Features

Manus Island has been making the headlines lately. Ben Robinson-Drawbridge has been following the story  - and the growing concerns about efforts to manipulate the media. Audio

Manus Island has been in the headlines a lot lately but few reporters have been able to report from there on the ground. Ben Robinson-Drawbridge looks at whether news reports are giving an accurate picture - and growing concerns about efforts to manipulate the media. Audio

Simon Morton took a dive into the world of the gig economy for a month and discovered first-hand just what it's like to drive for Uber. He reports from the front line.

Water is evaporating all over the world right now, so what if we could capture the energy created by this process? That's the thrust of some interesting work going on at Columbia University. Audio

Timor-Leste's youth bulge presents huge opportunities for the still fragile country, 15 years after independence from Indonesia's brutal occupation. Significant challenges remain but, as RNZ Pacific's Sally Round discovered, efforts are underway to diversify the economy and young people are trying to put their fraught past behind them. Video, Audio

Some say Collision's ‘You Can Dance’ is the best track on the new '70s funk and disco compilation album Heed the Call.  Hirra Morgan – a former member of the Tokoroa funk band – talks with Justine Murray about his life in music. Video, Audio

Father of two, Jonathan Densem has inoperable brain cancer. Desperate to record his songs while he still had the energy, his wife raised the money to make an album at Neil Finn's Roundhead studios. Video, Audio

Dr Chris Smith on empirical evidence that wine glasses have got bigger... way bigger, and a potential breakthrough in the treatment of the degenerative brain condition Huntington's Disease. Audio

Melody Thomas talks to two of the great minds behind the hilarious web series.

Irish soprano Orla Boylan is Tosca opposite Simon O'Neill as Cavaradossi. Phillip Rhodes makes a particularly sinister Scarpia in this New Zealand production of Puccini's Tosca.

Liz McGimpsey and her husband weren’t keen on vaccinations but after nearly losing their daughter, she barely remembers why.

Grant Smithies is left a little giddy by the new album from Auckland trio The Roulettes. He chats with the band and waxes lyrical about their new album. Video, Audio

The aftermath of WWI left composers struggling to make sense of the world and find a way forward with their music. John Drummond considers two contrasting responses. Audio

Those gearing up for a summer of cooling off in their favourite local swimming hole are being warned to check first for signs of blue green algae.

Luke Hurley is one of New Zealand's great unknown musicians. Born in Kenya and raised in Gore, he now lives in Auckland where you can often find him busking. Audio

When the Rangitaiki River overflowed in April, hundreds of hectares of farmland were underwater and thousands of cows were trucked to other regions. Country Life discovers many farmers are still picking up the pieces. Audio

Christchurch music teacher and father-of-two Jonathan Densem has inoperable brain cancer. This year he fulfilled a dream of recording his debut album at Neil Finn's Roundhead Studios. Video, Audio

Naturally occurring microbes living on plants can be used to boost the yield, nutrition and even taste of corn, soybeans, rice and tomatoes. This Way Up visits a biotech startup manipulating microbes in Missouri. Audio

"I've got a very intense, rewarding job … without this, I have no idea what kind of state I'd be in." Video, Audio

This week Nick features two leading contemporary players, trumpeter Terell Stafford and tenor player Mark Turner- plus tunes by Chet Baker, Charlie Parker and Jelly Roll Morton. From 5pm on RNZ Concert.

Clarissa Dunn guides us through the back story of this seasonal favourite. Audio

Tech experts fear that internet service providers (ISPs) in New Zealand could soon to be allowed to discriminate against rival websites and apps.

The Last Jedi is the longest movie in the Star Wars franchise and at times it feels it, writes Megan Whelan.

We chat to the Christchurch musician who's just fulfilled his dying wish - to record an album; The RNZ Music team pick their fave international tracks of 2017; Ruban Nielson of Unknown Mortal Orchestra joins us ahead of his visit in Jan; and heaps more! Join us from 1pm on RNZ National.