ORIGIN STORY

Novel explores the idea of an enigmatic \"genius\" artist who doesn't feel beholden to normal expectations of behaviour.

In fine detail

Illustrating 30 plants from the Qur'an was a way for renowned Waiheke botanical artist Sue Wickison to highlight their cultural history.

Kicking on

The naysayers were proved wrong as people turned out in their tens of thousands to support the Fifa Women's World Cup. How do we maintain the momentum?

Power rangers

Energy hardship is the new norm for an increasing number of stretched Kiwis. But a ground-breaking solar-panel trial could be the circuit breaker needed.

Learning from our mistakes

Cleared of murder, Alan Hall has just been awarded $5 million in compensation for wrongful conviction. But Phil Taylor argues flaws in the justice system remain unaddressed.

Prison time

In the ebb and flow of political cycles, the tide is now going out on effective justice reform and rehabilitation for young offenders.

If looks could kill

Back in the 1970s, children - and secretly lots of grown-ups - were transported by the future portrayed in television's The Six Million Dollar Man adventure series.

Fringe theatre

The Dog House is only a memory now, but for many years it was tucked into the northeast corner of Cathedral Square in Christchurch.

Trouble in waves

It's never been that easy to go for a swim in the city. Any day when temperatures rise over 25°C, frantic queues form outside each of Berlin's 11 public outdoor pools.

One big headache

All this talk of coalitions is giving too many politicians the chance to fl ex their alliterative muscles.

No stopping us now

We won’t save the environment by persecuting those people who are trying to protect it, argues Bruce Mahalski.

Kakāpo come home

Four vigorous young males are relocated from the deep south to Waikato.

Let's be honest

It may not seem like it, given the prevalence of scammers and con artists, but New Zealand is a high-trust country.

SCREEN TIME

A new self-test for cervical cancer may be a game changer in the fight against the deadly disease.

Envy of angels

Don McGlashan is this year's inductee into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame. Russell Baillie pays tribute to the songwriting great.

Changing your mind

A book that's ideal for the non-scientist who wants to know more about why an artistic experience moves them so much.

Portrait of a river

The story of trout fishing on the Tongariro is a tale rich with monster catches, celebrity anglers and culture clashes.

Guilt trip

The politics of post-Partition India may cost many lives in Vaseem Khan's new historical mystery.

CHARACTER BUILDING

Bringing Jane Halifax, one of our most iconic screen characters, to life in print was no easy feat.

Finding her voice

Influential British columnist Hadley Freeman releases a book about her years of anorexia.

Big grief

Lorin Clarke on the feelings that engulfed her in the days after her father's death.

Dagg of a dad

In a new memoir about her relationship with her father, Lorin Clarke reflects on how John Clarke was just as funny as a family man as he was on television.

Sew & tell

A new breed of at-home sewers explain what it is - besides pandemic lockdowns - that inspires them to get creative with fabric.

Citizen pain

A broken funding system is delivering record local-body rates all over New Zealand. Is there a way around the financial potholes?

The fogeys are coming

Court judge James Pickles became an international emblem of fuddy-duddyness when, in the 1960s, he enquired from the bench, \"Who are the Beatles?\"

Big shots in the 'burbs

The election hoardings are up, the game is on, promises are being made. The main parties are roadbuilding. Winston Peters has a cunning plan: as the nation's handbrake and culture warrior, his new hill to die on will be the ladies' loo.

Hear them roar

For the past couple of years one of the most excruciating sights in British politics has been when a Labour Party figure is asked to define what a woman is. In their desperate efforts to say nothing while speaking words, they have frequently taken the English language into whole new territories of evasion and obfuscation.

Of grumps and gripes

Policy moles are popping up all over the place and being whacked down just as quickly.

Swings and turnabouts

Unless the government reverses key policies - and Chris Hipkins replies to his letter - Jules Older will be taking his left-leaning vote elsewhere.

Bear with me

Hangzhou Zoo in China has been accused of dressing up humans in furry costumes and passing them off as sun bears. The zoo has denied this of course. The very idea of a Chinese state-run anything carrying out any sort of deception is as ludicrous as the very idea of a human pretending to be a bear. It turns out that the idea that humans were pretending to be bears was baloney.