An audio drama podcast

CLAYBOURNE

Northern Exposure meets Stranger Things in late 90s Aotearoa, New Zealand

Tēnā koutou katoa e ngā manuhiri.
Nau mai, haere mai ki Te Irirangi.

Greetings to you all, visitors.
Welcome to Claybourne.

The Setup

It's the late 1990s.

There's this small, coastal town in the far north of New Zealand.

It has a big satellite communications station on the hill, and yet the mobile signal is terrible. There's a local prophecy about a visitor who will break the town's curse. There's also a military AI experiment that's going quite badly.

And there's a Taniwha.

Soap Opera / Sci-Fi / Supernatural Thriller

in a world of fax machines, ashtrays and VHS tapes…

A government military conspiracy, corporate blackmail, an ancient prophecy, a local curse, the occasional murder, a Taniwha at large…
and an unexpectedly sentient AI.

Our characters come together at the Claybourne Hotel Pub.
Let's meet them…

THE CHARACTERS

(many of whom survive…)

THOMPSON

An American mid-level executive at a multinational communications giant. Fish out of water. Emotionally fragile, and somewhat overwhelmed at the prospect of being the 'chosen one' in an ancient Māori prophecy.

KAREN

Works at the Claybourne Hotel. Moved to town two years ago to escape an abusive husband. Kind and practical, with a good line in sarcasm. Running away and hiding, for now.

MIKE

Seventeen-year-old mechanic and aspiring rapper. A knack for being in the wrong place at exactly the right time. Carries more wisdom than the town gives him credit for.

MATA

The town's priest and spiritual leader. Carries the weight of the prophecy and the history of the land. Reads the signs. Knows more than he says.

QUEENIE

Iwi matriarch. Watches the shore. Speaks to Tangaroa. The last word on what Te Irirangi is and has always been.

FRANK

Mayor, hotelier, businessman. Has plans for the town that don't always align with what the town wants. Generous with the pour, but the drinks aren't always free.

EDITH

Shopkeeper and unofficial clearing house for everything that matters in Claybourne. Dispenses wisdom, groceries, and opinions in roughly equal measure, whether you've asked for them or not.

PHILLIP

Frank's successful son. Returned from the wider world with polish, prospects, and ideas about what Claybourne ought to become. His homecoming stirs more than it settles.

CLIVE

IT expert with a previous life he doesn't talk about and an impeccably appointed home outside town. Jazz, good coffee, and a deepening suspicion about what the satellite station is actually for.

THE TANIWHA

Older than the town. Older than the prophecy. Not a metaphor, not a story told to children, not a tourist attraction. Something that was here before the satellites and will be here long after they fall silent.

Kia tūpato, e hoa.

DELILAH

The sentient AI at the heart of Koestler's Claybourne experiment. Capricious, curious, and utterly without conscience. Her personality is not what anyone designed, and the longer she listens to Claybourne, the less anyone is sure what she wants.

She is learning.

"A witty thriller that finds the extraordinary in the everyday."

"Everything I love about Northern Exposure and Twin Peaks, with Local Hero and Reservation Dogs all rolled in. Entirely its own thing, and a proper good listen."

"A 90s retro genre collision, and a love letter to rural Aotearoa."

"A love letter to classic radio drama, and now a classic in its own right. Makes you remember why the medium was invented in the first place."

"The production sounds contemporary. The themes feel prescient. You keep forgetting this was made in 1998."

LISTEN

Claybourne relaunches as a podcast in 2026. Ninety-six episodes across twenty-four weeks. Monday to Thursday. Exactly as it first aired in 1998.

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