Tick. Tick.

So, once upon a time there was a podcast called Coronavirus NZ that mutated into the Tick. Tick election podcast. But now, with New Zealand experiencing its first community transmission of Covid-19 in more than 100 days, Adam and Eugene jump back into familiar territory. Dr Shaun Hendy joins the show to discuss what all this means, and where we are likely headed, and Stuff political editor Luke Ma...

No matter how the votes fall, New Zealand is pretty much guaranteed to start the next electoral term with a woman as prime minister, and a woman as leader of the opposition. Political scientist Dr Jennifer Curtin joins the show to explain why sex still matters. Stuff political reporter Thomas Coughlan tells us why the policy pantry is so bare. And Adam and Eugene contemplate the threat of an execu...

In the first of our party leader interviews, Stuff senior journalist Andrea Vance and Political Editor Luke Malpass sit down with Labour leader Jacinda Ardern. Adam and Eugene review the week, and Adam holds Eugene to account. Links: Click here for every episode of the Tick. Tick. podcast. Full Stuff election coverage Eugene on Twitter; Adam on Twitter Support Stuff Our email: ticktick@stuff.co.nz...

There are plenty of political books on sale for voters keen on some election reading material. With Judith Collins’ memoir and several Jacinda Ardern biographies in the stores, Adam and Eugene inspect the sales figures. Who is winning the Battle of the Books - or do we have to wait for the final chapter? Meanwhile, what’s up with all the conspiracy theories coming to prominence? Links: Click here...

As we head towards the pointy end of the New Zealand general election campaign, Associate Professor Grant Duncan joins the show to tell us what’s on voters’ minds and how a survey has revealed how polarised the country is along party lines. Meanwhile Adam and Eugene set the scene for the next few weeks, looking back (a surprisingly long way) to explain how we got here. Links: Click here for every...

So, Adam and Eugene have got an announcement to make. The Coronavirus NZ podcast has turned into a chrysalis and is about to emerge as a brand new beautiful podcast covering the 2020 New Zealand General Election. In this trailer, Adam and Eugene outline a little bit of what you can expect. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr Helen Petousis-Harris knows all about vaccines, and she’s been watching closely as scientists around the world try to find a coronavirus-killer. So, when the breakthrough comes, what happens next? And how prepared is New Zealand? Meanwhile, Adam gets bumped, and Eugene takes flight. Links: Click here for every episode of Coronavirus NZ. Full Stuff coronavirus coverage Eugene on Twitter; Adam on...

Former Stuff journalist Amy Maas moved to New York last year. Within months the city that never sleeps was almost unrecognisable. She describes what it was like to live in New York as it became an epicentre for the coronavirus. Eugene and Adam delve into a round-up of recent scientific developments, and one of them can’t help himself from bursting into song – and no it’s not Thank You Baked Potato...

New Zealander Anna Fifield, the Washington Post’s Beijing bureau chief, has recently returned to China. She describes what it’s like on the ground in the country where the virus began, and where so much is riding on what happens next. And she gives us the lowdown on the menu inside China’s 14-day hotel quarantine. Meanwhile, Adam and Eugene discuss whether Adam is infectious. Links: Click here for...

Dr Rod Jackson is a professor of epidemiology at Auckland University, so, not someone you'd expect to have been happy about the border bungles at the coronavirus quarantine and isolation facilities. But he was – and he joins the show to explain: hear him out and you might agree. He also talks about a statistical measure shedding light on the impact of the virus, and how he became a YouTube hit. Me...

Scientists in New Zealand have been growing and studying the virus that causes Covid-19. Why would they do that, and what’s it like to knowingly be in the same room as this deadly organism? ESR senior scientist Lauren Jelley joins the show to explain all, and how a Hollywood movie about a viral outbreak set her on a path to the lab. Meanwhile Adam and Eugene imagine what might have been. Links: Cl...

In six months we’ve learned so much about the virus that causes Covid-19 but there’s still so much that seems unclear. And one of the biggest questions is: how much should we worry about asymptomatic cases? Dr Siouxsie Wiles joins the show to explain what we know – and don’t know. She also takes a look at this week’s border bungles, and the risks that remain. Meanwhile Adam and Eugene propose a de...

So, it seems we’ve all-but eliminated coronavirus – but what risk is there of a second wave? Dr Shaun Hendy joins the show to explain where the weak points are, and how community transmission could get away on us. Stuff National Correspondent Katie Kenny has discovered there’s not as much transparency about the wage subsidy as we thought. And Eugene and Adam talk sport. No, really. Links: Click he...

We might be in level 1, but that doesn’t mean the stress of this global pandemic has disappeared. Job losses, worry for family – it can be hard. Mental health advocate Taimi Allan joins the show to talk about coping strategies – and what to do when people ask you for help. Stuff senior reporter Andrea Vance explains why we should worry about the authoritarian ways of lockdown life. And Adam and Eu...

Keeping track of where we’ve been is going to be one of the “Golden Rules” of Alert Level 1. So why is the government’s official contact-tracing app proving to be such a flop? Stuff’s Brittney Deguara finds out why the app isn’t making the impact it should. Senior reporter Tom Hunt looks into why film crews got special permission to cross our closed border – and why other people didn’t. And Adam f...

The race is on to establish a Trans-Tasman bubble, but meanwhile our Pacific neighbours are in strife. Cook Islands News editor Jonathan Milne joins the show to talk about pandemic life in Rarotonga, the impact on the country’s tourism-dependent economy, and NZ’s paternalistic attitudes. Stuff’s Alison Mau reports on what Kiwi-style bubbles could teach other countries fighting the virus. And Adam...

Professor Juliet Gerrard has the ear of the Prime Minister when it comes to science – that’s her job: chief science advisor. She’s been monitoring the virus since early January, and comparing notes with top government scientists from around the globe. In this extended interview, she talks about the view from inside the government’s Covid-19 machine and what it’s like when scientists become more hi...

Remember that simpler time when we were just worried about the catastrophic warming of the planet? Stuff’s climate change editor Eloise Gibson explains what impact global Covid-19 lockdowns have had on the Earth, and what opportunities they might present. Stuff business reporter Susan Edmunds raises an eyebrow at the Government’s new two-tier benefits system. And Eugene faces the toughest intervie...

Professor Simon Kingham, the chief science advisor to the Ministry of Transport, says coronavirus has already changed the way we move about, and there’s more change to come. He talks about the future of transport – and his role in advising the UK government on its border and quarantine plans. Steve Kilgallon has been looking into how lockdown meant very different things for white and blue collar w...

The World Health Organisation has warned the virus which causes Covid-19 may stick around forever, and become an “endemic” disease. Dr Heather Hendrickson joins the show to explain what that means – and how endemic viruses behave. Stuff national correspondent Katie Kenny previews the new government app that’s meant to simplify contact tracing. And Adam watches an old movie which – get this – is ba...

Theatre legend, Equity president and 2020 New Zealander of the Year Jennifer Te Atamira Ward-Lealand reveals how performing artists have coped with the shutdown of every venue in the country (which in her case includes staging a play on Zoom instead). Stuff’s Kylie Klein-Nixon bids a bittersweet farewell to lockdown karaoke, baking and dog-walks. And Eugene is very rude about Adam’s hair. Links: C...

In an extended interview, deputy PM and foreign minister Winston Peters reveals how Chinese officials pushed back against New Zealand entering lockdown. He discusses the huge operation to repatriate Kiwis and the government’s fears that the returnees might bring Covid-19 infection back home with them, and shares his lockdown foraging secrets. Links: Click here for every episode of Coronavirus NZ....

China and the US were already scrapping before Covid-19 came along, and now they’re blaming each other for the virus. International relations expert Professor Robert Patman of Otago University explains what’s behind the name-calling – and why the post-Covid global order could favour small countries like New Zealand. Stuff reporter John Anthony breaks down the breakdown of Air New Zealand. And Adam...

Lockdown was, by the government’s own account, “the most significant and widespread interference with human rights in New Zealand in living memory”. Even so we mostly went along with it because the public health argument was compelling. But what of the legal argument? Stuff political reporter Thomas Coughlan joins the show to explain why the law behind lockdown is being debated. George Block revea...

Dr Ayesha Verrall was the scientist called in to the Ministry of Health to make a critical audit of the country’s contact-tracing system – and she found it wanting. She joins the show to talk about why contact tracing is still so important, and whether the country is ready for this week’s move to level 2. Steve Kilgallon reveals the surprise twist which has kicked the events industry while they’re...