Features

This year we’re celebrating 25 years of one of RNZ’s best-loved programmes. Each week Country Life's producers travel around the motu to capture the stories, sounds and images of the people of our country.

Auckland Museum curator Dr Matt Rayner works amongst stuffed peacocks, moa, emu, and ostriches – but his own speciality is seabirds. Audio

Don Jessen was conceived in a caravan. When his wife Marilyn Jessen met him at 17, she soon realised loving him meant learning to love van life. Audio, Gallery

LISTEN: Music commentator Dave Wilson joins Kathryn Ryan to look at the fascinating relationship between work and music. Creating, singing, and playing music are all forms of labour. Audio

A concert by well known New Zealand artists with the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra will celebrate 60 years of the films at the Aotea Centre on Saturday night. Singer Caitlin Smith gives us a sneak preview of The Music is Bond.  Audio

"I'm a little bit too loud, a little bit tall – I'm nearly six foot … nosy, looking at you going 'what are you doing? Where are you going?" Audio

After years of pandemic-induced stress, many people are struggling to recalibrate – but there are ways to manage. Video

The Night of the 12th is a French police thriller about a shocking murder that becomes an obsession for the two detectives trying to solve it. Video, Audio

Auckland food blogger Albert Cho (@eatlitfood) chats to Kathryn Ryan about his new memoir I Love My Stupid Life. Audio

With the future of mortgage rates uncertain, New Zealanders signing up for a fixed-term mortgage should carefully consider what they can afford.

A lot of urban areas are grassed by default when the planet would be better off if we planted trees, says AUT professor Len Gillman. Audio

Hollywood actor Paul Newman's daughter Melissa tells Jesse Mulligan what she learnt about her late father from interview transcripts discovered after his death. Audio

Player safety is paramount. Well, that's the intention, anyway, as NZ Rugby  announced the implementation of a new law around tackling, Jamie Wall writes.

Sally Hubbard argues that a monopolized economy works for only a select few, and leave the rest feeling left out and left behind. Audio

An infectious disease expert says the latest research suggesting stress is a major factor causing long Covid makes biological sense, but cautions more studies are needed. Audio

In the final episode of 2022, former Māori Party co-leader Marama Fox joins Mihingarangi Forbes and Shane Te Pou to discuss the latest in politics. Video, Audio

On her @depthsofwikipedia blog, Annie Rauwerda compiles some of Wikipedia's more bizarre pages. One such page chronicles the increasing number of Russian oligarchs linked to large energy companies that keep dying in weird ways. Audio

The heroes of the 2006 hit movie Sione’s Wedding return to the screen in new series Duckrockers – not as adults, but as a teenage gang, back where it all began.  Audio

Less than a year on from the buzz and hype of Peter Jackson's eight-hour-long Beatles doco, yet another "new" release from the long-gone band popped up this week.

Jess Fu sits down with Māori Jewish talent Ana Chaya Scotney to discuss her thrilling debut album, Dawn Ocean Swimming and how she creates her singular “high lonesome sound”.

The Detail - Bank profits are set to crack $10 billion - is it too much, or are the banks just an easy target for criticism? Audio

In March this year,  Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton's ship Endurance was found 3000 metres under the icy Weddell Sea - 107 years after it sank. The ship, helped by frigid conditions, was in remarkable condition. Audio, Gallery

Spencer Kahu has been farming in the Kaikōura District since he was 14. Now he manages two large properties and for him, sustainability, conservation and gathering kai for the whānau go hand in hand with the business of farming. Audio

Tony Stamp reviews Princess Chelsea’s newest mix of sweet & sour songcraft, classical/ EDM madness from Britain's Jockstrap, and the latest by Canadian producer Daphni. Audio