February 15, 2026· 13 min

The Sixth Bureau, Episode 1: Your Friend From Nanjing

Oral Indicators

Agonistic10%
basically, very, massive
Engagement50%
we, our, we've
Memory Aids91%
now, see, right
Repetition100%
your (14x), know (11x), chen (11x)
Parallelism29%
And, Xi, he understands it...., But Chen pushes back...., But I do not want to talk too ...
Sound Patterns25%
5 question(s), alliteration: "the time", alliteration: "chao chun"
Formulaic Phrases0%

Literate Indicators

Hedging12%
suggests, could, may
Passive Voice14%
being watched, is parked, is chen
Abstract Nouns27%
apartment, interaction, darkness
Subordination5%
because
Sentence Length21%
Avg: 10.3 words/sentence
Word Complexity46%
wednesday, following, consensual
Academic Markers0%
Impersonal Style50%
101 personal pronouns found
Descriptive Style52%
roughly, recently, really

Description

It’s an open secret that the Chinese government has engaged in a global campaign to acquire intellectual property from foreign rivals. At the center of that campaign is the Ministry of State Security, China’s elusive intelligence agency. The US has apprehended hundreds of people accused of giving information to the MSS, but the agency’s inner workings have been a mystery — until now. Today, we’re bringing you Episode 1 of The Sixth Bureau, a limited-run series from The Big Take. The series follows an MSS intelligence officer whose mission was to acquire the crown jewels of American aerospace companies. With aliases, blackmail and the occasional break-in, he targeted corporate giants. That is, until his sloppiness — and a cunning FBI sting — led to a stunning reversal: Xu Yanjun became the first Chinese intelligence officer ever convicted on American soil. Listen to Episode 2, available now in The Big Take. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.