Special Events, The Daily Feed

Dinner With a Spy

Photo courtesy of
‘I spy with my Metro eye …..’ courtesy of ‘christaki’

Next week, the International Spy Museum is holding one of their annual “Dinner with a Spy” events. This year’s guest is Oleg Kalugin, former head of Soviet KGB operations in the U.S. during the Cold War. Today, Oleg is an American citizen and an outspoken critic of his former employer and Russia’s current leadership.

During this intimate dinner, Kalugin will share some of his hottest stories from the Cold War, weigh in on the current international issues, and dialogue with his former adversary, CIA veteran and International Spy Museum executive director Peter Earnest. The ticket price includes a three-course meal at Zola and ‘unrestricted access’ to two extraordinary Cold Warriors.

It all goes down on Wednesday, March 18th at 7 p.m. Call the museum at 202.393.7798 for more information and to purchase tickets.

Essential DC, History, Interviews, People

He Loves DC: Peter Earnest (Part 2)

Photo courtesy of Me
Peter Earnest, courtesy of Me

Last week, we introduced you to the Executive Director of the International Spy Museum, Peter Earnest. He sat down with me back before Thanksgiving; we talked for quite a while covering both his personal observations and his professional opinions on the Washington DC area.

Before we continue with the rest of the interview, I need to point out that Peter can be an extremely funny guy. If you doubt, witness the two-part episode that aired about a month ago on Stephen Colbert’s show, specifically the “Fallback Position” segment he does periodically. He did two segments with Peter, an interview and a look at some items in the museum proper. If you’ve not seen them, you must. (Each segment is about six minutes long.) Don’t worry, we’ll still be here when you get back.

Ok, on with our conversation! We cover everything from public perception on espionage to cabbies to people; find out what Peter had to say after the jump. Continue reading

Interviews, Life in the Capital, People

He Loves DC: Peter Earnest (Part 1)

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As many are aware (and many more not), my first job in the DC area – what brought me here in the first place – was a full-time position in management with the International Spy Museum. At that time, I made the acquaintance of the Executive Director, Peter Earnest. As founding director, Peter brings to the museum over 35 years of experience with the Central Intelligence Agency, including two decades in the CIA’s Clandestine Service. He’s also served in the Office of the Director of Central Intelligence as liaison officer to the Senate and as an investigator / inspector with the Inspector General. He was a member of the CIA’s Senior Management Service and awarded the Agency’s Intelligence Medal of Merit for “superior performance” throughout his career.

A fascinating man who’s led a most interesting career with the CIA, Peter was gracious enough to sit down and talk about Washington, his career and espionage within DC with me. We had such a great time and shared so much info, I’ve had to break the interview up into two segments. We’ll publish Part 2 next week.

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