Features

New Zealand’s face of public health Ashley Bloomfield has revealed his relief that the decision to lockdown early saw the number of Covid-19 cases flatten. Audio

Power Play - National Party leader Simon Bridges looks to be calling the bluff of would be challengers Todd Muller and Nikki Kaye, confirming a leadership vote will be held next week.

On Monday First Up spoke to the creator of the NZ Made Facebook page, Sarah Colcord, the page has over 450,000 followers. Two small businesses who posted on the page say they have had a surge in orders. Audio

Unprocessed whole grain is more beneficial for people with Type-2 diabetes than finely-milled foods, an Otago University research study has found. Audio

The Detail - The idea of a universal basic income is not new, but in the wake of the pandemic the debate has resurfaced. Audio

High-profile ecologist, Professor Carolyn King, says New Zealand's Predator Free 2050 goal is feasible, but says tackling one predator at a time will just encourage population growth in competing mammals. Audio, Gallery

The Zonta Club of Wellington has awarded this year's Biennial Zonta Science Award to a Pacific woman.

New Zealand comedian Ben Hurley says the late Fred Willard had something intangible that made him a stand-out funny man of the big screen. Audio

Analysis - Two conspiracy theories have merged into something very nasty online and into real world violence, writes David Farrier.

The latest Newshub Reid-Research poll puts Simon Bridges’ leadership on notice, and the National Party itself in an unenviable position, say commentators Matthew Hooton and Neale Jones. Audio

The Covid-19 lockdown has revealed a lack of trust by some in official sources of information – so much so that conspiracy theories have proliferated. Audio

Kiwi-born Caralee Fontanele quit processed foods after a trip to Thailand where she ate like a local, and for the first time in ages felt fantastic. Audio

You might not know his face, but you probably remember his voice. Māori Television’s Heta Gardiner has been one of the most memorable contributors to the daily Covid-19 briefings Audio

Voices - Lockdown and Ramadan make for a very unusual combination. This year, for most Muslims in New Zealand, observing the fast has been more challenging. Audio

When Jesse Mulligan put out the call to design a lockdown t-shirt, he got 100s of entries. In fact the standard was so high the Afternoons team couldn't pick one outright winner - so they picked four. Audio, Gallery

After sixteen years at RNZ Music, producer and presenter Kirsten Johnstone is moving on. She joins Tony Stamp to reflect on her work championing music, and play ten of her favourite songs. Video, Audio, Gallery

The future of air travel will likely be very different to the pre-Covid-19 world, but it probably won't come at discounted prices, a spokesman for a global flight-tracking service says. Audio

The lockdown has simply pushed Covid-19 cases and deaths into the future if a vaccine is not found relatively soon, a Swedish epidemiologist Professor Johan Giesecke says. Audio

Creating identities to go undercover and infiltrate extreme groups was like creating characters for a novel. But it didn't always go to plan, researcher Julia Ebner says. Audio

Lamb studded with rosemary and garlic, slathered with butter and set on a rack above a bed of potatoes, onions and tomatoes... Julie Biuso shares a sumptuous recipe. Audio

We’re celebrating 20 years of New Zealand Music Month with some brand new covers of classic Kiwi songs. Today it’s Auckland rockers Villainy with their cover of Dave Dobbyn’s ‘Language’.

The Covid-19 pandemic should be the occasion for people to consider whether the kind of society we've built is the kind of society we want, philosophy professor  Emrys Westacott says.  Audio

Two Cents Worth - The government says it's been saving for a rainy day. Now it's time to break out the umbrellas Audio

Australian moral philosopher Toby Ord weighs up the possibilities in his new book The Precipice. Audio