MARKFALLON.US
Mark Fallon being interviewed on camera with crew visible

Interviews & Podcasts

Interviews & Podcasts

Mark Fallon has been a guest on podcasts and other media discussing interrogation science, national security, human rights and ethical leadership.

True Criminals podcast logo
True Criminals·

Guantánamo: The Man They Tortured & The Investigator Who Tried to Stop It

In this extraordinary episode of True Criminals, Helen Fospero and Martin Brunt speak to Mohamedou Ould Slahi, who spent nearly 15 years imprisoned without charge, and Mark Fallon, the senior US counterterrorism investigator who challenged the government's brutal interrogation program from within. Mohamedou reveals the horrifying torture he endured, the threats against his mother and the false confession he was driven to make. Mark exposes what was happening behind closed doors, why he challenged his own government, and how torture undermined the pursuit of justice. Their remarkable friendship is explored in the documentary Leaving Hotel California, which was awarded the Audience Choice Award at the Golden Isles Film Festival.

Watch
WJCT First Coast Connect logo
WJCT First Coast Connect·

"Leaving Hotel California" film debut at the Golden Isles Film Festival

In an interview with WJCT Public Media's First Coast Connect, Mark Fallon discusses his role as chief investigator for al-Qaeda cases before the military commissions at Guantánamo Bay and his efforts to challenge the post-9/11 policies that sanctioned torture and abusive interrogation practices. Drawing on his experience as a senior federal law enforcement official, Fallon explains how fear, political pressure, and a departure from established legal principles undermined the rule of law and compromised the pursuit of truth and justice. He also reflects on his efforts to prevent the mistreatment of detainees, including Mohamedou Ould Slahi, and the unlikely friendship they developed years later. Fallon discusses the responsibility of public servants to uphold the Constitution rather than serve political interests, the importance of accountability, and the enduring lessons of Guantánamo for today's leaders. His central message is that the duty to stand on principle does not disappear when doing so becomes difficult—and that the rule of law must remain our guide, especially in times of crisis. The film was awarded the Audience Choice Award at the Golden Isles Film Festival.

Watch
Truth Be Told Podcast — The Wrong Question About Torture: Lessons of Guantanamo Bay featuring Mark Fallon
Truth Be Told Podcast·

The Wrong Question About Torture: Lessons of Guantanamo Bay

What happens when fear becomes policy—and the people labeled "the worst of the worst" are no longer treated as people? In this episode of the Truth Be Told Podcast, host Dave Thompson, CFI explores the powerful story behind the documentary Leaving Hotel California and the complicated legacy of Guantanamo Bay, post-9/11 interrogations, enhanced interrogation techniques, torture, and the human consequences of abandoning evidence-based investigative practices. Dave is joined by filmmakers Chimène de Jonge and Aybüke Demirel, former NCIS Special Agent Mark Fallon, and former Guantanamo detainee and Guantánamo Diary author Mohamedou Ould Slahi for a conversation about investigative interviewing, coercion, false information, cognitive bias, morality, forgiveness, and what happens when fear begins influencing the investigative process.

Watch
Why Getting Tough Fails — APT Geneva podcast featuring Mark Fallon
APTGeneva·

Why "Getting Tough" Fails: The Science of Effective Interviewing

Mark Fallon exposes the dangerous myth popularized by Hollywood — that torture and coercion actually work. As a Member of the Méndez Principles Steering Committee, he breaks down why coercive interrogation isn't just ineffective, it's actively counterproductive. From extracting false confessions to wasting critical time, the reliance on force destroys the integrity of justice. Discover why true professional standards rely on science-based, humane interviewing rather than outdated, abusive practices.

Watch
OSCE US Torture Program Side Event featuring Mark Fallon
OSCE·

OSCE US Torture Program Side Event with former Guantanamo prisoners and DOD CITF Chief Investigator

Former UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Prof. Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, former Guantanamo detainees Mansoor Adayfi (GTMO 441) and Moazzam Begg (GTMO 558), and former career NCIS special agent Mark Fallon — who served as the Special Agent-in-Charge and Deputy Commander of the DOD Criminal Investigation Task Force (DOD CITF) — discuss the enduring legacy of the US Torture Program on human rights and the rule of law.

Watch
A Day In Their Boots — JPS Trust podcast featuring Mark Fallon
A Day In Their Boots·

A Day In Their Boots with Mark Fallon & Strategic Communications

Mark Fallon, a globally recognized expert in interrogation, counter-terrorism, and national security, explores his storied career from real-life NCIS agent to leading the Criminal Investigation Task Force at Guantanamo Bay. Mark shares insights on ethical interrogation practices, strategic leadership in law enforcement, and how the JPS Trust Collective is transforming policing through science-based approaches and expertise from diverse public safety disciplines.

Watch
The Lit Interviews with Pamela Hamilton featuring Mark Fallon
The Lit Interviews / New Books Network·

Leadership Insights from Mark Fallon: NCIS Veteran and Author of Unjustifiable Means

Pamela Hamilton welcomes Mark Fallon to The Lit Interviews for a conversation on leadership, values, and high-stakes operations. From busting drug lords to leading the Pentagon task force charged with bringing the 9/11 terrorists to justice, Mark shares leadership lessons that extend far beyond national security — including the duty to disobey an unlawful order, the interrogation techniques that actually work (hint: they involve rapport), and what it takes to lead under pressure in some of the most dangerous places in the world.

Listen
Beyond A Reasonable Doubt Episode 7 — Mark Fallon on police interviewing
Beyond a reasonable doubt·

I used to believe that an innocent person wouldn’t confess to a crime they didn’t commit. I was wrong. – Mark Fallon on police interviewing

In this conversation, Mark Fallon shares his extensive background in investigative interviewing and counterterrorism, detailing his experiences with the NCIS and the impact of 9/11 on interrogation practices. He discusses the ethical implications of interrogation techniques, particularly in the context of the Enhanced Interrogation Techniques (EIT) program and emphasises the importance of research in developing effective interviewing methods. Mr. Fallon also reflects on his book "Unjustifiable Means", which critiques the use of torture and advocates for humane treatment of detainees. He highlights the need for cultural shifts within law enforcement to embrace science-based methods and the importance of maintaining integrity in policing.

Listen
Truth Be Told TBT 108 — The Truth Behind Torture and Counterterrorism featuring Mark Fallon
Truth be Told Podcast·

The Truth behind Torture and Counterterrorism with Mark Fallon

Counterterrorism expert Mark Fallon discusses the evolution of interrogation techniques and the importance of building rapport in obtaining accurate and reliable information. Fallon draws on his experience in high-profile terrorism investigations — including the USS Cole and World Trade Center bombings and interrogations at Guantanamo — to highlight the shift from confession-driven methodologies to relationship-building techniques, the role of empathy in high-pressure interrogations, and the need for improved interview training in law enforcement grounded in psychological science.

Watch
WZ All Access 12.8 — The Méndez Principles featuring Mark Fallon
Wicklander-Zulawski WZ All Access·

WZ All Access: The Mendez Principles

Dave Thompson, CFI welcomes Mark Fallon to WZ All Access to discuss the Méndez Principles — formally known as the Principles on Effective Interviewing for Investigations and Information Gathering. Mark explores what the principles are, how they were developed, and how they will shape the future of investigative interviewing and interrogations, including how to build rapport, gather information effectively, and move the field away from coercive, confession-driven methodologies.

Watch
BBC World Service
BBC World News·

Mark Fallon interviewed on BBC World News about the elimination of al-Qa'ida Emir Ayman al-Zawahiri

After evading the US for 20 years and outlasting the Afghanistan war, al-Qa'ida Emir Ayman al-Zawahiri was eliminated at age 71. Mark Fallon discusses the significance of this counterterrorism milestone and what it means for the families of victims of the 9/11 attacks, the USS Cole bombing, and the East Africa bombings, as well as the broader landscape of global violent extremism.

Watch
West Point Center on Oral History — Mark Fallon interview
West Point Center on Oral History·

No Good Intelligence is Gained Through Torture: Coming to Grips with the Use of Torture as an Instrument of War

Mark Fallon speaks with the West Point Center on Oral History about the use of torture as an instrument of war — drawing on his experience as Special Agent-in-Charge of the DOD Criminal Investigation Task Force at Guantanamo Bay to explain why no good intelligence is gained through torture, and why science-based, humane interviewing methods are both more effective and more consistent with American values and the rule of law.

Watch
SpyTalk — Warm Water, Cold Threats featuring Mark Fallon
SpyTalk·

Warm Water, Cold Threats

Retired NCIS senior agent Mark Fallon joins SpyTalk's Jeff Stein to discuss the censorship of his exposés on Guantánamo and torture — including the more than 113 redactions in his book Unjustifiable Means — and the ongoing effort to hold the US government accountable for its embrace of torture as an instrument of national policy.

Listen
The Convex Conversation with Helen Fospero featuring Mark Fallon
The Convex Conversation·

Helen talks to former NCIS special agent & counterterrorism expert Mark Fallon about the US government's use of torture

Mark Fallon spent 27 years as an NCIS special agent and served as the US Deputy Assistant Director for Counterterrorism. He's operated undercover in some of the darkest corners of the world — with drug lords in Thailand, capturing poachers in the Kenyan bush — and spent time questioning prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. Mark discusses the US government's decision to embrace torture as an instrument of national policy, the rapport-based techniques grounded in science that preserve the dignity of both sides of the interrogation table, and why those methods produce more reliable information.

Listen
BBC World Service
BBC World News·

Mark Fallon on BBC World News speaking about torture and the legacy of Guantanamo

As the former Special Agent-in-Charge of the DOD Criminal Investigation Task Force, established following the 9/11 attacks to bring suspected terrorists to justice before Military Commissions at Guantanamo Bay, Mark Fallon spoke to BBC World News about the legacy of torture at black sites and dark prisons.

Watch
BBC World Service
BBC World News·

Mark Fallon on BBC World News about Afghanistan and the Guantanamo legacy of injustice and oppression

Mark Fallon was interviewed by BBC World News about the inferior negotiation position the Biden administration faced in dealing with the Taliban, while the U.S. continues to keep Guantanamo open as a symbol of injustice, torture and oppression — especially as some Taliban leadership had been victims of SERE-based interrogational abuses in dark prisons in Afghanistan and at Guantanamo. 39 prisoners remained at Guantanamo, some in indefinite detention without trial, outside the rule of law.

Watch
Deception Research Society — featuring Mark Fallon
Deception Society·

Bridging the Gap Between Science and Practice of Interrogation for Effective Interviewing

Former NCIS Deputy Assistant Director for Counterterrorism and Special Agent-in-Charge of the Pentagon's Criminal Investigation Task Force (CITF) Mark Fallon spoke with the Deception Society about the US SERE-based torture program — illegal, immoral, ineffective and counterproductive — and the importance of bridging the gap between the science and practice of interviewing and interrogation. Topics include the family of interrogational abuses, the casualties of conditioned cruelty, the road toward scientific research on effective interviewing, and the benefits of rapport-based, relationship-centered methods to elicit accurate and reliable information.

Watch
The Méndez Principles on Effective Interviewing and Interrogation — ClubFed featuring Mark Fallon
ClubFed·

The Mendez Principles on Effective Interviewing and Interrogation

Mark Fallon speaks about bridging the gap between the science and practice of interrogation at the unveiling of the Méndez Principles on Effective Interviewing — an evolution to science-based methods to protect human rights, promote the rule of law, and improve the practice of global policing and national security. Grounded in science, law and ethics, the Méndez Principles represent the shift to rapport-based methods that produce more accurate and reliable information gathering, away from accusatory, coercive and confession-based tactics.

Watch
MSNBC — Mark Fallon with Ali Velshi
MSNBC·

Mark Fallon on MSNBC with Ali Velshi discussing torture policies and Unjustifiable Means

Mark Fallon joined MSNBC anchor Ali Velshi to discuss his book Unjustifiable Means and the broader debate over U.S. torture policies — examining why coercive interrogation is not only morally indefensible but operationally counterproductive, and what science-based, humane interviewing methods offer instead.

Watch
UN General Assembly — Torture During Interrogations featuring Mark Fallon
UN General Assembly·

Torture During Interrogations: Illegal, Immoral and Ineffective

At a UN General Assembly side event moderated by Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Andrew Gilmour, and featuring UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Prince Zeid bin Ra'ad Zeid al-Hussein — who stated that "torture is not only deeply wrong, but, from an intelligence gathering standpoint, deeply counterproductive" — former NCIS Deputy Assistant Director for Counterterrorism Mark Fallon served on the experts panel explaining how torture has made us less safe.

Watch
Fox News — Mark Fallon interview December 2015
Fox News·

Mark Fallon on Fox News discussing torture and enhanced interrogation techniques

Mark Fallon joined Fox News to discuss the ongoing debate over the use of torture and enhanced interrogation techniques by the United States government, drawing on his experience as a former NCIS Special Agent and head of the Criminal Investigation Task Force at Guantanamo Bay.

Watch

TV & Broadcast Appearances

Mark Fallon on BBC World News Breaking — Al-Qaeda leader killedMark Fallon on BBC World News discussing Guantanamo BayMark Fallon on CNN — Cheney Defends CIA Interrogation TacticsMark Fallon on CNN — CIA Director Responds to Torture ReportMark Fallon on Sky NewsMark Fallon on Fox NewsMark Fallon on TRT World — US drone strike kills Al Qaeda leader ZawahiriMark Fallon appearing on TRT World's The Newsmakers programMark Fallon on MSNBC PoliticsNation — Report: Torture Did Not Lead to Legitimate IntelligenceMark Fallon on CNN American Morning — Fallout Over Senate Torture ReportMark Fallon on CNN Newday — Senate Report: CIA Misled Public Over TortureMark Fallon on BBC World News — Afghanistan: Taliban TakeoverMark Fallon on BBC World News — Guantanamo Bay: Camp VIMark Fallon on MSNBC — Trump's CIA Pick Under Scrutiny for Role in Torture Program

Additional interviews with Mark Fallon can be found on his YouTube Channel.