Settle in and enjoy some of the best lifestyle and entertainment stories from our talented and award-winning journalists, from Miranda Kerr’s new gig with Michael Hill to the best brands for plus-size tailoring. Here are our top picks for this weekend - you can find more to read at our Lifestyle, Entertainment and Viva hubs.
‘All of my friends do drugs to some degree’: Four Kiwis on their recreational drug use
After the death of a woman from a suspected drug overdose at her 40th birthday celebrations, four Kiwi recreational drug users tell Sinead Corcoran Dye what they’re taking, and why.
“It wildly varies how much drugs I take,” Mandy, 31, says. “Sometimes it might be every day for things like using marijuana to relax; other times I might go weeks or months without anything – I have no rules, but I like balance.
My friends and I usually bulk order which can cost thousands of dollars between us then we keep it in a cupboard for whenever – and whatever – occasion arises. I like to explore different drugs for different experiences, so mushrooms and acid are always on the menu. Then for socialising, I will lean towards MDMA, cocaine or sometimes ketamine. I definitely mix. I’m not really afraid and am quite good at knowing what feeling I’m going for, for the situation.
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Supermodel Miranda Kerr On Babies, Running A Multimillion-Dollar Business & How She Does It All
Australian supermodel Miranda Kerr talks to Amanda Linnell about the arrival of her fourth baby, her exciting new role with a New Zealand brand, and the life lessons that helped her get to where she is today.
Miranda Kerr is head over heels in love. Besotted, in fact. It’s six weeks since the supermodel’s fourth son, Pierre, came into the world and she can’t, she says, imagine life without him. “He’s just a beautiful bundle of joy and we’re all very much in love with him.”
Miranda is on the phone from her Los Angeles home where she lives with her husband, Snapchat founder Evan Spiegel, and her, now, four sons — the oldest of whom is 13. As she chats away, sharing the ups and downs of family life, she comes across like an old friend and not the usual celebrity interview where they keep tightly to the script.
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Sex, age, hormones: How your sex drive changes at every stage in your life
Men and women experience ever-changing levels of hormones over time, but what impact does this have on desire and daily life?
From weight gain to filthy tempers, our sex hormones have a lot to answer for. Of the 50 hormones each of us has in our bodies, the trio of oestrogen, testosterone and progesterone play crucial roles in puberty, fertility and sex drive.
“Hormones are chemical messengers produced by glands in the endocrine system and released into the bloodstream,” explains physician and intimate health expert Dr Shirin Lakhani. “They work together in the body, like an orchestra, and an imbalance can occur at any life stage and have an effect on others.”
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New drama Friends Like Her, by Sarah-Kate Lynch, brings Kaikōura to the world
The best-selling Kiwi author writes about how this small South Island town captured her heart and her imagination.
I’m no stranger to the South Island portion of State Highway 1, having driven between Queenstown, Wellington and Auckland countless times, but it wasn’t until late 2017 that I turned off the highway and into Kaikōura: a small Kiwi town that punches well above its weight.
And back then, it had taken more than its fair share of hits - I was there to write about the reopening of said highway after the earthquake on November 14, 2016 cut off the seaside community from the rest of the country for more than a year.
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Where to shop for plus-size tailored clothes, with tips from the people who tailor them
For size-inclusive tailoring, Dan Ahwa talked to a range of experts who offer their sage advice.
While there is still a glut of ill-fitting “curve” collections hanging at the end-of-sale racks trying to be passed off as “size-inclusive”, there are several specialist brands and designers who are committed to a well-thought-out wardrobe that also consists of crisp blazers and well-cut trousers.
Comfort is one of the key drivers for why we wear what we wear each day, and finding quality tailoring that looks good can be a challenge at any size; but for those who identify as size 18 upwards, the selection of tailored garments on offer can be limited, ill-fitting and uninspired.
But what constitutes good tailoring? It’s not always as rigorously shaped as we’re led to believe.
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Raising orangutans and missing marmosets: Auckland Zoo keeper on 44 years of monkey business
She’s known Charlie the orangutan since he was 6 and had a 34-year friendship with Janie the tea-party chimp. A long-serving primate keeper talks to Kim Knight about a lifetime of looking after animals — and why she’s calling it a day.
Sometimes, says Auckland Zoo senior primate keeper Christine Tintinger, she’d be stuck inside the monkeys’ habitat for 20 minutes or more.
“You’d go in and shut the door to clean and feed and before you could go out, you’d have to sight them again, just in case they jumped into the service area.
“But they’d go behind a branch, and then a little pair of eyes would look out, and then you’d never find them ... I’d have to get on the radio: ‘Can somebody come to the pygmies? Can you spot them? Because I can’t get out of here until I see them’. That was frustrating.”
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‘Hurtful and unfair’: Father of comedian James Mustapic lashes out over TVNZ show
Claims by former curling champion Dan Mustapic that he’s been misrepresented in his son’s TVNZ show, James Must-a-pic His Mum a Man, raises questions about what’s fair game in comedy and where to draw the line, writes Joanna Wane.
The father of comedian and Celebrity Treasure Island winner James Mustapic has laid an official complaint with TVNZ about his son’s latest show, which he claims includes hurtful comments about him that are “grossly untrue and unfair”.
Dan Mustapic, who works in the mental health sector in Wellington, alleges the programme James-Must-a-pic His Mum a Man is an invasion of his privacy. He has sought legal advice on whether to lodge a defamation complaint but was advised the cost would be prohibitive.
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Dame Valerie Adams on learning to accept help: ‘It’s not a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength’
Kiwis pride themselves on their resilience, but how do we cope when the going gets tough? In new podcast series The Upside, Scotty Stevenson sits down with well-known New Zealanders as they share their personal mental health journeys.
Four-time Olympic medallist Dame Valerie Adams is one of New Zealand’s biggest names in athletics. Among her many achievements, she counts her children Kimoana and Kepaleli as her biggest blessings.
“I wake up every day and do what I do for my kids,” she tells The Upside host Scotty Stevenson.
“My mother lost her life when she was 39 years old,” she shares. “I want to keep living, I want to keep doing what I do... [I’m] now the example for my own children and I want to be able to live for them.”
How to know which fungi are safe and which to avoid in NZ
A Kiwi woman’s death has sparked concern across New Zealand and the world after she died drinking a possibly toxic mushroom beverage at an Australian wellness retreat. Now, with an increased interest - and increased fear - of fungi, experts are sharing all the facts about mushroom consumption and the safest practices when foraging for the favoured fungi.
In Aotearoa, the National Poisons Centre warns people against eating wild mushrooms. However, for many Kiwis, foraging for food is a way of life.
Sharn Steadman, an expert on the matter, doesn’t think fungi should be viewed as a threat, reminding us that humans are “more closely related to mushrooms than plants”.
What are New Zealand’s longest-running food brands
Is a barbecue even a barbecue if there’s no Wattie’s Tomato Sauce? And who hasn’t pried apart a Shrewsbury biscuit to get at that prized strawberry filling or dunked a Gingernut in a cup of tea? With so many of these pantry staples part of Kiwi kitchens, it’s easy to forget many of them are older than us.
New Zealand boasts several longstanding food brands that have been cherished for generations. Some of the longest-running and most iconic food brands in New Zealand are embedded into our Kiwi consciousness – and many of the decades-old advertising jingles still known by heart today. We take a look at some of our longest-running food brands for a bite of nostalgia.