The Service

RNZ Originals

4.0 (103)
HISTORY
COMPLETE SERIES

Spies. Surveillance. And the unveiling of NZ's biggest Cold War secret.

EPISODE 1

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's secrets. The SIS - known as The Service - works on a need to know basis. But one night, not long before he died, Jim told John a story about one particular mission; a raid on a foreign embassy right here in New Zealand that has remained a closely guarded secret. Until now. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

50 min
EPISODE 2

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 Five Eyes intelligence network, spying on friend and foe alike alongside the United States, Britain, Canada and Australia. The raid on the Czechoslovakian embassy revealed in this podcast was just one operation amongst a world of intrigue. A wilderness of mirrors, where spies fought over information and influence. In Episode 2 we tell the stories of top New Zealand civil servant and alleged Russian agent Bill Sutch, the expulsion of USSR ambassador Vsevolod Sofinsky, and, from Australia, the Skripov Affair. We hear how the Soviets used "useful idiots" and John's mum chases a target across Wellington. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

1h 2m
EPISODE 3

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 opportunity and, according to then-deputy prime minister Geoffrey Palmer, became "extremely active" in New Zealand. After a year of investigation, Guyon Espiner and John Daniell reveal more stories of what the NZSIS and its enemies got up to during the Cold War. In Episode 3, Palmer and reveals new details of Russia's "full court press" in this country, and former SIS officer Kit Bennetts explains the "frog kissing" they were doing at the time. Former Soviet diplomat Rouben Azizian gives Moscow's thinking, we delve into the stories of KGB colonel and defector Oleg Gordievsky and Wellington-based spy Sergei Budnik, and reveal what the SIS were doing to former Labour MP Richard Northey. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

52 min
EPISODE 4

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 demanded cooperation and loyalty. The Five Eyes alliance was a group of countries whose leaders traditionally were, as former GCSB boss Sir Bruce Ferguson put it, White Anglo Saxon Protestants (WASPs). They shared a common world view. It began with a treaty between the United States and Britain, who were then joined by Canada, Australian and, in 1956, New Zealand. Former Prime Minister and Attorney-General, Sir Geoffrey Palmer, says membership comes with obligations. "There is a sort of feeling that we have to earn our stripes, if you know what I mean. And so there's that kind of pressure to be super cooperative". Ferguson disagrees, but admits the relationship is "intimate". In Episode 4, Paul Buchanan, a former security analyst at US intelligence agencies and the New Zealand-based founder of 36th Parallel Assessments, says those shared bonds have been impervious to political disputes, such as the stoush over New Zealand's nuclear-free policy. Former Prime Minister Helen Clark argues membership is a net positive, but is concerned we are once again getting too close to these traditional allies. We look at how Russia's efforts in New Zealand in the 1980s compare to their attempt to influence American elections in recent years, the Five Eyes' attempt to influence governments around the world and learn about Sir Bruce's golf games with the CIA and FBI. And we get closer to the details of that raid on the Czechoslovakian embassy. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

1 hr
EPISODE 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 and knowing what the enemy was up to could, it was argued, save the world from nuclear war. But breaking into an embassy also put New Zealand outside international law, in breach of the Vienna Conventions. Over five episodes, John Daniell and Guyon Espiner have investigated the politics, spycraft and alliances that led up to one of New Zealand's biggest missions of the Cold War. As Gerald Hensley, the Co-ordinator of Domestic and External Security 1987-89, says, being able to decipher the enemies codes was "the dream". They've also told the story of John's family and the work they did for the SIS, known as The Service. Now, in Episode 5, we tell the story of the raid itself and what happened that night in 1986. We also talk about how the codes work and the people whose job it is to crack them, and ask why the Czechoslovakians were targeted and who approved the mission. Czech investigative reporter Robert Brestan tracks down archives in Prague and speaks to diplomats and officials about what they know of the raid. Then we talk to the man who led the mission for the NZSIS... and hear his surprising version of events. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

1h 1m
EPISODE 5 BONUS

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 of New Zealand's SIS. And our series of raids on foreign embassies here in New Zealand was not limited to the 1980s. In this bonus mini-episode, Guyon and John take the story on from the Cold War era and into the early 1990s. Sources who we can't name because they do not have official permission to speak and may be in danger from identification, have confirmed the SIS broke into the Indian High Commission for MI6 and the Iranian Embassy for the CIA to photograph code books, plant bugs and steal communications in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In a statement, the SIS said it was "unable to respond to questions about what may or not be specific operational matters". Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

7 min
EPISODE 6

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 Eyes partners. The pair discuss the break-ins to the Indian High Commission and Iranian Embassy, both in Wellington, and we hear what both countries are doing about news of the spy missions against them. A spokesman for the Indian High Commission says the matter has been raised with New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while a spokesman for the Iranian Embassy responded in writing, quoting the Vienna Conventions, which say embassies are "inviolable" and the "receiving State is under a special duty" to protect such premises. He says New Zealand and Iran have had "brilliant relations" over 50 years and the break-in seems "unrealistic". As Guyon says in the podcast, however, "Sorry Iran, but it happened". The Iran spokesman continues, "given that the content of the report has not been confirmed by the New Zealand Government officials, investigating the evidence and signs of the alleged action is in progress. In case of obtaining any confirmed evidence, the necessary legal action will be taken". Guyon also reveals SIS surveillance of one of New Zealand's most famous poets and war heroes, plus how the Russian infiltrated the New Zealand embassy in Moscow. And we hear details of a darker SIS secret - when the Service discovered a serious crime taking place and didn't report it to police. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

48 min
SEASON 1 TRAILER

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 kept secrets. Over five episodes, John Daniell and his friend, RNZ journalist Guyon Espiner, search for the truth behind a family story that might just be one of New Zealand's biggest Cold War secrets. For nearly a year John and Guyon have been investigating this closely guarded secret. Having spoken to former Prime Ministers, senior officials, experts on intelligence services and even former spies themselves, they can now reveal this never-before-told story. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

3 min

TRAILER

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 kept secrets. Over five episodes, John Daniell and his friend, RNZ journalist Guyon Espiner, search for the truth behind a family story that might just be one of New Zealand's biggest Cold War secrets. For nearly a year John and Guyon have been investigating this closely guarded secret. Having spoken to former Prime Ministers, senior officials, experts on intelligence services and even former spies themselves, they can now reveal this never-before-told story. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

S1

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3 min

out of 5

103 Ratings

Great Story

26/11/2021

Handsome Carl

This is an intriguing Cold War story as told by two excellent hosts. It was a very tense time in world history, and it was fascinating to hear a Cold War story from New Zealand of all places. Well done!
So Intetesting

07/08/2021

Redted797

I really enjoyed this and found NZ's little known involvement in the Cold War era fascinating. Well done!
THTH

20/06/2020

12345naw

Thoroughly enjoyed this. Something unique in the NZ podcast world, would strongly recommend to Aus/NZ fans of political, modern history or crime stories. Good to hear from ol Aunty Helen Clark here and there too.
RJGTURNER

20/06/2020

Turnerrjg

Excellent series covering a fascinating part of NZ history you never hear about. Great work.