New Zealand civics is filled with the weird and wonderful, which leads us to the Citizen's Handbook podcast, a show which finds Robbie Nicol competing against a comedian in explaining New Zealand Civics, told in fact and fiction.

Series Classification: PG (Parental Guidance)

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The Citizen's Handbook is a ten-part video and podcast comedy series and civics class for all New Zealanders, created by the award-winning team behind the popular satirical web show White Man Behind a Desk.

The series covers five topics: history, politics, law, economics, and international relations. In writing and producing the series, the creators (Robbie Nicol & Finnius Teppett) have teamed up with relevant experts and a writers' room built on a partnership between Māori and Pākehā to ensure that all information is culturally and historically accurate.

Using thorough research and sharp comedy, The Citizen's Handbook empowers its audience with the knowledge of how this country came to be, how it currently works, and how we can face the challenges that lie ahead.

The Citizen's Handbook puts the focus on the actions of people, and by highlighting the power of human action in creating the present, demonstrates that your actions can have a powerful impact on the future.

It's also really funny.

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It's The Citizen's Handbook! A game show where comedians try to separate fact from fiction. Episode one kicks off with Robbie Nicol trying to trick comedian Jamaine Ross about He Whakaputanga, and sees Jamaine lying to Robbie about the legendary trickster Māui.

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The Citizen's Handbook begins where all good series start: the beginning! This episode tackles the settlement of Aotearoa, starting with travellers from all over Polynesia and then British and European settlers. Robbie helps break down how the tangata whenua established their communities, and how Māori established a way of life throughout Aotearoa. However, things didn't always stay as harmonious...

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True or false? The man who colonised New Zealand kidnapped a 15-year-old girl, and plotted colonisation while in prison. Find out when Pax Assadi and Robbie Nicol examine Edward Gibbon Wakefield and the battle at Wairau Valley.

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In this episode, Robbie explores the colonisation of New Zealand. In the 1700s, Captain Cook came to New Zealand on a 'scientific' expedition. When Cook's notes about how beautiful the country was reached his home shores, a steady flow of British settlers embarked on these fair shores. It was only a matter of time before word spread of Aotearoa's many resources, including seals, whales, and gold, and settlers from all over the world flocked to get a share.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details