Secrets and Spies Podcast: Espionage | Global Issues | Current Affairs

How Russia Protects its Nuclear Submarines | Florian Flade

Secrets and Spies Podcast: Espionage | Global Issues | Current Affairs

Show Notes

Investigative journalist Florian Flade returns to discuss Russia's Harmony Undersea Surveillance System, a project aimed at protecting its nuclear submarine fleet. Florian and Chris cover the international collaboration involved in Florian’s investigation, the strategic importance of the Harmony system, and the challenges of reporting on sensitive military topics. Florian also highlights the broader implications of Russia's military activities in the Arctic and the ongoing efforts to counteract Russian procurement networks for Western technology.

Subscribe and share to stay ahead in the world of intelligence, global issues, and current affairs.

Follow Florian’s blog and connect on social media

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/florianflade.bsky.social X: https://x.com/FlorianFlade Blog: https://ojihad.wordpress.com/

Florian’s reporting discussed in the episode

https://www.tagesschau.de/investigativ/ndr-wdr/russland-harmonie-unterwasser-spaehsystem-atomwaffen-100.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/10/23/russia-nuclear-subs-western-technology-surevillance/ https://www.icij.org/investigations/russia-archive/russia-secretly-acquired-western-technology-to-protect-its-nuclear-submarine-fleet/ Please share this episode using these links

Audio: https://pod.fo/e/384e23 YouTube: https://youtu.be/v39OOtkflhI Support Secrets and Spies

Become a “Friend of the Podcast” on Patreon for £3/$4: https://www.patreon.com/SecretsAndSpies Buy merchandise from our shop: https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/60934996 Buy us a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/secretsandspies Subscribe to our YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDVB23lrHr3KFeXq4VU36dg For more information about the podcast, check out our website: https://secretsandspiespodcast.com

Connect with us on social media

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/secretsandspies.bsky.social Instagram: https://instagram.com/secretsandspies Facebook: https://facebook.com/secretsandspies Spoutible: https://spoutible.com/SecretsAndSpies

Follow Chris and Matt on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/chriscarrfilm.bsky.social https://bsky.app/profile/mattfulton.net

Secrets and Spies is produced by F & P LTD. Music by Andrew R. Bird Secrets and Spies sits at the intersection of intelligence, covert action, real-world espionage, and broader geopolitics in a way that is digestible but serious. Hosted by filmmaker Chris Carr and writer Matt Fulton, each episode examines the very topics that real intelligence officers and analysts consider on a daily basis through the lens of global events and geopolitics, featuring expert insights from former spies, authors, and journalists.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

More from Secrets and Spies Podcast: Espionage | Global Issues | Current Affairs

Oct 18, 2026

Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Joby Warrick covered national security for the Washington Post for nearly three decades. In his new book, The Jackal, he turns to Ilich Ramírez Sánchez—Carlos the Jackal—the Venezuelan who in the 1970s and '80s was the most famous terrorist in the world.

Oct 16, 2026

A quick programming note: this weekend’s episode will be out on Sunday, October 18, rather than our usual Saturday release. We’re taking an extra day in the edit on Matt’s conversation with national security reporter Joby Warrick about Carlos the Jackal, the Venezuelan-born militant who became one of the Cold War’s most wanted men. Thanks for your patience, and we’ll see you Sunday.

Oct 10, 2026

Chris and Matt break down the week's biggest intelligence and geopolitical stories: what really happened at RAF Fairford, the intelligence failure behind the FlyDubai hijacking, allegations of treason against a former BND chief, and a major data leak at the FBI.

Oct 3, 2026

Sam Lichtenstein, director of analysis at the global risk intelligence firm RANE, returns to walk Chris through RANE's 2025–2035 decade forecast: a multipolar world in which no great power has the will or the means to set the rules.

Sep 26, 2026

Every week, Russia’s Security Council publishes a digest of world events that, journalist Dave Troy argues, reveals more about the Kremlin’s worldview than objective reality. In conversation with Chris, Troy explains how Moscow sees the war in Ukraine as part of a broader struggle over the global order—and how it seeks to export that worldview through proxies, information warfare, conspiracy theories, and ideas about sovereignty.

See all episodes →