Tosh PlumleeEvery podcast appearance, updated as new ones drop

In Episode 34 of Ciphered Past , hosts Tim Gardner and Eli Frame sit down with two extraordinary guests to explore one of the most controversial and mysterious worlds in modern American history. Joining the show is William Robert “Tosh” Plumlee , a CIA contract pilot whose alleged covert career spans decades of secret operations during the Cold War. According to Plumlee, his missions ranged from flying weapons into Cuba during the revolution to participating in highly classified intelligence operations tied to U.S. foreign policy, organized crime, and clandestine warfare. Also joining the conversation is bestselling author and screenwriter Ralph Pezzullo , who partnered with Plumlee to bring his life story into print in their new book “Deep Cover, Shallow Graves.” Pezzullo has built a reputation writing about individuals who lived inside the secretive world of intelligence operations, special forces missions, and covert government activities. During this wide-ranging interview, Tim and Eli explore Plumlee’s extraordinary claims about covert operations, intelligence cutouts, and the shadow world of deniable missions that existed alongside official government structures. The discussion dives deeply into Cold War espionage, intelligence rivalries between agencies, covert operations in Cuba, organized crime connections, and the explosive topic that continues to shape historical debate — the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Plumlee recounts his experiences working within what he describes as a hidden network of “cutout” operatives — individuals used for sensitive missions where official government involvement needed to remain deniable. The conversation also explores how intelligence operations intersected with political agendas during the Cold War era. 0:00 – Ciphered Past intro 1:19 – Introduction of Tosh Plumlee and Ralph Pezzullo 3:46 – The upcoming book Deep Cover, Shallow Graves 6:05 – The secret world of CIA cutout operatives 8:24 – Early Cold War intelligence operations 10:52 – CIA involvement during the Cuban Revolution 12:52 – Weapons shipments and covert operations in Cuba 15:11 – Intelligence divisions inside the U.S. government 17:37 – Special units and covert training programs 20:03 – Claims about Lee Harvey Oswald training programs 22:22 – Early covert missions and CIA operations 24:43 – Secret intelligence assets and covert flights 26:43 – CIA communication methods and coded signals 29:06 – Intelligence rivalries between CIA and FBI 31:31 – Government denials and discrediting operatives 33:53 – Early assassination warnings before JFK’s death 36:14 – Bay of Pigs, CIA tensions, and the Kennedy administration 38:39 – Secret diplomacy attempts with Cuba 40:49 – Lisa Howard and diplomatic backchannels to Castro 43:00 – The shadow network of intelligence assets 45:17 – Patriotism and Cold War era recruitment 47:40 – Political infiltration into intelligence operations 49:27 – The national impact of the JFK assassination 51:53 – Why Plumlee decided to write the book 54:15 – Allegations of political covert operations 56:58 – Intelligence conflicts within the U.S. government 59:24 – The alleged JFK “abort team” 1:01:39 – Claims surrounding intelligence knowledge of the assassination 1:03:48 – Pentagon involvement and covert counter-operations 1:06:58 – The aftermath of JFK’s assassination 1:09:09 – Escape from Dallas after the shooting 1:11:56 – Questions surrounding intelligence failures 1:14:25 – Plumlee’s life after leaving covert operations 1:16:20 – Returning to intelligence work during the Iran-Contra era 1:19:32 – Government pressure and classified testimony 1:23:38 – Why Plumlee decided to tell his story now 1:27:29 – Working with researcher

Episode Notes S7E2 -- Join us as we welcome back CIA Operative & Pilot Tosh Plumlee & NYT best selling author Ralph Pezzullo. in Part 1 we talked about Cuba and the JFK assassination THIS TIME WE'RE GOING DEEPER. Together they will be in the house for part 2 of Deep Cover Shallow Graves... Deep Cover, Shallow Graves by former CIA operative Robert Plumlee and NYTimes best-selling author Ralph Pezzullo. The author was in Dallas on November 23, 1963, and is finally speaking out. This is an incredible read through a no-man’s land of political intrigue and covert military operations sanctioned by the White House. Told by a former CIA contract pilot, Mr. Plumlee, this is a tale that marches across clandestine activities in Cuba, undercover drug operations in South America and Mexico, top secret testimony to the likes of J. Edgar Hoover and classified statements to Senate Foreign Relations and Intelligence Committees, as well as a wealth of political minefields laid by high-level government operatives acting under a cloak of secrecy. HELPFUL LINKS: VETERANS: https://www.va.gov/.../mental-health/suicide-prevention/ ADDICTION: https://lp.recoverycentersofamerica.com/.../continuum-of.../ Due you know someone that has lost their lives due to addiction? Or even someone that has made a full recovery? Reach out to Johnny Whitaker so they can help to celebrate the lives lost/ lives recovered at overdoseawareness0831@gmail.com ___________________________________________ Follow our guest https://www.amazon.com/Shallow-Graves-William-Robert-Plumlee/dp/163424530X http://ralphpezzulloauthor.com/about ______________________________ Toking with the Dead: https://www.stilltoking.com/ ————————————— Follow Still Toking With and their friends! https://smartpa.ge/5zv1 ————————————— Produced by Leo Pond and The Dorkening Podcast Network MORE ABOUT THE GUEST: Ralph Pezzullo: I was born in New York City. When I was five years old my father joined the Foreign Service of the State Department. His job took us to Washington, DC, Mexico, South Vietnam, Bolivia, Colombia, Guatemala, Uruguay and Nicaragua. We lived in Saigon during the Tonkin Gulf Incident, the overthrow of Diem, a number of other coup d'etats and almost daily Vietcong terrorist attacks against Americans. After that, we survived three years gasping for air at 13,000 feet in La Paz, Bolivia during the time that Che Guevarra was trying to build a guerrilla base in that country. By 1980 my father was the US Ambassador to Nicaragua, and I was there witnessing the first days of the Sandinista Revolution. Tosh Plumlee: Robert Tosh Plumlee was born in 1937. He joined the United States Army in April 1954 and was assigned to the Texas 49th Armored Division. Later he was transferred to Dallas where he joined the 4th Army Reserve Military Intelligence Unit. After leaving the army Plumlee worked as an aircraft mechanic before obtaining his pilot's license in 1956. Soon afterwards he began work as a pilot for clandestine CIA flights. This included working for William Harvey, Tracy Barnes and Rip Robertson. Plumlee also transported arms to Cuba before Castro took power. Plumlee was also associated with Operation 40.