Gone By Lunchtime

Gone By Lunchtime is taking a break over summer. We’ll be back soon with new episodes but, until then, here’s one of our favourites from 2025: Hot on the heels of the publication of A Different Kind of Power comes Prime Minister, an enthralling new film that applies a genuinely gobsmacking lens on Jacinda Ardern's time in power. In this special edition of Gone By Lunchtime, Madeleine Chapman, editor of the Spinoff (and author of Jacinda Ardern: A New Kind of Leader), joins Toby Manhire to talk about the film, which has just had its New Zealand premiere at the NZ International Film Festival, and the autobiography, what they tell us about Ardern and what they don't. This episode was originally published on August 9 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gone By Lunchtime is taking a break over summer. We’ll be back soon with new episodes but, until then, here’s one of our favourites from 2025: After the breakneck reforms of the 80s, Jim Bolger’s promise of a calmer, more inclusive New Zealand hits the spot. Emerging from the shadow of Muldoon and shaking off the nuclear baggage, Bolger leads the National Party to a landslide victory under the “decent society” banner. But even before the celebrations are done, the hangover hits: the state-owned BNZ is on the brink, and the government books are in a parlous state. Ruth Richardson wastes no time as finance minister in making the most of crisis mode, and within weeks is driving through some of the most dramatic social, economic and labour reforms New Zealand has ever seen.  Picking up where the award-winning first season of Juggernaut left off, this first episode includes new and exclusive interviews with Jim Bolger, Ruth Richardson, Jenny Shipley, Don McKinnon, Bill Birch, Michael Wall, Rob Eaddy, Michael Laws and more.  Juggernaut 2 was made with the support of NZ On Air. This episode was originally published on November 11 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire take a quick break from partying atop the Sky Tower to discuss the highlights from the political year that was, before sharing their predictions for 2026. Happy new year! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gone By Lunchtime is taking a break over summer. We’ll be back soon with new episodes but, until then, here’s one of our favourites from the vault: At 7.30am, just 53 days after he replaced Simon Bridges as leader of the National Party, Todd Muller announced his immediate resignation from the job. How did it come to this, and who is likely to emerge as the new leader, with less than 10 weeks to an election? Will deputy Nikki Kaye be promoted by caucus tonight? Is it Judith Collins' time? Can Simon Bridges complete the great arc of redemption? What about Gerry Brownlee or Mark Mitchell? Or maybe just chuck a baby yak in charge. This episode was originally published on July 14 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

His summer break may only be 20 minutes long, but Christopher Luxon goes into it grinning, on the back of a poll that saw a swing to the right, boosted economic confidence data, maybe staring down a maybe-coup, and most crucially, snipping the ribbon on the big green, yellow and blue shoot: Ikea. Just how confident must he feel going into Christmas? Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas chew it over, plus: poor poll numbers for the Greens and Te Pāti Māori, as TPM limp through an AGM with their future in the balance. Another big reforming swing from Chris Bishop with two new bumper bills to replace the Resource Management Act; how will this look and what does it mean for iwi Māori? And how did former Police Commissioner Andrew Coster fare in his feature-length interview for Q+A? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices