Frederick Maning

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? RNZ's Black Sheep podcast investigates.

Double Life: the story of Judge Frederick Maning - Part 2

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 of his private letters express such violent, racist attitudes towards Māori? RNZ's Black Sheep podcast investigates.

Double Life: the story of Judge Frederick Maning - Part 1

Hjelmar Dannevill

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 locked up as a German spy during WWI. RNZ's Black Sheep podcast investgates the mystery of "Dr" Dannevill.

Gender Bender: the story of Hjelmar Dannevill

Victor Penny

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. But were these claims true? RNZ’s Black Sheep podcast investigates the mystery.

Death Ray: the story of Victor Penny

Alfred Newman

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 also New Zealand's wider scientific community. So what can Newman's story tell us about the history of scientific racism in Aotearoa?

Scientific Racist: the story of Alfred Newman

Charles MacKay

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 homosexual if he didn't resign the mayoralty.

Erased: the story of Charles Mackay - Part 2

For more than 50 years the name of Mayor Charles Mackay was all but forbidden in Whanganui. In 1920 Mackay shot a man through the chest after he threated to expose the mayor's homosexuality. RNZ's Black Sheep podcast investigates the downfall of Charles Mackay, and how his story is being reevaluated in modern New Zealand.

Erased: the story of Charles Mackay - Part 1

RNZ multi award-winning podcast Black Sheep returns on May 26th with a new cast of mysterious misfits, violent villains and controversial characters.

Black Sheep Season 7 Trailer

Eric Mareo

When flamboyant orchestra conductor Eric Mareo was convicted of murder for a second time, the judge raised grave concerns about the verdict with the Attorney General. So, did 1930s prejudice and sensationalist media sentence an innocent man to death?

Killer Conductor: the story of Eric Mareo - Part 2

Kiwis rose to their feet and cheered when the flamboyant orchestra conductor Eric Mareo was found guilty of murdering his wife in 1936. But 85 years later, the verdict seems less certain. Was justice done? Or was Mareo an innocent man? RNZ's Black Sheep podcast investigates.

Killer Conductor: the story of Eric Mareo - Part 1

2021 VOYAGER AWARDS WINNER - BEST EPISODIC PODCAST.  The shady, controversial and sometimes downright villainous characters of New Zealand history, presented by William Ray.

Very entertaining!

I love it! I&#39;m an American and a voracious true crime listener. I also know nearly nothing about New Zealand. This informative pod is enjoyable well produced. I appreciate the perspectives of the host and the knowledge from the experts interviewed for the topics.

Fascinating and informative

2021 VOYAGER AWARDS WINNER - BEST EPISODIC PODCAST. <br> The shady, controversial and sometimes downright villainous characters of New Zealand history, presented by William Ray.

Black Sheep

Charlotte Badger

Charlotte Badger was one of the first European women to live in New Zealand. She was also a pirate... or at least that's the traditional story. In this special episode of Black Sheep, recorded live at Charlotte's Kitchen restaurant in Paihia, William Ray and his historian guests Jennifer Ashton and Kate Martin investigate Charlotte's pirate mystery.

Pirate Mystery: the story of Charlotte Badger

Amy Bock

Amy Bock was a criminal "supreme in her cleverness". Her most famous con saw her pose as a man for 15 weeks and marry the daughter of her landlord. Nobody has ever been able to explain what motivated her lifetime of fraud and scams.

Con-artist: the story of Amy Bock

The worst kind of villain in New Zealand history was... an Auckland property speculator.

War profiteer: the story of Thomas Russell

Hongi Hika

Hongi Hika is a man with a difficult legacy. He's one of the greatest figures in New Zealand history, but he's also often held responsible for starting the Musket Wars.

Warrior chief: the story of Hongi Hika

Arthur Worthington

Arthur Worthington was a con artist who travelled the USA, marrying rich women then abandoning them and stealing all their money. Eventually with private detectives hot on his tail in 1890 he jumped on a ship bound for Christchurch where he set up his own religion and his own church.

Faith fraud: the story of Arthur Worthington

Did you know that after the First World War New Zealand established an official eugenics board? We tend to think of eugenics as being something the Nazis invented but really it was embraced all around the world in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was particularly popular among the intellectual classes. Some of our most progressive institution, the National Council of Women, Federated Farmers and the Plunket Society all either promoted some form of eugenics or had members which did. In this episode of Black Sheep historian and disability researcher Hilary Stace traces the history of New Zealand's eugenicists.CORRECTION: The elderly Chinese man murdered by Lionel Terry was named Joe Kum Yung. He was killed in  Haining Street, Wellington, on 24 September 1905, not in Auckland in 1907 as stated in this podcast.

Did you know that after the First World War New Zealand established an official eugenics board? We tend to think of eugenics as being something the Nazis invented but really it was embraced all around the world in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was particularly popular among the intellectual classes. Some of our most progressive institution, the National Council of Women, Federated Farmers and the Plunket Society all either promoted some form of eugenics or had members which did. In this episode of Black Sheep historian and disability researcher Hilary Stace traces the history of New Zealand's eugenicists.<br><br>CORRECTION: The elderly Chinese man murdered by Lionel Terry was named Joe Kum Yung. He was killed in  Haining Street, Wellington, on 24 September 1905, not in Auckland in 1907 as stated in this podcast.

Eugenics: the story of a really bad idea

John Bryce

Pākehā settlers in Taranaki knew John Bryce as "Honest John" but Taranaki Māori called him "Bryce Kōhuru" - Bryce the Murderer. In this episode of Black Sheep William Ray investigates the life of the infamous Native Affairs Minister.

Honest Murderer: the story of John Bryce

Cyrus Haley

It's 1871 and the city of Auckland is being terrorised by a string of major fires. Fears are raised that a gang of anarchist fanatics could be responsible but the real culprit turns out to be a well known businessman with an axe to grind against Auckland high society.

Arsonist: the story of Cyrus Haley

Chris Lewis

In 1981 Dunedin teenager Chris Lewis tried to shoot Queen Elizabeth. Then, at least according to some, authorities tried to cover it up. In this collaboration with Stuff.co.nz journalist Hamish McNeilly RNZ's Black Sheep podcast looks into Chris Lewis's bizarre life story.

In 1981 Dunedin teenager Chris Lewis tried to shoot Queen Elizabeth. Then, at least according to some, authorities tried to cover it up. In this collaboration with <a href="http://Stuff.co.nz" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stuff.co.nz</a> journalist Hamish McNeilly RNZ's Black Sheep podcast looks into Chris Lewis's bizarre life story.

Regicide: the story of Chris Lewis

"The most vile criminal ever to be tried in New Zealand" Thomas Hall's crimes scandalised New Zealand when it was revealed he had attempted to murder his wife in order to steal her family fortune.

Poisoner: the story of Thomas Hall

Kimble Bent was one of a tiny handful of Europeans who switched sides during the New Zealand Wars, who deserted the British army to join Maori "rebels" in Taranaki. RNZ's Black Sheep podcast tells the story of his life.

Pakeha Maori: the story of Kimble Bent

Andreas Reischek

In the 1880s Austrian naturalist and ethnographer Andreas Reischek stole four mummified Maori corpses and secretly smuggled them out of the country so they could be displayed at a museum in Vienna. He also shot hundreds of native New Zealand birds.

Graverobber: the story of Andreas Reischek

Arthur Desmond

Meet the New Zealand author of a book beloved by Neo-Nazi's, Satanists and White Supremacists. Bizarrely Arthur Desmond started off as a hard-core labour activist and supporter of Maori rights, but he then went "so far to the left that [he] dropped off the edge."

Radical: the story of Arthur Desmond

Robert Logan

Can you imagine if 20 per cent of the people you know suddenly died? How would you feel if the people in charge blocked doctors from helping them? For Samoans in 1918 this wasn't a hypothetical question.

Epidemic: the story of Robert Logan

James Prendergast

In 1877 Chief Justice James Prendergast ruled the Treaty of Waitangi was "a simple nullity", in part because it was signed by "simple barbarians" and "savages". Those words have seen him condemned as an arch-villain of NZ history, but was he simply a man of his time? William Ray speaks to Grant Morris, author of Prendergast: Legal Villain?

Unjust: the story of James Prendergast

Roy Courlander

Roy Courlander was a New Zealand soldier who joined Nazi Germany's infamous SS during WW2. Black Sheep investigates why he chose to turn traitor.

NZ Nazi: the story of Roy Courlander

Gustavus von Tempsky

He was larger than life, a warrior and artist who's legend has only grown since his death in 1868.... but Gustavus von Tempsky had a dark side

Soldier of Fortune: the story of Gustavus von Tempsky (part 1)

Patrick Heenan

What drove a boy from Reefton to turn against his comrades in World War Two? How was a former boxing and swimming champion recruited as an agent of Imperial Japan?

Traitor: the story of Patrick Heenan (Part 1)

Why do some historians think an NZ-born traitor was "instrumental" in the Japanese victory in Singapore during WWII?

Traitor: the story of Patrick Heenan (part 2)

Richard Burgess

In the 1860s Richard Burgess and his outlaw gang roved the West Coast, robbing and murdering dozens of people. Black Sheep investigates his life story and what drove him to a life of crime.

Outlaw: the story of Richard Burgess

The Best Multi-Part Documentaries, with documentaries on Obama, Federer vs Nadal, the making of Star Wars, Netflix vs Blockbuster and more. Add episodes you're interested into your queue below!

Best Multi-Part Documentaries

The best podcasts about ourselves as well as the world through the lense of Science. Specific topics include things about our brain, emotions to biology, physics and more!