CATEGORIES

The Crown Jewel

Level-headed Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, is increasingly indispensable, as the royal family faces perhaps its toughest time in decades. Her calm, conciliatory approach is soothing fractured royal relationships, says William Langley, as she shoulders an ever-heavier workload and enjoys a new closeness with the Queen.

When Darkness Falls

Depression had followed Wendyl Nissen through her life, and in a bid to keep it at bay, she resolved to make a massive change. But living a simpler, less stressful life wasn’t going to be straightforward. In this deeply moving account, she talks about the loss of her baby daughter, battling perfectionism and finding her way out of the shadows.

Road To Recovery

It’s fair to say 2019 was an awful year for chef Michael Van de Elzen and his wife Belinda – cancer treatment, a motorbike crash and a host of family health crises – but Emma Clifton finds things are looking rosier now as their cook school and its flourishing garden take off and they can finally enjoy their country idyll.

Covid-19: Spread The Word

The epidemic of novel coronavirus (Covid-19) has confronted the world with a new public health challenge on a global scale. Professor Kerryn Phelps explains why it is a familiar story of mobilising responses to an infectious disease with no known cure.

Allergy Alert

With deteriorating air quality indoors and out, allergies are not just a spring thing.

There's Something About MAGDA

The comedienne extraordinaire, award-winning memoirist, equality activist and now children’s book author, Magda Szubanski, never stops evolving, and as she contemplates 60, she couldn’t be happier, she tells Juliet Rieden.

Julie Walters The Great Dame

Dame Julie Walters kept her cancer diagnosis quiet, because she didn’t want to make a fuss. Now, Emma Clifton finds the famously mischievous 70-year-old is wondering if this latest movie will be her last, as she looks back on her most memorable roles and talks about loving the anonymity of life on her organic sheep farm.

Truth be told

It’s hard to get a word in edgeways when these much-loved Kiwi actors get together. They chat to Nicky Pellegrino about the movie project that fast-tracked their friendship, the reality of menopause, the heartbreak of losing a parent and how in their 50s they finally feel relaxed about how they look.

Courage under fire

When trouble looms, Dr Megan Woods is often called upon to sort it out. The cabinet minister talks about surviving crazy hours (but still finding time for cricket), how she’s learned to worry less about cruel comments, and why she believes Christchurch is finally on the mend.

Dolly Parton - Beyond Compare

She’s the dirt-poor Tennessee girl with big dreams who became a global sensation. As Dolly Parton’s 9 to 5 The Musical undergoes a revival, she talks to Juliet Rieden about love, ambition and not having children.

Becoming Kate

Inspired by a fabulously free childhood, Kate Sylvester has gone from making beaded sneakers as a teen to global success in the fashion world. Now life’s entering a new phase, as she deals with the loss of her father, watches her three sons forge their own creative paths and works to make the Kiwi fashion industry more sustainable.

From Heartbreak To Hope

Four months after fire tore through the beautiful Clarence Valley, Susan Chenery finds a close-knit community offering each other hope and slowly healing and rebuilding together.

The Love & Loss That Drives Me

Renee Wright’s life is full to bursting. The TV presenter and mother of three talks openly to Emma Clifton about why she values the honesty of other mums, what she’s learned about helping children cope with loss, and her overwhelming love and gratitude for her thriving family.

Turning 60 Is Rather Fabulous

Dame Kristin Scott Thomas is known for playing frosty, posh Brits but behind the aristocratic cheekbones, Louise Gannon meets the real KST, who learned her craft in France, loves babies and laughing, and refuses to reveal the name of the lady who keeps her skin so radiant.

Harry's Leap Of Faith

After months of talks, neither Prince Harry nor Her Majesty got what they wanted. Inspired by his mother, Harry followed his heart, but where does this leave the monarchy? Juliet Rieden unpicks an unprecedented royal split.

FROM HEARTBREAK TO HOPE

Four months after fire tore through the beautiful Clarence Valley, Susan Chenery finds a close-knit community offering each other hope and slowly healing and rebuilding together.

We're going to the chapel

History, romance and the glamour of Buckingham Palace gardens are in store when the Queen hosts her granddaughter for an exclusive family wedding in May, writes Juliet Rieden.

The real life of The Casketeers

The gently humorous and compassionate approach of a pair of Kiwi funeral directors saw their TV series The Casketeers go global. They tell Emma Clifton about their new book, how seeing so much tragedy made them fear for their own children’s safety, and why they’re happy New Zealanders are finding it easier to talk about death.

THE MAKING OF A MURDERESS

Six months after being jailed for murdering her ex-boyfriend, Robyn Lindholm was charged with murder again. Genevieve Gannon asks: is this killer the deadliest woman in Australia?

The power of forgiveness

A drunk driver put Farid Ahmed in a wheelchair, then his adored wife died in the Christchurch mosque tragedy, but nothing has shaken his extraordinary ability to forgive. He tells Emma Clifton about finding a way forward after March 15.

The long road to recovery

As the fires subside, the real work begins. Genevieve Gannon looks at the efforts to help the land recover.

Trap for young players

Lynda Hallinan puts down her fly spray can and pots up carnivorous plants for pest control.

OPRAH bares her SOUL

Oprah’s remarkable career is built on her uncanny ability to get others to open up, but her own inner life has been something of a mystery, says William Langley. Now a marathon US tour and a new mental health documentary series with Prince Harry promise to reveal more about what makes the superstar tick.

Keep a lid on it

It’s easy for your wine consumption to sneak up on you. Jo’s a party gal at heart, but she knows she can have fun without a glass in her hand.

State of GRACE

It was once a fairytale principality, replete with its own movie star princess, but in recent years Monaco’s air of shiny, untroubled glamour has begun to tarnish. William Langley travels to the “Pink Palace” to find a surprising new generation of royals who just might hold the key to Monaco’s reinvention.

It takes a village

A bold experiment in inter-generational living sees students living with the elderly in a retirement village. And Jenny Brown finds it’s enriching the lives of young and old alike.

School of love

Bringing a baby into the classroom helps Kiwi kids learn to manage their own emotions and understand how others feel. Emma Clifton watches the Roots of Empathy programme in action and finds out about its powerful impact.

Finding the LIGHT

Kimberley Crossman’s crazily busy international career looks like every actor’s dream. But she opens up to Emma Clifton about the flipside – depression, her therapy journey and facing her fears to launch a new mental health podcast.

Happy in her own skin

Paula Bennett has always loved her body, both big and small. She reveals to Emma Clifton how her 50kg weight loss hasn’t changed how she feels on the inside, why liking yourself is a powerful, life-changing thing… and why you might even spot her wearing a wig!

All in the family

Downsizing to a townhouse to be closer to relatives was a welcome challenge for an interior designer, her husband and teenage children, writes Tamarah Pienaar.