The Spinoff

Gone By Lunchtime

News EN ↓ 304 episodes

A New Zealand politics podcast hosted by The Spinoff's Toby Manhire with Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas.

Author

The Spinoff

Category

News

Podcast website

thespinoff.co.nz

Latest episode

Jul 8, 2026

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Episodes

The second NZ leaders' debate, assessed 01.10.2020

Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee Mather, Ben Thomas and a very special guest go over what we learned from last night’s Newshub leaders’ debate between Jacinda Ardern and Judith Collins.  It’s a four-person episode of Gone By Lunchtime this week as special guest Mihingarangi Forbes (The Hui, RNZ’s political podcast Party People) joins Toby Manhire and Annabelle Lee Mather, both of whom were in the audie...

The best and worst of last night’s debates 22.09.2020

Election debate season is finally upon us, and the Gone By Lunchtime trio are here to talk Tuesday night’s two big debates. The Hui’s livestreamed Waiariki candidate debate between Hannah Tamaki, Rawiri Waititi and Tamati Coffey, and TVNZ’s leaders’ debate between Judith Collins and Jacinda Ardern. One was raucous, robust, interesting and entertaining. The other was the leaders’ debate. There’s al...

Welcome to Middelburg, Aotearoa 15.09.2020

Ben Thomas never attends a party without a whakataukī in his pocket, and he does not disappoint in this week's edition of Gone By Lunchtime. Along with Annabelle Lee-Mather and Toby Manhire, Ben sprinkles the wisdom on everything from the Māori Party policy to jettison "New Zealand" in favour of "Aotearoa" to the Labour Party policy to suffocate the tax debate in the 2020 campaign. Are National an...

The Gone By Lunchtime apology special 08.09.2020

The 2020 election has risen, bleary eyed, from its slumber, and so have Annabelle, Ben and Toby. This week: Labour are promising a Matariki holiday, National are promising a health-driven response to meth addiction, and the Greens are trying to put the train back on the rails with the aid of several million apologies from James Shaw following the Green School debacle. Meanwhile, Winston Peters has...

Late night lockdown politics with the Alert Level Three 25.08.2020

Join the the country's most mellifluous political pod trio, the Alert Level Three, for another late night lockdown edition of Gone By Lunchtime. Covid-19 continues to dominate the political agenda, with Jacinda Ardern and cabinet having extended level three for the Auckland region until the end of the weekend. Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire discuss the risks of lockdown fatigue,...

The Gone By Lunchtime guide to political edging 17.08.2020

Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas forget how to record a podcast over Zoom. Most elements of life under lockdown feel a little bit easier the second time around, but not recording an episode of Gone By Lunchtime. After being held up for over an hour by a confusing tech issue (Ben’s new phone doesn’t have a headphone jack), the renowned podcasting trio finally get stuck into the wee...

Mervmania hits the 2020 election campaign 11.08.2020

Merv Lee-Mather, Merv Thomas and Merv Manhire gather to discuss the most pressing issues of election 2020. With 39 days to go until New Zealand goes to the polls, talkback caller 'Merv' has lit up the election campaign, delivering a deeply unmellow curtain-raiser to the National Party's Auckland Central candidate selection. Plus: the Labour launch, NZ First's terrible poll, and what is Gerry Brown...

Why Auckland Central is 2020's most exciting electorate 05.08.2020

Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas denounce new poll results that very slightly contradict their opinions. The scale of the summit for the National Party? A poll came out last week with Labour at 53%, and that was considered good news for Judith Collins and the Strong Team. With a month before advanced voting begins, Annabelle, Ben and Toby assess the state of the race, as well as t...

Politics in Pubs 3: Simon Bridges on National Party upheavals, politics, and post-yak life 30.07.2020

For the third Politics in Pubs event, recorded live at Meow in Wellington, former National Party leader Simon Bridges joins Danyl Mclauchlan to talk the events of 2020, what the role of the opposition leader is in a time of national crisis is, what he thinks of the election campaign so far, the challenges facing New Zealand politics... and of course baby yaks. Politics in Pubs is supported by The...

Politics roguecast: A bombshell poll for Judith Collins and National 28.07.2020

Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas dust off the bazookas scattered around New Zealand politics in this week's Gone By Lunchtime.  A new Newshub poll has put Judith Collins' National Party on 25.1%, Jacinda Ardern's Labour on 60.9%, and many jaws on the floor. Gerry Brownlee has dismissed it as a "rogue poll". Annabelle, Ben and Toby impersonate Nate Silver and assess the veracity of...

Politics podcast: Judith Collins and the hot air Falloon 21.07.2020

Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas on the Andrew Falloon scandal and its implications for a beleaguered National Party, a big weekend for Winston Peters and NZ First, and the chorus calling to charge arriving New Zealanders for their hotel isolation.  Less than two months out from the election, the National Party remains bedevilled by controversy. Just a few days after she became le...

Emergency politics Toddcast: The National Party after Muller 13.07.2020

Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas reel at the announcement that Todd Muller has resigned as leader of the opposition.   At 7.30am, just 53 days after he replaced Simon Bridges as leader of the National Party, Todd Muller announced his immediate resignation from the job. How did it come to this, and who is likely to emerge as the new leader, with less than 10 weeks to an election? W...

Politics podcast: The slogans have landed. Plus: a formal apology 07.07.2020

Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas on ministerial resignations in the recent and middle-distant past, a new book from Judith Collins, and the reinvention of Simon Bridges The Gone By Lunchtime triumvirate convenes to chew on all the issues, or at least some of them. Such as: Judith Collins' new book; the resignation of David Clark as health minister; the Clare Curran interview from...

Politics in pubs podcast: Chlöe Swarbrick and Danyl Mclauchlan 23.06.2020

In the second of our pre-election events, a collaboration between Spinoff Members and Verb Wellington, Danyl Mclauchlan talks to Chlöe Swarbrick, the MP seeking to tip the table of politics from inside parliament.  The third Politics on Pubs, featuring Danyl with Kevin Hague and Tamatha Paul, takes place tonight, 6pm, at Meow in Wellington. Limited tickets are still available, and there will be a...

Politics podcast: The week the Covid-19 response went downhill 19.06.2020

Ben Thomas, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Toby Manhire on efforts to resolve the failures exposed in the self-isolation system.  As the saying goes, a week is a long time in the response to an unprecedented global pandemic, and so it has proved, with the military called in to fix the issues in border control following the revelation that two women recently arrived from the UK had been allowed early exi...

Politics podcast: The bloody battle for the National Party leadership 21.05.2020

Ben Thomas, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Toby Manhire on Simon Bridges' fight to hang on to the top job in National.  On Friday National MPs gather in Wellington to vote on the future of Simon Bridges and Paula Bennett. After miserable poll results a challenge has been launched, with Todd Muller and probably Nikki Kaye angling to replace them as leader and deputy. The Gone By Lunchtime team offers a b...

Politics in pubs podcast: Danyl Mclauchlan, Andrea Vance and Neale Jones 28.04.2020

In the first of a series of now-virtual events, Danyl is joined by a journalist and a former political staffer to discuss politics and the media. Two months ago today, Spinoff Members and Verb Wellington cheerfully unveiled a new collaboration: a series of live events at the tremendous Meow bar. And, well, everyone knows what happened next. But the prospect of Danyl Mclauchlan talking to brilliant...

Politics podcast: Gone by lockdowntime 23.04.2020

In the world's first ever podcast undertaken by people in remote locations, it's New Zealand's leading epidemiologists and economists, Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas.  An exclusive reading by the velvet voiced Jacinda Ardern biographer Madeleine Chapman kicks off the return of Gone By Lunchtime, who will not be muzzled by alert level four. On the agenda: How has the political le...

Politics podcast: Covid-19 and its political dimension 05.03.2020

Ben Thomas, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Toby Manhire are not medical doctors, or in fact doctors of any kind, but here they overcome this minor impediment and solve coronavirus. The Gone By Lunchtime trio look at the political and economic implications of the outbreak, weigh up Jacinda Ardern's "don't deport your problems" broadside at Scott Morrison in Sydney, and sigh painfully at Shane Jones's lat...

Politics podcast: The many circles of donation hell 19.02.2020

Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire inhale the unsweet aromas of donation scandal enveloping NZ First, National, and by association the prime minister herself. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gone By Lunchtime: positive, factual, robust, stable, genius 31.01.2020

Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee and Ben Thomas are back to kick off the election year with Winston, roads, and serious fraud charges. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Spinoff presents SUPERPOD 2019 19.12.2019

Join various hosts of The Spinoff podcasts Gone by Lunchtime, On The Rag, The Real Pod, Paper Cuts, The Offspin, and Dietary Requirements as we look back at the car crash that was 2019. In this special end of year podcast hosted by Leonie Hayden, we dissect the country's response to national disasters, the highs and lows of MAFS, international literary scandals, the madness and tragedy of the 2019...

Politics podcast: live from the Gone by Lunchtime Christmas party 06.12.2019

This month on the politics podcast it's the Gone by Lunchtime Christmas Party and Toby's brought a baggie of oregano. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Politics podcast: Peter Jackson is not the mayor of Wellington 14.10.2019

But he did play a crucial role in helping Andy Foster knock over Justin Lester. Team Gone By Lunchtime size up the local elections, gaze plaintively at the dramas in the NZ First Party, and ask how bad the new poll is for Jacinda Ardern. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Politics podcast special: Livin’ la vida local 07.10.2019

Area man Hayden Donnell joins Toby Manhire for a bonus edition of Gone By Lunchtime, leading a whistlestop tour of the local elections. Fresh from an assignment in the Far North, the mayor of the Spinoff’s local elections pop-up section, Hayden Donnell, takes us on a journey from Kaikohe to Dunedin, stopping along the way in Hamilton, Auckland and Porirua. And he gets fired up. Fired up for democr...

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