Podcasts · History

Black Sheep

RNZ

77 episodes · in order

The shady, controversial and sometimes downright villainous characters of NZ history. Join William Ray as he explores history through the lens of Kiwi dirtbags in NZ's most awarded podcast.

Episodes page 2 of 2

  1. Erased: the story of Charles Mackay (Part 2)

    · 50 min · S7 E2

    In the second of a two-part episode on Charles Mackay Black Sheep investigates the mysteries surrounding the Whanganui Mayor's attempted murder of D'Arcy Cresswell - a former soldier who threatened to out the Mackay as…

  2. Scientific Racist: the story of Alfred Newman

    · 52 min · S7 E3

    Dr Alfred Newman may be the most notorious scientific racist in New Zealand history. His 1882 paper "A study of the causes leading to the extinction of the Māori" was so extreme that it scandalised not just Māori, but…

  3. Death Ray: the story of Victor Penny

    · 52 min · S7 E4

    In 1935, a series of extraordinary newspaper articles claimed a backyard inventor called Victor Penny was trying to build a Death Ray for the New Zealand government. The claims seem absurd... So why were they taken so…

  4. Gender Bender: the story of Hjelmar Dannevill

    · 44 min · S7 E5

    In the 1910s, Hjelmar Dannevill wowed high society with gripping tales of adventure as a medical researcher and journalist. But suspicions over her fantastical stories and insistence on wearing men's clothing saw her…

  5. Double Life: the story of Judge Frederick Maning (Part 1)

    · 38 min · S7 E6

    Frederick Maning was one of the first Europeans to settle in Aotearoa, he married a high-ranking Ngāpuhi woman, and wrote two books filled with romantic anecdotes of his time living alongside Māori. So why did so many…

  6. Double Life: the story of Judge Frederick Maning (Part 2)

    · 54 min · S7 E7

    From the 1840s onward, Frederick Maning would become an increasingly bitter and angry man who demonised Māori who opposed colonisation. So what explains this radical transition from a romantic early Pākehā settler?…

  7. Nellie's Baby: the story of New Zealand's Mental Institutions

    · 41 min · S7 E8 · Bonus

    The last of the so-called 'lunatic asylums' closed only 20 years ago. They were founded on ideas of paternalism and social progress and survived on the basis they offered safety. In this special crossover with the…

  8. Trailer: Black Sheep Season 8

    · 2:03 · Trailer

    Black Sheep Season 8 is just around the corner with a whole new cast of controversial, villainous, or simply misunderstood figures from New Zealand history. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

  9. Anzac Massacre: the story of Surafend (Part 1)

    · 31 min · S8 E1

    “There was a time when I was proud of you men of the Anzac Mounted Division. I am proud of you no longer.” In the first of a three-part series, RNZ's Black Sheep investigates the Surafend massacre. Read more about the…

  10. Anzac Massacre: the story of Surafend (Part 2)

    · 25 min · S8 E2

    "They went out to this village, and they went through it with the bayonet.” In the second of a three-part series, RNZ's Black Sheep investigates the Surafend massacre of December 1918. Read more about the story of…

  11. Anzac Massacre: the story of Surafend (Part 3)

    · 28 min · S8 E3

    "As morning dawned we stood and watched / That devastated scene / Where but a single yesterday / Had flourished Surafeen." In the final episode of a three-part series, RNZ's Black Sheep investigates the Surafend…

  12. Highwayman: the story of Robert Wallath

    · 46 min · S8 E4

    In 1892 a masked figure in a bizarre uniform began a 15 month crime spree, robbing people at gunpoint in and around New Plymouth. When he was finally arrested and unmasked, residents were dumbfounded to discovered the…

  13. Beastly Truth: the story of George Howe

    · 44 min · S8 E5

    In the 1900s a series of lurid headlines were published in the New Zealand Truth about George Howe, a "Beastly Brothel-keeper" who pimped out underage girls from his shop on Wellington's Adelaide Road. But what Truth…

  14. Musket Missionary: the story of Thomas Kendall (Part 1)

    · 44 min · S8 E6

    Early Missionary Thomas Kendall facilitated the sale of hundreds of muskets to Ngāpuhi Māori, helping to enable the bloodiest wars in New Zealand history. But there's more to Kendall's story. He was instrumental in the…

  15. Musket Missionary: the story of Thomas Kendall (Part 2)

    · 51 min · S8 E7

    Early NZ missionary Thomas Kendall arrived in London in 1820 with the Ngāpuhi Rangatira Hongi Hika. He would return to Aotearoa a year later with the first ever written dictionary of Te Reo Māori, a newly won clerical…

  16. Bird Bandit: the story of Freddie Angell

    · 43 min · S8 E8

    Freddie Angell was New Zealand's most notorious wildlife smuggler. His repeated attempts at stealing and exporting native wildlife in the 1990s, including Kea and Tuatara, made him all but a household name. Black Sheep…

  17. Spy Scandal: the story of Bill Sutch

    · 55 min · S8 E9 · Bonus

    On 27 September 1974 New Zealanders woke to the news Dr Bill Sutch, a famous economist, historian, and former senior government official had been arrested and accused of spying for Soviet Russia. He was later found not…

  18. BONUS: Kelly Tarlton's Final Treasure Hunt

    · 50 min · S8 E10 · Bonus

    We're ducking into your feed to bring you an episode of a new RNZ podcast: Kelly Tartlon's Final Treasure Hunt. This story has everything! Kidnapping, smuggling, scurvy, and imaginary islands full of Jewish gold...…

  19. Black Sheep Season 9 | Trailer

    · 1:57 · Trailer

    Black Sheep returns on Friday 30 January for its 9th season with a new cast of rogues, villains and controversial characters. Murderous nurses, foul-mouthed goldfield barkeepers, sly grogging kāuri gum dealers and…

  20. Killer Nurse: the story of Elspeth Kerr (Part 1)

    · 25 min · S9 E1

    Elspeth Kerr was a beloved local nurse in 1930s Devonport, but when her husband died suddenly and her foster daughter fell into an inexplicable coma, locals discovered the shocking truth: Nurse Kerr was a serial…

  21. Killer Nurse: the story of Elspeth Kerr (Part 2)

    · 34 min · S9 E2

    In the second of Black Sheep's two-part episode on Elspeth Kerr, detectives unravel the mystery of 9-year old Betty Kerr's poisoning and uncover more potential victims of a beloved nurse, turned serial poisoner. The…

  22. Saturday Morning: Behind Black Sheep

    · 15 min · S9 E2 · Bonus

    New Zealand's most awarded podcast is RNZ's own Black Sheep, and it's back with its 9th season. Hosted and produced by William Ray - he explores New Zealand history through the lens of real life, shady, controversial…

  23. Preservation and Destruction: the story of Elsdon Best (Part 1)

    · 38 min · S9 E3

    Described in his own time as "the white Tōhunga of Tuhoeland" and by some today as a "structural rascist" who "stole" knowledge, it's fair to say Elsdon Best is a controvesial character. In the first of a two part…

  24. Preservation and Destruction: the story of Elsdon Best (Part 2)

    · 51 min · S9 E4

    In part two, we look at the years Elsdon Best spent living in Te Urewera, attempting to preserve knowledge he believed was on the brink of being lost forever, the remarkable relatioship he built with Tūhoe leaders, and…

  25. Defective: the story of Dr Theodore Gray

    · 48 min · S9 E5

    “Oh Mummy save me from Dr Gray, because teacher says he’s coming today, and if I’m stupid he’ll take me away”. William Ray looks at the life and legacy of Dr Theodore Gray, a staunch eugenicists who was head of New…

  26. Original Westie: the story of Don Buck

    · 41 min · S9 E6

    The founding father of West Auckland - Don Buck was notorious in the early 20th century for his hard drinking, hard living gum digging camp in the foothills of the Waitakere ranges. Black Sheep investigates the legend…

  27. What to Listen to Next: NZ Wars Collection

    · 3:32 · S9 E7 · Bonus

    Host of Black Sheep William Ray recommends a new RNZ podcast for history fans, NZ Wars Collection - Kohikohinga o nga pakanga o Aotearoa. We’re bringing all our New Zealand Wars stories together in your favourite…

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