Who's behind bars

Two top British prison dramas return for another lag.

Starting afresh

New releases from Mermaidens and Grayson Gilmour impress.

A bigger bang

The War on Drugs keeps growing in size and audience appeal.

Going to town

Our biggest arts festivals have announced their line-ups for 2024. The events' creative directors talk about how they've put their own stamp on their programmes and life after Covid.

Future imperfect

The Power author delivers busy, confusing, fun read.

Believe in the wolves

Uneven but highly readable novel ponders the randomness of life.

Hail to the chiefs

Historian Mary Beard draws on ancient sources and educated guesswork to define what it took to be a Caesar.

On the run

Health and environmental concerns spell curtains for some waterproof mascara and other cosmetics.

Bird's-eye view

Booker longlisted Anna Smaill’s second novel explores the gaps between the reality we build for ourselves and who we really are.

In from the cold

It is 34 years since the Berlin Wall fell. For Dunedin author Philip Temple, going behind the Iron Curtain was like entering a time warp.

Supplementary evidence

Kiwis are spending a fortune on supplements with little to go on and new rules allowing manufacturers to make evidence-based claims are at least three years away.

Poetic rage

Tusiata Avia’s new collection responds to the furore her award-winning last work belatedly ignited.

Playing the blame game

As various countries around the world go into Covid-management inquiry mode, it's worth remembering the useful things we learned from the crisis admittedly, most of them in the \"what not to do\" category.

Centre of rejection

The blessed suspension of political chatter ended the other day. For three weeks, the country appeared to run itself, no policy was enacted and even the factory that churns out Act Party press releases went quiet. I am willing to lay odds that a poll of New Zealanders would find we were quite keen on this state of affairs. Polling itself had also been retired, of course, and we liked that, too.

Watch and learn

Moree is a farming town on the black-soil plains 630km northwest of Sydney with an ugly past and an elegant presence in the weary struggle to reconcile Aboriginal and white Australia.

The ménage à trois

Expect a clenched-teeth consummation as two leaders with an acrimonious history attempt to be civil to each other, and the PM-elect plays Cupid.

The accent's off migrants

Kiwi English is a different linguistic beast and many new arrivals struggle to understand it.

Be afraid, very afraid

British historian explores how much fear has been - and will continue to be - a fundamental driver in society.

Hope for the best

Celebrated author continues her exploration of loneliness and loss in a novel set in pandemic times.

Ruling the roost

We have a new game at Lush Places. It's called Find the Egg. It takes two people and three chickens, and this is how you play: The game begins when one of your chickens - your lazy, greedy, crap-everywhere chicken - starts singing her \"I've laid a lovely egg!\" song. She will do this very loudly, so loudly you should expect noise complaints from neighbours.

Music to your ears

Songs can cut across cultural and language divides, a NZ study has found.

Risk management

Communication was key when explaining the pros and cons of a Covid vaccine.

Move your body

Ditch the cleaner and mop your own floors it could reduce your risk of getting cancer.

Take note

Birdsong is to the fore in the NZ String Quartet's latest offering.

Apocalypse then

Series highlights past catastrophes to warn about the future.

Di noon

How The Crown's final season navigates the minefield of Princess Diana's last months.

Alice in wonderland

Directing debut for Campion daughter shows initial promise then unravels.

Hits and misses on rights

There is one key arm of government that receives little attention come election time and that is the role of the Attorney-General.

Slice of life

There are two bountiful sources of news fodder without which the media would be left scratching to fill schedules: reports about the British royal family and reports from the latest scientific and academic research.

Chain reaction

October was the cruellest month, and November may get nastier. I receive an email from a relative that simply says, \"Gaza is unbearable.\"