Emma Espiner

Emma Espiner (née Wehipeihana) is a New Zealand broadcaster and political commentator. In 2020, she won Opinion Writer of the Year at the Voyager Media Awards.

Biography
Espiner grew up in Wellington. Her mother, Colleen Smith, was a feminist activist and Espiner was involved in feminist protests from a young age. Her father was Martin Wehipeihana. Of Māori descent, Espiner has whakapapa (heritage) to the Ngāti Tukorehe and Ngāti Porou iwi. She graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Auckland in 2020.

She is a columnist for Newsroom and hosts a podcast Getting Better for Radio New Zealand about Māori health equity. In 2023, she published a memoir titled There's a cure for this".

Her 2023 memoir, There’s a Cure for This, was shortlisted for the General Nonfiction Award at the 2024 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards.

Personal life
Espiner married journalist Guyon Espiner in 2012. The couple separated in 2023.