Features

The Rugby World Cup is a cultural as well as sporting experience and Pick and Mix this week plays some music with a Japanese background.

One of the most notable global seed bank vault stores more than a million pods from around the world. But our seed banking initiatives are facing their fair share of challenges in trying preserve native flora.  Audio

If you are already in Japan or heading there for the latter stages of the Rugby World Cup, Joe Porter has a guide on what to do and what to avoid as a fan in the country.

Fair Play - Making time to listen and understand is key to helping women and girls with “invisible” impairments participate in sport in New Zealand.

The boss of Jess' Underground Kitchen, Jess Daniell shares with us her recipe for Coq Au Vin Blanc with baby potatoes.

Sing along this week to some well-known favourites including 'And can it be' and 'Praise to the Lord, the Almighty'. Video, Audio

Joe Ngan was born in China and moved to NZ when he was seven. He worked in a fruit shop, on a dairy farm, as a fish-and-chip shop owner, a sports shop owner and a teacher before becaming a kiwifruit orchardist. Audio

No composer followed as closely in the 'return-to-nature' trajectory of Claude Monet as Claude Debussy. Audio

This week Nick features trumpet player Clifford Brown and drummer Max Roach, as well as Billie Holiday, Dianne Reeves and Gregory Porter. Audio

New Zealand runner Bruce Magee pays homage to his mentor Arthur Lydiard (1917 - 2004) who's been posthumously awarded a World Athletics Heritage plaque.

Hollywood film Home Alone is coming to life once more, but this time it’s thanks to the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra. Audio

Week in Politics - This was likely the most intense and high-profile week of international appearances a New Zealand prime minister has ever had, writes Peter Wilson.

An empty paddock next to a big box shopping development is the last place you'd expect to see a New Zealand dotterel nest - or is it?

New Zealand has a long history of protest songs, from anti-nuclear anthems to Māori empowerment jams. And as Kiwi school kids went out on a climate strike this week, we count down seven of the best New Zealand protest songs.

Opinion - World Rugby should be ashamed at how they've let Fiji, Tonga and Samoa slide into mediocrity and irrelevance, write Hamish Bidwell.

Check out the surprising variety of music composed for various forms of percussion.

Good Boys is a R-rated movie about a trio of foul-mouthed 12-year-olds. It's a lot sweeter and funnier than you'd think, says Simon Morris. Video, Audio

WOMAD has this week made the first artist announcement for its 2020 festival, which takes place in Taranaki in March.

Double Forte bring you some relaxed tunes for weekend listening. Audio

Insight - Sex tourism and online abuse are growing in the Philippines and New Zealanders are some of the perpetrators. Gill Bonnett investigates. Audio

Widescreen - Cinephiles are the big winners in this week’s new streaming offers, according to Dan Slevin.

Matangireia - Did Turei mean to turn the 2017 election on its head? Does it bother her that she never had the opportunity to be a part of the government? Watch the documentary. Video, Audio

The Detail - Our $1.83 billion wine industry is being caught up in global trade wars that insiders describe as 'fundamentally concerning'.  Audio

Solomon Islands' decision to switch allegiance from Taiwan to China was predetermined, a former prime minister says. Audio