Episode
The Soviet spy who couldn't love
- Podcast
- HistoryExtra podcast
- Published
- Sep 24, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 2564
- Processing state
not_requested
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Summary
In 1981, a Soviet spy walked into MI6 HQ in Tehran and offered to defect to Britain – if, in return, Britain could help him improve his performance in bed. In this episode, Ben Macintyre introduces Spencer Mizen to an extraordinary agent with a sexual secret – a secret that changed the course of Iranian history and may, just may, have averted nuclear war. ----- GO BEYOND THE PODCAST If you’d like to hear more from Ben Macintyre on the HistoryExtra podcast, why not listen to the episode in which he tells the incredible story of Oleg Gordievsky, the double agent who was sensationally exfiltrated from the Soviet Union in 1985: https://bit.ly/4i3FsW7 Go to https://surfshark.com/historyextra or use code HISTORYEXTRA at checkout to get 4 extra months of Surfshark! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices