Gone By Lunchtime

Ben, Toby, and special guest star Mihingarangi Forbes demand all the debates and debate all the demands. In this episode: The farmers’ howl of a protest! The Mongrel Mob and meth programmes! David Seymour's successes! Fish + chips + communism! Freedom Day in England! Gone By Lunchtime couldn’t be made without the support of The Spinoff Members. Find out how to join at members.thespinoff.co.nz Lear...

In another triumph of love speech over hate speech, Annabelle, Ben and Toby discuss Covid, vaccines and roadmaps, the three waters reform, Willy Jackson’s UNDrip response, the National Party purge and the malice that lives in Ben’s soul. Gone By Lunchtime couldn’t be made without the support of The Spinoff Members. Find out how to join at members.thespinoff.co.nz Learn more about your ad choices....

After an eight month absence, the Winston Peters bus burst back out of the barn at the weekend. How did he do, and where is he going? Plus: the electric car rebate row, "legitimate" utes, the vaccine roll-out and heated development battles in Wellington and Waiheke. Gone By Lunchtime couldn’t be made without the support of The Spinoff Members. Find out how to join at members.thespinoff.co.nz Learn...

It's been another week of National making headlines for the wrong reasons, with Nick Smith, Jake Bezzant and Paul Goldsmith making life difficult for Judith Collins. Plus: the Climate Commission's final report lands, bridges, bike lanes and roads, and the ScoMo-Jacinda Queenstown summit. Gone By Lunchtime couldn’t be made without the support of The Spinoff Members. Find out how to join at members....

In this once-in-a-generation edition of Gone By Lunchtime, Annabelle, Ben and Toby assess last week's benefit-boosting budget, chew over plans for unemployment insurance, discuss the immigration "reset", and ask: is David Seymour now the leader of the opposition? Gone By Lunchtime couldn’t be made without the support of The Spinoff Members. Find out how to join at members.thespinoff.co.nz Learn mo...

After a big week for pay, Annabelle, Ben and Toby discuss the public sector pay freeze-not-freeze and the less heralded but bigger deal that is the fair pay agreement. They're joined, too, by "the masked podder", who may or may not be Mihingarangi Forbes, to discuss the He Puapua report and Judith Collins' "segregation" claims. Gone By Lunchtime couldn’t be made without the support of The Spinoff...

In this special pink moon edition of the podcast, Toby, Annabelle and Ben discuss the government’s recently announced health reforms, National’s race-baiting response, Nanaia Mahuta’s China speech and big hopes for her review of local government. Ben also goes in big time on the major celebrity beef (allegedly) between Jacinda Ardern and Selena Gomez.  Gone By Lunchtime couldn’t be made without th...

After an impeccably-observed 45 minutes of silence for the Duke of Edinburgh (edited out of this version), the Gone By Lunchtime team get on to discussing the latest big stories in New Zealand politics. In this episode: the temporary ban on arrivals from India, the Māori Party’s donations strife, drug policy and leadership ructions in the National Party. Gone By Lunchtime couldn’t be made without...

Join Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas as they discuss Labour’s now week-old housing package, the National caucus's fluoride vote, Christopher Luxon, travel bubbles, Police 10-7 and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gone By Lunchtime briefly pauses Rocking the Dock to discuss the latest poll results and other highlights from the fortnight in New Zealand politics.  On this week’s episode: The latest 1 News Colmar Brunton poll results and the death of landline polling; Jacinda Ardern quitting her weekly Mike Hosking radio slot; the National Party review under lock and key and the push for diversity in candidate...

New Zealand’s leading political podcast pivots to true crime this week to investigate the disappearance of political commentator Ben Thomas from Twitter. Where did he go – and what’s he been doing with all his hot takes on The Bachelorette NZ? Also discussed in this week’s episode: the latest short, sharp three-day lockdown, the ongoing Covid response and the need for specialist MIQ facilities, tr...

Ben Thomas, Annabelle Lee Mather and Toby Manhire kick off the year in political podcast punditry, taking on the major parties, Waitangi plans, councils, and the whopping great climate report. As news reaches Gone By Lunchtime that it’s already the second month of the year, The Spinoff’s political podcasting triumvirate sits down to study the 2021 tea leaves. On the agenda in this episode: The Nat...

Gone By Lunchtime is taking a break over summer, so we're republishing some of our favourite episodes of 2020. This week: the one where everybody was really, really tired. First released October 18, 2020. It's the morning after a very successful election night for Labour, and a pretty good one for the Greens too – especially in Auckland Central, where Chlöe Swarbrick looks to have turned the elec...

Gone By Lunchtime is taking a break over the summer holidays. We'll be back in the new year, but until then we're we're republishing some of our favourite episodes of 2020. This week: Mervmania hits the election campaign trail. First released August 11, 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 unmell...

Gone By Lunchtime is taking a break over the summer holidays. We'll be back in the new year, but until then we're we're republishing some of our favourite episodes of 2020. This week: Simon Bridges opens up on his time as National Party leader. First released July 31, 2020. For the third Politics in Pubs event, recorded live at Meow in Wellington, former National Party leader Simon Bridges joins D...

Gone By Lunchtime is taking a break over the summer holidays. We'll be back in the new year, but until then we're we're republishing some of our favourite interviews of 2020. This week: relive the 53-day reign of Todd Muller as National Party leader. First released July 14, 2020. At 7.30am, just 53 days after he replaced Simon Bridges as leader of the National Party, Todd Muller announced his imme...

Pour yourself some eggnog and join the hosts of The Spinoff’s podcast network for our annual Superpod round up of the year that was. Representing Gone By Lunchtime, Dietary Requirements, The Real Pod, Papercuts, The Fold and On The Rag our hosts dive into the key events, issues, heroes and villains of 2020. From National’s botched election campaign to Ben Thomas’ take on TikTok, via the collapse o...

The prime minister drops in for a chat with Toby Manhire in a scoop-filled bonus episode of Gone By Lunchtime. When Jacinda Ardern looks back on the year 2020, what one day stands out in her memory? And when she slides open the lid of a dairy freezer this summer, what ice cream will she be reaching for? Find the answers to these questions and more in this end of year special. Hosted on Acast. See...

Fresh from the Press Gallery Christmas Party, Annabelle Lee-Mather, Toby Manhire and Ben Thomas convene for the final time in 2020 to recap the year in New Zealand politics.  What do Jacinda Ardern, Chlöe Swarbrick, David Seymour, Labour’s Covid-19 response, the Maori Party’s return to parliament, National’s Todd Muller era, that disastrous campaign day on Ponsonby Road, Winston Peters and the Bad...

On the eve of the opening of the 53rd parliament of New Zealand, Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas dress up as Black Rod. As 120 familiar and fresh faces swarm upon the tropical paradise of Wellington for a brand new parliament, the Gone By Lunchtime trio ruminate on the politics to come. What state is the National opposition in after an AGM that saw Peter Goodfellow hang on to the...

Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee Mather and Ben Thomas return, electrolytes replenished after the election marathon, to assess the newly-announced Labour cabinet and more. It’s been 17 days since the election, and about 24 hours since the Labour announced the composition of its new cabinet. Really wanted to do a Nothing Compares 2 U reference there but just couldn't get it to work. Anyway, the importan...

Greens MP Chlöe Swarbrick joins Annabelle Lee Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire to pick over the remains of election night in a special Sunday edition of Gone By Lunchtime. It's the morning after a very successful election night for Labour, and a pretty good one for the Greens too – especially in Auckland Central, where Chlöe Swarbrick looks to have turned the electorate green for the first time...

The Bulletin's Alex Braae, fresh from his tour of Aotearoa, joins Toby Manhire to reveal what he witnessed on the road in this special pre-election bonus episode of Gone By Lunchtime. For 40 days and 40 nights (roughly, who's counting) Alex Braae packed up his Bulletin in his old kit bag, threw it in the back of a Jucy van and toured the country to take the campaign pulse. He joins Toby Manhire fo...

Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire gather around the giant orb of truth for the last time before polls close to assess the parties' campaigns, select the seats they'll be drooling over, and put their pundit reputations on the line by predicting the final election outcome.     We're leaving together. But still it's farewell. And maybe we'll come back, to earth, who can tell? After a...

Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire assess the Press debate in Christchurch, National's leaky redux, the advance voting surge and the rest of the big stories with a week and a half to go. In 10 short days the skies will clear and for a few blessed hours the only hint of politics will be dogs outside polling stations on The Spinoff. Can Judith Collins close the gap? Has her caucus rev...