Review: Why Does the CIA Need a Podcast?

When not spying on Americans or plotting the overthrow of [REDACTED], the CIA has been branching out into online content. The Langley Files is an interview-style podcast produced in-house for the CIA’s 75th anniversary. Episodes run under 30 minutes and are hosted by Dee and Walter—who, true to form, go only by possibly pseudonymous first names.

CIA Director Bill Burns, the first episode guest, hopes the show will “demystify” the famously opaque agency. He draws a contrast between Hollywood spy movies and the actual “dedication” and “teamwork” of real-world spying. Career spies laud the agency’s diversity and plug its YouTube channel.

The podcast is an obvious P.R. effort. When Burns worries that “trust in institutions i