The Lodge – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

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The Lodge

RNZ

Society & Culture

Health & Fitness

Frequency: 1 episode/35d. Total Eps: 10

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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Recent rankings

Latest chart positions across Apple Podcasts and Spotify rankings.

Apple Podcasts

🇺🇸 USA - documentary
03/05/2026
#96
🇬🇧 Great Britain - documentary
01/05/2026
#99
🇬🇧 Great Britain - documentary
30/04/2026
#84
🇫🇷 France - documentary
26/03/2026
#100

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

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https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/thelodge
8 shares
https://www.rnz.co.nz/podcast/the-lodge?share=2e91c12f-55fd-4543-8602-eb7c87920956
1 share
https://www.rnz.co.nz/podcast/the-lodge?share=dcdf7000-4dd3-42b0-831f-6852ee5b4f46
1 share

RSS feed quality and score

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RSS feed quality

Good

Score global : 83%

Publication history

Monthly episode publishing history over the past years.

Year

Latest published episodes

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Quiet Death Toll

Season 1 · Episode 2

Thursday, June 26, 2025 • Duration 40:09

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

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Distant Bells

Season 1 · Episode 1

Thursday, June 26, 2025 • Duration 38:29

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

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Introducing: The Lodge

Season 1

Wednesday, June 18, 2025 • Duration 01:39

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

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Dealing With Magic

Season 1 · Episode 3

Monday, June 30, 2025 • Duration 39:01

Warwick's story unfolds, and we discover if his six-month energy treatment in London has produced a miracle cure for HIV. Phil learns more about the ambitious nature of the wellness cult and its plan to reform all of society. We hear of the tragic tales of two other believers, Sharon and Yanis who died while following Aiping’s teachings and how other followers at the Lodge watched and took photos as a giant melanoma grew on Yanis face.

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

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Quite Surreal

Season 1 · Episode 5

Monday, July 7, 2025 • Duration 45:23

A bomb threat in 2005 shuts down central Tauranga, a city in the North Island of New Zealand, and Phil discovers that the bomber has a connection with the Lodge. After coming under public scrutiny Aiping, her family and followers go international, opening clinics in Europe and the States. We learn what some of her followers were paying for her Life Technology teachings and how others are profiting from them.

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

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Being There

Season 1 · Episode 4

Thursday, July 3, 2025 • Duration 41:57

We hear from the guru herself, Aiping Wang in a rare interview recorded for a 20/20 television documentary, The Grandmaster. The guru explains “Qi”, what she calls “Universe Energy” and how it can bring happiness, wealth and health, including curing serious diseases. She explains her teachings and we find out what happened when she started out as a guru back in Slovenia.

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

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Ahead Of Her Time

Season 1 · Episode 6

Thursday, July 10, 2025 • Duration 44:44

We catch up with cult survivor and former zealot, Suzanne. She and her mum gave $1.5 million to Aiping to be life members at the Lodge, before her mum died what Suzanne calls “a horrific death”. Twenty years on, what does Suzanne believe now, what has she learnt, and what can her experience teach others?

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

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The Ultimate Price

Season 1 · Episode 7

Monday, July 14, 2025 • Duration 42:12

Remember Warwick the Kiwi actor? We follow his treatment at the Energy Bank in London, his special invitation to New Zealand for a one-on-one with Aiping Wang and find out how his story ends. Phil discusses the appeal of alternative medicine but also speaks with wellness experts about the dangers of exclusivity, where health gurus tell their followers it’s my way, or the highway.

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

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Burning Questions

Season 1 · Episode 8

Thursday, July 17, 2025 • Duration 49:00

Phil seeks an interview with Aiping and her family to find out what’s going on now at the lodge and the story behind those energy clinics. Arriving in Te Anau, he speaks to a neighbour about what’s going on these days, and as he tries to get an audience with the guru, is in for quite a reception.

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

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

Season 1 · Episode 9

Tuesday, April 28, 2026 • Duration 19:48

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

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The Lodge – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

The Lodge – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

Other13

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Similar podcasts and content

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Other13

Apple Podcasts

Spotify