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Secret Police

Secret Police

Written by: Jack Johannessen
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Welcome to Secret Police! A history podcast about the world’s most brutal secret police forces. We take a deep dive into the methods that secret police use to further authoritarianism.

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Episodes
  • German Secret Police pt. 1 Prussia & The Police Union

    German Secret Police pt. 1 Prussia & The Police Union
    Jul 14 2025
    What happens when a loose collective of states and political entities see a revolution in France and then invasion by Napoleon? Hint: it probably has to do with secret police. Following the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire, the Confederation of German State banned together by common language. The experience of being occupied by a foreign enemy and seeing their neighbors bleed from revolution inspired the German States' first collective police network. Along with the police network also came the development of an extensive international spy ring. They aimed to protect Germany's many sovereigns and prevent petty and political crimes. Socials: IG: @secretpolicepodcast X: hush_popo Gmail: secretpolicepodcast@gmail.com Special Thanks to: Jan Bögel as Paul Hilken Sources: Police and State in Prussia 1815-1850 by Alf Lüdtke The Gestapo: A History of Horror by Jacquese Delarue The Gestapo: The Myth and Reality of Hitler’s Secret Police International Policing in Nineteenth-Century Europe: The Police Union of German States, 1851-1866. (2025). Blogspot.com. https://deflem.blogspot.com/1996/09/international-policing-in-19th-century.html Facts About Germany. Geography & Climate. https://www.tatsachen-ueber-deutschland.de/en/germany-glance/geography-climate Ten Facts About Agriculture. https://www.deutschland.de/en/topic/environment/agriculture-in-germany-ten-facts#:~:text=Grain%20is%20grown%20on%20about,followed%20by%20barley%20and%20rye. Global Beer Consumption by Country in 2023. Kirin Holdings. https://www.kirinholdings.com/en/newsroom/release/2024/1219_01.html#:~:text=The%20Czech%20Republic%20consumed%20152.1,31st%20consecutive%20year%20since%201993. Sullivan, R. E. (1999, July 26). Charlemagne | Biography, Accomplishments, Children, & Facts. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charlemagne Wagner, G. A., Krbetschek, M., Degering, D., Bahain, J.-J., Shao, Q., Falguères, C., Voinchet, P., Dolo, J.-M., Garcia, T., & Rightmire, G. P. (2010). Radiometric dating of the type-site forHomo heidelbergensisat Mauer, Germany. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(46), 19726–19730. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1012722107 The. (1998, July 20). Saint Leo III | Pope, Charlemagne Coronation. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Leo-III Why Did Russia & Prussia Have Such Similar Names? Name Explain. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdqE-u0JJz0&ab_channel=NameExplain ‌Smith and Locke on Property | Adam Smith Works. (2019). Adamsmithworks.org. https://www.adamsmithworks.org/documents/smith-and-locke-on-property Carl Schurz. (2025). American Battlefield Trust. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/carl-schurz 1923 – how our history started. (2023). Interpol.int. https://www.interpol.int/Who-we-are/Our-history/How-our-history-started ‌Barkin, K. (1998, July 20). Otto von Bismarck | Biography, Significance, Accomplishments, & Facts. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Otto-von-Bismarck/Prime-minister Proclamation of the German Empire, 1871. (2018, August 23). Palace of Versailles; Versailles. https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/history/key-dates/proclamation-german-empire-1871#:~:text=On%2016%20December%201870%20a,in%20the%20Hall%20of%20Mirrors. The Siege of Paris. (2022, November 15). Warfare History Network. https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/the-siege-of-paris/ Swift, J. (2024, February 20). Siege of Paris (1870−71) | Summary. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Siege-of-Paris-1870-1871 Barkin, K. (1998, July 20). Otto von Bismarck | Biography, Significance, Accomplishments, & Facts. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Otto-von-Bismarck/Prime-minister Bauer, D. S. (2025). Georges Boulanger: The Third Republic’s Spy Master? Proceedings of the Western Society for French History, 39. http://hdl.handle.net/2027/spo.0642292.0039.018 History. (2022, April 12). Bayer.com. https://www.bayer.com/en/history/1881-1914 History of Deutsche Bank. (2020). Db.com. https://www.db.com/who-we-are/history/history-of-deutsche-bank?language_id=1 Bauer, D. S. (2025). Georges Boulanger: The Third Republic’s Spy Master? Proceedings of the Western Society for French History, 39. http://hdl.handle.net/2027/spo.0642292.0039.018 ‌The. (1998, July 20). Frederick III | Hohenzollern Dynasty, Prussian Reforms, German Unification. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Frederick-III-king-of-Prussia-and-emperor-of-Germany Kaiser Wilhelm’s Left Arm and the Fate of the World. (2025). Blogspot.com. https://roadstothegreatwar-ww1.blogspot.com/2025/01/kaiser-wilhelms-left-arm-and-fate-of.html Why did Wilhelm II get rid of Bismarck? (Short Animated Documentary). History Matters. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BX0Q8ZCz6GY&ab_channel=HistoryMatters Balfour, M. G. (1998, July 20). William II | ...
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    1 hr and 31 mins
  • The Sovereignty Commission & The State of Mississippi

    The Sovereignty Commission & The State of Mississippi
    Apr 7 2025
    In the wake of the Supreme Court's decision in Brown versus Board of Education of Topeka, Mississippi's state government felt that segregation was threated by Federal encroachment. Segregation was the legal practice of separating blacks and whites in public life in the Deep South of the United States. From 1956 to 1973, the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission enforced segregation from the shadows. The Commission spied on Mississippi residents, American citizens, and promoted segregation across America. The Ku Klux Klan helped. Socials: IG: @secretpolicepodcast X: hush_popo Substack: @secretpolicepodcast Gmail: secretpolicepodcast@gmail.com Sources: Sov Com Database: https://da.mdah.ms.gov/sovcom/ Mississippi State Secrets. History Channel. May 2, 2006. Uploaded to YouTube by bayridge53, January 3, 2013. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sz0JFELRwko&list=PLyw95kShWfm_rHz4ZaCyC7PtRRstx6Dx8&t=846s&ab_channel=bayridge53 Origin of Names of US States. US Department of the Interior. Indian Affairs. https://www.bia.gov/as-ia/opa/online-press-release/origin-names-us-states Bureau of Transportation Statistics. US Department of Transportation. Tonnage of Top 50 U.S. Water Ports, Ranked by Total Tons. https://www.bts.gov/content/tonnage-top-50-us-water-ports-ranked-total-tons The Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin (MARB). United States Environmental Protection Agency. https://www.epa.gov/ms-htf/mississippiatchafalaya-river-basin-marb Mississippi. Encyclopedia Britanica. https://www.britannica.com/place/Mississippi-state Soil Resources Areas of Mississippi. Mississippi Agricultural & Forestry Experiment Station. Department of Agronomy. D. E. Pettry. May 1977. Treaty of Tordesillas. Encyclopedia Britanica. https://www.britannica.com/event/Treaty-of-Tordesillas Jun 7, 1494 CE: Treaty of Tordesillas. National Geographic. https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/treaty-tordesillas/ Privateers in the American Revolution. National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/articles/privateers-in-the-american-revolution.htm#:~:text=A%20Privateer%20Commission%20was%20issued,or%20lightly%20armed%2C%20commercial%20ship Unboxing Mississippi: What It's Like Living in Mississippi. Nick Johnson. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVKOaT1blLM&list=PLyw95kShWfm_rHz4ZaCyC7PtRRstx6Dx8&index=11&ab_channel=NickJohnson A Brief History of English Privateers. The Collector. Cale Gressman. May 9, 2023. https://www.thecollector.com/english-privateers/ Chartered Company. Encyclopedia Britanica. https://www.britannica.com/money/chartered-company Virginia Company. Encyclopedia Britanica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Virginia-Company The Popham Colony of 1607. Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation & Forestry. https://www.maine.gov/dacf/parks/discover_history_explore_nature/history/popham_colony/index.shtml Price, D. A. (1998, July 20). Pocahontas | Biography, Cultural Legacy, & Facts. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pocahontas-Powhatan-princess Price, D. A. (1998, July 20). Jamestown Colony | History, Foundation, Settlement, Map, & Facts. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/Jamestown-Colony/The-Starving-Time-and-near-abandonment-1609-11#ref247839 John Rolfe - Historic Jamestowne Part of Colonial National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service). (2022). Nps.gov. https://www.nps.gov/jame/learn/historyculture/john-rolfe.htm Teach Democracy. (2024). Teachdemocracy.org. https://teachdemocracy.org/bill-of-rights-in-action/bria-15-4-c-laws-of-the-indies-spain-and-the-native-peoples-of-the-new-world#:~:text=The%20Spanish%20conquistadors%2C%20who%20went,conquistadors%20attacked%20and%20slaughtered%20them Brief Biography of William Penn. (2025). Ushistory.org. https://www.ushistory.org/penn/bio.htm#:~:text=King%20Charles%20II%20of%20England,honor%20of%20the%20elder%20Penn The People Involved in the French and Indian War. (2025). American Battlefield Trust. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/people-involved-french-and-indian-war#:~:text=The%20Algonquin%2Dspeaking%20people%20largely,with%20the%20Algonquins%20and%20French Yazoo Land Fraud - New Georgia Encyclopedia. (2017, June 8). George R. Lamplugh. New Georgia Encyclopedia. https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/yazoo-land-fraud/ Progress of the Nation -- 1790 to 1890 by Robert P. Porter, Henry Gannett, and William C. Hunt. For 1890 Census Estimates. Cawthon, W. (2017). Was the South Poor Before the War? – Abbeville Institute. Abbevilleinstitute.org. https://www.abbevilleinstitute.org/was-the-south-poor-before-the-war/#_ednref20 Tonge, P. (1983, March 22). Natchez: in 1850 half of the millionaires in the US lived here. The Christian Science Monitor. https://www.csmonitor.com/1983/0322/032230.html Cotton in a Global Economy: Mississippi (1800-1860) - 2006-10. (2025). Ms.gov. https://...
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    2 hrs and 26 mins
  • Chile's DINA & Augusto Pinochet

    Chile's DINA & Augusto Pinochet
    Feb 28 2025
    It's said that there were three sources of power in Chile: God, Pinochet, and DINA. The DINA was Chile's secret police from 1973 to 1977 in the early years of the Pinochet dictatorship. They were often compared to the Gestapo or the KGB by American intelligence. La Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional (DINA) was the regime’s iron fist that kidnapped, brutalized, butchered, and disappeared thousands of people inside Chile. Under the guidance of director Manuel Contreras, the DINA also launched terror campaigns in the United States, Europe, and Chile’s neighbors. DINA answered to Pinochet only and in many ways superseded the armed forces. Socials: IG: @secretpolicepodcast X: hush_popo Gmail: secretpolicepodcast@gmail.com Sources: The Pinochet Files: a declassified dossier on atrocity and accountability. Peter Kornbluh. 2013. The Condor Years: how Pinochet and his allies brought terrorism to three continents. John Dinges. 2004. Geography Now! Chile. Geography Now! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8P4Hi99hUJc&list=PLyw95kShWfm8YA_28vi9Z__aac61xES84&index=7&ab_channel=GeographyNow Why is the Atacama Desert called the “Driest Desert in the World”? Tierra Atacama. January 29, 2021. https://tierraatacama.com/journal/why-is-the-atacama-desert-called-the-driest-desert-in-the-world/ The world’s ten largest copper mines. Mining Technology. June 18, 2024. https://www.mining-technology.com/marketdata/ten-largest-coppers-mines/?cf-view Which countries produce the most copper? World Economic Forum. December 12, 2022. https://www.weforum.org/stories/2022/12/which-countries-produce-the-most-copper/ World Factbook. Chile. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Updated January 15, 2025. https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/chile/#people-and-society Biotec-LATAM. Chile. https://biotec-latam.com/en/countries/chile Chile - Country Commercial Guide. International Trade Administration. Updated December 7, 2023. https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/chile-agricultural-sector Pisco Sour. Liquor.com. November 13, 2020. https://www.liquor.com/recipes/pisco-sour/ The San Antonio, Both the Gem and the Rogue of Magellan’s Fleet. John Sailors. Medium. June 19, 2022. https://johnsailors.medium.com/the-san-antonio-both-the-gem-and-the-rogue-of-magellans-fleet-79d8f19f01d4#:~:text=The%20San%20Antonio%20was%20the,a%20price%20of%20330%2C000%20maravedis. A Super Quick History of Chile. Mr History. November 4, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9na4XyC3-4&ab_channel=MrHistory Ferdinand Magellan - First Circumnavigation of the Earth. Simple History. February 9, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylwiOLab5AA&ab_channel=SimpleHistory The Germans in Chile: Immigration and Colonization, 1849-1914. By Young, George F. W.. New York, 1974. Center for Migration Studies. Maps. Tables. Figures. Appendices. Bibliography. Index. Pp. xi, 234. Paper. Chile - History, Geography, Economy and Culture. Geodiode. January 31, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGfBc4N86mA&list=PLyw95kShWfm8YA_28vi9Z__aac61xES84&index=6&ab_channel=Geodiode General Augusto Pinochet - General & Dictator of Chile Documentary. The People Profiles. August 5, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhOjb_MYueo&list=PLyw95kShWfm8YA_28vi9Z__aac61xES84&index=3&ab_channel=ThePeopleProfiles Real Dictators. Pinochet Part 1: An Arrest in London. Noiser. August 27, 2024. History of Chile. Encyclopedia Britannica. Paul W. Drake & John J. Johnson. https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-Chile Brief Life History of Augusto José Ramón. FamilySearch. https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/LZR7-7NL/augusto-jos%C3%A9-ram%C3%B3n-pinochet-ugarte-1915-2006 What is nitrate?. United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). https://www.epa.gov/mn/what-nitrate#:~:text=Nitrate%20(NO3)%20is%20a%20compound,fertilizers%20for%20crops%20and%20lawns. Brief Political History of Chile. Crónica Panamericana. December 4, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsWDarMiVCw&ab_channel=Cr%C3%B3nicaPanamericana History of our constitutions. Hagamos Historia. Educatión Civica Constitucional. Ministry Secretary General of the Government. https://www.gob.cl/hagamoshistoria/en/timeline/ Chile Under Pinochet: Recovering the Truth by Mark Ensalaco. November 15, 1999. The Van Buren Hospital in the history of Chile by Carlos Astudillo. 2014. https://hekint.org/2017/02/22/the-van-buren-hospital-in-the-history-of-chile/ María Verónica Pinochet renuncia a herencia de su madre Lucía Hiriart by Cristián Meza. June 9, 2023. https://www.eldinamo.cl/pais/2023/06/09/maria-veronica-pinochet-renuncia-a-herencia-de-su-madre-lucia-hiriart/ Intelligence Memorandum/ Chile: Allende’s Economic Record. Central Intelligence Agency Office of Economic Research. April 1972. Sanitized Copy released on September 23, 2011. Friedman, Jeremy, John Masko, and Jingyu Liu. "...
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    2 hrs and 39 mins
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