Spies & Intelligence: The World of International Espionage

Tue Apr 28 2026 at 01:00 pm to 02:30 pm UTC-07:00

Jewish Community Center of San Francisco | San Francisco

Jewish Community Center of San Francisco
Publisher/HostJewish Community Center of San Francisco
Spies & Intelligence: The World of International Espionage
Advertisement
Discover the world of double agents through a focus on famous operatives; Kim Philby, Aldrich Ames, Robert Hanssen, and Edward Snowden
About this Event

Did you know that a double agent is a spy who pretends to work for a country/organization while secretly working for a different, often hostile, one? Deception is central in espionage and counter-espionage operations. Double agents are valuable assets because they can be used to transmit disinformation to the enemy, identify other enemy agents, and collect intelligence on the inner workings of the opposing side.

Attorney Oak Dowling pulls back the curtain with information and examples of the difference between turned agents, infiltrators, and mercenaries. One famous case is the British "Double-Cross System" during World War II, which was a successful double agent operation, where German spies were "turned" and used to feed false information to their Nazi controllers.


Oak Dowling, JD, is a retired attorney with 43 years of practice. He's a graduate of the University of Wisconsin – Madison Law School and a native of Chicago. He was a part-time Instructor of Law at College of Marin and has been an Instructor in the OLLI program at Dominican University for 13 years. In his law classes, he uses courtroom drama to demonstrate legal principles.

Oak has lived in Marin County for 50 years and was happily married for 61 years. He has been a member of the Marin County Financial Abuse Specialist Team (“FAST”) and was selected as Outstanding Marin County Volunteer of the Year for 2012-2013. As an avocation, he has performed in theatre in Marin and San Francisco for 15 years.

Advertisement

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, 3200 California Street, San Francisco, United States

Tickets

USD 0.00

Icon
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups - all the happenings, one place.

Ask AI if this event suits you:

More Events in San Francisco

Pub Choir
Mon, 27 Apr at 08:00 pm Pub Choir

The Regency Ballroom

Pub Choir
Tue, 28 Apr Pub Choir

The Regency Ballroom - San Francisco

2026 Anusara Yoga Global Conference - Samavesha | San Francisco, California
Tue, 28 Apr at 09:00 am 2026 Anusara Yoga Global Conference - Samavesha | San Francisco, California

Hotel Kabuki - JDV by Hyatt

OneReq
Tue, 28 Apr at 09:00 am OneReq

The Midway

AWS Solution Architect Training | 4-Day Bootcamp in  Pacifica, CA
Tue, 28 Apr at 09:00 am AWS Solution Architect Training | 4-Day Bootcamp in Pacifica, CA

611 Gateway Blvd

San Jose State Spartans at San Francisco Dons Baseball
Tue, 28 Apr at 02:00 pm San Jose State Spartans at San Francisco Dons Baseball

Hayes-Healy Hall, University of San Francisco

Cut Worms
Tue, 28 Apr at 04:00 pm Cut Worms

The Independent

Dan Docimo
Tue, 28 Apr Dan Docimo

Cobb's Comedy Club

Embarcadero Plaza & Sue Bierman Park Renovation Project\u2013Community Meeting 3
Tue, 28 Apr at 05:30 pm Embarcadero Plaza & Sue Bierman Park Renovation Project–Community Meeting 3

Codi, Three Embarcadero Center, Street Level

San Francisco is Happening!

Never miss your favorite happenings again!

Explore San Francisco Events