Dec 16, 2020
Want to support the show? Visit conversationswithtyler.com/donate.
Growing up in a working-class city in New Jersey, John Brennan’s father was an Irish immigrant who always impressed upon his children how grateful they should be to be American citizens. That deeply-instilled patriotism and the sense of right and wrong emphasized by his Catholic upbringing would lead John first to become an intelligence officer and then eventually Director of the CIA. His new memoir, which Tyler found substantive on every page, recounts that career journey.
John joined Tyler to discuss what working in intelligence taught
him about people’s motivations, how his Catholic upbringing
prepared him for working in intelligence, the similarities between
working at the CIA and entering the priesthood, his ability to
synthetize information from disparate sources, his assessment on
the possibility of alien life, the efficacy of personality tests
and polygraphs, why CIA agents are so punctual, how the CIA plans
to remain a competitive recruiter for top talent, the challenges
that spouses and family members of intelligence workers face, the
impact of modern technology on spycraft, why he doesn’t support the
use of enhanced interrogation techniques, his favorite parts of
Cairo, the pros and cons of the recent Middle Eastern peace deal
brokered by Jared Kushner, the reasons he thinks we should leverage
American culture more abroad, JFK conspiracy theories, why there
seemed to be much less foreign interference in the 2020 election
than experts predicted, what John le Carré got right about being a
spy, why most spies aren’t like James Bond, what he would change
about FISA courts, and more.
Follow us on Twitter and IG: @cowenconvos
Email: cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu
Follow John on Twitter
Follow Tyler on Twitter