Wippl Profiled by International Spy Museum
Joseph Wippl, Professor of the Practice of International Relations at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, has been profiled by the International Spy Museum in Washington, D. C. for their Spycast podcast series.
Wippl’s interview, published on June 30, was entitled “From the CIA to the Classroom.” Wippl, a former CIA officer, spoke about his lengthy and varied career.
“I made an unknowing, but great decision when I was recruited to the CIA, and I really loved my career,” Wippl said. “One thing I start every class with is asking, what the President reading in his daily brief today? I think determining the place for international relations in a more isolationist moment in history, just when we’re becoming more global, is really the key question.”
He advised students interested in CIA careers to study foreign language and seek out opportunities to live overseas, as well as offering insight into issues like ISIS, managing relationships with Congress, and collecting information on allied nations.
“A decade or so I was asking a British colleague how long do you spend in training? He said four or five months,” Wippl said. “I think the best training is learning tradecraft from a good mentor, and having good knowledge of language and culture of the place that you’re in. That will result in successful espionage.”
You can listen to the whole interview here.
Wippl spent a 30 year career as an operations officer in the National Clandestine Service (NCS). Learn more about him here.