The Billion Dollar Spy - David Hoffman

While getting into his car on the evening of February 16, 1978, the chief of the CIA's Moscow station was handed an envelope by an unknown Russian.
Its contents stunned the Americans: details of top secret Soviet research and development in military technology that was totally unknown to the United States.
From David Hoffman, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Dead Hand, comes the riveting story of the CIA's most valuable spy in the Soviet Union and an evocative portrait of the agency's Moscow station, an outpost of daring espionage in the last years of the Cold War. Drawing on previously secret documents obtained from the CIA, as well as interviews with participants, Hoffman will reveal how the depredations of the Soviet state motivated one man to master the craft of spying against his own nation until he was betrayed to the KGB by a disgruntled former CIA trainee.
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[@jaykay1053]

Hoffman has a wonderful KZbin channel on which he posts beautifully sensitive photos and little stories. A history buff, to me, he comes across to me as a generous man with his desire to include everyone in the experience. I think that’s why he is making sure to make eye contact with as many people as possible. I like his style of storytelling because his genuine passion for telling the story comes across so beautifully. What a wonderful interview. Thank you, David Hoffman, for your stories and interesting facts. You’re a wonderful storyteller. Cheers.

[@marilynrualzakhumthangi3583]

Oh!! Jonna Mendez is also here, asking questions!!! Oh wow!!😁😁

[@techiemomma887]

Right? That was cool.

[@ccolumbus21113]

No Way Bro?!? Send ny best regards, looking forward to our meeting… I have lost of cool stories to share 😈

[@krissy7342]

Thanks for your service, kind sir! Edit: the 9 “dislikes” are from KGB

[@daryljonesfoster4102]

God you're blessed with the beauty of an angel 😇

[@zf9069]

@@daryljonesfoster4102 u wacky

[@daryljonesfoster4102]

@@zf9069 you're a nobody . Go back to your cave

[@MJ-fj9yv]

Its SVR not KGB.

[@philbyd]

Great presentation, thanks for posting

[@jvgomez]

Thanks for this. Truly enjoyed it

[@abc_13579]

Fabulous video. Hoffman is a great speaker!

[@alswann2702]

Great story thanks!

[@chasepalumbo2929]

This is awesome, thanks.

[@James_Bowie]

A painting of Tolkachev by Kathy Krantz Fieramosca hangs in the CIA's Langley headquarters.

[@MJ-fj9yv]

Great, wonder if the picture had Lee Howard and his Jack in the box. You know, CIA’s massive screw up letting that one slip away with blood on his hands.

[@beltigussin81]

In telling the story of Tolkachev's wife's reaching out to the agency for help when she had cancer he left out something. She sent a letter describing her husband's work and sacrifice and asked for medical assistance. This was post Soviet collapse. The US response: Tolkachev? Never heard of him. Apparently there are limits to memory and gratitude

[@quantumfineartsandfossils2152]

if this is true we need to remember how disgustingly flawed all people are. Picasso was never actually a 'painter' he is single handedly responsible in many books papers fro destroying the arts because he was a narcissistic factory he was actually a bad illustrative painter and he stole from African art the Yoruba Masai etc ++ who have made far more sophisticated works he was a massive domestic abuser a 'painter 'of colonialist kitch a factory of shitty hotel art but his 'paintings' which are garbage and 'bad luck' are worth millions and millions of dollars he detested and brought women to ruin and pitted them against each other any article mentioning 'art' always uses him as an example 'picasso' is a massive clusterfuck way to see how the world is not rational even sapolsky refers to his Guernica when talking about terrorism not understanding how much damage he is doing by using a bad artist who savagely abused women as an example of anti war anti terrorist art when picasso was only a terrorist these are all facts but you might not see them so how can anyone see your facts either Dont justify that these organizations are the same as they were it is possible that with the advent of computers that for a long time now those who are live in living generations with climate change biometrics qm problems to worry about that these issues have been discussed as central to the survival of the species Does this mean exposing the bias flaws? yes let them do that but if they do pay attention dont invent a deep state and a pathology Does this mean we should expose picasso as a garbage artist? yes but we have to do that but maybe first we need to re establish the arts as central to all sciences and spying is no exception just as surkov

[@pinklady7184]

Agency might have suspected her of being impersonator posing as Tolkachev's wife.

[@lynnhauenstein4136]

@@pinklady7184 that's BS, Just US typical use and throw away. What could be lost in getting this wife medical treatment. Well we Americans have sorted can't trust any agency.

[@MJ-fj9yv]

@@pinklady7184 And? We pissed away trillions on wars they go nowhere. Couldn’t gamble verifying her? If she was fake, it would’ve been good propaganda that US cares.

[@916Pashok]

That's CIA for you...they will betray you if it profits them

[@jeanhawken4482]

Shame on the system for not caring more about the man and his family. The greed.

[@MJ-fj9yv]

Its not the system, it the leaders, the people elected and appointed. Blaming it on the system is avoidance. Every American is responsible for his tragedy. It was OUR system.

[@MJ-fj9yv]

@@topherthe11th23 leaders represent country as a whole not segments. You broke it you own it.

[@titaniumdiveknife]

Awesome work

[@thegatestoavalon]

l couldn't put the book down, a really fantastic book.

[@parkers3280]

Jonna Mendez is in the audience what a badass

[@KevinConlon69]

I saw that too. She acted like just another person asking a question.

[@MrWonszBoa]

Great lecture and a great book. thanks!

[@lallen4999]

God Bless that man

[@simonboland]

The book is a masterpiece. It's a great read.

[@Teekles]

48-0 air superiority record....damn USA, get it!

[@johnbaugh2437]

Great book!

[@thegatestoavalon]

l shouldn't watch this, l am actually reading the book at the moment.

[@bertiballermann5812]

With so many attempts to contact the CIA station chief out in the open while so many KGB agents followed them, how did these first contacts remain undetected?

[@DanNguyen-xd6wg]

To find more about Jack in the box trick. Search for The Moscow Rules by Antonio and Jonna Mendez. Husband and wife who worked for CIA.

[@ninirema4532]

very great gentleman very goodnoon and good luck super interesting lecture.🌍🌋🐷

[@MJ-fj9yv]

Adolf was a pragmatist, knew he was going to die sooner or later. Thanks to CIA bureaucrats and lack of empathy used him up. Seems very similar to Iraq and Afghanistan, people left to fend for themselves after the ride is over.

[@markschafer509]

Mr Interviewer, please just let your guest talk. Your questions and comments just interrupt the flow of his story.

[@lydia55ification]

ya hush ---stop crowing what you know n let the guy tell his story

[@techiemomma887]

Actually, this is the one time I think his questions were on point. There are other interviews where he does half or more of the talking.

[@cahuenga8153]

@@lydia55ification !

[@obcl8569]

Scrolling through comments for anyone else that was a tad bothered by the interviewer - He seemed arrogant to the point it became blatant he felt intimidated & was reacting to his own feelings of inadequacy. GTFO with "i have to give you credit...this was maybe in the top couple of layperson attempts to explain tradecraft" LMAO. WHO IS THIS DUDE?

[@MJ-fj9yv]

Interviewer is tone deaf.

[@patrickvitori3467]

I remember Jonna Mendez talking about the JIB method

[@MJ-fj9yv]

An excellent method, as successfully employed by Edward Lee to make the CIA look stupid.

[@kevkeary4700]

That is a really sad story actuallly.

[@MJ-fj9yv]

Agree, Adolf was a pragmatist knew he didn’t have long. Gave the greedy west all he could, in the end they let one of their drunk trainees end his life.

[@giuseppenero110]

Mr Rogers talks to his audience

[@DanielFlores-hn9bd]

Great friend of mine

[@rfa8966]

Seems to me the CIA in its pathetic handling of Howard cost a man his life! What a shame and tragedy. That's what stands out for me.

[@christine6059]

You might want to read his book for a deeper understanding. There seemed to be nothing “pathetic” in the CIA’s handling of Howard. He was an inadequate agent with a drinking problem and needed to go. He wasn’t summarily “fired.” He was given a cover story for his departure.

[@MJ-fj9yv]

Read the book, and CIA is still screwed up. Howard complained ceaselessly about his firing, didn’t care anything about the bs CIA cover. He was a ticking bomb, CIA let him explode. Look up Yurchenko, another CIA hilarity in action.

[@DanielFlores-hn9bd]

Let’s get the “great ayolla of iran!! “.. him and I were discussing missile trajectory online just 2 weeks ago for his nuclear program!!

[@xdude57]

Tells you everything you want to know about how cia treats its sources and their families .

[@icarustheother8591]

That's a lot of batteries. Make sure there's no Gatorade involved and I think everything should be okay watch out for that though according to your previous video. Go get some 🇺🇸

[@roymaduro571]

I see a big difference in the US spies and the Soviets, one for money and the other as a principle

[@DanielFlores-hn9bd]

Thanks David Hoffman ur super awsoem I’m unarmed.. u can arrest me if needed

[@vmatthews9437]

Hoff's audio's terrible, irritating ! ====== Matts'

[@DanielFlores-hn9bd]

I got no gun

[@Hillbilly_Encryption]

fidgety

[@thevinenetwork]

His body language is so incredibly uncomfortable and he is very nervous. I suspect there are reasons for that.

[@pinklady7184]

His eyes moving look like they are sweeping the room for bugs. Lol. He must be looking for spies inside audience, detecting any in guises.

[@pinklady7184]

Dewayne Allday There are good and evil everywhere. Rogue politicians are numerous in every government too, while the upright ones with moral conscience are few. I notice that Chinese have been stealing *TONS* of intellectual properties from around the world, many from even NASA. . They (or sources) are easily getting their claws on them and also the classified files from overseas military. What's very shocking are the spies' children in USA learning to spy for Russia and China. That is actually happening now.

[@pinklady7184]

Dewayne Allday I do believe that China and Russia are working together. I even believe that Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin are playing each other for fools. I have a stinking feeling that most computers in the west are *hackable* to spies from outside. Through internet, they must be able to see everything inside computers belonging to CIA, FBI, NASA, military, tech corporations, etc, even KZbin. For some works like engineering, it would be much safer to *switch off modem* and *work offline.*

[@pinklady7184]

Dewayne Allday No worries. Your comments get deleted probably by A.I. inside KZbin, namely if you write comments with keywords or key phrases that get picked up by A.I. So, that is why I use symbols in my spellings so to deter detection and deletion by A.I. For example, I write $h!t. I used to love watching war documentaries on TV, long time ago. Now I have other interests like math puzzles. I cannot understand how most of humanity can be so vile, greedy and corrupt. Greed is sickening. Same with materialism.

[@pinklady7184]

Dewayne Allday I treat math puzzles as a hobby and I prefer them to boring crosswords. I hope you didn't fall victim to honeytrap. Tight morals have never gotten anybody into trouble, whereas vices have their social costs.

[@icarustheother8591]

Jonna know what I mean 😘

[@MartinBohun]

"On 27 March 1999, during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, a Yugoslav army unit shot down an F-117 Nighthawk stealth aircraft ..." - so much for the "useless" Russian radars and "great" US "stealth" :-)

[@MrBoreray]

'Stealth' does not mean invisable, reduced radar signature would be more apt,at certain angles a stealth aircraft does almost have a full signature,one swallow does not make a summer,...oh and congratulations on your valiant attempt at concealing an abject hatred of the free world which I notice doesn't extend to the use of it's technology,developments and equipment,everything,EVERYTHING the Russians have in technology was basically stolen or copied from the 'west' not because they couldn't do it for themselves but because their system was corrupt to the core,intellectual property rights don't exist there, you invent something in Russia it belongs to the state and you don't have a choice but you already knew that anyway.

[@baobo67]

@@MrBoreray Well replied. Maybe he is just a confused triple agent.

[@jimrawls5509]

@@MrBoreray Spot on. The same can be said for the Chinese

[@jerseywalcott6408]

Roll around in the hay for a long time and you will eventually find a needle 💉

[@Green-zw9pv]

If a book goes through filters before being allowed to be published, whats the point of it anyway? What good does it have?

[@James_Bowie]

That's the process. If it isn't cleared the publishers won't handle it. However, it's usually an adversarial process thus the author and publisher need to be ready to fight for their book. More than one has taken their case to the Supreme Court.

[@Green-zw9pv]

James Bowie // totalitarian censorship basically. The one in the west maybe a softer version.

[@ninirema4532]

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🌼🌼🌻🌻🌈🥦🥬👆🌈👌

[@buildmotosykletist1987]

He brushes off 'Fischer' but Fischer totally debunked Hoffman's story. Hoffman's story makes for good fiction based on actual events though.

[@nobletarabas1]

Oh wow...... Never saw such a nervous bundle during the introduction 😵🥴🤪 and he was a spy! Seriously?!? 😏😒 1 minute in and I am done with him!

[@giuseppenero110]

Not the spy, just the author of the book...but you made the right decision anyway

[@nobletarabas1]

@@giuseppenero110 Mile grazie Giuseppe! 😊

[@pierina1705]

He is the author

[@josephineyoung2616]

His truly brilliant

[@pinklady7184]

Spies in danger always get panicky or paranoid. You don't know insecurity, until you detect dangers in your proximity. If you are a spy being followed by spies or a criminal followed by police, think what insecurity feels.