When Elesha Gordon opened up publicly about her workplace anxiety, she discovered many other journalists in the same boat. Now she’s leading Media Chaplaincy, tackling burnout, trauma, and stress in the industry.

Struck by the disconnect between Wellington bureaucrats and frustrated Aucklanders stuck in Covid lockdown, Heather du-Plessis Allan held the country’s leaders to account in tenacious style.

When the call came in about a mass shooting, visual journalist Abigail Dougherty jumped on the first plane to Christchurch. The images she captured powerfully communicated the sorrow of New Zealand’s darkest day.

As broadcaster Simon Barnett came to terms with his wife Jodi’s fatal illness, Shayne Currie came alongside the family to tell their story. His tender piece allowed the family to process their grief and honour Jodi’s life.

As politicians argued about solutions to poverty during the election cycle, Indira Stewart took the discourse to street level, giving a voice to teens working full-time on top of schooling to support their whanau.

When Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, Lisette Reymer risked her own safety to report from the frontline. Her empathetic, award-winning coverage expertly captured the human face of the conflict.

A surprise phone call from a sister Aaron Smale never knew existed led to an investigation into state abuse. His questions would ultimately result in an award-winning exposé of the heinous goings-on at Lake Alice Hospital.

With decades of experience as one of New Zealand’s most prominent television journalists, Mark Crysell recounts gaining unprecedented access to follow a set of unlikely New Zealanders into North Korea.

After decades as one of the country’s best-known journalists, Cameron Bennett took on a unique new challenge: to educate the nation on the New Zealand Wars and help tell Māori stories.

As fast-food workers suffered under the indignity of zero-hour contracts, Anna Burns-Francis stepped up to tell their stories. Her tireless reporting forced corporations to put employee welfare over greed.

A shock diagnosis forced Simon Wilson to come to terms with his own mortality. Rather than let it derail his work, the veteran journalist made the bold call to bring readers along on each step of his gruelling cancer journey.

As stories tumbled out about ACC's handling of sensitive client data, Anusha Bradley was there holding the agency to account. Her award-winning coverage prompted an independent review, policy changes and legal reform.

Plunged into lawless South Sudan in 2017, Michael Morrah overcame danger and personal trauma to report on the brutal realities of life in the wartorn nation.

A wheelchair user all her life, Olivia Shivas’ coverage on people with disabilities suffering horrific abuse in care hit uncomfortably close to home. Her courageous reporting would help expose injustice and give survivors a voice.

Long before it made national headlines, Justin Latif faced an uphill battle to convince his bosses the occupation of Ihumātao was worth covering. The ensuing reportage opened up a national conversation about identity, land ownership and Māori rights.

During the 2019 measles outbreak in Samoa Barbara Dreaver reported on an ill-equipped healthcare system, complex tensions between traditional and western medicine, and the tragic and preventable loss of life.

Through the telling of one couple’s devastating story, Susie Ferguson lifted the lid on the grief suffered by the hundreds of Kiwi families who lose a baby each year. The veteran broadcaster reflects on helping break NZ’s final taboo.

Disheartened by one-dimensional coverage of gangs in Pākehā media, Moana Maniapoto and Hikurangi Jackson set about delving into the issue themselves. The Whakaata Māori mother-son duo’s empathetic coverage captured the complexity and humanity of Aotearoa’s gang landscape.

Having joined the press gallery as its youngest member in 1980, Barry Soper is set to depart this year one of its veterans. Four decades and ten Prime Ministers on, he reflects on his career-shaping encounters with Nelson Mandela and his years holding power to account.

As missiles rained down on Gaza in 2014, Mike McRoberts lobbied his 3 News bosses to get him to the frontline. The trauma of witnessing destruction on such an enormous scale stayed with him and shaped how he responds to tragedy.

An expose into Te Kohanga Reo Trust by Mihingarangi Forbes and Annabelle Lee-Mather led to their acrimonious exit from Māori Television. The duo bounced back to form an award-winning media company bringing indigenous storytelling to mainstream audiences.

A surprise phone call handed Garth Bray a huge scoop as media scrambled to find a runaway Hone Harawira in Australia. His journey to Alice Springs and the fallout back home turned the spotlight on indigenous discrimination.

Dismayed by how Māori were being portrayed in the media, Carmen Parahi nearly gave up on journalism for good. Instead, she channelled her frustration into a game-changing re-examination of indigenous news coverage.

When covering the Syrian refugee crisis, Rachel Smalley translated overwhelming statistics of tragedy into stories of living, breathing people. Years later, Rachel still carries the grief of what she witnessed.

When Alison Mau launched a nationwide project to support victims of workplace sexual abuse and harassment in sharing their stories, critics wondered if the results would even be newsworthy.

Cystic fibrosis is a death sentence for those who suffer with it. Encountering their experience, and the miracle drug that’s just out of reach, changed Paddy Gower.

What started out as a seemingly straightforward but tragic homicide story for investigative journalist Jared Savage turned into a heart-breaking exposé that changed his reporting and view of the world.

In the 1960s and 70s, children as young as eight were placed in Porirua Psychiatric Hospital alongside the most mentally unwell adults. In 2005, Miriama Kamo told their story of startling abuse.

As Jehan Casinader reported on the tragic suicide of a Christchurch teenager, Jehan’s own mental health was privately crumbling as he’d recently begun experiencing suicidal thoughts.

When breaking the news of horrific treatment of prisoners at Auckland Women’s Prison, Guyon Espiner came face to face with a deeper story, of personal and cultural trauma.

Joy Reid nearly gave up journalism while struggling with PTSD after covering the Christchurch earthquakes, but went on to her dream role as the Europe correspondent for TVNZ.

Veteran journalist Paula Penfold has chosen to discuss her most recent documentary, Deleted, where Paula and her team at Stuff Circuit investigated the persecution of the Uyghur peoples in China.

There's always more to a news story than what you see, so throughout this series, Rev Frank Ritchie will be sitting down with journalists to unpack the stories that have shaped and changed them. Follow now, and share this podcast with your news junkie friends!