In a room above a pub in central London, a few innocuous-looking objects are laid out on a table.
"Here we have a briefcase that was owned by Napoleon," says Shari Kashani, curator of Spacescape, a New York museum dedicated to the world of espionage.
"These are some of the original animated drawings from the 1954 film Animal Farm... Here we have an account book from the reign of William the Third - dating from 1695 to 1702, and containing notes of all the secret payments made on behalf of the King. "
This is definitely not your usual trip to the local pub.
"You don't have to worry about touching them," she adds, an instruction that seems utterly stunning when you're holding a 200-year-old artifact once owned by one of history's most famous figures in order to get a better picture of it.
Napoleon's suitcase was probably full of reports, excerpts from letters and other intelligence gathered by his secret services.
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The fact that MI6 HQ can be seen from the pub window gives you a hint as to why we're here - these items all feature in the new podcast series History of the world in espionage subjects, recorded by an American museum.
For each episode, a different guest chooses one of the spy items that helped shape the world and then explains why he chose it.
“In the podcast, we try to use these subjects; they look very ordinary, they don't feel spy at all, but we really try to bring them to life for you," explains historian and author Alice Loxton, who hosts the series.
Moving to the table, Shari takes a stack of typed sheets from a leather folder with the metal letters "KP" written on it.
This, she explains, is the memoir of the notorious double agent Kim Philby, written after he moved to Moscow - a man who once called this pub on the banks of the Thames his favorite place to go out.
“This section is about his very early childhood growing up near London.
"He describes how he was a very lonely child and decided at the age of five not to believe in God, so this early chapter kind of explains his later decisions in life."
The pages are filled with handwritten notes by the agent himself, while at the very end is a message he scribbled in Russian.
"It's a short message he wrote in which he says, practically, that if a woman kills him, it will be justified, because he gave her a very difficult life in exile," says Shari.
The curator adds that many believe that the red folder, bought at London's luxury Espley store and which comes with its original box, was sent to Philby while he was in the Soviet Union and that it tells the story of the notorious spy in itself.
"I think this purchase or gift, we don't know exactly what it is, is also symbolic of everything that has gone wrong since he was exiled, because he still craves all the luxury items from his homeland," she says.
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All of these items are incredibly versatile.
Napoleon's briefcase, now successfully photographed, was delivered every morning by the French ruler full of reports on his notorious intelligence-gathering operation, Cabinet Noir.
There's also the plain-looking RAF button that was sewn onto the uniforms of airmen and special agents during the Second World War and, when undone, reveals a miniature compass - useful for anyone stuck in enemy territory.
There is also the prime minister's big red box for dispatches from the 1840s, the decade during which Robert Peel was one of three British prime ministers, and which is believed to have been in use for several decades.
"It must have held some of the most important secret documents that changed events around the world," says Alice.
"It sounds like a corny phrase, but these items have made a huge impact."
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This podcast series boasts a diverse range of guests, from actors to designers to artists.
Harry Potter star Jason Isaacs talks about the invisible B2 bomber, telling the story of how he got the chance to sit in the cockpit of the top-secret US plane and even managed to record a video while inside (much to his own surprise).
Another guest, bus designer New Routemaster Thomas Heatherwick, talks about an umbrella whose tip was coated with poison and which is believed to have been used in the assassination of Georgi Markov on Waterloo Bridge in 1978, nine years after he defected to the West from Bulgaria.
Describing why he chose this item, the London-based designer explains that "it's amazing what an inventive mind can come up with to solve a problem, even if that problem isn't necessarily something that's better for the world but something that has an evil purpose."
Alice says that having such people as guests on the podcast instead of historians provides different insights into the subjects and makes those stories more receptive.
"I think that different angle and that new perspective not only brings in a wider audience but also makes the conversation richer and more interesting," she says.
The historian, who boasts more than 1,2 million followers on Instagram, adds: "I think we're all aware at this point that there's a shift in the way people look at history, how they experience it, and how they engage with it, and you know digital platforms are a big part of that.
"The fact that people can listen to these stories while carrying out various tasks in their daily lives means that you no longer have to learn it by reading academic books or studying. It's become truly accessible."
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