What Happens When You Join the CIA?

In this week’s Minutes With episode, we sat down with former CIA Officer Andrew Bustamante. Andrew, a former nuclear specialist with the US Air Force, left the military to join the Peace Corp, but the CIA had other plans for him. After being recruited, Andrew trained at ‘The Farm’, where Case Officers get taught everything they need to go into deep cover in enemy territories. From life-or-death missions abroad to uncovering a mole inside the CIA, this former officer reveals what it’s really like to live in the shadows. He explains how his covert cell changed CIA operations forever, the fine line between motivation and manipulation, and why he believes everyone — no matter who they are — is predictable. 00:00 - Intro 00:25 - Childhood 02:00 - Joining the Airforce 03:45 - Scouted by the CIA 05:00 - CIA Recruitment 07:00 - Training to be a Case Officer 10:14 - Failing Training 11:30 - Marrying a CIA Officer 12:50 - Special Operations 13:50 - CIA had a Mole 15:00 - Using Terrorist Cell Logic 16:18 - Deploying into enemy territory 17:40 - Becoming a Gray Man 19:34 - Dangers of Espionage 21:50 - Escaping the Country 23:37 - It’s Not Like the Movies 25:45 - Was the Mole caught? 27:45 - Leaving the CIA 28:50 - Moral Flexibility 30:00 - New Threats to Global Security 30:40 - Trump v CIA 31:50 - People Are Predictable 32:50 - Manipulation or Motivation Thanks to Andrew for taking part. Want to learn more from Andrew? Find your Spy Superpower: https://yt.everydayspy.com/4nM6S2M Read Andrew’s CIA book ‘Shadow Cell’: https://geni.us/ShadowCellBook Follow Andy on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@Andrew-Bustamante Explore Spy School: https://everydayspy.com/ Support Andy's sponsor Axolt Brain: https://axoltbrain.com/andy Listen to the podcast: https://youtube.com/@EverydaySpyPodcast