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My Dad the Spy By cover art

My Dad the Spy

By: Stewart Copeland
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Episodes
  • Ep. 1: At Home With The Copelands

    Ep. 1: At Home With The Copelands
    Aug 31 2020

    Stewart and his sister Lennie remember a culturally rich and pampered upbringing, dragged around the Middle East by an often absent father. It felt like any normal family... until they discovered what dad really did.
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    31 mins
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  • Ep. 2: The Shoot Out

    Ep. 2: The Shoot Out
    Aug 31 2020

    We’re in the company of Miles Axe Copeland II, in a world of lavish parties attended by great writers and mysterious colonels. The dangers of dad’s career become apparent when armed raiders break into the family home in Damascus.
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    28 mins
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  • Ep. 3: Joining Up

    Ep. 3: Joining Up
    Aug 31 2020

    Miles survives the armed raid on his home, but was everything as it seemed? Stewart and his sister Lennie follow dad back to a childhood in Birmingham, Alabama, then into his exploits during the war. Miles meets the man who will eventually recruit him into the CIA, and receives the secret orders which change his life forever.
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    32 mins
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About the Creator and Performer

Stewart Copeland has spent more than three decades at the forefront of contemporary music as rock star and acclaimed film composer, as well as in the disparate worlds of opera, ballet, and world and chamber music. Recruiting Sting and Andy Summers in 1977, Copeland is renowned as the founder of The Police, a band that became a defining force in rock music from the ‘80s through to the present day. His career includes the sale of more than 60 million records worldwide, and numerous awards, including five Grammy awards.
Copeland moved beyond the rock arena in the mid-1980s when he returned to his classical roots with creative pursuits in concert and film music. His concert works include BEN-HUR, A Tale of the Christ, which features Copeland as soloist in a live orchestral score for the 1925 silent film; Tyrant’s Crush: Concerto for Trapset and Orchestra commissioned by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Poltroons in Paradise commissioned by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra; and Gamelan D’Drum, commissioned by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra for the world percussion group D’Drum. He has also, in the last two years, written and hosted two extremely successful TV shows for the BBC. Stewart Copeland on Drums and Stewart Copelands Adventures In Music.

Espionage Spy Nonfiction
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What listeners say about My Dad the Spy

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Profile Image for Massage or Knot, Orlando FL

An interesting story

Stewart Copeland delves into his father’s past as a CIA operative.
It was interesting to hear what his childhood was like in the Middle East. I thought it was fascinating to listen to him, his sister and older brother.

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Profile Image for LavishMango

Too much bouncing back and forth in time.

it's a fascinating story but it became repetitive. You know the type. each episode recaps some of the previous for those who didn't hear it.

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Profile Image for GK Jordan

Memories of a Beirut childhood

What makes this podcast appealing is the genuineness of the conversation amongst the Copeland siblings. Geopolitics aside, the podcast is an act of a discovery and an attempt to make sense of an unusual childhood and a mysterious parent. For me personally, there were parts that were relatable. While I'm 15 years younger than Stewart Copeland, I attended elementary school at ACS Beirut in the mid-70s. And, yes -- there was a lot of laissez faire parenting in the expat community. We children did run free, even after the civil war started. It's alarming to think about in retrospect, but at the time it was just life as we knew it. I also liked the podcast because the father of my best friend from Beirut days is interviewed, as he knew Miles Copeland.

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Profile Image for William B. Vice

A Story I Always Wanted to Hear

I was a big Police fan in the 80's and of course heard that Stewart's father was one of the founders of the CIA back in those days. Later I became interested in the Copeland family when I saw Stewart's brother Miles being interviewed in a Netflix documentrary about Kim Philby. Needless to say, the Copelands had a singular childhood which produced a group of rather strong-willed, interesting children. And the story of how they got that way is all here, including the story of how the patriarch Miles Axe Copeland toppled governments and invented boardgames. Well worth a listen if you are interested either in the Copelands as part of the music biz, or Copelands as a family of spies (indeed, even Mom was in the game!).

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3 people found this helpful

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Profile Image for Jean

I definitely recommend this book!

This is the very interesting story of Miles Axe Copeland, a CIA operative in the Middle East, and father of the author, Stewart Copeland, drummer and one of the founders of the rock band "Police." This podcast contained the early years of Steward and his brothers and sister's lives, because of the "job" their dad Miles had. Steward is a superb narrator, and presented the story very well. His brother & sister chimed in at times with their points of view, It helps us understand the reasoning behind the actions of the US from it's agents, the balance of power in the Middle East, and how these actions influenced our relationships with those countries today.

If you are a history fan, a fan of the band Police, or just looking for a good story, My Dad the Spy will fill the bill.

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Profile Image for Della Street

Interesting and fun read

Stewart is good narrator and a capable writer with a good story, Copeland provides the historical context necessary to give the story a sense of time and space. Could do without the dramatic vignettes but a annoyance in an otherwise good podcast.

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Profile Image for Byron L Wright

Interesting, but

The historical recollection is interesting. Just leave it at that. The politicizing hindsight at the end marginalizes the efforts of Stewart’s father and many like him doing their best in a difficult time. The 9/11 attacks were ignored.

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Profile Image for Bobo from Texas

Entertaining and informative!

Knew Stewart in different capacity. Didn't know him as an author. Totally entertained. Humorous, informative, well produced, great reflection of fathers legacy and nice to incude brother and sisters thoughts. Love and pride in father and mother weaves throughout recollections. Loved it and highly recommend.

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3 people found this helpful

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Profile Image for nancy s.

I enjoyed this

I don’t know how to evaluate this kind of presentation. It’s not like a novel or even a biography or memoir. It’s more like a captivating conversation or a presentation on NPR. I would add that while it was certainly entertaining, it also had historical relevance.

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Profile Image for Froggirl80

Vulnerable

I'll be honest, a good portion of this series was extremely dark. However, this episode, the last in the series, was very emotional. What got me was Stewart getting emotional talking about his big brother, Ian and Ian's struggle for acknowledgement. Ian was so brave in fighting for his country and to be treated so disrespectfully, was so wrong and not fair. And what was even more heartbreaking was that happened to Ian, dying from cancer. Stewart was so passionate apologizing for what happened in the war. He was so vulnerable and open about his feelings about his father and his legacy. He ended it beautifully by saying that nothing will change his love for his father. You can tell Stewart and his family have made peace with it. God bless. 🙏❤️🙏

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