A stash of documents linked to World War II codebreaker Alan Turing has sold at auction for £465,400. The papers, which date back to the 1930s, include Turing’s PhD dissertation and personal correspondence with fellow mathematician Norman Routledge. They were discovered in the attic of a Nottinghamshire home by the cousin of the seller, Bridget Pitcher. The family had considered shredding the haul before realizing its historical significance. Auctioned off in Derbyshire, the collection offers a rare glimpse into the formative years of one of Britain’s greatest minds. Turing’s work helped crack the German Enigma code during World War II and laid the groundwork for modern computing.
Image Credit: Wikimedia/Alan Turing/Princeton University
True Spies
The Spy In The Cornfield
What secrets grow in the fields of Iowa?
When two well-dressed men were spotted digging up seedlings on a remote Iowa farm, it didn't look like your average case of trespassing. FBI Special Agent Mark Betten had worked counterterrorism and kidnapping cases, but this was new ground. The field belonged to DuPont Pioneer, one of several agricultural giants developing proprietary hybrid seeds worth tens of millions.
What began as a strange encounter in the Corn Belt led to a multi-year FBI investigation, linking Chinese national Mo Hailong to multiple acts of agricultural espionage across Iowa and Illinois. The goal? Steal genetically modified parent seeds, valuable trade secrets, and smuggle them back to Beijing.
The suspects posed as agricultural researchers, attended trade shows, and even crashed a state dinner for visiting Chinese officials. Betten followed the trail from suspicious license plates to business cards, piecing together a plot that may have cost U.S. companies up to $500 million.
Join Mark Betten in this week's podcast selection, 'The Spy in the Cornfield', as he unpacks a plot to steal America's agricultural secrets.
New mission location activated. Come test your skills.
After you complete your debrief you will receive 10 short missions to play on the streets of Covent Garden — time to put what you've learned into action.
In northern Japan this week, Honda launched a 20-foot reusable rocket. The prototype soared nearly 1,000 feet above Hokkaido before landing within 14 inches of its target less than a minute after takeoff.
The test marks progress toward Honda’s goal of achieving suborbital spaceflight by 2029. While it hasn’t shared a commercial plan yet, the company cites rising demand for satellite launches. Honda joins a growing list of automakers eyeing the final frontier. Toyota is developing launch vehicles, while SpaceX remains the leader in reusable rocket technology. Blue Origin and new players in China and Europe are also in the race.
Image Credit: Honda
Articles
CIA Spy Manual
What do spies and magicians have in common?
In the 1950s, the CIA commissioned professional magician John Mulholland to write a top-secret guide on sleight of hand, misdirection, and escape. The result: a declassified manual titled The Official CIA Manual of Trickery and Deception, a how-to guide for Cold War spycraft disguised as stage magic. Mulholland’s instructions included ways to spike drinks unnoticed, exchange messages mid-handshake, and destroy documents in seconds using a match and sleight of hand.
The Agency was deep into its controversial MK-Ultra program, exploring mind control, hypnosis, and LSD. Mulholland’s manual helped to train agents in covert manipulation, from switching sugar cubes to vanishing coded notes under pressure. The magician-turned-spymaster died in 1970, but his secret handbook resurfaced in 2007 when it was declassified and later published for the public.
A magician never reveals his secrets. But sometimes, the CIA does. Uncover more in this SPYSCAPE article.
Image Credit: CIA Manual of Trickery and Deception
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How do you rob an armored truck in under 30 minutes?
Federal prosecutors have charged seven California men with what they call the biggest jewelry heist in US history. The crew allegedly stole about $100 million in gems, gold, and watches from a Brinks semitruck outside Los Angeles in July 2022.
Investigators say the men followed the truck for more than 300 miles after a jewelry trade show. Just after 2 am at a rest stop, one guard left to get food while the other slept. In only 27 minutes, the crew retrieved 24 bags of valuables and departed. Cellphone records and surveillance footage helped agents identify the suspects, and authorities arrested two men last week. They located a third in prison on unrelated charges, but four still remain on the run. If convicted, they face up to 20 years in prison.
Science
Eyes On The Infinite
How do you map the sky?
This week, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile unveiled its first images of the night sky. Home to the world’s largest digital camera and a nearly 28-foot-wide mirror, the US-funded telescope can spot distant galaxies and faint asteroids with stunning precision.
In one composite made from 678 exposures, Rubin revealed new views of the Trifid and Lagoon Nebulae star-forming regions thousands of light-years away. A separate panoramic scan of the Virgo Cluster captured countless galaxies in detail. But it’s not just pretty pictures. In only 10 hours of observation, Rubin identified 2,104 previously unknown asteroids, including seven near-Earth objects. View the images here.
Image Credit: NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory
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