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Stuff Audio

A 12-part documentary podcast about the notorious free-love commune, Centrepoint. There are crimes. But this isn’t a whodunnit. It’s a whydunnit ...

In 2025, The Commune was chosen as an Apple Podcasts Series Essential.

The Commune

Centrepoint is gone, but the trauma remains. Yet for some, those commune years were the best. Everyone grapples with their memories and sense of culpability. And we hear from someone prepared to tell an awful truth.
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The Wounded Healer

Barri deploys a secret weapon in her plot to close Centrepoint down for good: will this be the killer blow? Not if Bert’s loyal lieutenants have anything to do with it. The final battle is on.
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Zombie Commune

Centrepoint’s guru is in prison, but the pressure on young people for sex hasn’t stopped. Only now, it’s not just the girls. Barri finally understands she’s been in a cult – but will she ever be free?
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The Writing on the Wall

After a major police raid, the public finally learns the full horror of what’s been happening at Centrepoint. Barri reaches breaking point. (TW: This episode contains descriptions of sexual abuse.)
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That Feeling of Helplessness

Ray is back on the Centrepoint case and he’s determined to arrest Bert. The community hatches a plan to cover up for their guru. Barri tries to make Bert see sense – but is it too late?
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Lying without Lying

Barri finds the answer she’s been seeking but what will she do? Nate tries to raise the alarm about a new arrival. And a humiliated Bert tries chemical assistance to regain the love of his followers.
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Cherished Ideas

It’s the 1980s, and Centrepoint’s on a roll. Bert is investing in the booming stock market; and the head-count keeps rising. But some of the new arrivals at the commune have wild stories to tell.
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The Centrepoint Kids

The ever-expanding Centrepoint commune goes to war: with its fed-up neighbours, with the local council and, thanks to Robert’s decision to speak out, the New Zealand Police.
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Invaders

Barri and “Robert” are haunted by the ugly truth about their commune, but they respond differently. Plus: a quick history of communes in Aotearoa, and the complex social forces that made Centrepoint possible.
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Under the Carpet

Who the hell was Bert? How Centrepoint’s leader went from buttoned-up businessman to morally transgressive guru. Meanwhile Barri and “Robert” are each witness to moments that reveal the darkness lurking inside the Centrepoint dream.
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Lying without Lying

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