Project Brazen and PRX Present “Spy Valley: An Engineer’s Nuclear Betrayal”
A new podcast unveils the secret world of spying in Silicon Valley, the technology capital of the world
Project Brazen, the Peabody Award-nominated global journalism studio, in partnership with public media organization PRX, today announced the launch of “Spy Valley: An Engineer’s Nuclear Betrayal” a new podcast series introducing the world to a new era of global espionage. “Spy Valley” will debut across all major podcast platforms on Monday, July 24, with new episodes of the six-part series released weekly on Mondays.
The series, hosted by award-winning intelligence and national security journalist Zach Dorfman, explores the story of a man named James Harper, a Silicon Valley engineer turned spy, and how he began selling nuclear secrets to the Soviet Bloc. It becomes the case of a lifetime for San Francisco-based FBI spy hunters. Dorfman got to know these agents and their amazing stories — as well as the tale of Harper — from extensive, revealing interviews with the ex-spy himself. The series will take listeners on a journey of nuclear spying, technology theft, and double agents, with intelligence that might still help Moscow in a nuclear exchange today. “Spy Valley” proves the past is never dead.
“Zach is one of the country’s best intelligence reporters and this project goes to the heart of our mission to reveal how the world really works,” said Bradley Hope, co-founder and co-CEO of Project Brazen.
“I’m thrilled to share this story with listeners,” said Dorfman. “It’s a once-in-a lifetime spy tale that’s truly wilder than fiction.”
Dorfman is a National Security Writer and Producer at Project Brazen. He previously served as Senior Staff Writer at the Aspen Institute and as National Security Correspondent for Yahoo News. His work has appeared at Foreign Policy, Politico, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, and elsewhere. He was also a Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, where he spent over half a decade as a full-time staff editor. He is a winner of the Gerald Ford Prize for Defense Reporting and a finalist for a Livingston AWard.
“Spy Valley” is produced in partnership with Goat Rodeo, a Washington, D.C.-based creative audio team with over half a decade’s experience in amplifying audio and crafting award winning stories. Jay Venables is the series lead producer.
To date, Project Brazen and PRX have brought listeners a variety of podcasts of global consequence, including “Fat Leonard,” “Kabul Falling,” “Corinna and the King,” “People Like Us,” “Resistance: Stories from Ukraine,” “The Sound: Mystery of Havana Syndrome,” “Dynamite Doug,” “Gateway: Cocaine, Murder, & Dirty Money in Europe,” “The Closer,” and “Night of Show.”
“Spy Valley: An Engineer’s Nuclear Betrayal” is free to listeners everywhere across all major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and YouTube Podcasts. Subscribers to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts get early access to new episodes, along with ad-free listening and bonus content from the show.
About Project Brazen
Project Brazen is a Peabody Award-nominated global journalism studio telling blockbuster stories in every form of media and creator of the Brazen network of podcasts, newsletters and documentary shorts. Founded in 2021 by the best-selling authors behind BILLION DOLLAR WHALE, Bradley Hope and Tom Wright, Project Brazen is a thriving home for the world’s best journalists and creators. Based in London and Singapore, Project Brazen has an active slate of podcasts, documentaries, books, newsletters, as well as scripted film and television. Recent hit projects include the podcasts FAT LEONARD (in-development for scripted TV with SK Global), CORINNA AND THE KING and THE SOUND: Mystery of Havana Syndrome (under development as a documentary series with XTR). Project Brazen is represented by United Talent Agency.
About Goat Rodeo
Goat Rodeo is a creative audio team headquartered in Washington D.C. For over half a decade, Goat Rodeo has been amplifying audio and crafting stories both in house and with award-winning partners. To learn more go to goatrodeodc.com.
About PRX
PRX is a non-profit public media company specializing in audio journalism and storytelling. PRX serves independent producers and organizations by helping them connect to their most engaged, supportive audiences. One of the world’s leading podcast publishers, PRX works in partnership with TED, PBS, the Smithsonian, Futuro Media, GBH, Project Brazen, and more. PRX is also home to Radiotopia, known as one of the most creative and successful podcast networks. In addition, PRX distributes trusted public radio programming to hundreds of stations nationwide, including “The World,” “The Moth Radio Hour,” “This American Life,” “Snap Judgment,” “Reveal,” “Latino USA,” and “Left, Right & Center.” PRX programs have been recognized by the Peabody Awards, the duPont-Columbia Awards, the IDA Documentary Awards, and the Pulitzer Prizes. In 2022, Futuro Media and PRX won a Pulitzer Prize.
