History
Astronaut John Glenn Dies aged 95
John Herschel Glenn wasn't the first man in space, he wasn't even the first American but he did orbit the earth three times in February 1962 as one of the first seven Mercury Astronauts of NASA. In… Audio
A career loving lexicology
If you've picked up an Oxford English Dictionary in the last 37 years, the chances are one of the definitions you read was written by John Simpson. Audio
Sound Archives: Sarah Johnston
A "date that will live in infamy" - that's how US President Franklin Roosevelt described the 7th of December 1941. Today is the 75th anniversary of the Japanese attack on the US naval base at Pearl… Audio
Spaceman Buzz Aldrin is being treated - by Dr David Bowie
"You can't make this stuff up." The second man to step foot on the moon is recovering in hospital in Christchurch after being evacuated from the South Pole last week with fluid on his lungs. And his… Audio
Push to centralise NZ's audio and video archives in Wellington
Decades of knowledge will be lost if plans to centralise New Zealand's audio and video archives go ahead, a union says.
Memories of Fiji's coup still clear ten years on
It's 10 years since the then head of Fiji's military Frank Bainimarama seized power in Fiji in the country's fourth coup in 20 years. Sally Round's been asking people about their personal memories of… Audio
Happy 50th to NZ's 'under-nourished Land Rover' - the Trekka
Fifty years ago today the country's first and only mass-produced motor vehicle was rolled out. Todd Niall recounts the Trekka's short but compelling history.
New Zealand's kava culture
It's estimated that over 20,000 Kiwis drink kava each week. Researcher Dr Apo Aporosa talks about the history and evolution of kava consumption in New Zealand and the rise of kava clubs. Audio
The history of School C
Most New Zealanders aged between 30 and 87 who were educated in this country sat School Certificate or 'School C'. It was scrapped 15 years ago but its influence remains and many New Zealanders over… Audio
The man with no memory
Patient H.M. lived his life in 30 second increments. After a lobotomy in 1953 to try and treat seizures, he was unable to hold memories any longer than half a minute. He became one of the most studied… Audio
The difficult history of Kaikōura’s road and rail links
The hilly territory around Kaikōura hit by the recent earthquakes has long had a reputation for being difficult country to traverse. Video, Audio, Gallery
Mourning continues in Cuba for Fidel Castro
Philippa Tolley reports from Cuba that huge numbers are turning out to pay respect to Fidel Castro, who died on Saturday. Audio
Nights' Pundit - Left Thinking
What is eco-socialism? How do eco-socialists view the causes of climate change, neoliberal policy responses and the politics of Green parties? We ask University of Otago political historian A.Prof… Audio
Taonga Left Homeless after Earthquake
Precious treaures from the Ward Flaxbourne area could be left homeless, after the massive quake earlier this month. The area's small museum is red-stickered and waiting on an engineer to stabilise it… Audio
Getting off Fidel's wild ride
Analysis - Fidel Castro's Cuba was already slipping away before the man himself signed off. Aaron Smale reflects on one of the giants of the 20th century.
From Zero - A New P Epidemic?
We look at where New Zealand is at now with a drug that is rarely out of the headlines: methamphetamine, or P. Are we seeing a new epidemic of use? If so, why? And is the current situation so acute… Audio
The New Zealanders who shaped climbing history
Sir Edmund Hillary's 1953 expedition to the top of Mt Everest with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay is remembered as one of the greatest achievements by a New Zealander. But the dream team of New Zealand… Audio, Gallery
Graverobber: the story of Andreas Reischek
In the 1880s Austrian naturalist and ethnographer Andreas Reischek stole four mummified Maori corpses and secretly smuggled them out of the country so they could be displayed at a museum in Vienna. He… Audio
Conservation work on Sir Ed's hut to go ahead
Conservation work at Sir Edmund Hillary's Scott Base hut in Antarctica will go ahead after the government announced a funding boost of $180,000.
Ann Shelton: Dark Matter
For 20 years Ann Shelton has been taking her cameras into places many of us would rather not venture into. Early works and some til now unseen work, through to her latest images are going on show at… Audio