Kirsty Johnston follows Sarah as she hunts for her biological mother, who turns out to have been an institutionalised mental health patient in Porirua Hospital. And that's only the start of the story.
If you're after another podcast about the search for family members, the new RNZ podcast The Sound Of My Father is for you. When documentary maker Rita Attwood discovers a cassette tape with a 60-year-old, unheard recording on it, she sets out to help John Court, her step-dad, on a journey of self-discovery. Born to a US Marine and a wahine Māori who fell in love in World War II, John's search also reveals a hidden New Zealand history.
Listen to the first episode of The Sound Of My Father, The Forgotten Cassette, and hear the rest of the series on the RNZ website or on your favourite podcast app.
The Sound Of My Father on RNZ Podcasts (https://www.rnz.co.nz/podcast/the-sound-of-my-father)
See more about The Sound Of My Father on the RNZ website here. (https://www.rnz.co.nz/life/culture/the-sound-of-my-father-a-story-of-love-loss-and-connection)
Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details (https://www.rnz.co.nz/podcast/nellies-baby?share=ded9730d-ab4e-49e1-b394-5d2e4ece352c)
14 Aug 2025TRANSCRIPT
What to Listen to Next: The Lodge
Host of Nellie's Baby, Kirsty Johnston, introduces you to your next binge listen - RNZ podcast The Lodge. What began as a promising sanctuary for healing in one of New Zealand’s most beautiful locations, became the epicentre of a double tragedy, a cautionary tale that goes straight to the heart of the modern wellness industry. Join host Phil Vine as he reopens the file on a mysterious cult that operated from a 1960s hunting lodge near Te Anau.
Listen to the first episode of The Lodge, Distant Bells, and hear the rest of the series in your favourite podcast app.
The Lodge on RNZ Podcasts. (https://www.rnz.co.nz/podcast/the-lodge)
Read more about The Lodge on the RNZ website here. (https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/thelodge)
Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details (https://www.rnz.co.nz/podcast/nellies-baby?share=e0d2bc3d-52a5-4843-bccb-f92396f58ca2)
31 Mar 2024TRANSCRIPT
Black Sheep: The story of New Zealand's Mental Institutions
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 Black Sheep podcast, William Ray and Kirsty Johnston look into their origins.
Inside a recent episode
Black Sheep: The story of New Zealand's Mental Institutions
Published 31 Mar 2024 · Transcript excerpt
[…] They wanted to get away from the poverty, the asylum, those big asylum in Britain, the work houses, and they thought, you know, come to New Zealand and everything will be nice. And so, the idea that there, this was an ideal society, but in an ideal society, there's it's not necessarily inclusive, so there is no room for people who, for example, are going to not be work, you know, productive workers, or are going to require extra support. So, just to give a bit of a timeline for our listeners, the first law passed in New Zealand, relating to institutionalisations, is something called the 1846 lunatic ordinance, and that basically says any person certified as a quote, unquote, lunatic by two doctors in a magistrate could be locked up in a prison or in a hospital. […]
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