Author Interview

New Zealand has a meth problem.  Benedict Collins is a New Zealand political reporter and has covered the P problem for years. He says well-thought-out harm reduction plans in New Zealand have been… Audio

As a television and radio presenter, prolific and best selling author, classicist Dame Mary Beard has acquired celebrity status. The author of more than 20 books including Pompeii, SPQR and Women &amp… Audio

By Susan Strongman: Retired and living alone in Hamilton, Mum ticks a lot of the boxes that put her at risk of loneliness. Audio

Dropping perfectionism and focusing on connection can help take the pressure off verbal communication, says Stanford lecturer Matt Abrahams. Audio

For 30 years, the closest Justine and Geoff Ross had come to cows was two cowhide chairs in their Auckland living room. Audio

Loneliness is a health issue that must be addressed urgently say the former director and deputy director of The Helen Clark Foundation, Kathy Errington and Dr Holly Walker. They speak to Jesse about… Audio

New Zealand writer Anna Smaill's first novel The Chimes made the Man Booker Prize long list in 2015. She's just released Bird Life, an exploration of madness and what it's like to experience the world… Audio

Dr John Gillies has had a life long love of Skippers Canyon, and his new book showcases his paintings of the iconic gorge in Otago. He was born in 1945, and discovered his love of art at St Andrew's… Audio

For her second book, Zookeeper Danni Rae's gone very small, in fact tiny! Danni talks to Jesse about Harry the Hermit Crab. Audio

If you've ever caught yourself before expressing an opinion about politics, good parenting or even your favourite place to eat, you'll know that censoring is humankind's natural inclination says Greg… Audio

Two-time US National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward's latest novel Let Us Descend tackles the hellish reality of life as a chattel slave. Modelled on Dante's Inferno, and based on extensive historical… Audio

Author, historian and educator Dr Jane Robertson has written not one, but two fantastic books about the bays of Lyttleton Harbour. Her second one is called Living Between Land & Sea, The Bays of… Audio

What you are is not the whole story about who you are. Values rather than identity have always been the glue that holds democracies together. Before "woke" became a political slogan, professor Yascha… Audio

This week's guest for bookmarks is Akiko Kurematsu, a culture writer and journalist who uses her multicultural and mutlilingual background to work. Audio

Dr Robert Waldinger has been studying human happiness and the secret to it for decades. He is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and Director of the the Harvard Study of Adult… Audio

Failure happens. It's not a glitch, but an inevitable part of life. But most of us fail to learn from failure, letting fear and shame get in the way, says Harvard Business School professor Amy… Audio

To be resilient in the face of change, we need to hold on to our core values while cultivating adaptability, says writer and human performance expert Brad Stulberg. He speaks to Jesse Mulligan about… Audio