Features

Machine learning software could be an important tool in monitoring the survival of native birds once they leave the protection of wildlife sanctuaries. Audio, Gallery

You might be able to argue Cocoa Pops – which is 36.5 percent sugar – is better than nothing for breakfast, but it's not going to give your body much to go on, food writer Niki Bezzant says. Audio

Katie Parker puts Matilda Rice's guide to a beautiful life to the test; Max Towle investigates a comical complaint about the 'If it's not gay, it's gay' ad campaign and eight other stories you might have missed.

Lucy Lawless talks about art, activism, sexual misconduct in Hollywood and the Hobbit Law. Video, Audio

Wishbone Design won in the new 'Going Circular' category at this week's Sustainable Business Awards with a children's bike entirely made of recycled carpet. Audio

We give the All Blacks a report card for their 2017 efforts, the Kiwi Ferns try and wrest the women's Rugby League World Cup from Australia and Jeetan Patel discusses life in Birmingham as a county cricketer. Audio

Lucy Lawless is outspoken. Zoe George visits her on the set of the stage show Pleasuredome to talk about art, activism, sexual misconduct in Hollywood, the Hobbit Law and what she wants her legacy to be. Video, Audio

Bob Martin has spent all of his savings and much of his pension looking for his daughter Francesca. She was last seen at a Hamilton petrol station in 2005. Video, Audio

Yasmine Ryan reported from some of the world's most dangerous regions for organisations like Al Jazeera and The New York Times. After news of her death in Istanbul, a former colleague pays tribute. Audio

Deborah Adesanya's life was transformed by a stint aboard the world's largest civilian hospital ship. The New Zealand nurse features in a new documentary, The Surgery Ship. Audio, Gallery

An Auckland based Pacific publishing house celebrates a decade of its business operation this month and is already looking towards the future.

Wellington taxi drivers played sounds from around the globe at an event in Wellington earlier this month – Yadana Saw was there. Video, Audio

An Aucklander was hit with a huge clean-up job this week after a neighbour flushed a nappy down the toilet. Watercare's Peter Rogers reminds us what wastewater pipes can handle. Audio, Gallery

An official Tahiti team will not be part of the Pacific Mini Games, with the territory's athletes to compete under a neutral banner, following the French Polynesia's government's decision to boycott the event. Audio

Whether at school or on the sports field, structure your child's learning so there's lots of success and make yourself seem fallible and relatable, says speech and language therapist Christian Wright Audio

New Zealand artist Dick Frizzell reflects on his life and talks us through five of his favourite songs – which all happen to be homegrown. Video, Audio

Michael Houstoun and Orchestra Wellington play an audience favourite - the darkly mysterious Piano Concerto No 20 in D minor K466 by Mozart. You can download your own copy from our Podcast Classics page.

It’s not much to look at, but a small area of rubbish-strewn, scrubby vegetation sandwiched between Wellington Harbour and a busy road is a surprisingly rich lizard hotspot. Audio

There's a lot going on in the debut album from Soccer Practise. Twisted beats, powerful vocals and surging guitars combine with both English and te reo Māori lyrics, to create something truly unique. Video, Audio

Frankenstein has remained in our culture since its creation 200 years ago. A gothic scholar and historian says the tale is now a myth, and one which will endure. Audio

An emergency signal sparks a desperate search for a missing air force helicopter. Produced by Justin Gregory. Audio

New identification technology could put LGBTQIA+ people at risk, rainbow groups say. 

Despite signs of a rightward shift in world politics, a new left is emerging in some countries with the launch of a new socialist party in the US imminent, says a Canadian academic. Audio

Susann Beier hopes the hundreds of coronary arteries she's mapped using MRI scans will improve the treatment of heart disease. Audio