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Nov 10, 2026
Seeing Red
Spies, Lies and My So-Called Life as a Diplomat
Summary
Have you ever had one of those days when you’ve had to explain to a leading Senator that the woman approaching his table is actually a Soviet spy hoping to bed and blackmail him? Well, Danny Grossman has.
As a twenty-six-year-old diplomat serving in Leningrad during the Cold War, Grossman’s phones were tapped, his home was bugged, his neighbor went out the window, his houseguest was attacked, his consulate was rocked by something called Chernobyl, his movements were tracked by an ambitious young KGB officer named Vladimir Putin—and that was only the beginning!
With autocracy rising around the world, Grossman has written a stunning meditation on the politics of oppression, the nature of dreamers, and the resilience of ordinary people under siege.
In Seeing Red: Spies, Lies and My So-Called Life as a Diplomat (2026), welcome to a very private peek behind the Iron Curtain.
This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda’s interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts.
Your Host
Miranda Melcher
Dr. Miranda Melcher (Ph.D. in Defense Studies from Kings College London) is the host of New Books with Miranda Melcher where she interviews authors on a wide range of books related to history and politics.
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