The Trial

By Stuff AudioSociety & Culture Documentary News True Crime

The Trial episodes

September 09, 2024 Polkinghorne E7: ‘Some things are going to come out’
As the Crown case nears its end, a close friend and colleague alleges Polkinghorne made sex and meth admissions that “shocked” her. There are questions about tensions in the operating theatre, financial stress and positive meth tests at Auckland Eye. An expert explains the ways meth can change behaviour.
WARNING: This podcast references suicide right from the start and throughout the episode. Some listeners might find this distressing. Click here for where to get help in New Zealand.
Podcasts like this take lots of time and resources to produce, which is why we'd love you to support our work by becoming a subscriber! You can subscribe to Stuff Extra directly in Apple Podcasts, or Click Here to listen on other platforms.

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34 min
August 30, 2024 Polkinghorne E6: The disappearing mark
Two pathologists face detailed questions about the significance of a mark on Pauline Hanna’s neck, with one asked why they didn’t mention it in their autopsy report. The court hears more about Hanna’s medical history, including her use of unprescribed sleeping tablets and the prescriptions she was given by her GP.
WARNING: This podcast references suicide right from the start and throughout the episode. Some listeners might find this distressing. Click here for where to get help in New Zealand.
Podcasts like this take lots of time and resources to produce, which is why we'd love you to support our work by becoming a subscriber! You can subscribe to Stuff Extra directly in Apple Podcasts, or Click Here to listen on other platforms.

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41 min
August 27, 2024 Polkinghorne E5: ‘He wants to have sex with everybody’
In a recording played to the jury, Pauline Hanna talks about the state of her marriage to eye surgeon Philip Polkinghorne and their sex life. Close friends recall her sharing an alleged strangulation threat by her husband. The defence challenges them and family members, asking if their recollections are clouded by the belief that Hanna wouldn’t have taken her own life.
WARNING: This podcast references suicide right from the start and throughout the episode. Some listeners might find this distressing. Click here for where to get help in New Zealand.
Podcasts like this take lots of time and resources to produce, which is why we'd love you to support our work by becoming a subscriber! You can subscribe to Stuff Extra directly in Apple Podcasts, or Click Here to listen on other platforms.

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53 min
August 21, 2024 Polkinghorne E4: ‘She’s never hit me, I’ve never hit her’
The jury hears Polkinghorne for the first time as the prosecution plays his police interview from the day his wife died. While answering questions about his marriage to Pauline Hanna and her state of mind, he receives a call informing him he’s a suspect. The Crown case continues with a friend of the couple describing his suspicions about Polkinghorne’s behaviour and a detective recalling a visit to a luxury getaway where Polkinghorne was staying with sex worker Madison Ashton.
WARNING: This podcast references suicide right from the start and throughout the episode. Some listeners might find this distressing. Click here for where to get help in New Zealand.
Podcasts like this take lots of time and resources to produce, which is why we'd love you to support our work by becoming a subscriber! You can subscribe to Stuff Extra directly in Apple Podcasts, or Click Here to listen on other platforms.

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40 min
August 16, 2024 Polkinghorne E3: An unprecedented search
With Philip Polkinghorne being interviewed at the police station, detectives decide to step up their search of his house. Amid tests for fingerprints, DNA and blood - a hunt dubbed unprecedented by the detective sergeant in charge of the scene - officers make a series of discoveries that shape the investigation. But in court they’re asked if police and forensic scientists might have made up their minds too soon.
WARNING: This podcast references suicide right from the start and throughout the episode. Some listeners might find this distressing. Click here for where to get help in New Zealand.
Podcasts like this take lots of time and resources to produce, which is why we'd love you to support our work by becoming a subscriber! You can subscribe to Stuff Extra directly in Apple Podcasts, or Click Here to listen on other platforms.

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38 min
August 10, 2024 Polkinghorne E2: Code 1C for suspicious
As detectives comb the home of Philip Polkinghorne and Pauline Hanna, questions quickly emerge about the rope involved in her death. The jury hears Polkinghorne’s summary of his wife’s final day alive.
WARNING: This podcast references suicide right from the start and throughout the episode. Some listeners might find this distressing. Click here for where to get help in New Zealand.
Podcasts like this take lots of time and resources to produce, which is why we'd love you to support our work by becoming a subscriber! You can subscribe to Stuff Extra directly in Apple Podcasts, or Click Here to listen on other platforms.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
31 min
August 01, 2024 Polkinghorne E1: 'My wife's dead'
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.
WARNING: This podcast references suicide right from the start and throughout the episode. Some listeners might find this distressing. Click here for where to get help in New Zealand.
Podcasts like this take lots of time and resources to produce, which is why we'd love you to support our work by becoming a subscriber! You can subscribe to Stuff Extra directly in Apple Podcasts, or Click Here to listen on other platforms.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
30 min
July 26, 2024 Polkinghorne trailer
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 2, available soon wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe to Stuff Extra on Apple or Spotify to be the first to hear new episodes.

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2 min
July 24, 2024 Something new is coming
Watch this space

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1 min
May 21, 2024 Introducing: The Lost Boy - The disappearance of Mike Zhao-Beckenridge
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.
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31 min

About The Trial

From the publisher's feed

Stuff Audio, New Zealand’s award-winning leader in true crime podcasts, presents The Trial. Stuff’s expert journalists spend weeks at High Court hearings and pore over hundreds of hours of recordings to deliver compelling and in-depth insights into some of New Zealand’s most intriguing cases - as they happen.