Office of Strategic Services (OSS)

Type: Company

As of November 2026, Office of Strategic Services (OSS) has been mentioned in 2 episodes across 1 podcast, first heard Nov 2025 on Stuff You Should Know. In the episode "Short Stuff: Did a vampire legend help win the Cold War?" from Stuff You Should Know, Josh Clark references the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) as the WWII-era predecessor to the CIA, highlighting its role in propaganda and psychological operations. He mentions Edward Giri Lansdale's assignment to the OSS, emphasizing its significance in the context of intelligence history.

The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the second non-departmental civilian intelligence agency of the United States. It was formed during World War II as the direct successor of the Office of the Coordinator of Information (COI). The OSS was created as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines for all branches of the United States Armed Forces. Other OSS functions included the use of propaganda, subversion, and post-war planning.