1. Politics: There’s impetus for New Zealand to build on past successes as a peacemaker in international conflicts – and our superpower as a peacebroker is commonly understood to be our Maori heritage. Andrew Ladley, an international consultant on conflict issues, says the use of tikanga Maori in resolving conflict in Bougainville in the 1990s proved invaluable. You can read more here.
2. Health: Research into a lesser-known cannabinoid (cannabinol) shows it significantly improves sleep. In the US, CBN products are already being marketed for sleep. Nicky Pellegrino looks at what’s happening in New Zealand.
3. Life: New Zealand returned a record low fertility rate last year of 1.56 births per woman (56,995 live births) down from 1.66 in 2022. The replacement rate needed to maintain the current population is 2.1. While the world is edging closer to a population of 10 billion, statistics like ours are behind the argument of pro-natalists that the birth rate must increase to avert economic ruin. Andrew Anthony spoke to British demographer Paul Morland about the issue.
4. Growing a beard or moustache has long indicated greater sexual maturity and manliness, but a study out of Poland proposes an altogether different reason: That some of the time, facial hair is something men do to compensate for their concerns about not living up to male gender role expectations. Marc Wilson weighs the evidence.
5. Food & drink: The size of the roasting tin used for chicken, turkey, ham or meats is important. Too big and you risk being left with scorched and burnt pan juices; too snug and those juices won’t evaporate quickly enough to thicken and flavour to develop. We guarantee Julie Buiso’s recipes look too good not to try.
6. You could be eating more Turkish, Greek, Argentinian, Portuguese, Swiss and Southern states US food in 2025. They’re picked to be big next year, along with cold brew coffee, dirty sodas, gluten-free eateries and – fingers crossed – cheaper olive oil. Here’s more.
7. Perhaps not a huge surprise, but Chelsea Winter’s latest cookbook Tasty is the biggest selling cookbook in New Zealand this year beating internationals like Yotam Ottolenghi and Jamie Oliver. The good old Edmonds Cookery Book still holds onto a place in top 20 cookbooks of 2024. You can see the full top 20 list here.
8. International travel can expose us to many new and unique foods and that increases our attention to and interest in food, which, in turn, can lead to trying a lot of different dishes. But that greater variety of flavours naturally stimulates our appetites so we end up eating more than normal, researchers have found. Jennifer Bowden shares top tips for eating well while travelling.
9. Books: According to one international booksellers study out this year, 40% of New Zealanders rate reading as a hobby, higher than 18 other countries in the survey, which averaged 34%. See how book sales fared in 2024 here.
10. Opinion: A poll shows Britons want the royal family to talk more about social issues but, writes Listener columnist Jane Clifton, few things aggravate the populace more than wealthy aristocrats banging on about conservation, the planet and mental health.
