
Are seed oils really harming our health and causing colorectal cancer?
Long thought to be healthy, seed oils are now being linked to cancer and inflammation.

He made it big in the dotcom era, now he’s making music for Ukraine
NZ software engineer turns composer to write a symphony for Ukraine.
Politics

Greg Dixon’s Another Kind of Politics: Does “Marmite” Luxon just hate the poor?
Let them eat...marmite sandwiches! Luxon's response to school lunch debacle is tone deaf.

Danyl McLauchlan: Why Donald Trump is shunning Europe - and what it means for NZ
China and the US send ominous signals that NZ can no longer rest on soft-power laurels.

Chris Slane’s cartoon of the week
Chris Slane shares his perspective on the week in politics.
Opinion

Jane Clifton: Eurovision might be the ultimate foreign policy test for Trump and Putin
Politics meets pop in the venerable annual song contest.

Aaron Smale: We can’t afford to fail Māori children
The need to improve Māori educational outcomes is even more vital given demographic trends

The shame game: The legal lines of public humiliation
David Harvey: One must be very careful in mounting an online shaming campaign or exposé.
New Zealand

From Paralympic hero to CEO: Dan Buckingham on life, disability and 'inspiration porn'
Don’t mention “super-crip” to TV boss Dan Buckingham.

NZ’s top cop on the crime he’ll never forget
"Investigating crimes against children has been the hardest part of my career."

Bold picks for Ockham NZ Book Awards’ short list
The Ockham NZ Books Awards short list is out. Who's in the running for the big prizes?
Enterprise & Tech
Health

Are seed oils really harming our health and causing colorectal cancer?
Long thought to be healthy, seed oils are now being linked to cancer and inflammation.

New research: Fat cells’ secret powers may unlock better obesity and diabetes solutions
Our understanding of the role of body fat has taken a leap forward.

New dementia research: How viral illnesses can damage future brain health
Could the brain’s response to common viruses sow the seeds for dementia?
Life

Weekend wine guide: Te Mata Estate bounces back after Cyclone Gabrielle devastation
Painstaking work has allowed Te Mata to harvest its finest cabernet sauvignon.

No regrets: Richard Dawkins on science, culture wars and his legacy
Evolutionary biologist has made his swansong tour but he’s not yet ready to make his peace

The Good Life: Beauty burns
Why would someone want to burn such beauty as St Patrick’s Catholic Church to the ground?
Culture

Artist Dick Frizzell on aspirations, obsessions & guilty pleasures
Dick Frizzell once dreamt of a hairdressing salon with a fountain, then he discovered art.

He made it big in the dotcom era, now he’s making music for Ukraine
NZ software engineer turns composer to write a symphony for Ukraine.

From takeaway bars to beach cleanups: Iconic NZ poster gets a makeover to tackle plastic pollution
Classic takeaway shop poster inspires new wave of Kiwi creativity - and cleaner beaches.
Entertainment

Mythic adventure awaits: Secrets at Red Rocks could be NZ’s next kidult sensation
Māori myths and magic unfold in Racheal King's Secrets at Red Rock.

New Chills album is Martin Phillipps’ last gift of spirited indie rock
A posthumous release of previously unrecorded songs from The Chills’ frontman is joyous.

Listener’s Songs of the Week: New Tracks by Little Simz, Burna Boy, Who Shot Scott and more
Listen to the best of this week's new releases - selected by the Listener team.
Books

Book of the day: Letters from the Ginza Shihodo Statinery Shop by Kenji Ueda
Customers are encouraged to tell their stories in a welcoming Tokyo stationery shop.

Book of the day: Twist by Colum McCann
Ambitious novel exploring modern calamity loses its way in the telling.

No regrets: Richard Dawkins on science, culture wars and his legacy
Evolutionary biologist has made his swansong tour but he’s not yet ready to make his peace
Crime

NZ’s top cop on the crime he’ll never forget
"Investigating crimes against children has been the hardest part of my career."

Lights, camera and bare-faced lies: The Canadian who fooled NZ
A fake résumé secured him a top job — until a tenacious reporter got suspicious.

Rehabilitation advocates on why tough-on-crime policies won’t cut reoffending
Tipping the scales II: How restorative justice works for each side.
World

Jane Clifton: Scotland’s peculiar perverse cat problem
Europe’s growing practice of reintroducing fauna strikes wild issues.

How one speech turned the tide in Germany’s election
All eyes were on the far-right AfD party, but a smaller political force gathered steam.

Charlotte Grimshaw: When caring is ‘woke’
In 2025, the world has a new vibe: Trump is conducting real estate foreign policy.
Sponsored Stories

10 things we learnt from listener.co.nz stories this week
Peacekeeping, population and why cannabis could cure insomnia.

10 things we learnt from listener.co.nz stories this week
The former PM who helped solve a violent crime to 11 words to say before you die.

10 things we learnt from listener.co.nz stories this week
From politics to entertainment & books, points worth noting from our most recent stories.