Language

Patrick Evans is the author of the first biography of the writer Janet Frame. His play based on his 2010 novel, Gifted, is playing at Wellington's Circa Theatre, and his new novel, The Back of His… Audio

Crimes against grammar are on the rise as is the snobbery around using proper English. Audio

Do non-human animals have language? What is the memory capacity of other species? Can animals learn abstract concepts and show creativity? These are some of the questions tackled by Victoria… Audio

Kate Camp has published five collections of poems, most recently Snow White's Coffin. She discusses Joan Didion's 2005 memoir, The Year of Magical Thinking. Audio

Welsh performers who are touring New Zealand with their acclaimed show Hiraeth, telling the story of Jones' departure from her Welsh farm to London. Audio

Australian children's book author and comedy writer whose books include The Day My Bum Went Psycho, and the Just! series with illustrator Terry Denton. His latest series with Denton started in 2011… Audio

The former Labour Party President Mike Williams who now teaches literacy in prisons says there's no need for Te Reo Maori in prisons. Audio

A visiting Brazilian linguist will give a series of free public lectures, on the importance of nurturing indigenous languages globally. Dr Marcus Maia is an associate professor of linguistics at the… Audio

Author of many books, most recently From the Cutting Room of Barney Kettle (Longacre), and ambassador for the first NZ Bookshop Day. She will discuss two picture book authors, Peter Brown and Mini… Audio

Staff writer and book critic at The New Yorker, and Professor of the Practice of Literary Criticism at Harvard University. His latest collection of essays is The Nearest Thing to Life. Audio

Photographer and social historian, Matika Wilbur talks about her mission to photograph every native American tribe in the US. Audio, Gallery

The annual Hajj pilgrimage begins on September 22, and for many Muslims, the journey to Mecca is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. More than a million faithful, have already flocked to Saudi Arabia in… Audio

Will speaking Mandarin be a future economic necessity for New Zealanders? Do New Zealanders need to bridge the cultural and linguistic knowledge gap between China and New Zealand? Is there an economic… Audio, Gallery

Painter, poet, curator and writer discussing two new collections of poetry: Shaggy Magpie Songs by Murray Edmond, and Generation Kitchen by Richard Reeve. Audio

British adventurer who sailed into the Southern Ocean in mid-winter, a journey he wrote about in his book Captain Bungle's Odyssey: Singlehanded Round the World. Audio

Lynda Chanwai-Earle discovers that balance is quintessential to Vietnamese food and philosophy when she follows a Secret Dining Trail with the Wellington on a Plate Festival to learn where to find the… Audio, Gallery

New Zealand writer, and ambassador for the first NZ Bookshop Day in October, discussing three picture books: The Lion and the Bird by Marianne Dubuc; Shhhh! I'm Sleeping by Dorothee de Monfried, and… Audio

Former Wellington dancer now based in Brussels who has returned here with her latest show, All Ears, which uses the stage as an ad hoc laboratory for a series of unusual recordings and acoustic… Audio