History
Edmund Richardson: finding the lost city of Alexandria
Founded by Alexander the Great, the city of Alexandria sat at an important junction of the southern foothills of the Hindu Kush mountains. And then it vanished. Alexandria, the new book by Dr Edmund… Audio
Ancient Egyptian shroud discovery in NZ
The marriage of modern day technology and ancient artefacts has led to some remarkable discoveries in recent times. The latest, involving a 2,300 year-old Egyptian shroud, comes from our very own… Audio
The Rest Is History: Launch of The Listener in 1939
Tonight we look back in time to 1939 when the first issue of the Listener was published It's almost a year since the Listener was relaunched after its near death experience when Bauer Media dumped its… Audio
That's a wrap: Mummy fragments virtually reunited in study
University of Canterbury and an American museum have discovered separate linens are from the same ancient shroud.
History with Dr Grant Morris
Today historian Dr Grant Morris talks about how soon is too soon to write history after the event. It is always difficult to analyse major events when you are living through them. Grant Morris looks… Audio
NZ Screen History - What Now
This week NZ Screen History celebrates New Zealand's longest-running children's show - What Now. Hard to believe but What Now turned 40 this year! The creator of What Now, Rex Simpson, and former… Audio
Many psychiatric staff in 70s lacked qualifications, doctor says
A psychiatrist who worked in New Zealand in the 1970s says many people employed at psychiatric hospitals back then often had no relevant qualifications.
Ngāti Hine kaumātua: 'We will change our tikanga but not for Judith's sake'
Changes to tikanga allowing wāhine to speak at Waitangi will not be for the sake of National Party leader Judith Collins, Ngāti Hine kaumātua have said.
Expert feature: Prehistoric monsters of the sea
Senior curator of palaeontology at the Queensland Museum Network, Dr Espen Knutsen, joins us on the show to talk about prehistoric sea monsters! Audio
The 30 year long mystery of Little Ted's missing head
There's been a mystery for the past three decades that has finally been solved. Hayden Donnell from RNZ's Mediawatch has been looking for the missing head of Little Ted. He talks to Jesse. Audio
Poll: Only 43% of Kiwis regard Matariki as an important holiday
Matariki will be celebrated on June 24 next year. While most people are happy for any excuse to take a day off work, a new poll from Research New Zealand shows that less than half of us rate the day… Audio
Richard Thompson-Ford: How we define ourselves through fashion
Stanford Law School professor and author Richard Thompson-Ford details the importance of fashion throughout the centuries in his new book Dress Codes - How the Laws of Fashion Made History. Audio
Ralph Hope: Whatever happened to the Grey Men?
When the Berlin Wall came down how did over 100,000 Stasi officers manage to disappear? In his book The Grey Men, former FBI agent Ralph Hope investigates what happened to the former East Berlin… Audio
Why women still change their names when they marry men
In an article for the North and South, journalist Anna Rawhiti-Connell has taken a close look at the tradition of women taking their husbands' surnames when they get married. Audio
999 - The hidden story of the women on the first Jewish transport to Auschwitz
On March 25, 1942, 997 young, mainly middle class women boarded a train in Slovakia. They'd been told to report to central locations in the country's east to sign up for what was described as… Audio
Lake Alice ECT abuse: Calls for Dr Selwyn Leeks to face justice
"The pain was like razor blades cutting through my head". Kevin Banks was first sent to Lake Alice in 1973 at age 14. Today, he told the royal commission of Dr Selwyn Leeks' electroconvulsive…
Generation Covid
It’s not a great time to be young right now. But has Covid crushed what was left of our dreams?
Yeah. Nah. Audio
Abuse in care: Survivors recount pain of electric shock treatment as children
Warning: Some of the details in this report may upset some listeners.
Survivors have painfully recounted being dragged kicking and screaming to electric shock treatment while in state care.
… Audio
Arthur Allan Thomas on trial over historical rape charges
A woman who claims Arthur Allan Thomas raped her has told a court she was prompted to lay a complaint because Thomas could receive a formal apology over his earlier wrongful conviction.
The woman… Audio
Season 1 | Episode 5: Coup Culture (Fiji) | Untold Pacific History
This episode examines how and why Indian populations were brought to Fiji, and how the inequities under the colonial government’s Girmit system, created a society of instability and countless coups. Video, Audio