# Sin and Scandals: When the Personal becomes Political

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/politics-nz-7561226/sin-and-scandals-when-the-personal-becomes-political
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/politics-nz-7561226/sin-and-scandals-when-the-personal-becomes-political.md
Podcast: [Politics NZ](https://stenobird.com/podcast/politics-nz-7561226)
Published: 2026-04-16T17:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://www.rnz.co.nz/podcast/politics-nz?share=992709fa-0eab-45ae-92b4-a48a2adc7914
Audio file: https://flex.acast.com/media.rnztools.nz/rnz-kete-oro-prod/video/private/ac_mp3,af_48000,br_192k,f_mp3,fl_attachment/v1776381714/audio/cont/cont-20260416-0500-sin_and_scandals_when_the_personal_becomes_political.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/politics-nz-7561226/episodes/sin-and-scandals-when-the-personal-becomes-political
Duration seconds: 2547

## Resource

Labour leader Chris Hipkins cries in response to a social media post by his ex-wife. Should we be listening? We chart the history of political scandals from the Profumo Affair through to Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky. Political scandals from the Profumo Affair through to Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky – how has journalistic reporting on this thorny issue evolved and how much do we really need to hear about the private lives of our political leaders? Labour leader Chris Hipkins cries in response to a social media post by his ex-wife. Is that something we need to know about? What about Shane Jones watching blue movies and putting it on his ministerial credit card? Are we bothered about Meteria Turei's benefit claiming history? How about the sexual preferences of Michael Joseph Savage? Is it in the public interest or are the public just interested? Where should reporters draw the line expecially when social media breaks the story? Watch the video version of the episode here Or you can watch the full series on the RNZ website here. Thanks to Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision. Have a topic you'd like Corin or Guyon to explore? Send your ideas to context@rnz.co.nz Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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## Transcript

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