Share

cover art for Episode Five: The Black Cocks

Oopsie NZ

Episode Five: The Black Cocks

Ep. 5

When Badminton New Zealand chose a national squad name in 2004, it made sense to pair a nod to the All Blacks with a nod to the shuttlecock: The Black Cocks. But the Black Cocks story isn't about the name itself, it's about what it was trying to fix.


A documentary series about New Zealand ventures that didn’t quite go to plan — five tales of bold ideas, intrepid experiments, naked ambition, and mostly good intentions. Produced and presented by Lewis Tennant. Please share, rate, comment and review... this is vital fuel for podcast projects.


Special thanks to AUT School of Communication Studies. Thanks also to @Otamazoo for the podcast intro music. Each episode contains a themed song; lyrics by me, music by artificial intelligence. Connect with me @verbalhighs on the socials or verbalhighs@gmail.com.


To connect with the NZ podcasting community, head to www.nzpodsummit.com. Cheers for your ears.

More episodes

View all episodes

  • 4. Episode Four: Sesqui 1990

    50:13||Ep. 4
    Billed as ‘New Zealand’s biggest event ever’, Sesqui 1990 was—alas—not New Zealand’s biggest event ever. It’s now best known as a spectacular commercial and administrative failure.
  • 3. Episode Three: Possums

    52:05||Ep. 3
    The NZ possum story spans three centuries. The end is Predator Free 2050. Will there be no possums in New Zealand on January 1, 2050? Well, it depends on who you talk to.
  • 2. Episode Two: The Trekka

    47:00||Ep. 2
    How a family business, a cold war collaboration with Czechoslovakia, and some 1960s trade rules made NZ’s only mass-produced motor vehicle... for a time.
  • 1. Episode One: The Flag Referendums

    43:33||Ep. 1
    Ten years on from the NZ flag referendums, we look back at what it all meant, talk to those involved, and learn a bit more about flags. Also... Laser Kiwi.