Surveillance and infiltration of political and civil-rights groups, and mind-control experiments on unsuspecting Americans were only part of the famed Church Committee’s congressional investigations.

The oversight committee is the subject of a new book, “The Last Honest Man,” by investigative journalist James Risen, who will speak Nov. 9 at 11 a.m. on Zoom as part of the speaker series sponsored by The Commuter, Northampton Community College’s student news organization.

A best-selling author and former New York Times reporter, Risen is The Intercept’s senior National Security correspondent, based in Washington, D.C.

He also is director of First Look Media’s Press Freedom Defense Fund, which supports news organizations, journalists and whistleblowers in legal fights in which a substantial public interest, freedom of the press or related human or civil rights is threatened.

Risen was the target of a crackdown on journalists and whistleblowers.

He waged a seven-year battle, risking jail, after both the Bush administration and Obama administrations tried to compel him to testify and reveal his confidential sources in a leak investigation. Risen refused and the government finally backed down.

As a reporter, Risen won the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting for his stories about the National Security Agency’s domestic spying program, and he was a member of the reporting team that won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for explanatory reporting for coverage of the Sept. 11 attacks and terrorism.

Risen’s books include “Wrath of Angels: The American Abortion War”; “The Main Enemy: The Inside Story of the CIA’s Final Showdown with the KGB”; “State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration”; and “Pay Any Price: Greed, Power and Endless War.”

Risen’s presentation, open to the public, will be moderated by Rob Hays, coordinator of Journalism, Media & Professional Writing at the college.

Email rhays@northampton.edu to receive the Zoom link in November.