International Spy Museum

05/22/2026

Is it just us, or does it smell like espionage in here?

05/21/2026

New SpyCast episode!

In 1947, a new civilian intelligence agency, the CIA, was established. A series of failures, however, undermined its credibility. The White House and Congress pushed back, and a new mission emerged to recruit Ivy League professors with unique analytical skills. Leaving the so-called Ivory Tower, these academics introduced new ways of thinking about national security, helping the United States navigate the complexities of the Cold War. Within a year, their analysis transformed the agency and helped solidify the CIA’s role in U.S. intelligence. Political scientist Peter Grace, author of “The Intelligence Intellectuals,” joins SpyCast host Sasha Ingber to discuss how these scholars shaped the agency.

Watch here: https://youtu.be/mPhbq69K3tY

Listen here: https://bit.ly/3RiuEYR

05/20/2026

Camouflage is designed to deceive. You won't be the same after you visit either.

Learn more about our new exhibit: https://bit.ly/4uqCrCy

05/18/2026

Watch the full SpyCast episode with Tony Shaffer: https://youtu.be/lnMh1CcKtUc

05/15/2026

SHH…we’ve got a secret to share. 👀

We've just launched the Secret History of History (SHH) Walking Tour, a free, app‑based, self‑guided adventure through 250 years of real spy stories hidden in plain sight across Washington, DC.

Start your mission outside the International Spy Museum and follow the one‑mile route to uncover espionage sites and see the city through a spy's eyes. Perfect for curious minds ages 9+, solo explorers, families, and anyone ready to get outside and spy.

📍 Starts at the Spy Museum
🚶‍♂️ About 1 mile, ~1 hour
🎧 Bring a device + headphones
🌐 Free on our app:
Apple Store: https://apple.co/4dswWNv
Google Play Store: https://bit.ly/4daLeB0

Your mission awaits. 🕵️‍♀️✨

05/14/2026

New SpyCast episode!

It’s 1864, and the Confederacy is losing the Civil War. A group of spies and saboteurs has set up a base in Montreal, Canada. Today, we would call this a sanctuary or safe haven. Canada would become home to several infamous Confederate missions, many of which inspired Tim Wendel's historical fiction masterpiece, Rebel Falls. Though the tales are fictional, they are grounded in real-life stories from history. Guest host Dr Mark Jacobson sits down with Tim Wendel as he takes us across the border into the world of Civil War espionage.

Watch here: https://youtu.be/1zI5AxZ_mJ8

Listen: https://www.spymuseum.org/podcast/

05/14/2026

Tomorrow marks one year since we launched our first online exhibition, "Open Source: Ukraine and the Intelligence Revolution." View the exhibit: https://osint.spymuseum.org/

Since then, thousands have explored how publicly available data, from social media posts to flight logs, are transforming modern intelligence collection. As the conflict in Ukraine continues to shape global security, this digital exhibition remains a powerful window into the role open source information plays in uncovering truth and shaping battlefields in real time.

05/14/2026

There's still time to join today's Spy Chat at 12:00 PM EST!

Watch here: https://bit.ly/4uCPSPi

Listen to an online discussion of the latest intelligence, national security, and terrorism issues in the news. Spy Museum Executive Director Chris Costa will lead the briefing. Costa, a former intelligence officer of 34 years and former Senior Director for Counterterrorism on the NSC. He will be joined by Elliot Ackerman, a decorated former Marine and CIA veteran as well as an award-winning author, who served five tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he received the Silver Star, the Bronze Star for Valor, and the Purple Heart.

Following their discussion of key issues, you’ll be able to ask questions via our online platform.

Join us for an online discussion of the latest intelligence, national security, and terrorism issues in the news. Spy Museum Executive Director Chris Costa will lead the briefing. Costa, a former intelligence officer of 34 years with 25 of those in active…

05/12/2026

Not all pens are made for writing. This one was built for assassinations. Straight from our SPY Vault, this poison‑needled pen was confiscated from a would‑be North Korean assassin.

05/11/2026

Watch the full episode of Spy Cast with Palmer Luckey. https://youtu.be/zuzDqKoDRrs

05/10/2026

This Mother’s Day, we turn our focus to mothers who served in the world of espionage.

Odette Sansom, a French-born mother of three, worked undercover for the British Special Operations Executive during the Second World War. Captured by the Gestapo and sent to Ravensbrück concentration camp, she endured imprisonment and relentless interrogation without betraying her fellow agents. Her courage saved lives, and she later accepted the George Cross in honor of those who did not survive.

Elizebeth Smith Friedman, known as America’s first female cryptanalyst, balanced motherhood with groundbreaking intelligence work that shaped modern codebreaking. While raising her children, she cracked thousands of enemy codes during Prohibition and WWII using little more than pencil and paper. Her contributions helped dismantle spy networks and safeguard Allied operations.

Ursula Kuczynski, code-named “Sonya,” was a German-born Soviet intelligence officer and mother of three who ran espionage networks across Europe during WWII. While living in England, she served as a key conduit for classified atomic weapons information, transmitting intelligence from physicist Klaus Fuchs and others working on Allied nuclear research to Moscow. Often using domestic life as her cover, she carried out some of the war’s most consequential intelligence work before later becoming a writer under the pen name Ruth Werner.