NZ Election Study data suggests voters, over time, are behaving more like reef fish

Even with a volatile voting history, uncommitted Kiwi's vote in sync according to mood.

The five tribes Kiwi voters fall into: Which one are you – and how will politicians battle for your vote?

Danyl McLauchlan on Aotearoa's political tribes, and how their whims decide who governs.

Danyl McLauchlan: As the US and Israel go to war in the Middle East, history repeats

The govt's stance is to change nothing & hope radical change all around NZ passes us by.

Anthony Ellison’s cartoon of the week

Anthony Ellison shares his perspective on current events.

Charlotte Grimshaw: On being labelled mad

Frequently in the last few years, I have been labelled unstable, delusional, incoherent.

Law changes fail to address one of our most glaring mental health inequities

Community treatment orders are at odds with NZ’s international treaty obligations.

Aaron Smale: It’s election year and Winston Peters is already playing the race card

Peters has his lines rehearsed so well he can virtually recite them in his sleep.

Judging a judge: Steve Braunias on the historic hearing into the curious case of Judge Ema Aitken

The two-week inquisition made legal and constitutional history: a judge on trial.

Widow’s peak: The fatal attraction of Taranaki Maunga

The Instagram symmetry of Taranaki Maunga is luring unwary climbers into trouble.

Listener weekly quiz: March 11

Test your general knowledge with the Listener’s weekly quiz.

Listener weekly quiz: March 4

Test your general knowledge with the Listener’s weekly quiz.

Designs for life: Architect Pip Cheshire’s visionary legacy

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

Law changes fail to address one of our most glaring mental health inequities

Community treatment orders are at odds with NZ’s international treaty obligations.

Are plant-based teabags really plastic-free?

Many teabag manufacturers abandoned petroleum-based plastics but plastic remains an issue?

Stress tests: What we can learn from elite athletes

Stress helps to energise us, but too much of it can dash our sporting dreams.

Abdominal aortic aneurysm survivor: ‘Hundreds of NZers deserve the chance at a future that I've been given’

After nearly dying of a little-known killer, Chris O’Brien calls for national screening.

Trail blazers: How charting the sea became lines of desire

It took a stagecoach accident to spur the charting of paths across the high seas.

The Good Life: The case of a dastardly kidnapping must be solved

The only upside of this year's dreadful summer is being able to play detective.

Seoul food: Hot favourites from Korean restaurateur Kenny Yong-soo Son

Three recipes to ease you into cooler autumn weather.

Weekend wine guide: Te Mata’s horizons have been expanding for more than a century

The internationally renowned winery has taken advantage of its prime location.

Triumph of spirit: The dance masterpiece Gloria returns

For the first time since Douglas Wright's death, Gloria is being staged in Aotearoa.

Is the ballet lost or won?: Our reviewers’ verdicts on Macbeth, the RNZB’s epic new production

How did the ambitious new production fare with our coven of critics?

Opera director Daisy Evans on why she gave Bartók’s Judith dementia

A modern spin on Bartók’s famous opera may well generate a few tears.

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 Testament of Ann Lee transcends average biopic to reach near-ecstatic levels of thrill & fascination

The story of a cult-like Christian movement is spellbinding.

Outlander star Caitríona Balfe on her final highland fling - and her role in the Ed Hillary-Sherpa Tenzing movie

Outlander has taken Caitríona Balfe from lassie in love to granny of the revolution.

Listener’s Songs of the Week: New tracks from Aldous Harding, Harry Styles, Al Green, Teeks ... and the ghost of Lou Reed

New and intriguing tracks from writers at the NZ Listener magazine.

Doco on Samoan singing siblings the Pati brothers hits a high note

The doco goes from the Pati brothers' roots in Samoa to life after Sol3 Mio's success.

Jacinda Ardern to join Booker winners David Szalay, Yann Martel, Roddy Doyle, Ian McEwan, and Slow Horses creator Mick Herron at Auckland Writers Festival: What you need to see

Other names in AWF 2026 mix include Maggie O’Farrell, Helen Garner, Rebecca Kuang.

Book of the day: On Liberalism - In Defense of Freedom by Cass Sunstein

Legal scholar offers a hopeful but flawed argument for liberalism in the face of populism.

Book of the day: Hagtale: A Macbeth origin story by Sally O’Reilly

Fast and spare fairytale reimagining of the Macbeth story holds the reader’s attention.

Book of the day: The Final Problem by Arturo Pérez-Reverte

Spanish author brings a metafictional flourish to his homage to Conan Doyle.

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