New Zealand Listener

New Zealand Listener is the country’s most respected general interest magazine, bringing you a wide variety of news, stories, columns, reviews, plus TV listings, every week.

Colophon

Airing our dirty linen • Lyrical lines describing life’s latter years don’t apply for an army of elderly carers nursing spouses at home, says Rosemary Beresford.

No room for disability

The artful orchestrator • Act’s power and influence have grown massively and David Seymour’s latest meddling attempts to take this even further.

Carnival of horrors

Checking the facts

A Trabbi triumph

The Administrator always rings twice

Mother’s ruin • Professional women are swelling the ranks of mums giving birth to children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, a form of brain damage that affects thousands of New Zealanders.

Spreading death • New Zealand has so far avoided the strain of avian influenza causing mass mortalities of wild birds and mammals around the world. But geographic isolation was not enough protection for one biodiversity hotspot.

Unlocking the key • For victims of crime – including the most heinous acts – sitting down with the perpetrator can be a massive step. But it’s one that can help both parties.

Line of duty • A chance encounter on a ship proves it’s nigh on impossible to travel in a straight line from the South Pole to the North.

Much ado about Antonio! • Welcome to Cultural Attaché, an occasional series in which we explore the influences that have shaped our lives. This week, theatre-maker Ania Upstill.

Animal instincts • Duncan Sarkies’ alarming allegory about a bunch of alpaca fanciers recalls Barry Crump and is one in the eye for all the reprobates out there.

Bestsellers

Bearing in mind • Love can be found in the most surprising circumstances, suggests this folklore-inspired magical-realist novel.

Finding your people • Pop culture often gets a laugh out of the neurodivergent but this insightful second-person novel is more understanding.

Call of the wild • An Aussie domestic drama and a crime story from fraught Sheffield zero in on class, race and history.

Flesh and blood • Family and identity are central to a story of a man estranged from a daughter growing up on a Native American reservation.

Tripping around • If you’re curious about psychedelics’ therapeutic benefits, Sarah Napthali has sampled what the world has to offer.

Pulling up roots • Singer-songwriter Nadia Reid talks about how her new album was inspired by motherhood and a shift from Dunedin to Manchester.

Return of the hirsute hombres • ZZ Top are bringing their trademark sound and beards back to New Zealand, the location of one of their big successes.

Aliens no more • Doco on the band that took te reo to places it’s never been is an enjoyable watch.

Seeing is believing • Soderbergh’s spooky tale gives us a spirit’s eye view of haunting a house.

Orders up

Flying in the face • A new drama about the Lockerbie bombing follows a grieving father’s long fight for the truth behind the 1988 terrorist attack.

TV Picks of the week

TV Films

Saturday/rāhoroi February 15

Sunday/rātapu February 16

Monday/rāhina February 17

Tuesday/rātū February 18

Wednesday/rāapa February 19

Thursday/rāpare February 20

Friday/rāmere February 21

Radio February 15 - 21

Wonderful snapshots • James Ehnes returns for concerts of Brahms and Bartók.

Say no to the diet • Social pressure to be thin is a catch-22 for many women because most diets fail. A new book by Lotta Dann promotes health over deprivation.

Peas please • Melbourne-born Guy Mirabella’s...