New Zealand Listener - July 6-12 2024

In this issue

The winter books special. Read all about it: the best books of the year (so far), Maori authors go global, mad, bad and dangerous: the case for fiction that challenges
International rescue, on board with an NGO saving refugee lives at sea
Pasifika plates, is this the next mediterranean diet?

Ferrari fixation

Gold-plated designs, bad management and inevitable cost blowouts continue to define our infrastructure spending.

4 mins

Generating chaos

Just when we thought Australia's years of climate wars were over amid fresh seas of solar and wind farms, would-be prime minister Peter Dutton has gone nuclear.

2 mins

Relax, it's even more grim up north

There is a resonance to the timing of the British general election campaign, overlapping as it does with the European Football Championship. At the time of writing, it remains possible that Sir Keir Starmer will enjoy the blessings of an England win in the Euros and a Bank of England interest rate cut in his first fortnight as prime minister. The former is less likely than the latter.

2 mins

Jailhouse bloc

Kissing babies and posing for selfies may still be effective in tickling up voters, but Europe's recent elections reveal a suite of counterintuitive new strategies.

2 mins

In the chill zone

We're only halfway through the year, but already a collection of great yarns, absorbing literature, brilliant memoirs and big ideas have grabbed our undivided attention. Books editor Mark Broatch surveys some of the best.

6 mins

Stuff of fantasy

They may not win critical plaudits and they might fly under our radars, but a growing number of NZ genre fiction writers are in huge demand internationally.

10 mins

Worth the mahi

Maori writers are riding a wave of international demand for stories from indigenous people, and it’s encouraging a shift in attitude from the authors themselves.

9 mins

Welcome to the danger zone

Young minds are increasingly being sheltered from \"dangerous\" fiction, especially in the US where many states are banning books for their sexual content. Surely, writes Kirsty Gunn, reading such texts makes us think.

9 mins

Defining priorities

Sir Peter Gluckman, leading a once-in-a-generation review of science and universities, says significant change is on the cards - if he gets his way.

8 mins

'You were salvation'

A repurposed supply vessel provides a lifeline to migrants who risk their lives to cross the Mediterranean in a desperate bid for a new life.

4 mins

Artist of high standing

Waiheke Island sculptor Anton Forde talks about creating the largest contemporary pou installation of his career.

5 mins

Calling on the muse

Kiwi journalist Garth Cartwright recalls his audience with the late Françoise Hardy in Paris.

4 mins

Come dancing

Albums from Anna Coddington and Peggy Gou are smart and sassy. Bonny Light Horseman leans on heartache.

2 mins

Time to rewind

A leaner NZ International Film Festival programme still offers promising local debuts and some art cinema classics.

4 mins

Now for the news

How will Stuff's take on broadcast news match up to its polished predecessor?

3 mins

Culture club

Whether you make yoghurt at home with your own starter or buy a commercial brand, the health benefits remain roughly the same.

4 mins

Give and take

We're likely to reciprocate if someone's nice to us unexpectedly.

3 mins

A moral panic

America's top doctor wants smoking-style warning labels for social media platforms.

2 mins

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New Zealand Listener Magazine Description:

The New Zealand Listener is New Zealand’s highest-selling and best-read current affairs magazine. Each week the Listener brings you the latest commentary and insight from award-winning writers and columnists.
An energising read, full of witty insight and award-winning investigative journalism, this is the magazine that has been setting New Zealand’s agenda since 1939.