The former CIA counterterrorism officer John Kiriakou looks at counterterrorism scenes in movies and TV and breaks them down for realism.

Kiriakou explains the counterterrorism efforts done to directly address the September 11 attacks — commonly known as 9/11 — such as the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound, which ultimately led to his killing, in "Zero Dark Thirty," featuring Jessica Chastain, Joel Edgerton, and Chris Pratt; and the CIA's interrogation techniques — such as waterboarding and sleep deprivation — to detainees, such as the Al-Qaeda members Abu Zubaydah and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, in "The Report," starring Adam Driver. He breaks down the plausibility of weapons used by terrorists, such as the use of weapons of mass destruction, particularly nerve agents, in "Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation," with Tom Cruise and Simon Pegg; and the cyberterrorism attack in "Skyfall," featuring Daniel Craig and Judi Dench. Kiriakou looks at more counterterrorism strategies, such as the drone attack in "Homeland" S4E1 (2014), starring Claire Danes; and the collaboration of intelligence agencies in "Body of Lies," featuring Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crow, and Oscar Isaac. He also reacts to the depiction of other real-life terrorist attacks, such as the 2008 Mumbai attacks in "Hotel Mumbai," starring Dev Patel; the Munich Massacre, which involved the Palestinian militant organization Black September, in "Munich," with Daniel Craig and Eric Bana; and the depiction of the hijacking of the Indian Airlines Flight 814, which landed in Kandahar International Airport in Afghanistan — then a stronghold of the Taliban — in "IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack" E5 + E6 (2024).

Before 9/11, Kiriakou served as a counterterrorism operations officer in Athens, Greece; and after the 9/11 attacks, Kiriakou was appointed chief of counterterrorist operations in Pakistan, where he oversaw a series of military raids on Al-Qaeda safe houses, resulting in the capture of numerous Al-Qaeda members, including leading the raid that captured Abu Zubaydah — who was then believed to be Al-Qaeda's third-highest-ranking member. He left the CIA in 2004, and in 2007, he went public with his information about the CIA's "enhanced interrogation techniques," a program of systematic torture of detainees. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison, where he pleaded guilty to a charge of revealing information that identified a covert agent. He went on to become a senior investigator for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a terrorism consultant for ABC News. He has written various books and teaches and speaks around the country, focusing on the CIA, terrorism, torture, and ethics in intelligence operations.

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Here is a link to Kiriakou's books.

Joe Serio, former CIA agent and Russian mafia investigator, rates Russian mob scenes in movies and TV, such as "John Wick," for realism.

Serio breaks down common tropes about the Russian mafia, such as the role of hitmen in "John Wick" (2014), starring Keanu Reeves; the relationship between the Russian mafia and the Italian Mafia in "The Sopranos" S3E4 + S310 + S3E11 (2001), starring James Gandolfini and Michael Imperioli; and the portrayal of other organized crime groups originating from the former Soviet Union, such as the Chechen mafia, in "Barry" S1E1 + S2E1 + S3E5 (2018-2022), starring Bill Hader. He explains the culture of the Russian mafia groups, such their origins from Russian prisons and the importance of tattoos in "Eastern Promises," starring Viggo Mortensen; the presence of Russian mafia groups in the United States in "Lord of War," with Nicolas Cage; and their global reach and influence as depicted in "Our Kind of Traitor," starring Ewan McGregor — where Serio connects real-life mob bosses, such as Semion Mogilevich and Otari Kvantrishvili. He also discusses the criminal activities of Russian mafia groups, such as human trafficking in "The Equalizer," starring Denzel Washington; and "The Boys" S3E4 (2022); the concept of a common fund in "Nobody"; and their operations in Russia in "Брат" ("Brother") (1997) and GoldenEye, starring Pierce Brosnan.

Serio lived in the former Soviet Union and present-day Russia for nearly 10 years. He was the only American to work in the Organized Crime Control Department of the Soviet national police. Eventually, he worked as a security consultant, and later as the Director of Operations, for Kroll Associates — a global corporate investigation and business intelligence firm — where he conducted investigations on Russian mafia groups. He was also a CIA agent for five years in Moscow, where he provided information regarding Russian organized crime. Serio wrote two books focusing on the Russian mafia and his life in Moscow, "Investigating the Russian Mafia" and "Vodka, Hookers, and the Russian Mafia: My Life in Moscow."

You can follow Joe here.

You can find his books about the Russian mafia here.