Quarantine Nation
Quarantine Nation is an eight-part narrative podcast series revisiting New Zealand's response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Through interviews with decision-makers, scientists, frontline health workers, and ordinary New Zealanders, it examines what worked, what failed, and the unintended consequences of the lockdown. The series traces the nation's journey from political corridors to hospital wards and managed isolation hotels, while reflecting on the lasting scars and lessons of the pandemic. It also features a theme tune by Jack Buchanan, creator of the viral hit 'Family Lockdown Boogie'.
Episodes
Episode 8: Legacy
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 ove
Episode 7: Virus on the loose
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 t
Episode 6: Culture wars
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
Episode 5: An open and shut case
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
Episode 4: Zoombie apocalypse
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 un
Episode 3: Are we doing it right?
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 t
Episode 2: Lockdown
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 wit
Episode 1: Contagion
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 histo
Quarantine Nation trailer
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
