Hyperventilating, overheating and sometimes just plain cringe-making, the 2026 election campaign is at its end. Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire gather at the final hour to assess a week on fumes, with Don Brash and Michael Laws leading the way, a major scandal over the status of an Opportunity Party van’s warrant of fitness, and a flurry of final polls to parse.
Plus: impressions of the final multi-party debate and 100% correct predictions about what will happen on Saturday night.
Cast your vote for Gone By Lunchtime in the Listeners' Choice category in this year's NZ Podcast Awards:
https://www.nzpodcastawards.com/nominate
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30 Oct 2026
Panic stations with a week to go?
Who says politicians don't change? Christopher Luxon revealed his evolving approach this week by breaking his habit and commenting on a poll. A poll that delivered a horror result for the National Party.Ben Thomas, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Toby Manhire gather in the final, stir-crazy phase to unpack the latest exchanges and growing indications that the result could hinge on two variables: the fate of Opportunity and the double overhang dynamic.Plus: which of the small party leaders are shining and who starred in the kaupapa Māori debate?
Cast your vote for Gone By Lunchtime in the Listeners' Choice category in this year's NZ Podcast Awards: https://www.nzpodcastawards.com/nominate
Watch Toby interview the party leaders on At Large with Toby Manhire: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-xxT3W4uRNYaMSygz5MlwdL122PYMZTg&si=jhlmZ5Vey2NYsurV
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22 Oct 2026
The campaign has entered its ouroboros phase
Like a self-consuming serpent, the 2026 election has begun to feed on itself. With just a few days till advance voting begins, Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas gather to feast upon a lively final pair of leader debates and look at what comes next. Plus: we take a handful of questions from the smartest listeners in the podcast universe. How much do we miss printed manifestos? Is there a bias baked into different social media platforms? What is happening in Te Tai Tonga? And why have the farther excesses of rightwing populism not taken grip in New Zealand as they have elsewhere?
Cast your vote for Gone By Lunchtime in the Listeners' Choice category in this year's NZ Podcast Awards:
https://www.nzpodcastawards.com/nominate
Watch Toby's interview with Qiulae Wong here:
https://youtu.be/VX8ZOfycCa8
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Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
27,354,071
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.8 / 5
11 ratings
Spotify
4.8 / 5
340 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 74 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
72
Social presence
0
YouTube
93
Engagement
97
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