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.

New Zealand Listener

Back on the brink • Exactly 60 years after first being transfixed by the threat of nuclear war, Nigel Roberts is fearful once more.

Nikola Tesla’s legacy

Caption competition • THIS WEEK’S PICTURE

Quips & Quotes

10 Quick Questions

Our growing future • McDonald’s has committed to achieving carbon-zero status by 2050. As one of its biggest global suppliers, New Zealand is collaborating on research to improve soil health and environmental performance for local beef production.

Stuck between peace and war

Sights, sounds and fury

Don’t hear Ye

Defaming the dead

The chains that grind • Auckand’s mayor has barely donned his official garb and he’s already thrown a spanner in the government’s Three Waters works.

MAKANA’S STORY • “WHEN THE ARMED GROUP SURROUNDED ME AND MY FAMILY AT DIMBY, I came very close to death. I was afraid, but now what makes me suffer the most is the concern for my daughters. The worst thing is the frustration of not being able to decide for myself, of not being able to feed my family, of being a man and not being able to give my family any stability. If someone gave me the opportunity, I would like to speak with the armed groups to ask them, what do they gain by generating so much pain?” – Makana

10 billion reasons to be cheerful • What will the world be like in 2050? Compared with our own gloomy times, it could be better than we think.

A blast from the past

Great Dane • Due to tour here in December, the formidably clever comedian, broadcaster and political activist Sandi Toksvig wears her brightness lightly.

ROOMS

Into the abyss • A new local documentary claims that hundreds of thousands of Kiwis have been sucked into a vortex of disinformation.

Master of his craft • Comedian Chris Parker has juggled stand-up, online videos, movies, TV shows and even a foray into fun with felt. Now he’s added a book to his CV.

Covid aftershocks • Survivors of the disease are at increased risk of lingering impacts on both heart and brain health, follow-up studies suggest.

HEALTH BRIEFS

Forbidden fruit • Grapefruit marmalade boiled for long enough may reduce the risk of drug interaction, but it’s a sticky question.

NUTRITION BITES

All welcome • Margo and Rosa Flanagan, aka the Two Raw Sisters, put fruit and veges to the fore in delicious meals and baking for every kind of eater.

Top drops under $25 • Award-winning tipples that are easy on the wallet.

Degrees of separation • Universities, like many workplaces, are missing out on the benefits that come from in-person attendance and interactions.

Finding our feet • Will Mark Zuckerberg’s huge gamble on the mass appeal of virtual-reality working and socialising have legs?

Booker’s Kiwi link • After a New Zealand education and accolades for his sport-themed first novel, Shehan Karunatilaka has won the big one.

‘Sport is eternal’ • The following excerptisfromKarunatilaka’s debut novel Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew. The novel, published in 2010, is written from the perspective of an alcoholic sports journalist, and won several writing prizes.

Battle lines • The nuclear brinkmanship of 1962 has clear parallels with Vladimir Putin’s reckless behaviour in Ukraine 60 years on.

Empire of dishonour • Kate Atkinson keeps us on our toes amid the danger and spectacle of sleazy 1920s Soho.

Bird’s eye view • A talking magpie is our guide to an exhilarating blend of fantasy and realism.

Intrigue...