Disclosure: I’m a MasterClass affiliate, which means I earn a small commission if you buy through one of my links — at no extra cost to you.
What you’d expect from a CIA MasterClass called The Art of Intelligence seems pretty straightforward. Get an edge in your own life by learning how people who think for a living deal with people, assess risk and make decisions in high-stakes situations. Maybe hear one or two fascinating spy stories along the way. I can tell you upfront that this is what the class delivers. That said, there are a few caveats we should talk about.
In this CIA MasterClass review, we’ll look at it from the perspective of someone with a general interest in critical thinking and decision-making. First, you’ll get a quick rundown of MasterClass and your potential instructors. Then, I’ll offer my two cents in the form of three insights into the class, viewed through the lens of a teacher and critical thinking enthusiast who also studied intel analysis at university for a couple of years. (Yes, you can just go and study this. No, I’ve never worked for an intel organisation.)
Hopefully, this will help you tell signal from noise and decide if the CIA MasterClass is worth your time and hard-earned money.
MasterClass & The Art of Intelligence
MasterClass itself is a popular online learning platform that lets you pick up new skills without leaving your home. (Find my comprehensive MasterClass review here.) It features over 200 structured classes with 2500+ lessons and a consistently high production value. What really sets it apart, though, is its instructors. They’re absolute experts at the top of their fields. Where else could you learn chess from Garry Kasparov one day and then dive into negotiation tactics with a former FBI hostage negotiator the next? That’s slightly different from the class I’m reviewing here.
Your instructors for The Art of Intelligence are three of the CIA’s former deputy directors, namely Brian Carbaugh, Dawn Meyerriecks and Michael Morell. Chances are you’ve never heard of them, which is probably why MasterClass advertises the class under the CIA “brand” rather than their instructors’ names. But that doesn’t really matter. What matters are the insights they provide into the innerworkings of the world’s most powerful intelligence apparatus. What matters is that what they have to say has substance, right? Well, more on that later.
3 Insights Into CIA MasterClass
Let me tell you upfront, The Art of Intelligence is a short class with an overall runtime of one hour and fifteen minutes. It features two parts. The first part is all about skills and techniques and how to apply them in everyday life. Part two dives into CIA myths, missions and the lessons learned from them.
Unlike other classes, there’s no class guide in the form of a PDF booklet for you to download. However, there’s a summary of key points for each skill or technique provided in the video. You can pack a lot of substance in a good hour. So let’s take a look at my personal takeaways.
1. Beyond the Politics & Drama
Interestingly enough, effective intelligence analysis begins with understanding the source of information. Its origin, reliability and potential biases. Let’s apply this to the three instructors. I’m sure they’re all highly skilled, with impeccable credentials that I won’t challenge in my capacity as a random blogger. But…
As former Deputy Directors, the instructors speak from a political–managerial vantage point. This rewards caution, institutional loyalty and self-presentation. Their personal spy stories and accounts of intel history tend to stress strategy and good intentions while minimising controversy. A cynic could even say that about their admission of obvious intelligence failures, such as the invasion of Iraq or 9/11.
There will also be a fair amount of dramatisation and tense background music. And of course, a good amount of humblebragging. Instructors pride themselves on having had “front row seats to history being made” while talking about their proximity to power. This can, at times, make it feel…cringe. It’s different to MasterClass instructors such as author David Sedaris, whose demeanour is much more humble and self-ironic. But I guess that comes with the profession.
What I’m trying to say here is this: Regardless of how you feel about some events politically, I found it best to just ignore those parts. Try to see beyond the noise of vanity and personal feelings about policy decisions. Take it as an exercise to listen carefully to what’s being said and what’s omitted. Extract the useful techniques while letting the ego, politics and theatrics fade into the background.
2. Learning from Tradecraft
Anyway, you came to the class for the “declassified stories and field-tested techniques”; the Tradecraft. Tradecraft is the set of skills, techniques, and methods used by intelligence professionals to gather information and operate covertly. The skills discussed by the three former deputies are indeed applicable to everyday life, career or business. Specifically, they talk about how to build relationships, manage risk, detect deception or avoid bias in decision-making. The section about their struggles with impostor syndrome is pretty insightful, too.
A concrete example would be their discussion of the agent acquisition cycle. When collecting intelligence clandestinely, CIA case officers must cultivate trusting and meaningful relationships with people who possess the information they seek. That requires three things: patience, listening skills and the ability to ask good questions. In everyday life, as in the CIA, relationships have to be built on a real foundation and not be transactional. This is why you must truly understand your future best friend’s motives.
This, of course, is only the CliffNotes of the CliffNotes. What the CIA MasterClass gives you is a five-minute version highlighting the most important dos and don’ts of relationship-building. That not only begs the big question: how exactly do I apply all that in everyday life? It also brings us to insight number three.
3. A Launchpad for Practice
The catch is that sitting through the class alone won’t make you a better relationship-builder, risk assessor, or communicator. Who expects that anyway? Most lessons and advice are only surface-level due to the format. And even the parts where the instructors go into greater detail on how you cultivate certain skills, there’s one simple truth I don’t get tired of repeating.
No matter how tradecrafty or declassified the skills you hear about are, they mean nothing if you don’t use and practice them. A lot. In this sense, the CIA MasterClass can be seen as a mere launchpad for practice. (Similar to my 3 Ideas in 2 Minutes newsletter or this very website.) It’s an entertaining way of getting an overview of the skills and techniques that are out there. Then deciding on which ones might work for you. Then researching some more before testing them out in your own field. Then going back to figure out what you did wrong.
Here’s the encouraging part, though. Lots of the supposedly secret techniques are open source. Want to get better at intelligence-grade analysis? Check out my article on Structured Analytic Techniques. Want some further resources? Check out my reading intelligence analysis reading list. The Art of Intelligence is a good starting point, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg. To truly develop the skills it teaches, you need to go beyond the quick overview, pick a skill and put in the time.
Closing Thoughts
With all that being written, is the CIA MasterClass The Art of Intelligence worth $10 per month (billed annually)? No. And yes. Because it depends on what you expect to get out of your subscription. You will indeed get insights into mental models drawn from the real world of intelligence. But you’ll also get unlimited access to over 200 classes with a 30-day satisfaction guarantee.
I’m not gonna lie, this is an unusually short class that touches on many ideas without going into too much depth. Unlike the other classes I’ve taken so far that were much more structured and comprehensive with a written class guide on top. So give it a try only if you can see beyond the politics and have your eyes on at least one or two other instructors. And if you found this review useful, I’d appreciate it if you signed up to MasterClass through my MasterClass affiliate link.
