The Long Read from Stuff

Murray and Margaret Shaw retired and started a small bird park, but not before becoming embroiled in a sprawling saga involving a late-night arrest, an early-morning raid, and a music festival called Birdstock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What drives someone to make competitive mini-golf their mission? Well, something does .. and it's something Stuff's National Correspondent Steve Kilgallon investigated. Need more great podcasts? Check out Stuff's full catalogue here. GET IN TOUCH Feedback? We’re listening! Email us at thelongread@stuff.co.nz  CREDITS Read by Steve Kilgallon Produced by Philippa Tolley Audio editing: Connor Scott L...

One had broken ribs and two years of heartbreak to overcome. The other had been a national celebrity but never faced anything like this before. Now they were running against each other, to the death. Stuff’s Mike White and Lawrence Smith recorded the drama of the Riverhead Backyard ReLaps Ultra, the race that keeps on going until only one person is left standing. Need more great podcasts? Check ou...

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At the top of her sport and destined to row for New Zealand at the Olympic Games, Lucy Strack suddenly forgot how to scull. Need more great podcasts? Check out Stuff's full catalogue here. GET IN TOUCH Feedback? We’re listening! Email us at thelongread@stuff.co.nz  CREDITS Read by Philippa Tolley Produced by Michael Wright Audio editing: Connor Scott Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megapho...

As detectives set about looking for an international crime syndicate, two local lads were crumpling their crisp new bank notes to avoid suspicion. More than 50 years on, Chloe Ranford discovers some of the money was never recovered. Need more great podcasts? Check out Stuff's full catalogue here. GET IN TOUCH Feedback? We’re listening! Email us at thelongread@stuff.co.nz  CREDITS Read by Adam Dudd...

Reinventing yourself after quitting your dream job can be pretty painful. Just ask All Black great Dan Carter - which is what Adam Dudding did. Need more great podcasts? Check out Stuff's full catalogue here. GET IN TOUCH Feedback? We’re listening! Email us at thelongread@stuff.co.nz  CREDITS Read by Adam Dudding Produced by Jono Williams Audio editing: John Ropiha Learn more about your ad choices...

How much are we being watched? Or is it all in our imagination? With the increase in CCTV and smart ware, from phones to fridges, the feeling is we are all increasingly being tracked. But is the increase in surveillance more a result of ‘mission creep’ as businesses and government agencies expand their brief, than an overarching conspiracy? You can read Richard's story here Need more great podcast...

A book deal, a possible Netflix documentary and a tale of success in the face of adversity, was the life painted on social media by wannabe New Zealand lawyer Corallee Collins-Anan. In a tale that mirrors a Walter Mitty creation or a version of Inventing Anna, the reality seemed to be deceit, missing money and academic failings. In this episode of The Long Read, Steve Kilgallon sets out the life C...

 Beautiful scenery good enough for Lord of The Rings, so why has 007 - James Bond - never been to New Zealand? In this episode from the archives of The Long Read, Lee Kenny charts this country's connections with Bond and the reasons why we may just be too far away. You can read Lee's story here Need more great podcasts? Check out Stuff's full catalogue here. GET IN TOUCH Feedback? We’re listening!...

It started off with two pekin ducks living contentedly on a pond in Southland. But a dog attack later and the fate of Duckie and Drakie has sparked a five year court saga that has made legal history. You can read Martin's story here Need more great podcasts? Check out Stuff's full catalogue here. GET IN TOUCH Feedback? We’re listening! Email us at thelongread@stuff.co.nz  CREDITS Read by Martin Va...

How a shallow lake nestled high in the Central Otago hill country could electrify the country and serve as the biggest public infrastructure project in nearly half a century. You can read Charlie's story here Need more great podcasts? Check out Stuff's full catalogue here. GET IN TOUCH Feedback? We’re listening! Email us at thelongread@stuff.co.nz  CREDITS Read by Adam Dudding Produced by Philippa...

While the dark days of New Zealand’s winters don’t hold a candle to Antarctica’s, there’s no doubt they can still affect our physical and mental health. So what can we learn from the experts - people who spend six months of the year in darkness. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's hard to believe, but there used to be a bountry on the beak of every kea. They were accused to attacking sheep and hunters killed about 150,00 in a hundred years of slaughter. In this episode from the archives of The Long Read Charlie O'Mannin sets out the how kea have gone from being regarded as the enemy to the focus of consevation. You can read Charlie's story here Need more great podcasts...

One month on from the Loafers Lodge fire, the man who jumped to safety rather than burn, tells Nikki Macdonald he’s been given “a fighting chance to get the life I never had”. But he wonders why it took a fatal fire for people to care. You can read Nikki's story here Need more great podcasts? Check out Stuff's full catalogue here. GET IN TOUCH Feedback? We’re listening! Email us at thelongread@stu...

Stephen Lewis trusted and cared about his partner, Dr Shelagh Dawson. It never occurred to him that she could be secretly trying to kill him. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What if you could build a new society inside a national park? A motley crew of sovereign citizens tried to do just that, with an ambitious – but mostly incompetent – attempt to establish “New Freeland” under the Department of Conservation’s nose. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The identities of two men who drugged and sexually assaulted numerous women have been revealed after earlier being found guilty. Blair Ensor and Jake Kenny give the full report on Operation Sinatra. A warning: this episode does have references to sexual abuse. Resources are at the bottom of the show notes. You can read Jake Kenny and Blair Ensor's story here. Need more great podcasts? Check out St...

They are the forgotten Māori soldiers of Colditz. The two men served time in the infamous German prison and went on a dangerous mission at the close of World War II in Europe. Charlie Gates uncovers their full story for the first time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After 19 women were fired from the Wellington strip club, Calender Girls over contract negotiations, Hanna McCullum was given access to the inner sanctum of a strip club. She discovered a bond between the dancers and shocking employment conditions. A warning: this episode does have references to sexual abuse. You can read Hanna McCullum's story here. Need more great podcasts? Check out Stuff's ful...

A storm with the destructive force of Cyclone Gabrielle could temporarily cripple the capital and sink parts of the Hutt Valley under four metres of floodwater. Ethan Te Ora examines the hypothetical path and fallout of such an event. You can read Ethan Te Ora's story here. Need more great podcasts? Check out Stuff's full catalogue here. GET IN TOUCH Feedback? We’re listening! Email us at thelongr...

Convicted killer Mark Pakenham insists he was 'framed' in Sara Niethe disappearance. He claims he confessed to accidentally killing her rather than be charged with murder. As Jono Williams recounts, her body and her car have never been found. You can read Tony Wall's story at: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/300847790/convicted-killer-mark-pakenham-lives-on-a-boat-in-far-north-insists-he-wa...

Freshly divorced, psychologist Dr Angela Ahola decided to take dating to the next level. After going on 100 dates, here is what she learnt about finding love. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Barbara Millicent Roberts, the blond bombshell doll better known as Barbie, is now 64 years old. She is sold in 150 countries worldwide at a rate of more than 100 every minute. Barbie, and her unrealistic proportions, have come in for a lot of stick over the years, despite efforts to diversify. But she remains steadfastly popular and has even inspired a movie due out later this year. Barbie: Femin...

Matthew Williams always imagined he'd be a parent someday. With the help of a close friend and his big sister, he's believed to have become the first single gay man in New Zealand to achieve that dream through surrogacy, Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices