Features Hour Black Sheep Scientific Racist: the story of Alfred Newman
Dr Alfred Newman may be the most notorious scientific racist in New Zealand history. His 1882 paper "A study of the causes leading to the extinction of the Maori" used such extreme and callous language that it scandalised not just Māori, but also New Zealand's wider scientific community. Dr Newman's views didn't spring out of nowhere. He was building on a longer history of racial supremacy - bouyed in part by Charles Darwin's theories of "natural selection" and "survival of the fittest", which many 19th Century Pākehā seized as a scientific justification for preexisting ideas of racial superiority. However these ideas of white supremacy have always been contested in Aotearoa - by Māori and also some Pākehā. Dr Newman's notorious 1882 paper saw significant criticism from New Zealand's top scientists of the time. In this episode of Black Sheep, we investigate Dr Alfred Newman's story - and the wider story of scientific racism in Aotearoa.
The Best of RNZ's Podcasts. RNZ's multiple award-winning podcast Black Sheep returns with a new cast of characters from the murderous to the misunderstood. The shady, controversial and sometimes downright villainous characters of New Zealand history, presented by William Ray.
Primary Title
- Features Hour
Secondary Title
- Black Sheep
Episode Title
- Scientific Racist: the story of Alfred Newman
Date Broadcast
- Sunday 11 June 2023
Start Time
- 07 : 00
Finish Time
- 08 : 00
Duration
- 60:00
Series
- 7
Episode
- 3
Channel
- Radio New Zealand National
Broadcaster
- Radio New Zealand
Programme Description
- The Best of RNZ's Podcasts. RNZ's multiple award-winning podcast Black Sheep returns with a new cast of characters from the murderous to the misunderstood. The shady, controversial and sometimes downright villainous characters of New Zealand history, presented by William Ray.
Episode Description
- Dr Alfred Newman may be the most notorious scientific racist in New Zealand history. His 1882 paper "A study of the causes leading to the extinction of the Maori" used such extreme and callous language that it scandalised not just Māori, but also New Zealand's wider scientific community. Dr Newman's views didn't spring out of nowhere. He was building on a longer history of racial supremacy - bouyed in part by Charles Darwin's theories of "natural selection" and "survival of the fittest", which many 19th Century Pākehā seized as a scientific justification for preexisting ideas of racial superiority. However these ideas of white supremacy have always been contested in Aotearoa - by Māori and also some Pākehā. Dr Newman's notorious 1882 paper saw significant criticism from New Zealand's top scientists of the time. In this episode of Black Sheep, we investigate Dr Alfred Newman's story - and the wider story of scientific racism in Aotearoa.
Classification
- Not Classified
Owning Collection
- Chapman Archive
Broadcast Platform
- Radio
Languages
- English
Captions
Live Broadcast
- No
Rights Statement
- Made for the University of Auckland's educational use as permitted by the Screenrights Licensing Agreement.
Notes
- The following advisory from RNZ National's "Features Hour" presenter Catriona MacLeod precedes this episode of "Black Sheep", "Scientific Racist: the story of Alfred Newman", for Sunday 11 June 2023: A warning before we get started; the podcast contains some racist language and may not be appropriate for younger listeners.
Genres
- Documentary
- Feature
- News
Hosts
- Catriona MacLeod (Presenter, RNZ News / Features Hour)
- William Ray (Presenter / Writer, Black Sheep)
Contributors
- Tim Watkin (Executive Producer, Black Sheep)
- William Saunders (Sound Engineer, Black Sheep)