Happy New Year everyone and welcome to Espresso Martini episode Four, which is our first podcast of 2023. On todays episode of Espresso Martini, Chris & Matt take a look at a coup plot in Germany that was discovered by the German authorities and they also take a look at the rising Covid numbers in China and the official denials coming from the ruling Communist Party. Related articles to the discussion: German Coup Plot: Germany arrests 25 accused of plotting coup https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-63885028 The Motley Crew that Wanted to Topple the German Government https://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/prince-putsch-and-his-gang-the-motley-crew-that-wanted-to-topple-the-german-government-a-07a32d7c-96e6-4b61-a282-9e9ab2ffa288 Is a far-right coup possible in Germany? https://www.dw.com/en/is-a-far-right-coup-possible-in-germany/a-64041643 Rise of Covid in China: China Covid: experts estimate 9,000 deaths a day as US says it may sample wastewater from planes https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/30/china-covid-experts-estimate-9000-deaths-a-day-as-us-says-it-may-sample-wastewater-from-planes How deadly will China’s covid surge get? Answers to that and more. https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2022/12/31/china-covid-virus-evolution/ China's COVID vaccines: Do the jabs do the job? https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2022/12/30/1143696652/chinas-covid-vaccines-do-the-jabs-do-the-job Other Stories of note: Russian influencers at work in Germany https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/ukraine-crisis-germany-influencers Clergymen or spies - Russian Orthodox churches used for espionage church-ukraine-russia.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/31/world/europe/orthodox-church-ukraine-russia.html Suspected Neo Nazi Attacks on US power-grids https://www.nationalreview.com/the-morning-jolt/whos-attacking-our-power-grid/ Writing aids mentioned by Chris & Matt Scrivener https://www.literatureandlatte.com/ Trello https://trello.com/ Find out more about Matt and his book “Active Measures.”  https://mattfulton.net/ Music on this podcast is provided by Andrew R. Bird (Andy Bird) You can check out his work here: https://soundcloud.com/andrewbirduk For more information about the podcast, check out our website: https://secretsandspiespodcast.com/  Secrets and Spies is part of the Spy Podcast Network. Check out our other excellent spy-related podcasts here: https://www.spypodcasts.com/  You can support Secrets and Spies in a few ways:    * Subscribe to our Youtube page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDVB23lrHr3KFeXq4VU36dg * Become a “Friend of the podcast”  on Patreon for £3 www.patreon.com/SecretsAndSpies * You can buy merchandise from our shop: https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/60934996?asc=u Connect with us on social media  TWITTER twitter.com/SecretsAndSpies  FACEBOOK www.facebook.com/secretsandspies    Check out our short spy film “THE DRY CLEANER” which is now available to buy on Apple TV & Amazon Prime.  Watch the trailer here: https://youtu.be/j_KFTJenrz4