Forget what you hear: Careless Talk, espionage and ways of listening in on the British secret state

Abstract As the covert and clandestine practices of states multiplied in twentieth century, so did these practices’ footprint public life. This is not just visual material but sonic aural, sounding ‘secret state’ into being suggesting ways ‘listening in’ on it. Using multisensory methodology, this article examines Careless Talk Costs Lives, a UK Second World War propaganda campaign instructing citizens how to practice discreet speech listening defence against ‘fifth columnist’ spies. reproduced British secret state everyday: it represented sensitive operations as weaving out citizens’ lives through imprudent chatter about ‘hush-hush’ activities sounds you shouldn't overhear. The paradox at campaign's heart – revealing people kind things they say or listen made its international phenomenon. Secret therefore became entangled within productions social difference, from class inequalities German racialisation. Sound listening, however, are unwieldy phenomena. life risked undermining political legitimacy, while turning space idyllic environments deceptive soundscapes for espionage, seemed, sounded like ordinary