Book and Film Recommendations

Directed by Tim van Dammen | Six-episode T.V. Comedy Series, Premiered 29 April 2026

James Bond who? There’s a new spy in town and the name’s Riviera, Michael Riviera. Die-hard James Bond fan Paul Williams (who proves he could reign victorious at James Bond trivia, as he reels off his favourite gadgets from the film franchise) is bringing a touch of espionage to audiences in Aotearoa with new six-episode comedy, NZ Spy, in which he stars as aspiring secret agent Michael Riviera.

Francis Hamit | Independent, 22 January 2026

Francis Hamit's recollections and commentary about the first two years of his service (1967-1969) in the US Army Security Agency, a Top Secret military intelligence organization. It was called "Radio Research" in Vietnam, where Hamit was assigned to an airborne radio direction finding (ARDF) unit. He has gone beyond his own experience and included research into formerly classified histories and included brief contributions from John Wadje and John Reed, who were where he was not. Hamit's experience includes Col. Lewis Millett's controversial Tactical Training Course at Fort Devens, Mass and the day-to-day service at Can Tho Army Airfield with the 156th Aviation Company (Radio Research) as a clerk and courier.

Edited by William J. Lahneman and Florina Cristiana (Cris) Matei

Routledge, 20 March 2026

This book examines the value of innovative technologies to intelligence organizations, with a particular focus on the United States.

It addresses how intelligence organizations and their partners keep up with innovations that will make or break their ability to continue to produce effective intelligence. The work uses a four-dimensional definition of technology as artifact, knowledge base, administrative support structure, and coordinating system, which enables analysis of the full range of technical, human, organizational, social, and governmental factors upon which successful technological innovation depends. This approach produced in-depth analyses by 14 subject-matter experts of topics ranging from artificial intelligence, unmanned aerial systems, and cyber intelligence to democratic governance issues, outsourcing needs, and workforce dynamics as large numbers of "Generation Z" workers enter the IC workforce. These analyses both explore specific aspects of and highlight interconnections among important cutting-edge technologies that intelligence agencies must adopt to remain effective.

This will be of much interest to students of intelligence studies, national security, science and technology studies, and International Relations, as well as practitioners.

Marc Mierowsky | Yale University Press | 17 February 2026

In 1706, Edinburgh was on the brink of a popular uprising. Men and women took to the streets to protest the planned union with England, fearing the end of Scottish sovereignty. But unbeknownst to the mob, a spy was in their midst—the English writer Daniel Defoe, now bankrupt and thrice pilloried, had turned a government agent.

Marc Mierowsky tells the dramatic story of Defoe and his fellow spies as they sabotaged the Scottish independence movement from the inside. Together they disseminated propaganda and built a network of operatives from London to the upper Highlands, providing the English government with up-to-the-minute intelligence and monitoring its adversaries’ every move.

Through the lives of Defoe and his ring, their handlers, and opponents, Mierowsky guides us through this shadowy underworld of espionage and propaganda—revealing a disturbing and distinctly modern political campaign.