Phil Vine, host of The Lodge, introduces you to his latest RNZ podcast, The Reality Machine. Hosted by television insider Dylan Reeve, Dylan dives into the history of reality TV in Aotearoa pulling back the curtain on what makes reality TV what it is. Phil also shares a short update about what stories are coming next to The Lodge podcast feed.Dylan Reeve dives into the fuzzy origins of reality TV in Aotearoa to try and figure out what we even mean when we say ‘Reality’. He looks at our local shows, ranging from fly-on-the-wall docuseries like Motorway Patrol into heavily constructed social strategy games like Treasure Island and The Traitors, exploring how a format with almost no fixed rules managed to grow into one of our biggest pop-cultural touchstones.Keep listening here for the first episode of The Reality Machine, What Even Is Reality? and check out the rest of the series on the <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/podcast/the-reality-machine">RNZ website</a> or on your favourite podcast app.<a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/podcast/the-lodge?share=543f9311-26e5-430a-a042-1abdd5400d4f">Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details</a>

Phil Vine, host of The Lodge, introduces you to his latest RNZ podcast, The Reality Machine. Hosted by television insider Dylan Reeve, Dylan dives into the history of reality TV in Aotearoa pulling back the curtain on what makes reality TV what it is. Phil also shares a short update about what stories are coming next to The Lodge podcast feed. Dylan Reeve dives into the fuzzy origins of reality TV in Aotearoa to try and figure out what we even mean when we say ‘Reality’. He looks at our local shows, ranging from fly-on-the-wall docuseries like Motorway Patrol into heavily constructed social strategy games like Treasure Island and The Traitors, exploring how a format with almost no fixed rules managed to grow into one of our biggest pop-cultural touchstones. Keep listening here for the first episode of The Reality Machine, What Even Is Reality? and check out the rest of the series on the RNZ website or on your favourite podcast app. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Phil Vine, host of The Lodge, introduces you to his latest RNZ podcast, The Reality Machine. Hosted by television insider Dylan Reeve, Dylan dives into the history of reality TV in Aotearoa pulling back the curtain on what makes reality TV what it is. Phil also shares a short update about what stories are coming next to The Lodge podcast feed.Dylan Reeve dives into the fuzzy origins of reality TV in Aotearoa to try and figure out what we even mean when we say ‘Reality’. He looks at our local shows, ranging from fly-on-the-wall docuseries like Motorway Patrol into heavily constructed social strategy games like Treasure Island and The Traitors, exploring how a format with almost no fixed rules managed to grow into one of our biggest pop-cultural touchstones.Keep listening here for the first episode of The Reality Machine, What Even Is Reality? and check out the rest of the series on the <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/podcast/the-reality-machine" rel="noopener noreferrer">RNZ website</a> or on your favourite podcast app.<a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/podcast/the-lodge?share=543f9311-26e5-430a-a042-1abdd5400d4f" rel="noopener noreferrer">Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details</a>

What to Listen to Next: The Reality Machine from Phil Vine

The Lodge host Phil Vine delves into a fascinating cold case from across the Tasman. The mysterious disappearance of two men, a 27 year old woman and her five-year-old daughter in Western Australia. One of the men was the leader of a doomsday cult who talked about escaping to a higher plane. In 2007 four of them vanished, leaving a note at their house in Nannup that they'd gone to Brazil, but authorities say none of them have left the country. Phil chats with Dominique Bayens - the ABC host of Expanse: The Nannup Four.Find Dominique Bayens podcast <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/expanse">Expanse: The Nannup Four</a> on the ABC website or wherever you get your podcasts.<a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/podcast/the-lodge?share=e898d00c-0832-4d65-bfb2-adea7a18ad35">Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details</a>

The Lodge host Phil Vine delves into a fascinating cold case from across the Tasman. The mysterious disappearance of two men, a 27 year old woman and her five-year-old daughter in Western Australia. One of the men was the leader of a doomsday cult who talked about escaping to a higher plane. In 2007 four of them vanished, leaving a note at their house in Nannup that they'd gone to Brazil, but authorities say none of them have left the country. Phil chats with Dominique Bayens - the ABC host of Expanse: The Nannup Four. Find Dominique Bayens podcast Expanse: The Nannup Four on the ABC website or wherever you get your podcasts. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

The Lodge host Phil Vine delves into a fascinating cold case from across the Tasman. The mysterious disappearance of two men, a 27 year old woman and her five-year-old daughter in Western Australia. One of the men was the leader of a doomsday cult who talked about escaping to a higher plane. In 2007 four of them vanished, leaving a note at their house in Nannup that they'd gone to Brazil, but authorities say none of them have left the country. Phil chats with Dominique Bayens - the ABC host of Expanse: The Nannup Four.Find Dominique Bayens podcast <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/expanse" rel="noopener noreferrer">Expanse: The Nannup Four</a> on the ABC website or wherever you get your podcasts.<a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/podcast/the-lodge?share=e898d00c-0832-4d65-bfb2-adea7a18ad35" rel="noopener noreferrer">Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details</a>

BONUS: Phil Vine chats cults with ABC's Dominique Bayens

Phil delves into the enigmatic world of Takaro Lodge, a wellness retreat in New Zealand that doubled as a high-end luxury resort. We uncover the mysterious practices of its founder, Chinese grandmaster Aiping Wang and meet Warwick, a Kiwi actor who’s hoping that Aiping’s energy treatment will cure his HIV. From Fiordland National Park to the guru’s energy clinics in Europe and the US, how far will people go and what will they believe in the pursuit of wellness?For articles and images from the series, visit the RNZ website here: <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/thelodge">www.rnz.co.nz/thelodge</a><a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/podcast/the-lodge?share=2e91c12f-55fd-4543-8602-eb7c87920956">Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details</a>

Phil delves into the enigmatic world of Takaro Lodge, a wellness retreat in New Zealand that doubled as a high-end luxury resort. We uncover the mysterious practices of its founder, Chinese grandmaster Aiping Wang and meet Warwick, a Kiwi actor who’s hoping that Aiping’s energy treatment will cure his HIV. From Fiordland National Park to the guru’s energy clinics in Europe and the US, how far will people go and what will they believe in the pursuit of wellness? For articles and images from the series, visit the RNZ website here: www.rnz.co.nz/thelodge Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Phil delves into the enigmatic world of Takaro Lodge, a wellness retreat in New Zealand that doubled as a high-end luxury resort. We uncover the mysterious practices of its founder, Chinese grandmaster Aiping Wang and meet Warwick, a Kiwi actor who’s hoping that Aiping’s energy treatment will cure his HIV. From Fiordland National Park to the guru’s energy clinics in Europe and the US, how far will people go and what will they believe in the pursuit of wellness?For articles and images from the series, visit the RNZ website here: <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/thelodge" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.rnz.co.nz/thelodge</a><a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/podcast/the-lodge?share=2e91c12f-55fd-4543-8602-eb7c87920956" rel="noopener noreferrer">Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details</a>

Quiet Death Toll

Phil Vine explores the fall and rise of a therapeutic community – or cult – led by a charismatic guru, who promises to teach followers how to fly and heal without medicine. Followers share their bizarre experiences and the dangerous depth of their convictions, and we discover how this story connects to the modern wellness industry and the allure of alternative healing. Read more about this episode on the RNZ website here - <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/565374/wellness-industry-s-dark-side-experts-warn-of-dangers-in-rnz-podcast-the-lodge">"Wellness industry's dark side" </a>For articles and images from the series, visit the RNZ website here: <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/thelodge">www.rnz.co.nz/thelodge</a><a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/podcast/the-lodge?share=dcdf7000-4dd3-42b0-831f-6852ee5b4f46">Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details</a>

Phil Vine explores the fall and rise of a therapeutic community – or cult – led by a charismatic guru, who promises to teach followers how to fly and heal without medicine. Followers share their bizarre experiences and the dangerous depth of their convictions, and we discover how this story connects to the modern wellness industry and the allure of alternative healing. Read more about this episode on the RNZ website here - "Wellness industry's dark side" For articles and images from the series, visit the RNZ website here: www.rnz.co.nz/thelodge Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Phil Vine explores the fall and rise of a therapeutic community – or cult – led by a charismatic guru, who promises to teach followers how to fly and heal without medicine. Followers share their bizarre experiences and the dangerous depth of their convictions, and we discover how this story connects to the modern wellness industry and the allure of alternative healing. Read more about this episode on the RNZ website here - <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/565374/wellness-industry-s-dark-side-experts-warn-of-dangers-in-rnz-podcast-the-lodge" rel="noopener noreferrer">"Wellness industry's dark side" </a>For articles and images from the series, visit the RNZ website here: <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/thelodge" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.rnz.co.nz/thelodge</a><a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/podcast/the-lodge?share=dcdf7000-4dd3-42b0-831f-6852ee5b4f46" rel="noopener noreferrer">Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details</a>

Distant Bells

What began as a promising sanctuary for healing in one of New Zealand’s most beautiful locations - became the epicentre of a double tragedy, a cautionary tale that goes straight to the heart of the modern wellness industry. 

Join award-winning RNZ journalist Phil Vine as he reopens the file on a mysterious cult that operated from a 1960s hunting lodge near Te Anau. Chinese guru Aiping Wang promised her followers supernatural powers—the ability to fly, see the future, and heal disease with “Universe Energy”. What began in a converted cinema in Slovenia and grew in the forests of New Zealand, has spawned a global empire of energy healing clinics and had a massive, sometimes traumatic, impact on the lives of followers. 
<a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/podcast/the-lodge?share=5f822fee-936e-49a7-91e9-43adf06ab196">Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details</a>

What began as a promising sanctuary for healing in one of New Zealand’s most beautiful locations - became the epicentre of a double tragedy, a cautionary tale that goes straight to the heart of the modern wellness industry. Join award-winning RNZ journalist Phil Vine as he reopens the file on a mysterious cult that operated from a 1960s hunting lodge near Te Anau. Chinese guru Aiping Wang promised her followers supernatural powers—the ability to fly, see the future, and heal disease with “Universe Energy”. What began in a converted cinema in Slovenia and grew in the forests of New Zealand, has spawned a global empire of energy healing clinics and had a massive, sometimes traumatic, impact on the lives of followers. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

What began as a promising sanctuary for healing in one of New Zealand’s most beautiful locations - became the epicentre of a double tragedy, a cautionary tale that goes straight to the heart of the modern wellness industry. 

Join award-winning RNZ journalist Phil Vine as he reopens the file on a mysterious cult that operated from a 1960s hunting lodge near Te Anau. Chinese guru Aiping Wang promised her followers supernatural powers—the ability to fly, see the future, and heal disease with “Universe Energy”. What began in a converted cinema in Slovenia and grew in the forests of New Zealand, has spawned a global empire of energy healing clinics and had a massive, sometimes traumatic, impact on the lives of followers. 
<a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/podcast/the-lodge?share=5f822fee-936e-49a7-91e9-43adf06ab196" rel="noopener noreferrer">Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details</a>

Introducing: The Lodge

In a world obsessed with wellbeing - would you put your health in the hands of a cult? A cautionary tale about the consequences of going alternative, when wellness becomes a matter of life &amp; death.

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In a world obsessed with wellbeing - would you put your health in the hands of a cult? A cautionary tale about the consequences of going alternative, when wellness becomes a matter of life & death.

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