The Service

RNZ•www.rnz.co.nz

The day John Daniell turned 10, his mum told him she had been a spy. Now, he and Guyon Espiner are investigating a family story that could reveal New Zealand's biggest Cold War secret.

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Episodes

New Revelations

Guyon and John break radio silence with new revelations about SIS operations, the reactions from Iran and India and news about surveillance of one of New Zealand's most renowned writers. And Guyon re-thinks his conclusions. To see more images and details about the series, vist the website here . Four months on from its release, John Daniell and Guyon Espiner return with a special episode of The Service revealing their continuing investigations into New Zealand's spy agencies and its Five Ey...

Nov 01, 2020•48 min•Season 1Ep. 6

More Raids Confirmed

More raids. More embassies. More breaking of international law. Ongoing investigations have uncovered other break-ins by New Zealand's SIS to bug and steal from embassies in Wellington, teaming up with the CIA as well as MI6. To see more images and details about the series, vist the website here . Ongoing investigations have uncovered other break-ins by New Zealand's SIS to bug and steal from embassies in Wellington. It turns out New Zealand's Cold War enemies were not the only targets...

Jul 01, 2020•7 min•Season 1Ep. 5

The Raid

In the final episode, we close in on the details around the joint MI6/SIS operation targeting the Czechoslovakian Embassy. Finally, someone who was on the raid breaks their silence. But there's a twist... To see more images and details about the series, vist the website here . Wadestown, Wellington: 1986. A group of MI6 and SIS intelligence officers break into the Czechoslovakian Embassy to steal codes used by Warsaw Pact countries to share secret messages. It's the height of the Cold War a...

Jun 10, 2020•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 5

The Club

The Five Eyes is an intelligence alliance with roots that go all the way back to World War II. It's a tight club - but just what does membership demand of us? To see more images and details about the series, vist the website here . As the Iron Curtain came down across Europe at the end of World War II and allies united against Nazism splintered into Capitalist and Communist camps, a fraternity of intelligence agencies was created, known as Five Eyes. It was a tight-knit club and one that demande...

Jun 09, 2020•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 4

A Full Court Press from the KGB

In the mid-1980s, New Zealand's anti-nuclear policy is attracting international attention. With the ANZUS alliance in crisis, the KGB see an opportunity. To see more images and details about the series, vist the website here . The world lived under the shadow of the nuclear bomb through the 1980s and New Zealand briefly took centre stage in the debate when it went nuclear-free in 1986. It angered the Americans and put pressure on the Five Eyes intelligence network. Soviet Russia saw an opportuni...

Jun 09, 2020•52 min•Season 1Ep. 3

The Wilderness of Mirrors

New Zealand has Cold War spy stories we know about - and some we don't. Even now, it's hard to get people to talk. The big question is: who do you trust? To see more images and details about the series, vist the website here . Throughout the Cold War a front-line of sorts stretched around the world, with intelligence officers in the trenches. It reached even to New Zealand, as the two nuclear superpowers squared off over political ideology and power. Since 1956 New Zealand has been part of the F...

Jun 08, 2020•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 2

One Night in Wadestown

On his 10th birthday, John Daniell's Mum tells him she used to work for the SIS. But that's just the start of the secrets... John Daniell grew up in a house where spying was the family business. His mum had worked for New Zealand's Security Intelligence (SIS) before he was born and his step-dad worked for them throughout his childhood. Through the tense years of the Cold War, John's step-dad, who we're calling Jim Stewart, went out on missions and the family kept New Zealand'...

Jun 07, 2020•50 min•Season 1Ep. 1

Introducing: The Service

Just before he died, John Daniell's step-dad told him a secret from his time as a spy. A secret that was possibly New Zealand's biggest of the Cold War and that has never been revealed. Until now. To see more images and details about the series, vist the website here . In the midst of the Cold War, first John Daniell's mum and then his step-dad worked for New Zealand's Security Intelligence Service (SIS). Spies stayed in the spare bedroom. His step-dad went out on missions. And John ke...

Jun 03, 2020•3 min