The United States Central Intelligence Agency has launched a podcast.
The mission of The Langley Files: A CIA Podcast is to educate and connect with the general public, sharing insight into the Agency's core mission, capabilities, and agility as an intelligence leader…and to share some interesting stories along the way," they state. So far, the podcast reveals the tedium of the CIA's work, at least the work they're willing to share. From Variety:
"We do usually operate in the shadows, out of sight and out of mind," [CIA Director Bill] Burns said in the premiere. However, he continued, "in our democracy, where trust in institutions is in such short supply… it's important to try to explain ourselves the best we can and to demystify a little bit of what we do."
According to Burns, one of the biggest misconceptions people have about the CIA stems from Hollywood's depictions of intelligence field agents. Many people think CIA is a "glamorous world" of "heroic individuals who drive fast cars and defuse bombs and solve world crises all on their own" — a la Jason Bourne, James Bond and Jack Ryan. (Bond is a British spy, but you get the drift.) On the podcast, Burns shared that he drives a 2013 Subaru Outback "at posted speed limits."
(Thanks, Bob Pescovitz!)
