Those left behind

The tale of a GI, a bar girl and an Amerasian child from the Vietnam War leaves a lasting impression.

Next stop: Australia

The challenge of crossing the Tasman solo, against prevailing winds, has lured a certain breed of sailor to New Plymouth for more than half a century.

In the sand

Golf's Saudi-backed LIV tour has driven a wedge through the genteel sport and risks coming up short in its sportswashing aim.

Serving the people

Disillusionment with democracy is understandable, says a Kiwi helping the next generation of world leaders to raise their game.

To die by your side

Andrew O'Hagan's novel has inspired a touching drama about life-long mates facing up to mortality.

Family guy

Celebrated Japanese film-maker Hirokazu Kore-eda talks about taking his deft touch with parenthood dramas to South Korea for his latest.

'I am not Mr Bean!'

A photographer's resemblance to a comic character sparked more than an identity crisis.

Heat seeker

How screenwriter Scott Z Burns turned the lessons from his previous An Inconvenient Truth and Contagion into the star-studded climate-crisis drama Extrapolations.

Double visions

The doppelganger has fascinated for centuries, and many of us have one. Now, there's interest in using lookalikes for medical diagnosis and crime-solving- and for more sinister purposes.

Islands of hope

A pioneer in offshore conservation work shows how ecological decline can be reversed.

Once upon a cloud

The environment, the world of Totoro, and a chicken keeper losing her memory feature in new picture books.

That summer

A debut novel captures the thrill of first love and the melancholy of its departure.

Senses of wonder

Human powers of perception are far more complex than just the famous five of sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch.

Under the skin

Siblings gather for their comatose mum in this sharp debut.

Dazzled to death

An Auckland doctoral student is exposing the threat to our seabirds posed by bright lights.

Easily swayed

The placebo and nocebo effects are well known in healthcare but they happen in psychological experiments, too.

It's easy being green

London-based nutrition expert AMELIA FREER believes healthy eating needn't involve complicated recipes.

Ukraine is not Iraq

A journalist often meets unhappy people in dire circumstances. Accidents, murders, wars, natural disasters, protests and recessions are not the kind of events that produce much joy, so you tend to remember those rare times when you were a witness to happiness.

The right to be rude

When Massachusetts woman Louise Barron, 71, stood up and, not for the first time, called her local town board members \"Hitlers\" who were \"spending like drunken sailors\", she got zero points for originality or proportionality.

What comes naturally

Rather than superfoods, a diet rich in foods should a variety of unprocessed give us all the nutrients we need.

Biting deep

Genes play a significant role in whether people develop an eating disorder.

Unruly tourist

The noise at Albert Park, central Auckland, was extraordinary – a cacophony of horns, drums, biscuit tins, loudhailers and voices.

Southern exposure

Stewart Island is famed for its kiwi, but when GLENN WOOD visits, it's the human drama that steals the show.

Civil war & peace

Shehan Karunatilaka's Booker Prize-winning novel captures a Sri Lanka in turmoil. But his writing career was sparked in a quiet corner of New Zealand.

The nuclear option

Australia's fast track to acquiring nuclear-powered submarines from the United States and Britain puts a gulf between it and its close security ally, New Zealand.

True to his roots

Renowned plantsman Gordon Collier has always been unafraid to break the rules of traditional landscaping.

Building a new future

Changing the narrative on Māori housing includes recognising the success stories not getting media coverage.

Dying for change

Sean Davison is already well known for his involvement in four assisted suicides. But there have been others, too, he tells CHRIS COOKE, as he prepares to take on a new role that will again thrust him into the international spotlight.

Sight for sore eyes

Former police minister Stuart Nash may be looking uncomfortable right now, but his boss is also facing a case of bad optics.

Battle of the books

Another friend had his first book published. He is taking his family to McDonald's to spend the royalties.