The Commune

On Easter Monday 2021, police were called to the home of a successful professional couple in the affluent Auckland suburb of Remuera. They found the body of Pauline Hanna. In his emergency call, her husband, Philip Polkinghorne, said she killed herself. Sixteen months later he was charged with her murder. As this podcast is released, he's currently on trial at the High Court in Auckland. Stuff's groundbreaking series returns to take you inside the Polkinghorne trial: Hear the witnesses, follow the evidence, wait for the verdict. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Season two of Stuff's multi-award winning podcast The Trial is coming very soon. Police are called to the multi-million dollar home of a successful couple to find the body of Pauline Hanna, also known as Pauline Polkinghorne. A year and a half later, eye surgeon Philip John Polkinghorne is charged with murdering his wife, a charge he denies. The Trial, season two, available soon wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe to Stuff Extra on Apple or Spotify to be the first to hear new episodes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One ordinary day almost a decade ago, John Beckenridge abducted his stepson, Mike, from school and vanished. From New Zealand's leader in true crime podcasts, this is the story of a calculating man with a dark past, the 11-year-old boy he controlled and the distraught mother left behind. Click here to get the next episode of The Lost Boy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you've loved The Commune, here's a recommendation for another Stuff podcast we think you'll love. It's called The Trial. It's about a fascinating murder case which went to trial even though there was no weapon or body. After a hung jury, finding ourselves in the middle of our own legal challenge and then a retrial... The Trial podcast is finally back with a verdict. Check out The Trial and follow the show to get instant access to the whole series... But for now, here's a sample for you, as we return to court for The Retrial of David Benbow… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this special bonus episode Imogen Wells and Emile Donovan take a peek behind the scenes of The Commune in their conversation with Adam Dudding and Eugene Bingham. This interview originally appeared on Newsable, Stuff's daily news podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Listen to the first episode of Stuff's major new podcast, The Trial. In May 2017, 49-year-old builder Michael McGrath disappeared, almost without trace. No crime scene was ever found. No weapon was ever found. No body was ever found. So how could his longtime friend be arrested and charged with murder? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you loved The Commune, why not check out the new podcast from the folk who made it: Adam Dudding and Eugene Bingham. True Story is a weekly current affairs podcast. Each episode, Adam and Eugene take their microphones on the road to bring you one true New Zealand story: sometimes quirky, sometimes serious – always surprising. This is episode 1: "My boss is a robot". If you like what you hear, go subscribe to the whole series. More info at stuff.co.nz/truestory Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Centrepoint is gone, but the trauma remains. Yet for some, those commune years were the best. Everyone grapples with their memories and sense of culpability. And we hear from someone prepared to tell an awful truth.

Barri deploys a secret weapon in her plot to close Centrepoint down for good: will this be the killer blow? Not if Bert's loyal lieutenants have anything to do with it. The final battle is on.

Centrepoint's guru is in prison, but the pressure on young people for sex hasn't stopped. Only now, it's not just the girls. Barri finally understands she's been in a cult – but will she ever be free?

After a major police raid, the public finally learns the full horror of what's been happening at Centrepoint. Barri reaches breaking point. (TW: This episode contains descriptions of sexual abuse.)

Ray is back on the Centrepoint case and he's determined to arrest Bert. The community hatches a plan to cover up for their guru. Barri tries to make Bert see sense – but is it too late?

Barri finds the answer she's been seeking but what will she do? Nate tries to raise the alarm about a new arrival. And a humiliated Bert tries chemical assistance to regain the love of his followers.

It's the 1980s, and Centrepoint's on a roll. Bert is investing in the booming stock market; and the head-count keeps rising. But some of the new arrivals at the commune have wild stories to tell.

The ever-expanding Centrepoint commune goes to war: with its fed-up neighbours, with the local council and, thanks to Robert's decision to speak out, the New Zealand Police.

Barri and “Robert” are haunted by the ugly truth about their commune, but they respond differently. Plus: a quick history of communes in Aotearoa, and the complex social forces that made Centrepoint possible.

Who the hell was Bert? How Centrepoint's leader went from buttoned-up businessman to morally transgressive guru. Meanwhile Barri and “Robert” are each witness to moments that reveal the darkness lurking inside the Centrepoint dream.

Locals are fascinated by the sights and sounds of the sex commune next door. Founding members recall the optimism and excitement of Centrepoint's early years – and the bizarre circumstances that led to the community's first death.

A free-love commune called Centrepoint springs up in the suburbs of 1970s New Zealand, devoted in equal measure to sex, group therapy, and its guru Bert Potter. What could possibly go wrong?

Coming soon from Stuff: A 12-part documentary podcast about the notorious free-love commune, Centrepoint. There are crimes. But this isn't a whodunnit. It's a whydunnit.