Features

While we were all busy learning to make sourdough in lockdown or finally caving in and downloading TikTok, Bev Moon was busy knitting. Audio

Fifty-five years ago Bernie Taupin was incinerating decomposing chickens and breaking into condom machines for the loose change. Five years after that, he co-wrote Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, his new memoir recounts a storied life. Audio

Mediawatch - The Herald copped criticism for a front-page attack ad targeting the National Party leader - but it's not the first time such ads have been published Audio

A Hawke's Bay-based singer-songwriter has penned a tune to uplift those in the throes of Cyclone Gabrielle recovery and raise money for the cause. He was inspired by seeing Te Mata Peak a few weeks after the storm.

Parents and children performing for social media clicks and views is "murky ground" and can lead to problems later on, American journalist Kate Lindsay tells RNZ's Kim Hill. Audio

For writers, mild dyslexia comes with "a whole bunch of benefits," says Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist Richard Ford. Audio

As forest scientists work to restore native tree species threatened by myrtle rust, a Jobs for Nature programme is empowering young Rotorua men to connect with nature. Audio

Country Life - Jackie Friedrichs runs a lambs orphanage in the Wairarapa. Audio

Omelette meets pancake in this versatile sunny-looking frittata from Julie Bisuo.

The release of The Endless Coloured Ways, tributing the late English songwriter Nick Drake, has William Dart revisiting the man's original music alongside some astonishing love letters from a new generation of troubadours including Aldous Harding and Nadia Reid. Audio

It’s thanks to the New Zealand Hymnbook Trust for the recording of our opening hymn this week, Shirley Murray’s God bless our land. The Trust was set up to encourage the writing, publication and marketing of original hymn writing in New Zealand, and it’s been going 45 years. Audio

Christchurch band Yurt Party specialise in 'world street party' music that gets people dancing. Video, Audio

Young Dunedin musician Mads Harrop says living with Asperger's, ADHD and Tourette syndrome adds a "quite cool and interesting" element to her songwriting. Video, Audio

It's finals time and for the first time in five years, the New Zealand Warriors are there.  RNZ's Rugby league tragic Dean Bedford has a look at the eight finalists.

A wooden door in an 11th-century English cathedral is thought to feature the world's oldest documented cat flap. The feline-sized portal was crafted more than 400 years ago so that a resident cat could police rodents. Audio

Caucus - Should we be worried about the election campaign going negative? Or is the greater worry party leaders who can't get their facts straight? Video, Audio

RNZ's music, arts and culture experts share some alternative sources of inspiration and entertainment during the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

The hardships of hiking for months on end aren't for everyone, says Dutch creative Tim Voors, but the exhilaration is like nothing else. Audio

Auckland based singer, songwriter Ladi6 has been described as the local queen of hip-hop, soul and R&B, and she now has a new accolade to add to the many that have gone before. Audio

Scrapper is a miniscule-budget UK film from a writer-director, Charlotte Regan, who specialises in miniscule budgets, and it is a joyful, life-affirming triumph of a film, writes Simon Morris. Video, Audio

Voices - A growing, intergenerational community is taking shape at a Takaka cohousing cluster of houses. Audio

Scientists studying tortoise and turtle shells near the Marshall Islands have found they contain nuclear contamination, according to an article in the journal PNAS Nexus. 

The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano eruption of January 2022 may have affected the ozone hole in the earth's atmosphere.

Andrew Clark is a seasoned broadcaster with a life-long passion for classical music, and a lovely Scottish burr, who will be a wonderful addition to RNZ Concert.