In this bonus from the United Security podcast, John Brennan tells Ken Wainstein about the lasting influence of his parents, and what life is like as a CIA analyst.
In the full episode, Brennan speaks with Ken about his 40-year career in intelligence, the national security implications of Trump’s refusal to concede the election, and his relationship with President-elect Biden.
This podcast is produced by CAFE Studios.
Tamara Sepper – Executive Producer; Adam Waller – Senior Editorial Producer; Nat Weiner — Audio Producer; Sam Ozer-Staton — Editorial Producer, David Kurlander — Editorial Producer.
Ken Wainstein:
And you talk in the book about life within the CIA and a related point that you make, I think is very interesting. And I think is something that all people should focus on, which is the sacrifice that is inherent in being an employee of the CIA. You alluded to one thing, which is that, especially for the operators in the CIA, you are trained to live a life of deception. And it’s very difficult to draw the line between your professional life and your personal life. I’m sure that causes problems for a lot of people, but also just the anonymity of your career, your work, you go to the wall at CIA, and the CIA heroes who’ve been killed in line of duty, their names are not on the wall, it’s just stars because their names are not public.
Ken Wainstein:
And you’re not allowed to talk about your work with your friends and your family. And that can put a screen on anybody and on families and the like, and you right about that. And I think, especially in this day and age where it’s in vogue in some quarters to talk derisively about deep state bureaucrats, especially as it relates to the intelligence community, can you just give us a minute about the depth of the sacrifice in those regards, that is made by a CIA personnel and what you did to help address the problems that come about because of that stress.
