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.

Anthony Ellison’s Cartoon of the Week

Anthony Ellison shares his perspective on the week in politics.

Greg Dixon’s Another Kind of Politics: “Great Helmsman” Luxon deserves bravery medal after using umbrella

Greg Dixon runs a satirical eye over local and international politics.

Danyl McLauchlan: Relentless government mediocrity could lead to the unthinkable - PM Winston Peters

Winston Peters as PM is still a long shot, but don’t the lead horses look exhausted?

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?

Former National MP: 'Political calls to withdraw from the Paris Agreement are a complete distraction'

Climate denialism is growing but we must stick with the principles of the Paris Agreement.

Last post for journalism: Weak reporting has helped normalise US corruption

Once people would have been prosecuted and jailed for acts that now go unreported.

Leah McFall: Foragers are irritating middle class thieves and don’t get me started on wild swimmers

Why foraging and wild swimming have got to be the world’s most pretentious hobbies.

Listener weekly quiz: February 25

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

Can putting non-teachers into struggling schools fix them?

Is Teach First NZ a game changer or a well-meaning Band-Aid?

Brown tides, big stinks and toxic beaches: Why our wastewater nightmare has just begun

The government is lowering standards for wastewater discharged to many waterways.

Nat Boltt’s Holy Days brings Joy Cowley back to NZ cinema and gets Miriam Margolyes to a nunnery

Riverdale star’s directing debut stars Miriam Margolyes, Judy Davis and Jacki Weaver.

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

Serious side effects can result from excessive vitamin consumption.

'Meno divorce' is a trending term, but it doesn’t have to be this way

Why men need to do their homework on menopause transitions.

Ageing becomes focus of more research as population gets older

Researchers focus on positives of ageing rather than deficits.

Genetic testing for all? As Australia weighs preventive DNA checks, should NZ follow its lead?

Publicly funded testing for high-risk genetic problems would save money as well as lives.

Has this Kiwi scientist conjured up a rational explanation for ghosts?

Haunting experiences cross time, place & culture. Are they spiritual or neurobiological?

Steve Braunias: The seasonal invading force returns south to Dunedin

Steve Braunias readies himself for year two at the University of Otago.

The young NZers stepping up in uncertain times: On how they stay hopeful and how those in power are doing

They're tackling global challenges and putting 'adults' on notice.

The Good Life: Lush Places’ old-age pensioners

Lush Places' two remaining hens show no signs of slowing down.

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.

NZTrio’s new cellist Matthias Balzat finds his rhythm

Matthias Balzat is looking forward to branching out with new colleagues.

Blues in the blood: Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram heads our way

Fresh from vampire film Sinners, Ingram plays Auckland's Powerstation on March 8.

After he was fab: Documentary captures Paul McCartney’s shaky start to his solo era

Man on the Run shows how McCartney’s comeback was a remarkable and hard-won second act.

Death of a festival: How Splore met its demise and why it had to end

The left-field music and arts festival that ran for nearly three decades has called time.

Wahine unmoored: Thrilling Māori horror hits the screens

Cultural colonisation is at the heart of gothic horror Mārama.

What two new books on the Whakaari White Island tragedy tell us about surviving the unthinkable

Books bring to centre stage concerns about our systems in such disasters.

Calling out autocracy when others don’t dare: Lauded journalist to visit Auckland

M Gessen on Trump, gender, death threats and why ICE killings in the US are state terror.

Sex & stilettoes: Racy 1980s’ genre gets a thorough academic appraisal

The Bonkbuster is a thorough exploration of an "under-appreciated" literary genre.

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

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

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