Danyl McLauchlan: The grand and urgent political project that’s going begging

With an outlook of dwindling fuel supplies, govt is forced to abandon reliance on markets.

Waning trust, the rise of populism, AI: An economist on finding answers to the challenges of our time

Our choices, what we tolerate, invest in & allow to erode will decide the future.

Danyl McLauchlan: NZ First reads the room over gentailers

After decades of borrowing, the govt has few levers to pull to stave off economic shock.

Danyl McLauchlan on National’s latest poor polling results

The poor poll may reflect the government’s failure to hit most of its economic targets.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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?

Book of the day: Against the Machine: On the Unmaking of Humanity by Paul Kingsnorth

An activist’s visionary new work urges a return to ancient thinking on people and place.

Danyl McLauchlan: There are pathways to government for Labour but will it be in any shape to govern?

Voters want to know if Labour has a viable plan to fix the economy or if it's all talk.

Rational madness: Danyl McLauchlan on the coalition’s climate policies

NZ's reputation is on the line as our leaders apply game theory to climate policies.

As Erica Stanford defends her rapid reforms in our schools, critics say they’re too experimental. Who’s right?

Are Kiwi kids really being used as guinea pigs in a dangerous political experiment?

Danyl McLauchlan: Trouble for Winston Peters as Kiwi workers wake up to his party’s limitations

Winston Peters may find himself in dangerous waters in 2026.

Danyl McLauchlan: Between austerity and orthodoxy, NZ’s left goes quiet

A stoush between competing economic theories is doing little to help balance NZ's books.

Danyl McLauchlan’s annual awards for political bravery & buffoonery

Who deserves the top gongs in the Listener’s 2025 political awards?

Danyl McLauchlan on the highs and lows of the year for the coalition govt

The coalition continues to wrestle with reforms but struggles to entice voters.

Listener special report: How the global rise of radical conservatism is reshaping gender battles

The new battle of the sexes: Hypermasculinity vs dissident feminism.

Listener special report: The global rise of radical conservatism

The sometimes terrifying ideas driving populist, right-wing sentiment across the globe.

Danyl McLauchlan: As pre-election jousting begins, MPs finally focus on things that matter

It's early in 2026's unofficial election campaign but it's already more serious than 2023.

Danyl McLauchlan: Can NZ really have a ‘mature’ conversation on asset sales?

As election year looms, National is looking for ways to pay for its inevitable promises.

Danyl McLauchlan: The rot at the top of the NZ Police

The country’s trust in the police has been shaken by scandal after scandal.

Danyl McLauchlan on what the Nats and Labour need to fix to win in ‘26

Labour’s polling resurgence mirrors Nat’s decline, but suitors’ fortunes cloud predictions

Latest unauthorised Jacinda Ardern bio: Book of revelations – or sustained conservative attack?

Even-handed account probably closest to the Ardern story most of NZ already tells itself.

Danyl McLauchlan: Labour fires first salvo in battle for swing voters

What Labour's Capital Gains Tax really aims for - and how it backs National into a corner.

The new drug smuggling tool of choice

Drug trafficking threatens to overwhelm the Pacific, but our govt is playing catch-up.

Organised crime and drug trafficking surge in the Pacific – are we in danger of becoming a narco-region?

Drug trafficking threatens to overwhelm the Pacific, but our govt is playing catch-up.

Danyl McLauchlan: Labour breaks the mould with policy for progress, not perks for swing voters

Labour’s economic development, not tax, focus as first election promise is a shrewd move.

End game? Why super smart AI might doom humanity

We hugely underestimate AI and human extinction is a serious threat, say two researchers.

Ready to govern? Danyl McLauchlan on what Te Pāti Māori really wants from politics

Who runs Te Pāti Māori? The leaders? The party president? Or each electorate MP?

PM Christopher Luxon seemingly transmutes political gold into sh*t

PM seemingly fluffs the coalition’s beneficiary-bashing surefire vote winner.