Quarantine Nation

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.

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.

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.

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.

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