The Mystery of New Zealand's Kaikōura Lights

Stuff They Don't Want You To Know

iHeartPodcasts

Society & Culture

4.3 • 10.7K Ratings

🗓️ 19 September 2025

⏱️ 81 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In December of 1978, New Zealand's Kaikōura mountain ranges gained international attention as a series of unidentified glowing objects appeared to follow multiple planes in the area. Pilots, journalists, radar techs and air traffic control all confirmed the events -- along with numerous witnesses on the ground. Almost fifty years after the initial sightings, people still can't explain the Kaikōura Lights... and every December, locals look to the sky, just in case the lights return. Join Ben, Matt and Noel as they dive into one of the most bizarre UFO stories in New Zealand history.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	From UFOs to psychic powers and government conspiracies, history is riddled with unexplained events.
0:06.5	You can turn back now or learn the stuff they don't want you to know.
0:12.0	A production of IHeartRadie. Hello, welcome back to the show.
0:28.0	My name is Matt.
0:28.8	My name is Noel.
0:29.9	They call me, Ben, we're joined, as always, with our super producer, Dylan, the Tennessee pal Fagin.
0:35.8	Most importantly, you are you, you are here.
0:39.4	That makes this the stuff they don't want you to know.
0:43.9	Previously, on stuff they don't want you to know.
0:47.1	In our weekly listener mail program, which informs a lot of our future episodes,
0:52.9	we were contacted by our fellow conspiracy realist
0:56.4	Uncle Benny. And guys, I don't know if we all remember this, but it was late July of this year
1:05.2	when Uncle Benny hipped us to one of the most bizarre UFO stories in modern history.
1:12.6	With full disclosure, none of us have been to New Zealand.
1:17.4	Is that correct?
1:18.3	No, but y'all have been practicing your Kiwi accents, and I can't wait to hear you roll them out
1:22.2	and do like the Michael Kane off of Kiwi accents.
1:26.2	Well, I think it's going to come out accidentally as we're saying like names and places.
1:31.0	Accidentially.
1:34.0	Accentidentally is how we heard off.
1:36.8	Yeah.
1:37.5	I'm not good at it.
	...

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