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.

Te Kaiwhakarongo Aotearoa

The big count counts • The five-yearly census provides vital information we can’t get elsewhere and should not be consigned to the bin, writes Len Cook.

Poetry • Their arms shall rest now For Brian and Sam

Shoring up the hillsides

Bright Lines • Creative words competition

“Quote Marks”

10 Quick Questions

A time for old heroes • As the general election appears on the horizon, minor parties are looking to faces – and policies – of a mythical past.

Our shameful secret

Theme and variations

Skux-as uncle

In the rear view

Maintaining our mana

Mastering the mind • Brain expert Nathan Wallis says you can think yourself brighter – but you must truly believe it.

The kids are all right • In this extract, NATHAN WALLIS explains how much better behaved young people are compared with their parents’ generation.

Topping point • A rejigged Opportunity Party is getting traction with voters, but what exactly does it stand for?

LEADING WITH TAX • The Opportunity Party was set up to introduce a radical tax shake-up but the new leader would settle for a discussion on our love affair with property.

Takin’ it to the streets • For too long, pedestrians and cyclists have played second fiddle to motorists, says a Dutch urban mobility professor who urges us to rethink our ‘car brains’.

Light of his life • Auckland artist Angus Muir lives and breathes light installations at his high-tech studio in Auckland. He shares what inspires him.

Mental as anything • NZ-born novelist Meg Mason struck gold with Sorrow and Bliss by skilfully marrying madness and humour. Her latest examines obsessions with famous authors.

The getaway • Climate pessimism, millennial anxiety and tech-age narcissism combine in spectacular speculative fashion.

BESTSELLERS

Talk to the trees • A guide to forest life from Sam the Trap Man, a bushman, conservationist and social media star.

Short cuts

Soul searching • What if Death walked the Earth visiting those about to die? What if he fell in love?

A very British scandal • Fictionalised account of Kafka-esque miscarriage of justice draws on the author’s family ties.

Mission critical • Ann Packer surveys the best new junior and YA fiction.

Prey on one’s mind • Helen Macdonald’s bestseller about falconry and mental health battles, H is for Hawk, takes flight on the big screen.

Something wicked • Actor Sara Wiseman and director Benjamin Kilby-Henson offer their takes on the Auckland Theatre Company’s production of ‘the Scottish play’.

Love and loss • Renowned Shakespearean expert Gregory Doran is back in New Zealand to explore the history of a famed Māori story.

Fantastic voyage • Christopher Nolan’s take on Homer’s Greek epic comes bearing many cinematic gifts.

Flower power • Atlanta artist has echoes of Nina Simone on album offering fresh takes on classic soul.

Seaside attractions • On his new show, architect Tom Webster asks: how’s the tranquillity?

TV Picks of the week

TV Films • The big movies on TV this week

The Madness of Manon • Hot young tenor Pene Pati may have helped sell out a Wellington show.

A rough guide • Energy and nutrition values on food labels tell only part of the story. How much we absorb and use is subject to many variables.

Nutrition bites

I’ll be your substitute • English vegan cookbook author Richard Makin serves up quick meals.

Vintners’...