From prison to med school: Dr Timoti te Moke opens up about rough upbringing that led him to healthcare

Dr Timoti Te Moke became a doctor at age 56, but it wasn't an easy road to get into medical school.

Before he started at Middlemore Hospital, he endured a childhood filled with abuse, time in state care, in prison and eventually gangs. 

He detailed his journey in his new book, The Unlikely Doctor, and says he wrote it to shine a light on the barriers holding Kiwis back from reaching their potential.

"There are a lot of people that could be where I am, but due to the barriers that society put in place, they are not able to do this. Essentially, what my book is looking at is the potential this country could have if we realised that these are the barriers we have in place." 

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<h2>From prison to med school: Dr Timoti te Moke opens up about rough upbringing that led him to healthcare</h2>
Dr Timoti Te Moke became a doctor at age 56, but it wasn't an easy road to get into medical school.
Before he started at Middlemore Hospital, he endured a childhood filled with abuse, time in state care, in prison and eventually gangs.&nbsp;
He detailed his journey in his new book, The Unlikely Doctor, and says he wrote it to shine a light on the barriers holding Kiwis back from reaching their potential.
"There are a lot of people that could be where I am, but due to the barriers that society put in place, they are not able to do this. Essentially, what my book is looking at is the potential this country could have if we realised that these are the barriers we have in place."&nbsp;
LISTEN ABOVE

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The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin

Best of 2025: Dr Timoti Te Moke opens up about upbringing on the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/1eeb6944-65e2-4a3a-a620-b3cd00299074/transcript

Amanda Knox was arrested for the murder of her flatmate, wrongly convicted, and spent four years in an Italian prison, and she's looking back on her journey in a new documentary.

Mouth of the Wolf follows Amanda’s first trip back to Italy in years to face the people and places that shaped her story. 

Amanda Knox and her husband, Christopher Robinson, worked on the project together and the pair described the risky journey back to Italy.

"It was not beyond belief for us that if Amanda returned to Italy to speak the truth, that she could be putting herself in potential jeopardy for being charged with another crime. So that fear was real."

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Amanda Knox was arrested for the murder of her flatmate, wrongly convicted, and spent four years in an Italian prison, and she's looking back on her journey in a new documentary.
Mouth of the Wolf follows Amanda’s first trip back to Italy in years to face the people and places that shaped her story.&nbsp;
Amanda Knox and her husband, Christopher Robinson, worked on the project together and the pair described the risky journey back to Italy.
"It was not beyond belief for us that if Amanda returned to Italy to speak the truth, that she could be putting herself in potential jeopardy for being charged with another crime. So that fear was real."
LISTEN ABOVE

Amanda Knox and Christopher Robinson: wrongly-convicted murder suspect and her husband talk new documentary

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/dcf3fa3e-33c4-41c3-aa0c-b4000015d209/transcript

Physicist professor Brian Cox is a bit of a rockstar in the science world.

When he’s not hosting his BBC shows, Brian is touring the world making science engaging and accessible. 

He performed his last show to over half a million people globally - and now he’s back and apparently bigger than ever, with his 'Emergence' show set to kick off in June.

"The show really tells the story - it starts with 1600, goes to now, which is only 400 years later, we know a tremendous amount about the universe and how it operates and how old it is, and so on." 

LISTEN ABOVE

Physicist professor Brian Cox is a bit of a rockstar in the science world.
When he’s not hosting his BBC shows, Brian is touring the world making science engaging and accessible.&nbsp;
He performed his last show to over half a million people globally - and now he’s back and apparently bigger than ever, with his 'Emergence' show set to kick off in June.
"The show really tells the story - it starts with 1600, goes to now, which is only 400 years later, we know a tremendous amount about the universe and how it operates and how old it is, and so on."&nbsp;
LISTEN ABOVE

Professor Brian Cox: physicist on his 'Emergence' world tour

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/f9791b59-4cb6-490f-81c3-b4000011c6c4/transcript

Kin by Tayari Jones - who was the author of a wonderful book called An American Marriage a few years ago, which I loved. In this new one, Vernice and Annie are both motherless, close as sisters, growing up in small town Louisiana during the Jim Crow years. Their lives take them in different directions - Vernice to Atlanta and college, whilst Annie heads to Memphis in constant search of the mother who abandoned her. It’s stunningly written, about two Black women navigating the prejudice, misogyny and cruelty of that era and whose bond with each other stands the test of time and distance.

Surviving White Island by Kelsey Waghorn. Kelsey was a tour guide on Whakaari White Island and was caught up in the devastating eruption there in 2019, which changed her life forever. This is her account of what happened - the aftermath, injuries, recovery and sheer grit required to get through each day, in a memoir which is both brave and inspirational from a young woman whose future changed in an unimaginable instant. 

LISTEN ABOVE

Kin by Tayari Jones - who was the author of a wonderful book called An American Marriage a few years ago, which I loved. In this new one, Vernice and Annie are both motherless, close as sisters, growing up in small town Louisiana during the Jim Crow years. Their lives take them in different directions - Vernice to Atlanta and college, whilst Annie heads to Memphis in constant search of the mother who abandoned her. It’s stunningly written, about two Black women navigating the prejudice, misogyny and cruelty of that era and whose bond with each other stands the test of time and distance.
Surviving White Island by Kelsey Waghorn. Kelsey was a tour guide on Whakaari White Island and was caught up in the devastating eruption there in 2019, which changed her life forever. This is her account of what happened - the aftermath, injuries, recovery and sheer grit required to get through each day, in a memoir which is both brave and inspirational from a young woman whose future changed in an unimaginable instant.&nbsp;
LISTEN ABOVE

Whitcoulls Recommends: Kin and Surviving White Island

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/5c879914-6872-42b8-a20a-b400000c0cd4/transcript

Best of 2025: Dr Timoti Te Moke opens up about upbringing on the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin

From prison to med school: Dr Timoti te Moke opens up about rough upbringing that led him to healthcare

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