Flogging A Dead Horse

Politicians are struggling with the dollars and making no sense.

Unmasking A Monster

The physician who identified Asperger’s syndrome was complicit in Nazi eugenics, sending disabled children to their death.

Guardian Angel

Renowned heart surgeon Alan Kerr saved Donna Lander’s life in 1987. This year – thanks to a Listener story – he saved her again.

Not So Fast

Attempts to lose weight by periodically going hungry can often have the opposite effect.

Awkward Questions

People who are struggling need to hear their feelings are valid, not to “get over it”.

Fragments Of Genius

A homage to the writer of Rashomon is a haunting but demanding read.

Sounding The Alarm

Our free will is at stake as we merrily travel “the highway to digital dictatorship”, says the author of worldwide bestsellers Sapiens and Homo Deus, and now new book 21 Lessons for the 21st Century.

Tick For The Tech

Technology can make a difference to mental health, but it comes with challenges.

UHD Dreams

The shops are full of TVs capable of the ultimate in high-definition, but there isn’t much to watch yet.

Chemical Warfare

From sperm counts to obesity, scientists are only beginning to understand the long-term health effects of many chemicals in everyday use. How to survive the war at home?

Dirty Dancing

Unholy alliances are forming as governments in numerous European and Latin American states indulge in democratic backsliding.

Vital Signs

Patients must not be afraid to speak out to avoid mistakes in our hard-pressed hospitals.

Presidency Porn

The torrent of revelations from inside the White House carries the risk that Americans become desensitised to Donald Trump’s unpresidential behaviour.

When Her Nose First Got Stuck

An omnivorous reader recounts how her love of books helped define her childhood.

Cooking With Gaz

The former Supergrass frontman and Britpop survivor returns to NZ as a politically minded singer-songwriter.

Supreme indifference

Brett Kavanaughs court nomination takes a back seat to moon landings and ocean cruises.

Rising To The Challenge

New Zealand finally gets its own version of the popular and big-hearted British baking competition.

Method Man

Award-winning actor Kieran Charnock likes to inhabit his characters, but sometimes they stick around afterwards.

Hostage To Fortune

A reworking of the Iliad from a female characters perspective has its own Achilles heel.

Firing Blind

A high-concept comic crime thriller aims to update the grand English tradition but hits wide of the mark.

Doing A Donald

Our PM and the US President arent a million miles apart in their approach to the media.

Eat Yer Heart Out, Donald

When it comes to fencing out foreigners, we’re up there with the best.

Mind That Child

Sweeping restructuring at Plunket is radically changing the 111-year-old organisation so it can focus more on the needs of the wider community. But not everyone is happy about the changes, least of all its volunteers.

Trading Up

Hours after Europe hit a range of US products with retaliatory tariffs, the EU’s trade commissioner was selling the benefits of the free exchange of goods.

Wake Up And Smell The Coffee

Savour your morning cup of coffee – the benefits far outweigh the risks.

Piling It On

Not everyone’s trying to shed kilos. Here are tips for those, especially elderly, who want to gain weight.

Just Out Of Reach

Definitive it may be, but Robin Williams’ biography still leaves us wanting more.

Currie's Spicy Mix

A work by acclaimed composer Steve Reich might change minds about minimalism.

One World

There is just one civilisation in the world, writes Yuval Noah Harari, and the West and Islam are joint participants in it.

Situation: Fragile

Ten years on from the global financial crisis, former Reserve Bank governor Alan Bollard warns that, although lessons were learnt, new risks have emerged that could trigger a repeat contagion.