Black Sheep

If you like Black Sheep, try…

RI

The Rest Is History

Also in History

L

Lore

Also in History

WT

What the Fact with Connor Tomlinson and Carter Roy

Also in History

A

The Ancients

Also in History

SH

Sleepy History

Also in History

AS

American Scandal

Also in History

About the show

Latest episodes

• What to Listen to Next: NZ Wars Collection

  June 2, 2026 · 4 min

  Host of Black Sheep William Ray recommends a new RNZ podcast for history fans, NZ Wars Collection - Kohikohinga o nga pakanga o Aotearoa. We’re bringing all our New Zealand Wars stories together in your favourite podcast app, with another…

• Original Westie: the story of Don Buck

  March 5, 2026 · 41 min

  The founding father of West Auckland - Don Buck was notorious in the early 20th century for his hard drinking, hard living gum digging camp in the foothills of the Waitakere ranges. Black Sheep investigates the legend of this enigmatic and…

• Defective: the story of Dr Theodore Gray

  February 26, 2026 · 48 min

  “Oh Mummy save me from Dr Gray, because teacher says he’s coming today, and if I’m stupid he’ll take me away”. William Ray looks at the life and legacy of Dr Theodore Gray, a staunch eugenicists who was head of New Zealand's Mental…

• Preservation and Destruction: the story of Elsdon Best (Part 2)

  February 19, 2026 · 51 min

  In part two, we look at the years Elsdon Best spent living in Te Urewera, attempting to preserve knowledge he believed was on the brink of being lost forever, the remarkable relatioship he built with Tūhoe leaders, and how that…

• Preservation and Destruction: the story of Elsdon Best (Part 1)

  February 12, 2026 · 38 min

  Described in his own time as "the white Tōhunga of Tuhoeland" and by some today as a "structural rascist" who "stole" knowledge, it's fair to say Elsdon Best is a controvesial character. In the first of a two part episode, Black Sheep…

• Saturday Morning: Behind Black Sheep

  February 8, 2026 · 15 min

  New Zealand's most awarded podcast is RNZ's own Black Sheep, and it's back with its 9th season. Hosted and produced by William Ray - he explores New Zealand history through the lens of real life, shady, controversial and sometimes…

• Killer Nurse: the story of Elspeth Kerr (Part 2)

  February 5, 2026 · 34 min

  In the second of Black Sheep's two-part episode on Elspeth Kerr, detectives unravel the mystery of 9-year old Betty Kerr's poisoning and uncover more potential victims of a beloved nurse, turned serial poisoner. The Trials of Nurse Kerr…

• Killer Nurse: the story of Elspeth Kerr (Part 1)

  January 29, 2026 · 25 min

  Elspeth Kerr was a beloved local nurse in 1930s Devonport, but when her husband died suddenly and her foster daughter fell into an inexplicable coma, locals discovered the shocking truth: Nurse Kerr was a serial poisoner. But more than 90…