Episode
#183 - Ann E. Butler - "Wife. Mother. Spy." | 27-Year Undercover CIA Officer & Mom of Five on Secret Missions, Going Into Labor During Ops & Hiding It All From Her Kids 🕵️♀️👨👩👧👦
- Podcast
- Built Not Born
- Published
- Jan 13, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3382
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Summary
Ann E. Butler - "Wife. Mother. Spy." | 27-Year Undercover CIA Officer & Mom of Five on Secret Missions, Going Into Labor During Ops & Hiding It All From Her Kids 🕵️♀️👨👩👧👦 Her kids found out she was a CIA agent the night before her retirement party. For 27 years, Ann E. Butler recruited spies, ran covert operations across four continents, and made it home for dinner — all while raising five children who thought mom was just a diplomat. What You'll Learn: How she went into labor during a clandestine meeting (and still made the handoff) The art of the "bump" — engineering a chance encounter to recruit an asset Why a pregnant mom of five is the perfect undercover cover How to build trust fast enough that someone will commit treason for you The moment her daughter discovered the truth (a mosaic gave it away) What 9/11 was like from inside a European CIA station Power Quote: "Take advantage of opportunities that come your way. Persevere, even though it's not always easy. And be grateful for those opportunities — because they can turn into extraordinary moments." — Ann E. Butler Timestamps: 🕵️♀️ 0:00 - Introduction 📖 3:30 - Why she wrote the book after 27 years of silence 🤰 8:45 - Going into labor during a clandestine meeting 🚂 15:20 - Almost nine months pregnant on an overnight train in alias 🎯 24:00 - The "bump" — how CIA officers engineer chance encounters 🤝 32:15 - Building trust: how to get someone to commit treason 🏫 40:30 - CIA training: the farm, fake prisons, and pressure tests 💥 48:00 - September 11th from inside a European CIA station 👨👩👧👦 55:20 - How her kids finally found out (the night before retirement) 🎬 62:00 - The Americans TV show: how accurate is it? 🏃♀️ 68:30 - Running a marathon in Paris (after meeting an asset first) 💡 74:00 - One lesso…