The latest episode of Bad News follows Alice Snedden on a quest to expose the double standards around nudity, and break down the barriers by getting the first-ever topless scene on Shortland Street.

Ever wondered why TK Samuels can’t stop taking his shirt off, but we’ve never seen a woman’s bare chest on Shortland Street? It’s just one of the many double standards that exists when it comes to women’s and men’s bodies, and it’s a double standard Alice wants to rectify.

Meeting with Steve Crow, organiser of Boobs on Bikes, and Fiona McNamara of the Sexual Abuse Prevention Network, she dissects the complexities, profits and harm that come from sexual objectification. Would normalising nudity on screen reduce that harm, or is it not that simple? Getting the lowdown on censorship from senior classifications advisor Erica Brooks, Alice envisions a new kind of Ferndale that frees the nipple for all.

Commissioned by RNZ and made possible by the RNZ/NZ On Air Innovation Fund.

Classification: PG (Parental Guidance Recommended for Younger Viewers). Contains non-sexualised nudity and discussion of abuse.