Shiftheads - The Spy Who Built the Net He Was Caught In

Shane Hewitt and The Nightshift · Jun 25, 2026 · 19m

Soviet espionage during the Cold War was not paranoia. It was infrastructure, and Lee Kuhnle lays out exactly what that looked like from the inside. Kim Philby was recruited as a journalist in the 1930s, embedded himself in British intelligence from the ground floor, and then personally proposed and was handed control of the department responsible for monitoring Soviet activity in the West. He ran it while reporting everything back to Moscow.

Kuhnle explains why catching him took decades, why the evidence that finally pointed to him couldn't be used in court, and why British intelligence may…