A former CIA analyst has lifted the lid on what goes on during the intelligence agency’s job interviews — including the bizarre first question they asked him. David McCloskey worked in field stations across the Middle East during the Arab Spring and in the Counterterrorism Center, where he focused on jihadist activities in Syria and Iraq. He has joined Gordon Corera, a journalist who has covered national security issues for more than 25 years including two decades as a Security Correspondent for BBC News, to host Goalhanger’s new The Rest is Classified podcast exploring the secretive world of espionage. “I’ve never had an interview experience like that and I am hopeful I never will again,” McCloskey told The Independent. The Rest is Classified’s first episode is out on 27 November.