During his years working for the CIA as a counterterrorism analyst Aki Peritz had to keep his job a secret. Since leaving the agency he’s able to talk about it generally, and he’s enjoying a successful career as a consultant, writer, and teacher on the subject. But he still maintains a healthy sense of privacy, which is why I was honored he took time to get lunch with me as the 120th Dining With Strangers interviewee.
Aki talked about what first got him interested in security issues and how he joined the agency (the process was a lot less cloak-and-dagger than pop culture might make you believe). He also spoke about why he left, and his current and future projects including his time hunting “fugitive” contestants on the CBS show “Hunted” and researching for his upcoming book on aviation terrorism.
Click on the picture above or on this link to read about my lunch with Aki.