And during that time, we go through everything. Urs Tinner shares a nervous glance with his brother Marco and his father, Friedrich. They've spent years profiting from selling nuclear tech as part of Khan's network. Now their CIA informers. I want to know orders, shipments, suppliers, dates, routes, every document you kept. In return, we'll pay the three of you a total of $1 million. Marco sits up. We want the money placed offshore in an account in the British Virgin Islands. Okay. We'll create a false contact with the CIA front company. Payment will be wired once you revealed everything about your contact with Khan, his associates. And that includes full access to your records. Friedrich shifts in his seat. Our records are in Switzerland. We know. Which is why, while you're all here, we'll be searching your premises. I. I would prefer to be present. That's not in your interest. Cooperating with the Foreign Intelligence Service is a crime in Switzerland. If you're here, you can deny all knowledge. And to be clear, no search, no million dollars. Friedrich falls silent. Lawler knows he and his sons don't really have a choice. If they don't allow the search, it will confirm they are hiding something. A few days later, Switzerland. In the small Alpine village of Yenins, Lorla leads a CIA search team through the narrow, snowy streets until they reach the whitewashed house owned by Marco Tinner. One of the teen kneels at the front door, picking the lock, while Lorla and the other four keep watching. They're operating illegally on Swiss soil. Even the CIA station in Bern doesn't know they're here. If things go wrong, Langley will deny all knowledge. The door opens. Lola and four of the team head inside. While one keeps watch outside. The team creep through the empty house. In the office room, the team's technical expert powers up the desktop computer. He then unscrews its back panel, connects the exposed hard disk into a portable drive and starts downloading everything. In the living room, the team's lone female officer photographs documents spread across a coffee table. In the bedroom, Lorla checks the drawers and an inbuilt wardrobe. He finds nothing. He stands on his toes and runs a gloved hand along the top shelf of the wardrobe. Found you. He pulls down the object his fingers had discovered. A hidden laptop. He takes it to the technician downloading files in the office. Here, have a grag at this. One week later CIA Headquarters, Langley, Virginia In a secure room, Lawler briefs an MI6 counterpart on what Marco Tinner's computers revealed. So, yeah, the Tinners were holding back. And the situation's worse than we thought. We knew Kahn's network had two centrifuge designs in circulation, the P1 and P2. But there's a third, more advanced model we didn't know about. So Iran could be closer to a nuclear bomb than we think. Yeah. There's also a big discrepancy between the volume of material leaving the factories and the monies received. Meaning Khan's got a fourth customer we don't know about. The MI6 officer takes a moment to absorb the news. Until now, Britain and America thought Khan was only selling nuclear tech to Libya, Iran and North Korea. Any indication who the customer is? Not yet. The laptop also contained partial designs for two nuclear warheads. Christ. And these are digital. Yeah. And that laptop stood in Marco's house. It was an illegal search and we left everything as we found it to cover our tracks. The room falls silent in horror at the car network's blase handling of such dangerous documents. Digital files can be sent anywhere in seconds and copied and shared just as quickly. Khan's network needs to be stopped before its unknown fourth customer becomes a fifth or sixth. One month later August 2003 the Skomi Precision Engineering Factory Shah Alam, Malaysia Urs Tinna watches as rows of blue shirted workers prepare a shipment of 25,000 components to Libya. It's enough components to build a thousand centrifuges and turbocharged Libya's nuclear weapons program. But with the shipment almost ready, Furz is running out of time. The CIA is pressuring him to get copies of the shipping paperwork. But his boss, Buhari, said Abu Tahir is making that impossible. Ever since the Dubai Offices got searched. Tahir's stepped up security. Urs looks at the door to Tahir's office. He shuts it every time he makes a call. For all Urs knows, Tahir already suspected. Tahir finishes his call. Urs looks down and pretends to be working. Urs? Yes? AQ wants the invoice for the shipment faxed to him in Dubai. Can you take it to the office lady? Me? Yes, you. I don't want to go in astray. From out of nowhere, Urs has been given the opportunity he's been waiting for. The shipping invoice details the registration numbers of all the crates and the route they will take to Libya. Everything the CIA wants in his hands. But this could be a trap, he thinks on his feet as he approaches the office lady. Mr. Tahir wants this invoice faxed to Dr. Khan in Dubai. Urs stands behind her, watching as she slides the invoice into the machine. But before the pages feed through, he reaches past her and presses the copy button. Why are you copying? I told you to fax it. The woman stares at him but knows better than to argue with her bosses. Urs snatches up the copied pages, crumples them into a ball and tosses them into the bin. Now send it. Fact sent. Urs takes the original document and returns it to Tahir. Not now. He just needs to get the discarded copies from the bin without being noticed. That afternoon, the factory empties as Tahir and the rest of the workforce head to the mosque for prayers. And that leaves Oz alone and with a chance to retrieve the copied shipping invoice. He returns to the office room, heart hammering as he searches the bin by the fax machine. To his relief, the ball of paper is still there. His fingers shake as he smooths the pages, folds them and slides them into the inside pocket of his jacket. A few days later Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Just before dawn. From a vantage point, two CIA officers look down on the city's harbor. Below them, they can see five wooden crates, each about 40 foot long, being loaded onto a container ship. The shipping invoice Urs provided claims they contain agricultural machinery. In reality, they're full of centrifuge components from Kahn's factory. The CIA plans to track the shipment and turn it into proof of Libya's pursuit of nuclear weapons. As the crate is loaded, one of the CIA officers messages Langley to let them know the shipments on its way to Dubai. Two weeks LATER Langley, Virginia In CIA headquarters, an officer sips coffee while watching live spy satellite images of the Ship carrying Khan's cargo as it cuts through the Indian Ocean. A month later, the Jebel Ali Free Zone, Dubai. A CIA officer astride a motorbike watches as the five crates are unloaded from the ship and onto a waiting lorry. He follows the lorry as it rumbles through the docks before stopping at a nearby warehouse. The sign above the door reads the Ariash Trading Company. He stops further down the road and watches as Khan's crates are unloaded. He radios his team. Package has arrived, but we have eyes on. Two days later, Dubai. An MI6 officer keeps watch as Khan's crates are loaded onto a new cargo ship. This time it's a German registered vessel, the BBC China. Moments later, the ship departs. But MI6 and the CIA already know its next stop. The Libyan capital, Tripoli. Two weeks later, the Suez Canal. The captain of the BBC China stands on the bridge as the ship steers through the canal towards the Mediterranean. BBC China, this is Hamburg Operations. Over. The captain answers the dispatcher. This is BBC China. Go ahead. Over. A manager from the ship's owner wants to speak with you. Patching you through, Captain. After the canal you are to proceed to Toronto, Italy before continuing to Tripoli. Over. The captain surprised. Unplanned stops usually mean trouble. Mechanical failure, a medical emergency, even war. May I ask the reason? Over. No, these are your instructions. Understood? Over. Understood. Out. A few days later, the heel of Italy. Just after midnight, the BBC China docks in the naval zone of Toronto's port. The captain is greeted by Italian naval officers at the dockside. With them are several men in plain clothes who don't introduce themselves. The naval officers hand him a sheet of paper with the registration numbers of five containers. Captain, these crates are to be removed from your hold immediately. And do we wait for them to be returned? No, they are leaving the ship. No more questions. And neither you nor your crew must mention this to anyone. This stop did not happen. Half an hour later, inside a secure warehouse, the CIA nuclear weapons expert waits as the five crates pulled from the BBC China are prized open. It's the moment of truth. Inside these crates should be proof that Khan is supplying Libya with nuclear weapons technology. But until they see inside, they can't be sure. Bu Tina could have misled them or had been deceived himself. The first lid comes off to reveal custom cut foam packed tight around metal parts. The expert pushes it aside and lifts out a cylindrical object. A rotor assembly. This kind of steel is rare if it's for commercial use. Let's check the other crate in other crates they find frequency converters, magnetic bearings, vacuum pumps and other components. All parts for making centrifuges and proof of Libya's atomic ambitions. Eighteen HOURS LATER PORT OF Tripoli, Libya as the BBC China finishes unloading its cargo, the captain sees several uniformed Libyan military officials headed his way. Gentlemen. One official thrusts a document towards him. On it, he sees the registration numbers of the five crates that were seized in Italy. These crates were Were scheduled for delivery. Everything's been unloaded. We don't have them. Impossible. The paperwork says they are on your vessel. I don't know what to tell you. They're not on board. Perhaps they were never loaded in Dubai. You should speak to the shipping company. Soon after. Ehu Khan's Mansion Kahuta, Pakistan Khan picks up his phone and notices the caller is the head of Libya's nuclear program. Mohammed. Where is our shipment? The ship arrived without our equipment on board. That is unexpected. We paid you a lot of money. Don't worry. I will get to the bottom of it. Make sure you do. Khan stares at his phone. He checked the shipping invoice himself. The crates should be in Tripoli. The Libyans could be lying. But that makes no sense. They still need him and his network. And that leaves only one other explanation. Someone inside his operation has betrayed him. A few days later, October22,003. Dubai CIA mole Urs Tinna steps into the offices of SMB Computers, the front company run by Buhari Sayed Abu Dhahir. The place is deserted apart from Tahir, who's feeding documents into a shredder as fast as he can. He wanted to see me? Everyone at the warehouse swears the crates were loaded onto the ship. So what happened? Someone must have intercepted them. The British or the Americans. And they couldn't have done that without help. There's a spy in our operation. Why bring me all the way from Malaysia to Dubai to tell me this? Because you had access to the shipment only in the factory. Not after it leaves, let alone once it leaves Dubai. If I were the spy, the crates would never have reached Dubai. You always knew too much. So here. For all I know, you could be the spy. And now you're trying to pin it on me before AQ starts asking questions. Was that him? Aren't you going to answer? Not now. I need to find out who's leaking information. What about the people here in Dubai? The shipping company, the dock workers? What if one of them talked? They insist they loaded the crates onto the ship. But they could be lying. And there are a couple of Turks in the network. Who've come under pressure from their government. So what now? I'm going back to Malaysia. I need to speak to people there. And me? You stay here until AQ or I tell you otherwise. Later that month, the Libyan desert. Senior CIA officer Stephen Capes steps into the tent of the Libyan ruler, Colonel Gaddafi. His MI6 counterpart, Mark Allen, follows close behind. Colonel. Mr. Cappers. I did not expect to see you again so soon. Cappers is used to Gaddafi's denials and deflections. But this time he's got hard evidence to confront him with. He lets the silence stretch, then fires his first shot. A few days ago, we seized a shipment bound for Tripoli. Five crates, all containing centrifuge components for Libya's new nuclear weapons program. A program you said you were willing to halt. The shipment was arranged long before our conversations began. The people responsible do not know of our talks. Colonel, if these talks are to continue, you must renounce your nuclear program and all other WMD programs. And you need to do it publicly. Publicly? And if I do? Will America stand by its commitments? Yes. The President is a man of his word. But he will expect you to keep yours. If you don't, the consequences will be severe. We want to clean the file. But this public announcement. Colonel, we have your shipment. Hard proof of Libya's pursuit of nuclear weapons. You are a drowning man. I am the lifeguard. Let me save you. Gaddafi looks through the tent opening towards the darkness beyond the firelight. We will renounce these programs so the talks can continue. Capes nods in approval. MI6 officer Alan, who has remained silent until now, steps in. We also need information about your supplier. One month later A police station in Kuala Lumpur. Tahir sits at a metal table in an interview room. He's been here for two days and seen no one. Except for the two officers from Malaysia's Intelligence Service Special Branch who are sat facing him. When can I see my wife? Visits aren't permitted. There must be some misunderstanding. Tahir knows people. The Prime Minister's son invested in Khan's factory. If I could just make a call. You are charged under the Internal Security Act. You may be detained without trial indefinitely. The Ministry of Home affairs approved your detention. Suddenly it dawns on Tahir. His connections may be his downfall. Other people need protecting and he's the fall guy. The Special Branch officer notices the fear onto his face. Relax. There is another way. Then tell me. You need to tell us everything. About your boss, about his network and about your involvement in it. That's your only hope. I. I don't know much. I'm just a junior employee. Enough lies. We know enough to know when you are lying. Will you cooperate or not? It was my uncle. He introduced me to Khan. I hoped to learn about business from him. I didn't realize what the business was. Not. Not at first, anyway. Tahir knows he should say nothing, but the thought of prison terrifies him. The first time I was aware of what was going on was when he sold two centrifuges to Iran. I was there to serve tea. I had no idea what was going on until they did the deal. It was $3 million. And by the time he was working with Libya, I was in too deep. I knew too much. He'd have had me killed rather than let me leave. I knew the names of all the businessmen you've worked with. Every firm, every shipping agent. How the meetings were set up, how the money was moved. Most of all, we want to know about Khan. Yes, I understand. I can give you everything. A MONTH later the MARGALLA Hills, Islamabad Khan sits at his breakfast table, tucking into a chilli omelette. He's 67 years old and his gray hair is thinning at the temples. He looks at the gardener pruning the jasmine bush outside. It's shaped to resemble a mushroom cloud, but it's overgrown and needs attention, like his network. Ever since the Libyan shipment went missing, his operation has been in chaos. He sent emissaries to Dubai to burn records, told Iran to destroy evidence and done all he can to cover his tracks. But he can't control Gaddafi. Libya is now cooperating with the west and exposing his associates. He glances at the framed photograph on the wall. It shows him surrounded by adoring crowds, hailed as the father of Pakistan's bomb. The doorbell rings and one of Khan's servants answers. He's eating breakfast. Seconds later, armed officers from the isi, Pakistan's intelligence agency, march into the room. Khan leaps to his feet. What is the meaning of this intrusion? We are from the isi. You are being detained. Get your hands off me. Don't you know who I am? I am Abdul Khadir Khan. Don't you dare treat me this way. A Few weeks later, February 1, 2004 Islamabad Khan is marched by guards through the fortified heart of the ISI's headquarters. They take him to an interview room inside. Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf is waiting. Dr. Khan, what is this outrage? I am being treated like a common criminal. I am our country's savior. Without me, our country would be defenseless against India. Dr. Khan, please be quiet. You are here because I have seen the evidence. Evidence? That you have been trading Pakistan's nuclear secrets for your own personal gain. Who told you these lies? The Americans. They never wanted Pakistan or any other Islamic country to have nuclear weapons. I did what was right. You acted without authority, selling Pakistan's technology to whoever would pay you the most. That's not true. Your predecessor's aides told me to trade technology with Iran. They would tell you so were they not dead. Enough lies. You see this folder? There are many more. You have confessions from those who worked at Khan Research Laboratories. Details of false bank accounts in Dubai, stuffed with millions. And the letters you wrote yourself asking Iranian officials to dismantle the equipment you supplied. I. You're no hero. You abused your position and brought shame on Pakistan. Now you must face the consequences. Khan feels his body go limp. He grips the back of a chair to steady himself. The room spins. Please. Have mercy. Please. Three days later February 4, 2004 the Pakistan Television Corporation Islamabad In a studio, Khan sits at a desk facing the camera. ISI guards wait just out of shot. In front of him, a teleprompter displays the speech that Musharraf ordered him to give to the nation in exchange for mercy. Well, I've. In five, four. The words on the teleprompter begin to move in time with Khan's words. It is with the deepest sense of sorrow, anguish and regret that I have chosen to appear before you today to atone for some of the anguish and pain that has been suffered by the people of Pakistan on account of the extremely unfortunate event. Khan glances at the cameraman and registers the shock on his face. He knows that the same look will be replicated across the country as Pakistani men and women watch this broadcast. By the time he stops speaking, his humiliation and fall will be complete. I sincerely regret that my actions may have placed Pakistan in jeopardy. May Allah keep Pakistan safe and secure. As soon as the broadcast is finished, he has hustled from the studio back to his hillside mansion, which will now be his prison. From now on, he and his wife will live under guard. No travel, no interviews. No phone, no newspapers, no Internet. He knows his enemies will say he is a crook. A dangerous nuclear weapons salesman who escaped justice. But for Khan, this is the greatest injustice of all. He made Pakistan a nuclear power. He created the Islamic bomb. And now his reputation, his status and name have been publicly destroyed. A. Q Khan spent the rest of his life under varying degrees of house arrest in Islamabad. He died in 2021. Still revered by many in Pakistan, but viewed as history's most dangerous nuclear proliferator. Buhari Seyyid Abu Tahir spent four years in detention without trial in Malaysia. His testimony helped unravel a network across multiple continents. Urs Tinna and his family, the Swiss engineers recruited by the CIA, avoided jail after years of legal battles and plea bargains. Libya dismantled its new nuclear program, a move that briefly rehabilitated colonel Muammar Gaddafi on the world stage. He was violently overthrown and executed in 2011. Iran continues to deny the full extent of its dealings with Khan. The Khan Network's third customer, North Korea, carried out its first nuclear weapons test in 2006. The identity of Khan's suspected fourth customer has never been publicly confirmed. Next time on the Spy who, I'll be talking with Mad Dog himself, Jim Lawler, the CIA officer who helped close down Dr. A Q Khan's nuclear network and finding out what it takes to recruit an agent. Follow the Spy who On the Audible app or wherever you get your podcasts, you can listen to all episodes of the Spy who ad free by joining Audible. You have been listening to the Spy who, an Audible original. Have you got a spy story you'd like us to tell? Email your ideas to thespywhooudible.com a quick note about our dialogue we can't know everything that was said or done behind closed doors, particularly far back in history, but our scenes are written using the best available sources, so even if a scene or conversation has been recreated for dramatic effect, it's still based on biographical research. We use many sources in our research for this season, including Catherine Collins and Douglas France's books the Nuclear Jihadist and Fallout and Shopping for Bombs by Gordon Carrera. The Spy who is hosted by me, Raza Jafre. It's a Yellow Ant production. This episode was written by Lizzie Enfield and researched by Louise Byrne, with thanks to Inner Bruce, Dee Cook and Paula Richardson. The senior producer was Jay Priest. The sound designer was Joshua Morales. Music supervision by Scott Velasquez. For Fris? N Sink for Yellow Ant, the story editor and executive producer was Tristan Donovan. For Audible, the executive producers were Estelle Doyle and Theodora Leludis.
Podcast: The Spy Who
Hosts: Indira Varma and Raza Jaffrey
Date: May 12, 2026
In this gripping episode, hosts Indira Varma and Raza Jaffrey dive into the shadowy world of nuclear proliferation. The story centers on Dr. A.Q. Khan, the infamous “father of the Islamic bomb,” who sold nuclear secrets and centrifuge technology to Iran, Libya, and beyond. Through reconstructed scenes and firsthand accounts, the episode traces the international intelligence effort that finally brought down Khan’s sprawling black-market network at the dawn of the 2000s. Listeners are taken on a high-stakes, globe-spanning journey that uncovers the covert operations, betrayals, and fragile alliances pivotal in preventing nuclear catastrophe.
Episode 3, “Cargo of Doom,” offers a tense, comprehensive look at how intelligence agencies raced the clock to prevent nuclear disaster. By unraveling the threads of deception, betrayal, and international intrigue around A.Q. Khan’s network, the show highlights both the profound dangers of unchecked proliferation and the rarely-glimpsed human dynamics of the world’s shadow wars.
For listeners seeking a real-world spy thriller about nuclear secrets and the war to contain them, this episode is essential, illuminating, and truly riveting.