Danyl McLauchlan: Fiscal discipline takes a back seat as parties target traditional bases

Both National and Labour are betting voters value promises over prudence.

Chris Slane’s political cartoon of the week

Cartoonist Chris Slane shares his point of view on recent international events.

Greg Dixon’s Another Kind of Politics: New MPs’ entitlements shock — secret holiday island discovered

Greg Dixon's satirical look at the week in local and international politics.

Haere rā the crown, farewell ‘partnership’: Māori political scientist Dominic O’Sullivan on why te tiriti debate needs a change of language

Removing terms that assumes inequality gives te tiriti a chance, says the leading academic

White Queen Pauline Hanson ready to rip

The rise of Pauline Hanson is a cleaving moment for the Australia we thought we knew.

David Harvey: Legal definitions of women and men need not exclude others

Current legal framework assumes sex is real and legally knowable, yet never pins it down.

Duncan Garner: War in Iran was predicted to bring NZ to its knees. Instead, Nicola Willis made the right calls at the right time

If the fuel crisis was a test, the government passed it.

Leah McFall: In an election year, hair matters

Before John Key, we had many male leaders who were no strangers to pomade.

'Jools Topp was like a wild animal that might get spooked and bolt at any moment' – Don McGlashan on recording the untouchable girls’ untameable songs

The Kiwi music great on Topp Twins' legacy, with a tribute by comedian Chris Parker.

Steve Braunias is on a mission: Why I’m scouring the nation’s op shops for every Kiwi Christian music LP I can find

Listener columnist shares his Godzone gospel obsession and wants to take up a collection.

The Listener weekly quiz: June 17

Test your general knowledge with the Listener's weekly quiz.

The grand British home inherited by a WWI Kiwi soldier reveals its high society secrets in newly discovered archive

Visitors’ book filled with famous signatures — and a supposed tie to Jack the Ripper.

Dreaming of an overseas trip but scared of flying? The treatments that work for ‘anxious aviators’

Fear of flying costs airlines and tourism more than US$2.5 billion (NZ$4.3b)

Protein is essential to mental health but too much can blow your mind

Your brain moving like a slug and other mental effects are a byproduct of high protein.

Fat trap? The nutrition label blind spot that may play havoc with healthy eating

Avoiding harmful fats in packaged foods is not as simple as reading nutrition panels.

How my permanent migraine has given me a superpowered nose

For one Auckland man hyperosmia is an unexpected consequence of migraine.

The Good Life: Lush Places could become the Museum of Modern Animal Art

Could an animal art gallery prove to be a money-spinner?

Hot fusion: Zena Kamgaing shares her love of bold flavours from around the globe

The UK food writer kicks it up a notch in these four recipes from Dinner Time.

Bumper weekend wine guide: NZ is overflowing with quality pinot noir in the $20-$40 range

Pinot noir can knock your socks off within a year or two of the harvest.

Gluten-free recipes from seasoned writer and ambassador for Coeliac UK, Becky Excell

Feel Good Gluten Free is full of guilt-free recipes anyone can try.

Her father was a wastrel and AA Gill called her too ugly for TV, but Mary Beard is now one of the world’s most recognisable historians

Mary Beard on her life & times and our continued fascination with the ancient world.

NZSO string players join flautist Bridget Douglas for NZ tour of chamber music

Recently formed group of classical musicians prepares for cosy concerts.

Compelling portraits of NZ artists feature in films at Doc Edge festival

Jacqueline Fahey & Dick Frizzell hang well among portraits at NZ's documentary film fest.

Raising their voices: NZ’s world-beating schools’ choir celebrates 40 years before Asian tour

Award-winning choir continues proud tradition as launching pad for musical greats.

Live review: Japanese psychedelic group goes down a storm

Acid Mothers Temple proved intense and relentless without being onerous

Listener’s Songs of the Week: Jonathan Bree and Princess Chelsea are on fire in steamy new track, plus Gin Wigmore, Mel Parsons, Johnny Marr, Graham Coxon and more

New and intriguing songs from music writers at the NZ Listener magazine.

Actor Jarod Rawiri: ‘I remember at high school thinking being a working solo dad would be cool’

Jarod Rawiri on art, aroha, music, memories and the things that matter most in life.

Why new Kiwi tv drama Head Girl is sheer poetry and completely radical

Surprise, admiration and "how cute" among reactions to new drama inspired by poetry book.

Her father was a wastrel and AA Gill called her too ugly for TV, but Mary Beard is now one of the world’s most recognisable historians

Mary Beard on her life & times and our continued fascination with the ancient world.

Book of the day: Main Characters by Bobby Palmer

Palmer's third is a rollicking romcom that adeptly hits all the required emotional beats.

Science is hard at work on bold new biological innovations, argues a leading geneticist, but will we get them right?

Book of the day: On The Future of Species by Adrian Woolfson.

Top 10 bestselling New Zealand books: June 20

The local books Kiwis have been buying this week.

Aaron Smale: The state is the largest criminal organisation when it comes to sexual offenders

Sexual violence and the abuse of power go hand in hand.

Book of the day: The Valley - Crime and Punishment in a New Zealand City

The Valley is a bleak tour through NZ's justice system, but does it do the system justice?

Family, fraud and “the vilest criminal ever tried in NZ”: The infamous Timaru poisonings

Greg Dixon on a husband's plan to poison his wife and snatch her fortune.

What will it take to stamp out tribalism, bullying and ‘bad apples’ in our police force?

Ongoing scandals suggest not much change in police culture since the Louise Nicholas case.

White Queen Pauline Hanson ready to rip

The rise of Pauline Hanson is a cleaving moment for the Australia we thought we knew.

Life in a warzone: 9 metres underground, school’s in for vulnerable youngsters on Ukraine’s front line

Drone & missile attacks do not deter Zaporizhzhia's children from attending school.

China’s unbridled clean energy push is raising dependency issues

Beijing's focus on renewables has potential - but it also has geopolitical ramifications.

Soweto ‘76: Remembering the uprising that became apartheid’s turning point

At least 176 students were killed in the revolt. Ten days later, the All Blacks arrived.

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See the world anew when science, art and nature converge in Te Papa’s Breathe | Mauri Ora

Te Papa’s new experience is at the cutting edge of technology and immersive art practice.

This Titirangi home was transformed into a functional family home

A mid-century Auckland home is reconfigured to make it more functional for a young family