Bonus episode: Ross Vintiner - The Lange I Knew
4169.8
Ross Vintiner, David Lange's head of press from 1983 - 1988, joins Toby Manhire to reflect on the singular figure of Lange, and the whirl of the ninth floor across those wild years.Listen now ▶
Sunday March 16, 2025
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6. Breakup
3040.55
The Lange-Douglas relationship frays further as the prime minister pulls the pin on a flat tax package. Douglas is furious as Lange declares it’s time for radical reforms to pause and calls for a “cup of tea.” The two Beehive offices go to war until something givesListen now ▶
5. Nine Day Wonder
3030.36
Fran Wilde's homosexual law reform bill encounters fierce resistance on both sides of the house. Meanwhile, strides are made in introducing the Treaty of Waitangi into political and legal structures.Listen now ▶
4. Quantum Leap
2568.15
Roger Douglas’s overhaul of the NZ economy kicks through the gears, sending thousands to the dole queue. Labour is returned to power and when the global crash hits Douglas goes harder and faster.Listen now ▶
3. Uranium on Your Breath
3061.81
Lange becomes an anti-nuclear champion. The Americans are furious when he speaks at the Oxford Union. When an act of state terrorism sees a Greenpeace ship sunk, the public mood on nukes solidifies.Listen now ▶
2. The Nation Is at Risk
2536.75
Lange's 1984 victory comes with a cluster of economic and constitutional crises. Roger Douglas launches a revolution, to transform NZ's creaking economy to one of the most unregulated in the world.Listen now ▶
1. I Love You, Mr Lange
3284.48
Rob Muldoon calls a snap election, sparking a campaign of contrasts. Lange, meanwhile, is about to confront a profound crisis, and launch a revolution. Hosted by Toby Manhire.Listen now ▶
Juggernaut – out now
54.7
Listen to the Trailer for Juggernaut, a new series from The Spinoff detailing the momentous social, cultural and economic changes that resulted from NZ's 1984 snap election. Hosted by Toby Manhire.Listen now ▶
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