Even a brief dry spell in midlife can do wonders for your health and energy levels. Photo / 123RF
The New Zealand Herald is bringing back some of the best stories of 2021 from our premium syndicators, including The New York Times, Financial Times, The Times of London and The New Zealand Listener.
Today we look at the benefits of cutting back on alcohol, TV's best comedies, escaping acult, riding high on Wall St and the appeal of endurance running.
The benefits of taking a break from alcohol
There's plenty of health benefits to cutting – or just curbing – our alcohol intake. From weight loss, to sleeping better, to brighter skin, cutting back on the evening wine can have a big impact on our lives.
Why not try sparking water with dinner instead? Photo / 123RF
The 21 best comedies of the 21st century (so far)
What is funny? "Funny" can describe straight-up ha-ha pleasure, like watching Homer Simpson fall into Springfield Gorge, twice. But it can also mean something odd (I have a funny feeling about this) or disconcerting (My stomach feels funny) or suspicious (Are you up to something funny?).
In today's bumper crop of TV comedy, what funny is not is simple or monolithic. What even counts as a comedy in an age of dramedy and comic drama and depressed cartoon horses? How do you account for changing times and mores, jokes that aged badly, stars' less-than-amusing offscreen offenses? Is there more to a great comedy than how many times it makes you laugh?
We have no absolute answers, only the arguments that resulted in this list, arranged in chronological order, which we hope prompt you to have the same arguments and more.
Danny DeVito, Charlie Day, Kaitlin Olson, and Andy Buckley in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Photo / Supplied
How I escaped my father's cult at the age of 30
For the first three decades of her life, Katy Morgan-Davies was trapped in a brutal cult in south London controlled by her father, Aravindan Balakrishnan. Eight years after getting out, she reveals how she's struggled to adapt to her new-found freedom.
Dimon in the wake of the US$6.2 billion 'London Whale' trading scandal, which he survived after first dismissing it as a 'tempest in a teapot', in 2012. Photo / Getty Images
'Magic in misery': The ultrarunners tackling the world's toughest race
Think a marathon sounds challenging? Earlier this year, 400 athletes embarked on a 246km, 36-hour endurance test in Greece. They told Nick Rufford why they do it.
