KGB agent explains recruitment process | Jack Barsky and Lex Fridman
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 12 มิ.ย. 2024
- Lex Fridman Podcast full episode: • Jack Barsky: KGB Spy |...
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GUEST BIO:
Jack Barsky is a former KGB spy and author of "Deep Undercover: My Secret Life and Tangled Allegiances as a KGB Spy in America".
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Imagine the guys that didn't get caught. The stories they will never tell.
We hardly know anything. Bits and pieces from history. Some whistleblowers. That's it.
@M J Faulkner Actually, intelligence agencies are intentionally compartmentalized so that when one block becomes compromised, the entire structure doesn’t collapse.
@M J Faulkner ya that war on drugs is going great😂🤦♂️
Google hasn't been caught yet
@M J Faulkner did you not get the analogy that he responding to? Can you read?
When he died laughing after lex said how do you know that I’m not a secret agent, it caused a genuine lol out of me
He’s mossad he is an agent
And concern 😟
He is an agent but for Israel not Russia.
@@jongriggs6622 no he is double agent
@@jongriggs6622 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 good one
While watching the podcast, he legitimately felt like a well meaning uncle telling a mundane story. it made me drop my guard. THIS GUYS IS GOOD, even after retired, you just like talking to him.
Lex is seriously on his way to becoming a legendary interviewer with interviews like this. Great stuff(as always).
In my opinion Lex's podcast has high quality guests. His interviewing skills don't need to be legendary. Lex is knowledgeable and appears to quickly grasp complex concepts that his guests are known for, and that is what makes the podcast work.
@@user-zd3ts4yj8r I agree with you. In this clip alone I asked why he was interrupting the guest like 15 times....
Both of these dudes work for the same guy 😆
@@chaffeecityusa1129 ?
Raise your standards please, kind sturgeon.
I love listening to two spies talking to each other
Read Susan Lindauer's book: *Extreme Prejudice* where she details her work as the primary CIA backchannel to Iraq in 2001. Susan Lindauer was one of the first people indicted under The Patriot Act. She was held in military prison and went 5 years without trial. Since her release, she has made numerous appearances in the independent media as a 9/11 whistleblower exposing US pre-war intelligence about WMDs, Terrorism, and Iraq's full diplomatic cooperation on all fronts. If you think this KGB interview was deep stuff, I refer you Susan's 2011 speech outlining her role in peace negotiations to help lift economic sanctions- and the consequences she faced for revealing that American and Israeli intelligence knew exactly what was coming on 9/11. She takes 30 minutes of live audience questions at the end. Now THAT'S some good spy stuff.
th-cam.com/video/sVh5BghIqL8/w-d-xo.html
@@rfrakctured okay I will now thanks
@@rfrakcturedmuch appreciated
Just found you yesterday Lex and have already seen so many of your videos. Love your style unique and different and overall original; a true breath of fresh air.
As a student in South Africa many years ago, there were all kinds of informers. I had nothing to hide but we all had a 6th sense about random acquaintances. Anyone too friendly for no reason, asking about your hobbies etc. Normal people are too full of themselves to be that interested. I despise these skunks in any country.
"Normal people are too full of themselves to be that interested" word on.
That is a pretty cynical take on people, and even implies a pretty toxic type of environment to be in, that someone asking you about your hobbies is suspicious lol
@@petecabrina Not cynical, but I have become good at picking out phonies. I respect honesty.
@@petecabrina Of course this was late 1960's. There was this posh english guy, dressed all arty, used to know all the english sounding students on the campus ( university of of Cape Town) I thought he was ok, bit of a nerd. Many years later a friend told me this guy was a skunk. Many British agents in South Africa too, one did a bad thing to a girl I knew, but that's another story.
@@johnburman966 dodgy posh English guy is enough for me, most of them are full of sh*t. So why were they scouring campuses for info back then?
Only lex can call 40+min a “clip” ❤️
Well its less than 40 minutes so
@@torchtitan7108 literally 1min less than 40
@@ronmka8931 crazy how it’s nowhere near over 40 minutes
@@ronmka8931 the point is the comment says the clip is over 40 minutes when it’s not even at 40 minutes
@@torchtitan7108 I bet you’re fun at parties
Two agents talking, amazing
Lol lex melius agente fore... alter guy est fake.
You sense it too, right?
Lex, please tell us about how you first got contacted by the KGB?
Patreon
@@emowookie9337 what did he say
When Jack Barsky mentioned remembering his meal reminded me of the character in Matrix talking to agent Smith about how he likes his steak.
really interesting one, and brilliant interviewing too
Great interview. Thanks.
Quite a fascinating interview; I loved the way Alex got his subject to open up. He revealed his weaknesses so freely! Vanity, pride, desire, sport, lust, greed; it was all there! Just fabulous. And then you’re left wondering what good such a brilliant chemist might have made to world productivity.
You right except the guy straight up said “I’ve never hid any of myself from anyone” so idk if it was lex opening him up. Anyway I’m lonely and feeling like I’m right is important to me, have a good one
@@colehenderson9952 no worries man, no offended. Funny thing is about spies and spooks, he said that, but surely the life of a spook is to hide one’s identity, work,and motives from all and sundry. Keep well and be blessed. There is One who cares more than a brother.
@@colehenderson9952 hey man I hope you have a good day tomorrow
It’s not everyday one sees a civil discourse on TH-cam
what the fuck is this comment, why would you call him "his subject" lol
I cannot stop watching this.
Let's appreciate the PERFECT AMERICAN ACCENT he has. The training these people went through must be absurd.
for a older german speaking guy that is actually insane. normally they sound more like klaus schwab. 😅
Definitely not perfect. The German comes through sometimes.
The guy's "th" sounds are clearly not native, amongst several vowels
Absolutely fascinating
Absolutely fascinating.
Now that you watched 38 minutes of it, go watch the rest, it's fantastic
just realised this was 38 minutes...
Yes dad
For a guy who proclaimed superior intellect and his mastery of a situation in one statement then in the next statement say… I had no idea at the time… is very telling. He knew exactly what the secret police were doing to people and if the Cold War turned out differently his tale would be in another light
A lot inside wink winks going on between these two tribesmen. It's no coincidence that a major aspect of this whole ordeal was never discussed. That being the fact that he's a 'you know Hew', which is not at all an insignificant component to the story. Of course one 'you know Hew' wouldn't coax that out of another.
You can have great intellect and still lack information
i don't think you got the point m8
Let me guess, you go to college?
@@girthbrooks39oy vey
Got a Space Force recruiting ad before the vid, nice.
My drummer teacher used to tell me stories about how he got a „talk“ with stasi he sayed the so called „talk“ was held in another language while you were beaten to a pulb, you had to sign contracts you counselor understand etc etc
"i fell for myself. hook, line and sinker" what a comment 😍
There's a very unused cafe in a overly large building here in Puerto Rico called the kgb cafe..always has me wondering🤣
More seriously there's a large warehouse here that's always powered up, always in the exact same state of disrepair for ten years now (clean but old looking), and the doors never ever are open, the truck or two in the courtyard never move, never get more dusty or old looking. Property here costs a fortune in the center of the city...I do wonder how it affords itself given it doesn't seem to be functioning, active but not functioning.
🇷🇺
Or could be cartel...
What’s the address to this building?
Good luck
Set it on fire!!!!!!!! ,🔥 And find out.
Love how he always nearly switch into talking German.
NKVD later KGB created Stasi and trained its leading officers. The relations between them resembled relations between headquarters and a country branch. Autonomy and local specifics were observed but lines of control were very clear.
Relations deteriorated with time, the 50s were not the 80s.
He is surely charismatic.❤️
Gotta be to be a spy. 😊
I think I once saw a movie with very similar plot. Was his biography ever screen played?
So, so interesting 🙌
great interview lex
Great movie to learn about Stasi is « The lives of others ».
I put a 70% odd on the fact that Lex is actually a Russian agent
Slavic haircut gives him away?)
Yeah he’s already said he’s not 100% planning on making it back out of Russia lol I’m assuming that means the “interview trip” is his ticket to the homeland before shit cracks off 😂 I’m also drunk so ignore me
@@RabbitConfirmed That is a possibility or ya know he could also just enjoy his homeland....
@@hsundthhzthn985 yep, he could enjoy 15 years in a homely prison if he says 'war' instead of 'special military opeartion'
@@onlyinyaks me too.
I bought his book and read it. Indeed one of the best book I ever read.
7:42 "Das unsichtbare Visier" great Soundtrack by Walter Kubiczeck
Anybody have the link of the agent podcast
This was absolutely fascinating
Lex clips need their own clip channel
Interrogating the inept interrogator. I can see why Jack was selected. I really am beginning to love this channel.
I think it's called a interview
????
Imagine moving to another country , speaking their language and eventually losing your foreign accent…..but I imagine this man had to speak like an American from the jump
I didn't know him before watching the video, but right at the start of the video I realized his german accent while talking english and therefore was confused. I can't believe he could get through as a spy, with the first sentence his english was suspicious.
@@Kuro-he2zx you don't have to have perfect speak, just a good legend which would explain your accent. Plenty of Germans moved to US back then.
We wud laik sree biers, please
Starts at 3:30
I love how a kgb spy in America can just be on an American podcast no strings attached apparently
He's an ex-KGB agent. KGB was replaced with the FSB after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
@@bickyboo7789 i dont need a history lesson mate im very aware ,replaced or renamed and assimilated in to...same people same agenedas different name
americans 🙄🙄
It appears hes part of a protected class lol
@@driplerthadripper lmfaooo so defensive💀💀
3:49 there’s that word security again Hahahahaha
You are definitely the best. High 5!
To clarify, I've been at university in the UK for 5 years and have been taught by 3 professors and only in the last 2 years of my degrees.
Fridman…Lex Fridman 21st century 007 no question,keep killing it Lex you’re a legend.
If this is a clip I'm scared of what full episode is
I'm fascinated for 99% of this. But he has some little comments like the food at the hotel and how he figured out it was the govt that came to his room which don't ring true to me. But I wouldn't be surprised if the story has been massaged or altered for whatever reasons. Time tends to be friendly to war stories.
In London April's a spring month...
In the U.S., we have *too many* tenured professors. More than half of them have no real-world experience in the subjects they are teaching, which means the education you're paying 10's of $1,000's for is hugely flawed. For a primary education, this is fine. But you're supposed to get a better education in university, which we are not getting.
Citation needed
Yes, and these tenured professors with 'no real world experience' are advisors to the US government at the highest levels and then one wonders why our foreign policy, and relations are such a mess.
'No real world experience' - beware of those in ivory towers.
When I was in University, I was approached by both Romanian internal & external secret services.
They were interested in me, because I knew how to speak Russian fairly well.
Cool
We told you to keep quiet about all that, tovarăşe...
Yeah that never happened
Same
Yeah I remember when they happened to me just after I disembarked the space shuttle
"I'm a storyteller and became pretty comfortable at lying later".
And now we have to guess how many of his stories are true.
I doubt he has to make up or embellish much considering the life he lived. There’s gotta be enough crazy shit in there already, that there’s no need to lie.. but u never know.
@@pgpro8691 You are right
@@pgpro8691 once an agent you’ll always be an agent he probably still doing his job if not he’d be dead a long time ago
@@truthtime4924 not when the government you were an agent for falls
@@truthtime4924 considering his employer no longer exists, I doubt it.
How is this guy not in a US federal prison?
He gave away everything he new to the us government what he new about his own government
Awesome story
My government approved translator and minder in Bulgaria. I was invited for a conference about a publication. The young man had been approved to read western magazines. He told me he had read something about the use of citizen band radio in America and what was it for. It was to let people escape the police? I told him that function on the highway also served as a chat line. He was delighted to think Americans used their radios to avoid the police. I liked my visit in Bulgaria.
Lex sounds like a perfect mix between a scholarly Russian guy and dr. Steve brule
Now that you mention it, he really does sound like Dr. Steve Brule, at times. That's pretty funny.
bruh when he started speaking german fluently out of nowhere caught me off guard lol
Lex will be great in the new Blues brothers movie ;)
I remember when we first moved to the United States from the soviet union my parents constantly bought watermelons. No matter what day it was if you opened the fridge there was always a watermelon in there. When I asked my mom about it later on when I was older why we had so much watermelon and why they don't buy it as often anymore. And she pretty much told me there never was watermelon back home and it was so rare to see good watermelon that that had it once a year if they got lucky to get one and it was decent and sweet. Mom told me my dad lost his shit when he seen that watermelon was around all year long in abundance the supermarket never ran out it had no seeds and was sweet as sugar. Watermelon wasn't the only thing there was alot of stuff my parents bought constantly because they never had it like that. For my mom it was coffee. I was maybe 13-14 when my mom explained this all to me and I really didn't think anything of it I was just like ok whatever. It wasn't until I was in college and started really getting into history and literature I started reading more "adult books" and it was only then that I finally realized how hard it really was over there growing up I was only 2 when we left so I didn't really get to experience it. I went back when I was 6 and again at 13 and from there I went ever single year during summer break even by then 4 years after we left Ukraine had already become more western food wasn't a problem and things were much easier to get. All though I do remember the first time my mom packed like 3 boxes of lucky charms and some kind of jurassic park themed cereal because that was the movie to watch that year if I recall correctly. Now that I think about it they must have not had American cereal yet and my mom knew I would freak when I found out so she planned ahead lmfao I can't believe that memory just came back to me. I can vividly remember being at my grandpa's dacha sitting at the table and pouring the cereal into the bowl and seeing the jurras8c park box and I also remember the milk came from a cow from the neighbor 2 doors down and it tasted fucking amazing it came in a big like 10 gallon metal bucket and you could see the fat floating at the top it looked like oil in water and it had a slight off white color to the milk and it was like room temperature and I used to microwave my milk so it was a win for me. But man did that milk taste good it was so creamy and had a good amount of fat in it. Best cereal iv ever had. I still to this day add alil half and half into my cereal to somehow replicate the taste but it's not even close to the real thing.
Crazy how the human brain works thanks for bringing this memory back for me to the front of my mind 🙂
Interesting. But Ukraine is going down for good.
Welcome to America
You fried as shit writing this lmaoooo. Great story, thanks for that
Pleeeeeease put more effort into your style of writing. Ten paragraph sentences are terrible to read
@@dimadobrik4516 It’s a TH-cam comment. Why don’t you buy him grammarly if it’s so hard for you.
The only thing I didn’t believe was when he said there was two things he didn’t like doing was when he would be sent someone to get information, I feel like why he didn’t like it because he was given the job to infiltrate and then I bet those people got taken out.. and that’s why he didn’t like it
What I wouldn’t give to sit down and have a dinner with Jack. As far as mindset, interests (basketball) and our approach to complex situations, we are very similar. What an excellent person and experience. Thanks Lex, always impressed.
You are afraid and shy around women and you’re halfway decent at basketball. So unique.
Lol I’m kidding. That was me talking to a mirror really lol. Anyway, what do you think of Lex? I’ve been seeing LOTS of people recommending him but the vids I’ve seen of him aren’t all that great. This one is interesting but Alex never seems very interested in the conversations he’s initiated. He’s always half asleep and asking half assed questions.
Maybe I’ve just not been watching the right videos/interviews of his??
This guy’s life reminds me of a movie I saw. I can’t remember which movie.
Awesome
Disclaimer- most spies/agents aren’t this big headed nor claim to be super intelligent. They are the least impressive individuals on the train.
Depends what their function is.
And you know this huh?
I painted a former us spy’s house. He was one of the most fascinating people I’ve ever had the pleasure of talking to.
Please elaborate id love to know more
@@brent2004 Abel interrogated him before killing him.
My moms British husband (who was British Army) has a friend who was MI6. Another friend of his was an American test pilot with connections to Skunkworks allegedly. Them and their families always celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners with us at his house every year. Plum pudding galore lol
Interesting conversations for sure though. Off topic but I find Brits celebrating American Thanksgiving and even Independence Day a little funny lol.
I thought you aren’t supposed to share that stuff. Is Lockheed gonna be on his ass now I’d guess he signed a nda
Jack's book was very interesting.
Complete garbage
Amazing interview!! This reminds me of the manga Spy x Family
I scratched my balls once and that reminded me of the manga “My balls are itchy and senpai must scratch!”
A later-career Ben Gazzara would have made a great Jack Barsky.
12:44 he made his KGB comrades proud by that nasty fart he blasted this reporter with 😆 hahaha
Very interesting guests, I would love to add a request and I know you will accept it with an open mind, please lower the interruptions and add-ons when the guest is speaking and telling a story, it's very distracting and it really takes the conversation somewhere else.
Colonel call Snake and Otacon!...Ocelot is already on his way..I think theres some new plans/blueprints for a new Metal Gear
Can someone explain to me why his answer „yes but not as a chemist“ at 9:20 was so smart? Seems like a normal answer to me
Because the person interviewing him was trying to be coy and he understood that there was a reason for this person to be asking these questions in such a way instead of outright asking if he wants to work for espionage and if you ask if someone wants to work for the country and they give a answer like "yes but not as a chemist" that reveals that you probably would want to work to defend that country you are in whether that be in espionage in this case
Alright it makes sense now thanks man
@@jonas.9210 no problem dude language can be nuanced sometime if you dont understand context haha
Lex you have been killing it lately!
Strange how Lex looks at the camera instead of the subject when he asks questions
Me: Being added to the watch list.
I wish you asked him if he has seen a movie called "Goodbye Lenin"
place when I live
I excelled and had an entire family that put me in my place ! Good thing you're smart, you'll never make it on your looks. You're not a doctor yet ? I'm 10 ! So? Short isn't a factor..it was always said tongue in cheek with a laugh, however.
Death by a thousand cuts
Bro what? You alright?
Damn.. He sounds as Giorgio Moroder
Interesting
13:05 I share my feeling, yh g so do I and it sucks, for next min you explain me to me
Anyone else think that this looks like a interrogation instead of a interview since Barsky has the 1950's black tie with the black F.B.I. issue G-man suit on all the way down to the hair cut? 🤣🤣🤣
I think you might have something mixed up
Lex asks the questions that I wish Joe would ask
Joe is a loving guy. But, doesn't have the intellectual background Lex has.
read Stasiland by Anna Funder
35:41
When will we realise… going off the norm means the masses will come after you!
Forgot his paper
Fridman aye? Every Single Time.
man let it out 12:45
a real kgb would never tell all kgb secrets
@Lex Clips How can I get in touch with you, my father is 1 of 12 people who was kicked out of East Germany. He was chased and hunted by Stasi , his friends disappeared and we’re murdered, my father had listening devices he found inside his home, my father was also in and out of jail due to martial arts and organized groups being illegal, until eventually being sent to military as punishment and having internal help get him out of the East.
Is your dad Batman?
Direct message him on instagram or Facebook whatever etc
So on and so forth
yeah I remember he ask me my address because he give me a sticker not yet receive
You would make a great agent , how do you know I’m not ,PMS
I thought I was the only one rocking a cereal bowl haircut
We know
Not what I thought they meant by “recruitment” 🙄 tell us how you recruited assets
How do you know I’m not.
Lex
The fact he’s a ball player makes him ever cooler
My connection with James Bond is like a fairytale, no joke, the coincidences are just.. ❤
2:51
THAT CODE I DON'T REMEMBER
Somewhat suspicious 🤨😂
@@remy- yeah he shouted it loud
No such thing as a former KGB spy.