The Long Read podcast best of 2022: Murder mysteries, missing persons and the thrill of The Chase
Thursday, 22 December 2022
This year, The Long Read has brought you dozens of Stuff's best features in audio form. Since launching in the depth of the pandemic in 2020, our audience has steadily grown. About twice as many of you listen to every episode now. If you're new here, missed something, or fancy a go-around, take a look through this collection of our best stories of 2022. Some of them are our most popular; some of them we just really liked. Enjoy…
Framed for Murder – Part I & Part II
When David Lyttle’s best friend disappeared, police accused Lyttle of murder, then lured him into a fantasy world to get him to confess. This is Mike White’s investigation into an undercover operation that went way too far.
When the anti-mandate protesters were driven off parliamentary grounds in March, many went looking for somewhere else to occupy. They set their sights on a marae in Lower Hutt. Florence Kerr reports.
After 30 years, Peter Ellis' convictions for child sexual abuse have been quashed. Listen to full story and hear reporter Martin van Beynen discuss the Supreme Court judgement.
The Thrill of The Chase special
The chase is on. In August, The Long Read broke character harder than a Bradley Walsh laughing fit to discuss Stuff's data project on the juggernaut TV quiz show The Chase – put together by Kate Newton, Felippe Rodrigues and Alex Lim.
Premmies: Raising too-tiny humans
For 16 years, Stuff senior writer Nikki Macdonald followed five families with children born before 28 weeks gestation. These are their stories.
Melanie Lynskey has always been brilliant. Why did it take until now for the world to realise? Zoe Walker Ahwa reads her NZ-exclusive interview with the Emmy-nominated actress.
A shallow lake nestled high in the Central Otago hill country could electrify the country and serve as the biggest public infrastructure project in nearly half a century. Will reality, and a protected wetland, stop it in its tracks? Charlie Mitchell reports.
In 2011, a Norwegian yacht sank off the coast of Antarctica during a storm. Three of its crew were lost. A decade on, Lee Kenny’s investigation finds new revelations about why the yacht sank and New Zealand's involvement.
The Vanishing of Allan Woodford
Michael Wright investigates the disappearance of Allan Woodford, who walked out the door of his home in the middle of the night 37 years ago and vanished forever.
The Murder That Ripped a Town Apart
The killing of 15-year-old schoolgirl Kylie Smith left a rural community in South Otago in tatters and drove a pastor into hiding. Nadine Porter reports.