Features

Review - The story of Spitfire is mostly told by the surviving pilots, and their memories - not only of the events, but of how they felt while they were happening - are hard to witness without mixed feelings, writes Simon Morris. Video, Audio

This week David Bremner finds out all there is to know about the deepest of the brass instruments, the tuba. Audio

Bombolini are one of the most popular items on the menu at Jacob Brown's Wellington restaurant The Larder. He shares the recipe with us. Audio

Lauryn Hill will perform her first New Zealand show in eight years this February. The Grammy award winner is bringing rapper Nas as her support act, amid ongoing controversy involving his ex-wife, R&B star Kelis.

Taranaki's young Maori community are learning about weaving and poi to commemorate 150 years since the battle of Te Ngutu o Te Manu.

Interested in the Rugby World Cup in Japan in 2019? Here's 12 things you need to know.

Health experts are calling for frank and fearless discussions about racism and white privilege to improve Māori health, Leigh-Marama McLachlan writes.

Your free classical download for September is Claude Debussy's La Mer. The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra is conducted by Edo de Waart.

Review - Hollywood's been trying to tap into the Asian market for years, so I'd have thought a Cinderella story among super-rich Chinese would have been a no-brainer, Simon Morris writes. Video, Audio

The Wairarapa, Central Otago and South Canterbury are the best regions historic Kiwi drinking establishments, says the author New Zealand Pubs, Peter Janssen. Audio, Gallery

Head of Artistic Planning Lucrecia Colominas tells Upbeat what the orchestra has planned for next year. Audio

A group of Victoria University students are turning the boring physiotherapy exercises most people don't get around to into... video games. Video, Audio

"There’s a sweetness that, even thirty-plus years after it was recorded, remains very appealing, while their message is never strident but gently, almost heartbreakingly, hopeful." - Nick Bollinger Audio

Blair Jollands is an expat Kiwi working in London as a sound designer for film and TV. His new album 7 Blood draws its title from a herb he used to help him battle Lyme disease. Video, Audio

Sam Neill can think of no greater adventure than Captain James Cook's voyage across the Pacific Ocean 250 years ago. The Kiwi actor recently took a year off his day job to "do the Pacific with Cook" for the TV series Uncharted. Video, Audio

A new rest home is planning to be the first in New Zealand to use an iPad-style tablet to connect residents with family and nurse staff at the touch of a button, allowing them to order dinner, watch TV and make phone calls. Audio

Lisa Loveday from Eat Auckland runs Korean food tours in Auckland with the help of Korean student Suna Kim. They talk Korean food and culture, and share a recipe for Kimchi pancakes.  Audio, Gallery

In letters to her family, pioneering cosmologist Beatrice Tinsley reveals the struggles and challenges she faced as a woman in the scientific and academic world. Her love of music continued throughout her life, alongside her groundbreaking research into the Evolution of Galaxies.

William Dart pays tribute to the recently departed Queen of Soul. It’s strange how, in times of loss, one can be unpredictably selective in searching out memories. Video, Audio

Voices - Polish President Andrjez Duda visited New Zealand last month and while some felt it was a symbolic mark of Polish independence, others believe that hard-won independence is being eroded, Eva Corlett writes. Audio

Kiwi singer Fiona McDonald talks about the songs that have influenced her, motherhood, joining her favourite band ever and fronting TV shows that no one watched (or needed). Video, Audio

Progressive rock is a term that's been used widely for 50 years. But it can still be difficult to pin down what it actually is. Associate Professor Rob Burns from Otago University has written a book on the genre, Experiencing Progressive Rock. Video, Audio

A mallard duck, believed to be the first of its kind to visit the nation, is facing a coming dry season on an island without sources of standing fresh water.  Audio

The perception that some bodies are 'bad' because of gender, race, age or disability is at the root of the world's ills, American author, activist and performance poet Sonya Renee Taylor says. Audio