Ariel Whitfield Sobel was recently awarded her PhD from Brunel, University of London, where her research concentrated on the genealogies and histories of actor training methodologies within human intelligence practices during the 20th century. Alongside her academic work, she has worked as a professional actor and actor trainer both in the United States and the United Kingdom. She attained her bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and received two master’s degrees, one from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and the other from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

She has published two articles with the Journal of Intelligence and National Security. Her first article, 'All the world's a stage: covert action as theatrical performance' (2022), explores the use of theatre and performance as tools for espionage. Her second article, part of the special edition on John le Carré, entitled, 'The theatre of the real: the actor/spy relationship in le Carré's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and The Little Drummer Girl' (2022), examines the author’s life and works in relation to ‘the actor’ and performance.