Main illustration of Deep Cover: Kyle Ellingson
Polygon delves into the world of espionage throughout fiction and pop culture history with Deep Cover, a two-week special covering all manner of espionage stories and gadgets. Don’t dust off your Austin Powers DVDs for now though – this time we’re looking at the grounded worlds of real-life espionage.
We talk to creatives about how they’ve developed intelligence operations that feel real — or at least satisfying. And we dive into the technology that fictional spies have used to gain an advantage, and how it’s making its way into real life – and how some of the most absurd gimmicks used in fictional spy stories were sometimes actually inspired by real ones. life operations.
