Danyl McLauchlan: Can Opportunity provide a real alternative for voters?

Could Opportunity break the 30-year cycle where voters vote, then NZ First picks the govt?

Chris Slane’s political cartoon of the week

Chris Slane on the week in politics.

Greg Dixon’s Another Kind of Politics: Punch the monkey sends Luxon message of support

Greg Dixon casts a satirical eye over the week in local and international politics.

All pitch, no policy: Danyl McLauchlan on why political PR trumps investment

Fondness for managing the message has obscured NZ's failures in infrastructure for years.

Solar power is the world’s cheapest source of energy, so why aren’t we using it?

The government lacks policy for climate action that could lower the cost of living.

Duncan Garner: Record electricity prices and profits should remind MPs people have the power

When essential services produce windfall profits in a downturn, something feels wrong.

Charlotte Grimshaw: The broadcasters of Pod Save America visit Auckland

Politics in their country is now beyond a joke.

For Māori, the 'science' and 'evidence' being applied to our education system is not fit for purpose

Erica Stanford cites brain science; what about trauma’s deep imprint on young minds?

Designs for life: Architect Pip Cheshire’s visionary legacy

Pip Cheshire designed striking & groundbreaking buildings not defined by signature style.

Ancient slippery soil may underlie the Mt Maunganui/Mauao landslide

Tauranga region has particularly problematic ancient soil that can act like greasy liquid.

Rattling our dags: The enduring appeal of Country Calendar

Is it authenticity or gentle myth-making that’s been the secret to its eternal success?

Steven Braunias: I was searching for a hangover cure, I ended up climbing Auckland's volcanoes

I thought of clean air, altitude, something rising above woe and alcohol.

Rise in ADHD diagnoses brings surge in overdoses of meds prescribed for it

Both accidental and deliberate overdoses are on the rise.

Protein boosting is a craze, but how much do you really need?

Protein is the new darling of marketers & influencers, who might be right about this trend

When breast cancer strikes men: ‘I want to get the message out there that men can get breast cancer’

A Kiwi bloke shares his story of an unexpected cancer diagnosis.

Why piling supplements on top of an already balanced diet can be risky

Serious side effects can result from excessive vitamin consumption.

The Good Life: The eye of the tiger

Come one, come all to Marilen’s Mouldy Museum of Manky Things.

Steven Braunias: I was searching for a hangover cure, I ended up climbing Auckland's volcanoes

I thought of clean air, altitude, something rising above woe and alcohol.

Bittersweet: Bake Off’s Edd Kimber’s love letter to chocolate

Indulge in three recipes from The Great British Bake Off's inaugural winner.

Bumper weekend wine guide: Wines made from rarer grape varieties are worth seeking out

Top picks to try this weekend.

The Nukes Dave Parker on the $100 prize that changed his life, football, and his favourite ukulele

Cultural attaché Dave Parker: Musician, educator and children’s performer.

The Scottish plié : How the Royal NZ Ballet is reimagining Shakespeare’s Macbeth

Scottish nobles and witches become politicians and influencers in modern-day dance piece.

Out of frame: What stories do art works from colonial times tell?

The Art of Colonisation finds interpreting these images is far from straightforward.

Composer’s rendering of Māori love story is revisited in a concert of greats

The legend of Hinemoa inspires NZ composer's "beautiful and evocative" music.

Dammit, Janet: This Rocky Horror Show is astounding

Time is fleeting - and this is a musical celebration you don't want to miss.

Listener’s March Viewing Guide: Harry Styles’ new album live in concert, Nicole Kidman’s Scarpetta, Robyn Malcolm’s bankrobber drama, and more

Your definitive directory to the latest shows on NZ tv and local streamers.

Life of the Pati: Behind the revealing Sol3 Mio bros opera doco – and how hard is it to sing Nessum Dorma, really?

Films follow the tenors' paths from singing in resthome to the world's great opera houses.

Listener’s Songs of the Week: New tracks by Raye, The Veils, Reb Fountain, Kneecap, Gorillaz and more

New and intriguing tracks selected by Listener magazine writers.

Two taut thrillers pit women against sinister forces and strained relationships

Michele Hewitson reviews two new thriller books to keep readers turning the pages.

Charlotte Grimshaw’s latest novel recalls her excoriating 2021 memoir

This is a book soaked in therapeutic language, the language of damage, shame and recovery.

Nicholas Reid reviews three quite different new poetry collections

New collections from established and emerging local poets.

Top 10 bestselling New Zealand books: February 28

The local books we've been buying this week.

Cop-turned-novelist writes handbook on police procedures out of frustration over common crime-writer mistakes

How to write a crime novel that rings true - and the most common mistakes writers make.

Milk, Madness and Mayhem: The Ruahine Triple Axe Murders

Was it an act of temporary, alcohol-induced madness? Or plain bloody murder?

The Listener 2025 collection: Our most popular crime writing

From contemporary court cases to historic murders, 2025's best read crime stories.

Steve Braunias on the sentencing of the mother responsible for the ‘suitcase murders’

Mercy for Hakyung Lee was bartered for at sentencing.

Democracy needs armed forces, but young Germans will take a lot more convincing

With increased Russian aggression and US untrustworthiness, Germany needs more soldiers.

Apocalypse how: A field guide to the end of the world as the doomsday clock ticks forward

When’s the apocalypse coming, and what are the six likeliest ways it's going to kill us?

The political divide over the future of Bondi’s bridge

The bridge at the centre of the Bondi massacre is the latest subject of debate.

Was Renee Good’s death the result of senseless violence or an outcome of domestic terrorism?

Why your “moral language” will determine how you answer this question.

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See the world anew when science, art and nature converge in Te Papa’s Breathe | Mauri Ora

Te Papa’s new experience is at the cutting edge of technology and immersive art practice.

This Titirangi home was transformed into a functional family home

A mid-century Auckland home is reconfigured to make it more functional for a young family