The John Batchelor Show

SHOW SHOW 11-27-25 CBS EYE ON THE WORLD WITH JOHN BATCHELOR 1758 FORT TICONDEROGA ON THANKSGIVING 2025 Segment 1 — The Big Hop: Setting the Stage for the First Non-Stop Transatlantic Flight — David Rooney — Rooney discusses Lord Northcliffe establishing a £10,000 prize in 1913 to spur British aviation advancement. Following WWI, veterans including pilot John Alcock and navigator Arthur Whitten Brown partnered with Vickers to attempt the historic challenge, bringing military experience and determination to the demanding endeavor.

Segment 16 — Twin Targets: Stealing the Atomic Bomb and the B-29 Bomber Technology — Svetlana Lokhova — During WWII, Guyk Avakyan supervised the theft of atomic bomb secrets in coordination with physicist Igor Kurchatov. Agent Semyonov (code name "Twain") successfully recruited scientist Klaus Fuchs, obtaining critical Manhattan Project data. Shumovski, operating openly under the Lend-Lease program, filmed B-29 production technology, enabling Soviet engineers to rapidly construct the Tupolev 4 strategic bomber and accelerate nuclear weapons delivery capability. 1936

Segment 15 — Propaganda Triumph: The Transpolar Flight, Shirley Temple, and Stanislav Shumovski's PR Genius — Svetlana Lokhova — In 1937, the Tupolev ANT-25RD completed a dramatic transpolar flight to California—a major Soviet propaganda triumph made possible by stolen American technology. Shumovski, acting as master propagandist, orchestrated publicity arrangements including photographs with Shirley Temple. The aviators' tour, featuring meetings with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, transmitted a powerful military message to regional rivals including Japan. 1935

Segment 14 — The Price of Service: Purges and Arrests of Soviet Agents and Designers — Svetlana Lokhova — The 1935 Kremlin affair investigation, triggered by Kirov's assassination, exposed plots against Stalin's authority. Chernowski, a military intelligence officer and committed Trotskyite, was arrested and executed, naming Ray Bennettduring interrogation protocols. Airplane designer Sergei Tupolev was also arrested but continued critical design work within a special prison facility before his eventual release and subsequent honors from the regime. 11934

Segment 13 — MIT and Espionage: Shumovski Targets American Aviation and Mass Production Secrets — Svetlana Lokhova — Soviet agents including Stanislav Shumovski systematically targeted crucial American industrial and aeronautical secrets. Shumovski focused on acquiring advanced bomber designs, particularly high-altitude variants, and studying Ford's mass production methodologies to enable Soviet armament manufacturing using unskilled labor. Classmate Chernowski, however, began meeting American Trotskyites, developing plots against Stalin that would later prove catastrophic. 1934IP

Segment 12 — The Master Spy: Guyk Avakyan Oversees the Theft of Chemical Warfare and Rocketry Secrets — Svetlana Lokhova — Guyk Avakyan, an Armenian chemist, was dispatched to America in 1933 to supervise the espionage network, specializing in chemical warfare secrets. Avakyan systematized and scaled the intelligence operation, institutionalizing the use of both legal and clandestine operational covers. Avakyan oversaw the theft of critical scientific papers, including revolutionary research by rocketry pioneer Robert Goddard. Segment 12 — The Master Spy: Guyk Avakyan Oversees the Theft of Chemical Warfare and Rocketry Secrets — Svetlana Lokhova — Guyk Avakyan, an Armenian chemist, was dispatched to America in 1933 to supervise the espionage network, specializing in chemical warfare secrets. Avakyan systematized and scaled the intelligence operation, institutionalizing the use of both legal and clandestine operational covers. Avakyan oversaw the theft of critical scientific papers, including revolutionary research by rocketry pioneer Robert Goddard. 1934

Segment 11 — Training Soviet Spies: Ray Bennett Instructs in American Culture and Etiquette — Svetlana Lokhova — Bennett educated Russian agents, including Shumovski, in English language proficiency and Americancultural customs—including proper silverware usage and appropriate business attire—to prepare them for assignments at elite American institutions like MIT. This meticulous cultural preparation proved essential to establishing credible cover identities within academic and scientific communities. 1931

Segment 10 — Training Soviet Spies: Ray Bennett Prepares Agents for American Missions — Svetlana Lokhova — Lokhova examines Ray Bennett, a veteran intelligence operative and Soviet ideologue born in Tsarist Russia, who trained Russian students for covert missions in America. Bennett emphasized operational security protocols, including instructions that agents never speak Russian immediately upon waking, ensuring consistent cover and preventing operational compromises. 1929

Segment 9 — Stanislav Shumovski: Polish Nobleman to Master Spy of Soviet Technology Theft — Svetlana Lokhova — Lokhova introduces Stanislav Shumovski, a Polish nobleman and Russian Civil War hero selected to lead Soviet science and technology (S&T) espionage operations. Stalin prioritized technology acquisition to overcome Russia's industrial backwardness, reportedly stating: "if we do not bridge that gap within 5 to 10 years they will crush us." 1925

Segment 8 — Cutting the Funding: Policy Recommendations for Containing North Korea — Bruce Bechtol — Bechtol argues that effective containment policy requires avoiding kinetic military operations and instead targeting North Korea's financial apparatus to destabilize the regime. This strategy requires rigorous enforcement of existing international sanctions, deployment of advanced cyber warfare capabilities, seizure of smuggling vessels (though acknowledging potential escalation risks), and selective precision strikes targeting critical infrastructure supporting weapons proliferation. 1951 PANMUNJOM

Segment 7 — The Arsenal of Resistance: North Korea's Role in Ukraine and the Middle East Conflicts — Bruce Bechtol — Bechtol analyzes North Korea's critical contributions to Russia's war effort in Ukraine, providing approximately 60% of Russian artillery ammunition and one-third of Russian ballistic missiles since 2023. North Koreaalso proliferates weapons systems and military training to Iran's regional surrogates, including Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, and has constructed a 45-kilometer tunnel network supporting Hezbollah operations throughout Lebanon. 1953

Segment 6 — Nuclear Assistance and Cyber Theft: North Korea's Contributions to Iran's Weapons Programs — Bruce Bechtol — Bechtol details North Korea's substantial nuclear assistance to Iran, including uranium warhead designs, raw uranium supplies, and construction of underground nuclear facilities. North Korea operates as the number one cyber theft entity globally, systematically stealing cryptocurrency and intellectual property to finance its military-industrial complex and weapons development programs. 1953

Segment 5 — Rogue Allies: Assessing the Nuclear and Proliferation Threat Posed by North Korea and Iran — Bruce Bechtol — Bechtol examines North Korea and Iran as "Rogue Allies" whose strategic partnership the U.S. has failed to comprehend since 1983. North Korea, functioning as the "arsenal of resistance," possesses the Hwasong-15missile capable of striking the continental United States. This partnership represents a fundamental threat to regional stability and American strategic interests. 1953

Segment 4 — Triumph and Legacy: Alcock and Brown Win the Prize and Inspire Lindbergh — David Rooney — Alcock and Brown completed the first non-stop transatlantic flight, landing in Ireland and achieving global celebration. They received the £10,000 prize from Winston Churchill, then Minister of War and Air. Charles Lindbergh later credited Alcock and Brown with demonstrating that long-distance transatlantic aviation was feasible, stating they "showed us the way." 1929

Segment 3 — Newfoundland Ordeal: Facing Impossible Weather in the Race Across the Atlantic — David Rooney— Teams faced "suicidal" weather conditions in Newfoundland, the mandatory launch point for transatlantic attempts. In May 1919, the impatient Hawker and Grieve departed in their small Sopwith aircraft and disappeared, prompting widespread public grief. The Rolls-Royce engines employed by competitors, particularly the Eagle and Falcon models, cemented the company's reputation as the premier aircraft engine manufacturer. 1927

Segment 2 — The Contenders: Hawker, Raynham, and Kerr Race for the Transatlantic Prize — David Rooney — Rooney further details the competing teams vying for Northcliffe's £10,000 prize. Key contenders include Australianpilot Harry Hawker (partnered with Grieve), representing Sopwith, and Admiral Mark Kerr commanding a large Handley Page bomber. The race offered a potential "industry saver" for aviation companies struggling with post-war economic contraction. 1927

Segment 1 — The Big Hop: Setting the Stage for the First Non-Stop Transatlantic Flight — David Rooney — Rooney discusses Lord Northcliffe establishing a £10,000 prize in 1913 to spur British aviation advancement. Following WWI, veterans including pilot John Alcock and navigator Arthur Whitten Brown partnered with Vickers to attempt the historic challenge, bringing military experience and determination to the demanding endeavor. 1923

PREVIEW — Bruce Bechtol — China's Role in Supplying Dual-Use Technology to North Korea and the Axis. Bechtolexamines China's critical role in sustaining North Korea's military-industrial complex, particularly since 2019 when international sanctions enforcement effectively ceased. China supplies dual-use technologies and component parts, frequently procured through illicit channels, directly to North Korea, thereby reinforcing the axis of revisionist states comprising Iran, North Korea, and Russia. Chinese companies involved in these transfers maintain direct linkages to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), operating as instruments of state policy. 1951

PREVIEW — Bruce Bechtol — Kim Jong-un's Vital Role in the Axis of Evil. Bechtol discusses how Kim Jong-un, despite international perceptions of him as a "clownish figure," is regarded with strategic seriousness by the "axis of evil," which now encompasses four nations. This respect stems from Pyongyang's formidable military capabilities, including a sophisticated arsenal of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, coupled with its demonstrated ability to manufacture and proliferate vital weapon systems required by axis partners throughout the region.

PREVIEW — Svetlana Lokhova — Soviet Espionage in the US: The Role of Ray Bennett. Lokhova discusses the extensive Soviet espionage network established by Stalin in the 1930s to systematically steal American intellectual property, particularly aeronautics and aviation secrets. Lokhova examines Ray Bennett, a Hunter College graduate who served as a trainer for the espionage ring. Bennett, daughter of a communist newspaper editor, maintained extensive associations with communist operatives throughout New York, facilitating recruitment and operational security.