A Spy in Lancaster / 2016 Toy Safety

In September of 1992, FBI Special Agent John W. Whiteside was summoned by his superiors at the Bureau’s Philadelphia Field Office.  He was told that a man code-named “Dan” was an agent for the KGB, selling over 200 top secret documents between 1965 and 1967.  “Dan” was Robert Stephan Lipka, a former Army intelligence officer assigned to the National Security Agency, and he was living in Lancaster County.

Agent Whiteside’s investigation led him across Amish Country and involved Soviet double agents, a fake KGB contact and a crack in the case that came from a game of chess.

Retired FBI Agent John Whiteside joins Smart Talk to discuss the case of Robert Lipka, the spy who lived in Lancaster.  Whiteside chronicles the investigation in his book, Fool’s Mate: The True Story of Espionage at the National Security Agency.

 

Also, last year more than 254,000 children visited America’s emergency rooms with injuries caused by toys. The $25 billion industry has come a long way since fire-prone E-Z Bake Ovens and flesh-piercing lawn darts.  But today’s toys still can pose hazards to young children. 

We’ll talk with Michael Roles, Field Director of the Pennsylvania Public Interest Research Group and David Pollick, a personal injury lawyer and managing partner at Dale E. Anstine law firm of York.  They’ll tell us how to follow recalls, what types of toys never to buy second-hand and what to do if your child is injured by a well-intentioned holiday gift.