The Real-Life Russian Spies Who Inspired 'The Americans'

Podcast: Fresh Air (LS 81 · TOP 0.01% what is this?)Episode: The Real-Life Russian Spies Who Inspired 'The Americans'Pub date: 2025-04-16Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationIn The Illegals: Russia's Most Audacious Spies and Their Century-Long Mission to Infiltrate the West, journalist Shaun Walker shares how agents were trained to blend into a target country and posed as citizens. Walker tells the story of Andrei Olegovich Bezrukov, aka "Donald," and Elena Vavilova, aka "Tracey," who were embedded in Cambridge, Mass. until a 2010 FBI raid. Even their two children didn't know their parents' true identities. Also, jazz historian Kevin Whitehead pays tribute to versatile tenor saxophonist Gene Ammons.To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy PolicyThe podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from NPR, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.