Author Interview

Vietnamese author Dr Nguy n Phan Qu Mai's Dust Child tackles the difficult subject of Amerasian children, left behind when the American military fled after the Vietnam War. Audio

Computer scientist and author Brian Christian writes about one of the fundamental problems of AI development in his book The Alignment Problem: how do we ensure machine learning systems represent the… Audio

When it comes to self-care, we're sold the idea that the answers and solutions are outside of us, says Dr Pooja Lakshmin.She tells Jesse Mulligan why real self-care is an inside job. Audio

Those not familiar with TikTok might not have heard of #BookTok, but, gathering 196,000 followers and 10 million likes, its been an important part of Chloe Gong's journey to becoming a New York Times… Audio

Bonnie Garmus's debut novel Lessons in Chemistry has become a multi-million selling bestseller largely through word of mouth.The story concerns a American scientist who, sacked for being pregnant in… Audio

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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