Quarantine Nation
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© Te Pūrongo Productions 2026
Description
A lethal virus. A drastic lockdown. A nation turned upside down.
Quarantine Nation is an eight-part narrative series that revisits the Covid-19 pandemic with the benefit of hindsight and powerful interviews. From the corridors of power to hospital wards, managed isolation hotels and kitchen tables, it traces how New Zealand responded when the Sars-CoV-2 virus started spreading.
Through in-depth conversations with decision-makers, scientists, frontline health workers and ordinary New Zealanders, the series examines what worked, what failed, and the unintended consequences that followed.
Memories of sourdough starters, Netflix binges and daily press conferences may fade, but the scars of the pandemic remain, so Quarantine Nation asks what the pandemic taught us about ourselves, and how it continues to affect us.
Plus, don’t miss the theme tune by Jack Buchanan, maker of the global viral Covid hit, Family Lockdown Boogie. Each episode features a different verse.
Made with the support of NZ on Air for Stuff by Te Pūrongo Productions.
See www.stuff.co.nz/QN for extra videos and articles.
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A lethal virus. A drastic lockdown. A nation turned upside down.
From the makers of acclaimed podcasts The Commune, True Story and Witi Underwater, this eight-part narrative series revisits the Covid-19 pandemic with the benefit of hindsight and powerful interviews. Adam Dudding and Eugene Bingham delve into what really happened – what it taught us about ourselves.
Made with the support of NZ on Air for Stuff by Te Pūrongo Productions.
www.stuff.co.nz/QN
It’s late 2019 and the world is enjoying its last moments of normality. But a novel virus is already spreading fast. Within weeks, as Covid starts to rip around the world, Aotearoa faces a choice, one that will upend daily life, the economy, and the test the limits of state power. In this episode, we trace the lead-up to one of the most consequential political decisions in modern New Zealand history.
Made with the support of NZ on Air for Stuff by Te Pūrongo Productions.
New Zealand shuts the border. An unprecedented nationwide lockdown follows – and lives are in upheaval. We meet a scientist racing to develop breakthrough technology from the kitchen table (while keeping one eye on her newly walking toddler), workers whose livelihoods vanish overnight, and a health bureaucrat who will become a hated symbol of oppression for some and a hero for others (complete with commemorative T-shirts).
Made with the support of NZ on Air for Stuff by Te Pūrongo Productions.
As New Zealand rushes to lock down and build a Covid response, a critical system begins to falter. Behind the scenes, the country’s Covid testing system teeters on the edge of collapse, and scientists and officials scramble to fix it in real time. Meanwhile broadcaster Paddy Gower confronts the virus itself – and his own addiction – and Kiwi songwriter Jack Buchanan goes viral after giving voice to the public’s mood with a homemade hit.
Made with the support of NZ on Air for Stuff by Te Pūrongo Productions.
Awkward online meetings, face-filter mishaps on important calls and frayed tempers: lockdown life is strange, exhausting, and occasionally hilarious. We explore how New Zealand is adapting to confinement, from binge-watching Tiger King to tuning in to the country’s new appointment-viewing show – the 1pm press conference. As routines dissolve and new rituals form, presenter Hilary Barry makes an unexpected discovery in the back of her wardrobe. Meanwhile Kiwi nurse Jenny McGee has her life turned upside down when her world-famous Covid patient outs her.
Made with the support of NZ on Air for Stuff by Te Pūrongo Productions.
Comedian Mike Minogue becomes an unlikely essential worker, fronting a public health message meant to encourage the country to stay the course. It’s all part of a top-down effort to sell key messages. At the same time, community-led initiatives are carrying on, and getting results, even if they are sometimes off-message. From marae in Auckland to iwi checkpoints in the north, people are innovating and adapting to protect themselves and their communities.
Made with the support of NZ on Air for Stuff by Te Pūrongo Productions.
As the pandemic grinds on, the country begins to fracture and a culture war erupts. Just as breakthroughs in the laboratory are finally delivering hope in the form of vaccines, misinformation and disinformation begin to spread and online arguments spill into real life. Meanwhile, New Zealand is drawn into a global feud comparing its approach to Sweden’s. We meet the leader of Sweden’s response to ask him what he makes of it.
Made with the support of NZ on Air for Stuff by Te Pūrongo Productions.
After months of believing the virus had been beaten, New Zealand is forced to confront a harder truth and accept that Covid isn’t finished. New variants slip through the cracks, cases re-emerge and lockdowns return. Auckland, in particular, is furious. People are agitated and desperate to get on with their lives, bristling at travel restrictions and mandates. But scientists and modellers can see that more infectious variants are on the horizon. Will this ever be over?
Made with the support of NZ on Air for Stuff by Te Pūrongo Productions.
As vaccination rates soar and restrictions fall away, Covid enters a new phase. But the damage is not done. Infections and deaths climb, the virus becomes endemic, and the toll of the pandemic begins to surface. Burnout has claimed many, unity and trust are frayed, and Long Covid continues to debilitate thousands. Even Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern steps aside, exhausted. With the crisis phase over, the question remains: how has this experience changed us?
Made with the support of NZ on Air for Stuff by Te Pūrongo Productions.
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