Neil Wagner Strikes Gold in Famous Win
“New Zealand became the fourth team in the game’s history to win after being asked to follow-on. They beat England by a single run, making them only the second to win by what is…
Blog Archives
New Zealand’s Café Culture Influences Japan
While food is, of course, of primary importance to Tokyo café owners Kim and Teru Harase, of Iki Espresso and Iki Roastery & Eatery, recruiting and training the right people is equally crucial for…
Time to Rethink the Ideal of the Indigenous
“Many groups who identify as Indigenous don’t claim to be first peoples; many who did come first don’t claim to be Indigenous. Can the concept escape its colonial past?” Manvir Singh asks in an…
How The Fall Nearly Sank Flying Nun
When the New Zealand indie label Flying Nun got a chance to record a live album by Manchester band the Fall, the tensions fraying the group almost destroyed the record company – as documented…
Microbiologist Tanu Gupta Wins Basil Jarvis Prize
Palmerston North AgResearch senior scientist Tanushree Gupta has received the Basil Jarvis Prize at the Applied Microbiology Awards, which was presented to her in London, AgResearch communications specialist Gred Ford writes in a story…
How Quake Survivors Must Deal with Lasting Trauma
Research has confirmed that natural hazards such as the magnitude 7.8 temblor in Turkey-Syria lead to acute trauma and an increased risk for chronic conditions such as anxiety and depression in survivors. Psychiatrist and…
Water Carved Our Landscape Now it Risks Lives
New Zealand’s Hawke’s Bay is known for its fine wine, but many of the region’s vineyards are now under water, along with homes and roads in the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle, Hilary Whiteman reports…
Melanie Lynskey Analyses Last of Us Character
When The Last of Us co-creator Craig Mazin pitched a role in the series to New Zealand-born actor Melanie Lynskey, he started with a bang: “He called me and said, ‘I would love for…
Quarter Acre’s Toby Archibald’s Fave Dallas Spots
After years working in fine-dining kitchens like The Greenhouse in London and Cafe Boulud in New York and Toronto, New Zealand-born chef Toby Archibald settled in Dallas in 2016. He served as chef de…
Brendon McCullum Embraces Rugby Roots
Brendon McCullum’s former rugby coach and mentor at Kings High School, Darryl Paterson, reveals the ‘incredible self-belief’ the England cricket coach showed as a six-hitting, hard-partying youngster, Ali Martin reports for The Guardian. From a…
Eleanor Catton’s Latest Has a Serious Message
It has been 10 years since New Zealander Eleanor Catton became, at 28, the youngest writer to be awarded the Booker prize, Lisa Allardice writes in a profile piece for The Guardian. Her third…
Fashion Journalist Hilary Alexander Ever the Pro
Napier-born Hilary Alexander, one of the original Fleet Street fashion journalists and former fashion director of The Daily Telegraph, who has died age 77, was a prolific reporter and writer who epitomised the fashion-loving,…
US TV Presenter Visits Our Shrinking Glaciers
New Zealand is full of stunning, natural beauty and home to nearly 3000 glaciers, which are huge tourist destinations. But the glaciers are quickly vanishing due to rising temperatures, ABC News reports. Good Morning…
Ten Essential Crowded House Songs
“Crowded House is a band that initially won listeners over with their undeniable wit and oddball charm,” American Songwriter’s Alli Patton writes in an article, which recommends the band’s top ten best songs. “The New…
Glen Johnson on Jacinda Ardern’s Resignation: Le Monde Diplomatique
New Zealand journalist Glen Johnson, who is currently in Ukraine, writes on the resignation of Jacinda Ardern, the international acclaim she received for her handling of Covid, and the years of threats, vitriol and…
Two Prehistoric Penguins Added to Our Aviary
New Zealand has been a haven for earthbound birds for aeons. The absence of terrestrial predators allowed flightless parrots, kiwis and moas to thrive. Now researchers are adding two prehistoric penguins to this grounded…
After Ardern Politics Will Never Look the Same
“ Ardern may have been known on the international stage for many things as a leader, but her wardrobe was rarely among them,” Vanessa Friedman reports for The New York Times. “Yet throughout her time…
Farmer Marc Gascoigne Promoting Mental Health
With mounting pressures facing farmers compounding issues around poor mental health, Cambridge dairy farmer, Marc Gascoigne, is on a mission to strengthen farmers’ resilience, during a Scotland-wide tour, The Scottish Farmer’s Claire Taylor reports. On…
Botanical Artist Bryan Poole World-Renowned
“ Bryan Poole, who has died aged 69, was one of the most talented botanical artists working in Britain; he helped to raise the status of a branch of art which has too…
Inside Rukaiya Daud’s Cosy Seaside Apartment
Rukaiya Daud, the New Zealand designer and entrepreneur behind Fourth Street Home and most recently, textiles brand Sutram, opens up her Sydney space to Vogue Australia. “Like Sutram, the home label Daud launched…
Chef Margot Henderson Sets Up in Somerset
With The Three Horseshoes in Somerset, the chef-patron of Rochelle Canteen, New Zealand-born Margot Henderson, and former gallerist and investor Briton Max Wigram are launching the most hotly anticipated new boozer of the year,…
Revolutionary Gibbs Quadski Something Epic
“As its name suggests,” the Gibbs Quadski “was an exciting mix” of a jet ski and a quad bike, Vlad Radu writes for car and automakers database, Autoevolution. It was “the first of its…
RIP Pioneering Neuroscientist Matthew During
New Zealand-born Matthew During was a pioneering neuroscientist who devoted his life to developing gene therapy for human applications. During, who died in Darien, Connecticut on January 26th, 2023, aged 66. He made…
Ali Riley Optimistic About Women’s Football
While Ali Riley is certainly grateful for everything soccer has provided her on and off the field, the Angel City FC and New Zealand women’s national team captain is even more excited about what…
Our Musical Counterculture Like No Other
“Cut off from the ‘swinging’ innovations of 60s London, a generation of New Zealand musicians forged an underground scene that propelled the nation’s modern identity,” Garth Cartwright writes for The Guardian. “For a nation now…
Thomasin McKenzie Burns Up the Screen in Eileen
“What a strange and spellbinding psychological thriller has woven out of Ottessa Moshfegh’s novel, Eileen,” Hollywood Reporter reviewer David Rooney writes. “Rippling with sly humour and a bold command of the tropes…
On the Brilliance of Katherine Mansfield
“The Katherine Mansfield Memorial Garden is a peaceful, oblong-shaped park set in the midst of Thorndon, in Wellington. It is named after the city’s most famous daughter, the short story writer Katherine Mansfield, whose…
Dissecting the Rhetoric of Jacinda Ardern
“There used to be a website devoted to pointing out examples of world maps that didn’t bother to include New Zealand. If we did make it, we were tucked into the lower right corner,…
M3GAN’s Set Design Gets the AD Go Over
New Zealand-born director Gerard Johnstone’s M3GAN has “surpassed box office expectations, reenergised our love for Allison Williams, and, for us design lovers, got us reconsidering kindercore,” Rachel Davies writes in an article published in…
Jacinda Ardern Gives the World a Lesson in Humility
“Jacinda Ardern and young female leaders – including Finland’s PM Sanna Marin and Denmark’s Mette Frederiksen – who have emerged in the last decade stand as a counterpoint to the loud, attention-seeking and narcissistic…
Chris Hipkins New Zealand’s Next Prime Minister
Chris Hipkins will become New Zealand’s next prime minister after MPs of the ruling Labour party made the 44-year-old their unanimous choice to replace outgoing leader Jacinda Ardern, Nic Fildes and Peter Wells report…
The Artist Thomas Monckton Wonderfully Funny
“Thomas Monckton has been performing his circus-informed, clown-honed show The Artist since 2017, and it shows. This physical theatre performance, now in its final outing at Sydney Festival following a successful season at…
Bazball Revolution Could Change Test Cricket
The England cricket team’s recent “fast and fearless”, and “wonderful”, approach to the game has been dubbed “Bazball”, after a nickname for England’s new coach, New Zealander Brendon McCullum who was appointed in May,…
Musician Lachi McBride One to Watch
In a new Rolling Stone AU/NZ series, the magazine takes a look at some rising Aotearoa artists who are looking to impress in 2023 and beyond. It may still be an uncertain time for…
London’s Prettiest Restaurant is Apricity
“There’s an instantly soothing, unexpected simplicity at Chantelle Nicholson’s low-waste restaurant Apricity, Mayfair’s newest distinguished address a skip from Selfridges. Gentle and calm, its appeal is worthy of a description that extends…
Gibbs Farm Alive with Gravity-Defying Sculptures
“The Gibbs Farm sculpture park collection brings together some staggering outdoor sculptures in North Auckland,” Ocula magazine reports. “The vast majority of sculptures commissioned for the park – works by Anish Kapoor, Andy Goldsworthy, and…
Simone Kessell Discusses Her Yellowjackets Role
In a Vanity Fair exclusive first look at adult Lottie Matthews (one of the Yellowjackets plane crash survivors), New Zealand-born actor Simone Kessell, 47, discusses where she’s been and asks, “How long can you…
Six of the Best Adventures in New Zealand
“Whether you prefer a stomach-dropping free fall or a calf-burning rock ascent, New Zealand has no shortage of hair-raising adventures for those with a head for heights,” Justin Meneguzzi writes for National Geographic Traveller. In…
New Zealand’s Leader Jacinda Ardern Steps Down
Jacinda Ardern, who became a global liberal icon as New Zealand’s prime minister but faced deepening political challenges with an election looming at home, has said in a surprise announcement that she would step…
Auckland’s Pastries Rival France’s Best
Your time is up Wellington, Auckland is Aotearoa’s new culinary capital according to The New York Times, including the City of Sails in the top five on its annual interactive travel list, ‘52 Places…
Crypto Ponzi Scheme Avenger Danny de Kek Speaks Up
From his home in New Zealand, the YouTuber Danny de Hek assails what he calls a dangerous and deceptive scheme, one rant at a time. David Segal interviews de Hek for The New York…
Kimbra on the Ups and Downs of Fame
At just 21, the New Zealand musician Kimbra became famous for her part in smash-hit duet Somebody That I Used to Know. So what happened after? The Guardian’s Katie Cunningham checks in with the…
Life on Scott Base Shared via TikTok
As part of the Guardian series ‘Life on the edge’, Scott Base redevelopment manager Matthew Jordan talks to Eva Corlett about what it’s like to live inside New Zealand’s Antarctica headquarters. “My work is supporting…
Why Katherine Mansfield Still Divides Opinion
In an edited extract from her foreword to Wild Places: Selected Stories by Katherine Mansfield, English author Helen Simpson asks: “How and why did Katherine Mansfield provoke such violent extremes of admiration and hostility, both…
Sealark Exploration Scouring the Pacific
“The nature of [World War Two], scattered as it was across thousands of miles of sea and sand, meant that many people, ships, and aircraft disappeared without a trace,” BC Cook writes for Marianas…
Quarter Acre Brings NZ-Inspired Dining to Dallas
“When word spread that Toby Archibald, a chef who’d formerly worked at Bullion and Georgie by Curtis Stone, would be opening a restaurant inspired by his New Zealand heritage, I wondered what that might…
M3GAN a Deadly Doll with a Killer Wardrobe
The titular star of the New Zealand-made horror film M3GAN, released last week in the US, had to try on several outfits before finding a signature look, Joshua Lyon reports for The New York…
In Search of Home Time with Emilia Wickstead
The homeware sector is expected to reach a market value of more than US$200 billion by the end of 2031, Hikmat Mohammed writes in a story for Women’s Wear Daily that includes New Zealand-born designer,…
Killer Doll Movie M3GAN Reviews Well in US
New Zealand director Gerard Johnstone’s latest film, the comedy horror M3GAN, is well reviewed in Variety, with critic Owen Gleiberman describing it as “creepy, preposterous and diverting”. “Gemma (Allison Williams), a robotics engineer, works for…
UFC’s Israel Adesanya Fights on His Terms
New Zealander Israel Adesanya has cleared out most of his challengers and has faced criticism for some fights lacking flashy knockouts. “It’s a high-level game we play, but not everyone who watches is high-level,”…
Lynley Crosswell Creates Experiences in Victoria
New Zealander Lynley Crosswell took over as chief executive of Museums Victoria which includes the Melbourne Museum, Scienceworks, Immigration Museum, IMAX and the Royal Exhibition Building, in 2017. She is the first woman chief…
The Beths Gifted Fans an Outstanding 2022 Album
In a round-up of the year’s most outstanding albums, the Boston Herald’s Jed Gottlieb includes Auckland indie band The Beths’ Expert in a Dying Field in his top five. Other albums making the cut are…
Mansfield Left Other Modernists in the Dust
“This year, we celebrated the annus mirabilis of literary modernism, whose greatest novel, Ulysses, and greatest poem, The Waste Land, both turned 100 … This year will see another modernist milestone. 9 January 2023 will…
Wales Rugby Welcomes Back Warren Gatland
New Zealander Warren Gatland made a sensational comeback as Wales head coach replacing fellow New Zealander Wayne Pivac after a disappointing year, Ben Coles reports for The Telegraph. “The very nature of a change-over at…
New Zealand Part of Growing Wellbeing Network
For a small but growing network of countries, the world’s go-to metric of economic health is no longer fit for purpose, Sam Meredith reports for CNBC. Mostly led by women, Finland, Iceland, Scotland, Wales…
Tiritiri Matangi a Birdwatching Paradise
“From the depths of Antarctica to the heart of the Amazon, the earth is teeming with a massive array of passerines, waterfowl, raptors, and other avifauna – and for seasoned birders, there’s no better…
