Author of The Unexpected Spy
12:00 noon UK Time
Goldster Purpose, Passion, Grit
When Tracy Walder enrolled at the University of Southern California, she never thought that one day she would be recruited by the CIA. Or that she would fly to the Middle East under an alias identity. The Unexpected Spy is the riveting story of Walder's tenure in the CIA and, later, the FBI. In high- security, steel-walled rooms in Virginia, Tracy watched al-Qaeda members with drones as President Bush looked over her shoulder and CIA Director George Tenet brought her donuts. She tracked chemical terrorists and searched the world for Weapons of Mass Destruction. Driven to stop terrorism, Walder debriefed terrorists – men who swore they’d never speak to a woman – until they gave her leads. She followed trails through North Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, shutting down multiple chemical attacks. Then Walder moved to the FBI, where she worked in counterintelligence. In a single year, she helped taking down one of the most notorious foreign spies ever caught on American soil. Catching the bad guys wasn’t a problem in the FBI, but rampant sexism was. Walder left the FBI to teach young women, encouraging them to find a place in the FBI, CIA, State Department or the Senate – and, in that way, too, to change the world.
Hear Tracy’s story with Humphrey Hawksley on Goldster Purpose, Passion and Grit Tuesday Aril 18 th 2023 London time.
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