Author Interview
Emma Warren looks at the reasons we dance
Humans dance. It's what we do. So many of our important ceremonies and rituals throughout history include dancing; courtly ballrooms, weddings, school discos. Emma Warren has written a book about the… Audio
The Drinking Game - by Guyon Espiner
How big business, the media and politicians shape the way you drink Audio
Poetry Yearbook
The Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook 2023: Afterburn was released on Thursday.... featuring 150 new poems. It's the country's longest running poetry magazine - first published in 1951. Dr Tracey Slaughter is… Audio
Children's writer David Hill
It's a regular concern among teachers and parents - getting young people, particularly boys, to start reading. One writer who's done just that in this country for 40 years is acclaimed author David… Audio
New book examines 'crisis of democratic capitalism'
It's never been an easy marriage, the union between democracy and capitalism. But neither can survive without the other and they are in jeopardy says preeminent financial journalist, Martin Wolf. Audio
Ta Pou Temara on Tuhoe's role in the Battle of Orakau
Today on Mapuna we revisit the Battle of Orakau in the Waikato in 1864. More than 1400 British troops laid siege to the fortified pa at Orakau defended by a few hundred Maori. At one point the… Audio
Inflammation: the ‘silent fire’ burning within us
One of our body's greatest weapons again illness and injury can also be a cause of diabetes, depression and cancer. Inflammation is sometimes an insidious force in our bodies, destroying healthy… Audio
Helen Lehndorf's memoir, A Forager's Life
When Helen Lehndorf forages along paths in parks in the city, or in the wild spaces of the Manawatu, she gets some greens for her dinner, and solace for her soul. She shares her personal story as… Audio
Lydia Millet: 'You have to seek out hope by engaging with the world'
Inter-generational anger is "virtuous, righteous and well-deserved" when it comes to environmental mismanagement, says award-winning American writer Lydia Millet. "We've co-evolved with all these… Audio
Claire Harman: all sorts of love for Katherine Mansfield
This year marks the centenary of the death of one of Aotearoa's most loved writers, Katherine Mansfield. British author Claire Harman's biography All Sorts of Lives: Katherine Mansfield and the art of… Audio
Joanne Drayton: 'Coming out in the '90s was the hardest thing that's ever happened to me'
New Zealand biographer Joanne Drayton made a name for herself writing about other people. In The Queen's Wife, she tells her own modern love story. Audio
Science, Death and Tech in the World of James Bond
Kathryn Harkup is a chemist and science writer who sets up her own Q Branch to test how 007 would stand up to the laws of physics, chemistry and biology. Audio
Gyms, Gurus, Goop: The wellness industry in the spotlight
Rina Raphael says wellness brands prey on women's anxieties. Her new book looks at why women buy into the multi-billion dollar industry. It's called The Gospel of Wellness: Gyms, Gurus, Goop, and the… Audio
Bookmarks with Laura Heynike
For Bookmarks today we speak to businesswoman and interior designer Laura Heynike. She's the Founder and Creative Director of interior design company Pocketspace. Audio
Monica Heisey on the comic potential of a broken heart
The melodramatic intensity we bring to our own heartbreak is extremely funny to writer Monica Heisey. Her debut novel Really Good, Actually draws on the "isolating" yet "absurd" experience of getting… Audio
Why did Putin go to war?
As the one year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine approaches, one question still puzzles many people. Why did Vladimir Putin, considered a masterful and calculating, if ruthless, leader… Audio
Kevin Jared Hosein: hungry ghosts of Trinidad's colonial legacy
Set in 1940s rural Trinidad, Kevin Jared Hosein's debut novel Hungry Ghosts reflects on the fractures left for the Southern Caribbean island by a complex colonial legacy. Audio
The uncomplicated secret to a happy life
A good life is a complicated life. It's got highs and lows and it's messy, but meaningful, happy and healthy if you put effort into one thing. Professor Marc Shultz speaks to Jesse about their… Audio
Winery tour guide book launched
Wine expert and writer Joelle Thomson's just released a guide for touring around Aotearoa's best wineries. She's combined her love of wine with a practical guide to seeing vineyards and the… Audio
Brandon Presser: The Far Land
Travel writer Brandon Presser went to live on Pitcairn Island in 2018. While there, he pieced together a full story of the island, The Far Land - 200 years of murder, mania and mutiny in the South… Audio
