Raven sits down with former CIA analyst and bestselling espionage novelist David McCloskey, author of The Seventh Floor, Moscow X, and Damascus Station, for a fascinating conversation about the realities — and misconceptions — surrounding the CIA and modern intelligence work. A former analyst who worked at Langley and in field stations across the Middle East, McCloskey brings real-world experience into both his fiction and this discussion.

Together, Raven and David explore everything from the truth behind CIA “agents” and analysts to the controversy surrounding polygraphs, burnout inside the intelligence world, and how espionage fiction differs from Hollywood portrayals. They also dive into the craft of writing spy fiction, building realistic tension, and creating stories grounded in authentic tradecraft and emotional realism, as well as his books.

David McCloskey is also the co-host of the hit espionage podcast The Rest Is Classified.

Get The Seventh Floor on the Zon.

Find David McCloskey online:

Official Website

Instagram @mccloskeybooks

X/Twitter @mccloskeybooks

(This episode originally aired on the podcast Sirens | Southern True Crime with Raven Rollins. It has been reformatted for use on this podcast.)

Find retail links to this storyteller's work, along with other books, podcasts, films, and music featured on the show at https://linktr.ee/DreadfullyYours.

Find Raven's books, audiobooks, and podcasts at www.RavenRollins.com.

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