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The Wilderness of Mirrors

The Wilderness of Mirrors

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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

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.