CATEGORIES

Reality bytes

For star Simon Pegg, The Undeclared War is a frightening vision of the times we live in, and a story with a strong family connection.

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Layers of industrial action

Mud, mud, mud. I slog out to the coop to let the chooks out. Mud. I trudge into a paddock to give my sheep Xanthe her supplementary feed. Mud.

Grace & favour

A controversial South Korean doomsday sect has had a warm welcome in Fiji, where it now has significant business interests.

A chilly reception

Did Māori reach Antarctic waters centuries before Europeans? Opposing views on the issue have reignited the debate over mātauranga and “Western” scholarship.

The ties that bind

Adoption law is in for a major overhaul but some argue the reforms still don’t go far enough in freeing up information or helping heal old wounds.

Mutual exploitation

The government needs to make it easier for immigrant nurses to gain residency, so they can relieve the pressure on our understaffed hospitals.

Familiarity breeds consent

REALITY CHECK

Child's best friend

Assistance dogs are transforming the lives of children with autism and bringing peace of mind to their families.

Read the label

A vegan or vegetarian diet won't guarantee better health, but attention to detail should bring benefits.

State of origin

Archaeology continues to turn up fossil evidence that humans may not have evolved only on Africa's savannahs.

Human virtues

The values-based philosophy of the Stoics of ancient Greece has influenced many modern psychological therapies.

The plot thickens

She's been a teen stowaway, a prostitute, and a GP. So it's not entirely surprising that Lauren Roche has now turned to fiction writing, in the latest chapter of her extraordinary life.

This is your captain speaking

In this extract from Blue Blood, political reporter ANDREA VANCE charts the rise of Christopher Luxon to National's top job.

Revisionist trap

The West's obsession with atoning for past sins gives cover to human rights abusers and authoritarian regimes, a British author argues.

Enter Sandman

Neil Gaiman's breakthrough comic series finally arrives on screen, leading a wave of fantasy epics headed to television.

Blue blood-letting

A new book on the National Party's post-Key era lays bare its inner turmoil of the past six years.

Catching a killer

Police have new evidence and a fresh theory about who might have killed Kirsty Bentley in 1998. CHRIS COOKE puts one of our best-known cold cases back in the spotlight.

The seeds of disaster

The real purpose of disinformation is to create a more hostile society, where difference is negotiated violently.

We’re not Boomers, okay?

My first year at school was the last year of the milk.

Spoiled for arts choices

Berlin has city councillors for all the usual things: transport, environment, rubbish.

Divided we fail

Much-needed reform of our water infrastructure is being stymied by mistrust and racist fearmongering

Raising our money smarts

Financial high-flyer Sam Stubbs is on a mission to help more Kiwis learn how to build wealth.

The ghost in the machine

Artificial intelligence is advancing so quickly that sentient systems may be possible in a decade or two.

Don’t hold your breath

There are times when you think the only way to avoid infection or reinfection from Covid-19 is simply to stop breathing. That is probably a bit drastic and entirely self-defeating, as those lungs of yours need to keep working or you will wind up dead.

Wanted: doctors & nurses

It was not especially surprising when Minister of Health Andrew Little recently resisted using the word “crisis” about the present condition of the health system. Governments are traditionally reluctant to acknowledge the c-word on their watch, even when everyone else is saying it.

Price of a ticket

As Sydney shivered through flooding this month, Jacinda Ardern was a sunny presence amid the grey days alongside her grim-faced counterpart, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Counting the cost

Climate Change Commission chair Rod Carr says we cannot afford any more delays in pricing agricultural emissions.

Fuming fun

To help deal with unwanted emotions, the odd swear word works well, but so does a good dose of dramatic theatre.

Raging over hormones

The fierce debate on whether menopause is being over-medicalised and overtreated is not set to die down any time soon.