Features

American singer Julia Holter infuses sweet and lush pop with complex sonic explorations and avant-garde literary references on her new album Aviary. Audio

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Bike Auckland has been making a concerted effort to make cycling activism more relatable and accessible under level-headed communications manager Jolisa Gracewood. Audio

Before kicking off their nationwide tour, Wellington supergroup Congress of Animals treat us to a stripped-back acoustic sing-along version of their song 'Shine' and chat to Yadana Saw. Video, Audio

The very best in Americana, alt country and blues music, hosted by Mark Rogers. Monday nights after the 11 o'clock news on RNZ National, 101 FM.

It was the "concert of the year" according to many who attended. Pianist Lars Vogt plays with and conducts the NZSO in music by Mozart, Webern and Beethoven.

Not only the "default food for anyone short on money, or time, or a kitchen", instant noodles are also a triumph of modern food production, according to journalist Celia Hatton. Richard Scott checks out her podcast The Eternal Life of the Instant Noodle. Audio

Māori Television is replacing news and current affairs shows next year with a 'Māori Media Hub' to deliver "news as it happens” online and on TV. Mediawatch asks its chief editor why - and how that will be done.    Audio

Tami Neilson performs live at Auckland's Town Hall as part of her SASSAFRASS! tour, August 2018. Audio

VIDEO - Latinaotearoa is an Auckland band who fuse South American beats and Spanish vocals with classic Kiwi roots vibes. They play us a couple of tracks from their third album Influencis et Collabis. Video, Audio

The most tattooed person in the world was among the star attractions at the New Zealand Tattoo and Arts Festival in New Plymouth over the weekend.

Insight - With rising freight volumes another 28,000 truck drivers will be needed in the next decade - but a stressed, ageing workforce is increasingly quitting and young people aren't interested, Tracy Neal reports. Audio

Horticulture is humming in the Gisborne region and there are plenty of jobs around, says Tim Egan who co-owns a 39-hectare apple, kiwifruit and grape orchard. Country Life visits Tim and his happy work crew. Audio

Wellington hip-hop pioneers Upper Hutt Posse were inducted into the Hall of Fame on Thursday at the Vodafone NZ Music Awards. Members Darryl Thomson aka, DLT and Bennett Pomana, aka MC B-Ware, joined Alex Behan to select songs and tell stories for the RNZ Music Mixtape. Video, Audio

Ahead of tonight's opera on RNZ Concert, listen to Clarissa Dunn's backgrounder on composer Giuseppe Verdi and his music. Audio

Chef Ganesh Raj has created a special dessert for this summer's North West Wine, Beer & Food Festival – Whenuapai Trifle. He shares the recipe. Audio

Yoko Ono - now 85 years old - is back with a new album, Warzone, on which two things are clear: firstly, she's still very much a political animal, and secondly, she's at ease with the music of her past and she's happy to revisit it in 2018. William Dart listens entranced Video, Audio

Trevor Courtney has always liked beer, and now the drummer for '60s band Chants R&B is growing hops on a lifestyle block in North Canterbury. Video, Audio, Gallery

The inimitable Yoko Ono – now 85 years old – revisits her musical past and the political present on her new album, Warzone. Long-time fan William Dart takes a listen. Video, Audio

Comedian Terri Psiakis coaxes high-profile Australians into sharing their parenting tips and fessing up to some of the challenges and the failures on Parental Guidance Recommended. Richard Scott takes a listen. Audio

The Beatles 'White Album' is 50 years old and there's a new 6-disc edition to mark the occasion. Nick Bollinger takes a deep dive. Audio

Orson Welles' legendary final film, which he began shooting in 1970, has just been funded to life by Netflix. The Other Side of the Wind is energetic, funny, tragic and utterly self-absorbed, says Dan Slevin.

Are New Zealand the biggest poachers of rugby talent world-wide? Some stats released this week suggest the northern hemisphere sides are worse by a country mile, writes Joe Porter.

The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra is performing Beethoven’s highly recognisable Ninth Symphony this weekend. We count down the ten most interesting interpretations of the famous ‘Ode to Joy’ theme from the fourth movement.

New York composer Kelly Moran takes the prepared piano on an evocative journey that calls up the ghosts of a supernatural gamelan in this week's edition of Sound Lounge on RNZ Concert from 9.30pm.