The Detail
The Week in Detail: Cluster bombs, Whakaari, and Fukushima waste
The Detail podcast brings you the issues behind the news every weekday. Here's what we covered this week. Audio
Long Read: The Flames of Our Shame
By Max Rashbrooke: While the fatal fire at Loafers Lodge has reinforced calls for greater scrutiny of boarding houses, the warning signals have been around for years. Audio
Is Matariki the world's oldest story?
We call this star cluster Matariki – but the Seven Sisters myth is told all over the world, in startlingly similar fashion. Could it be our oldest story? Audio
The outrage over a brutal weapon of war
The US is sending cluster bombs to Ukraine in a move it hopes will shorten the war – how do they work, and why has the move prompted an uproar from human rights workers? Audio
Pacific fears over Japan's nuclear fallout
Japan has made assurances the wastewater it's dumping in the Pacific is safe – but not everyone is convinced. Audio
The tragedy that's brought the Whakatāne community closer
The WorkSafe prosecution over the Whakaari eruption begins today – and some of the heroes of that dreadful day are in the spotlight. Audio
The Week in Detail: Busted roads, overflowing lakes and car-free cities
The Detail podcast brings you the issues behind the news every weekday. Here's what we covered this week. Audio
Long Read: Bone Hunters
By George Driver: An ancient lake bed in St Bathans is revealing New Zealand's mysterious past. Audio
Why city centres are going car-free
Auckland, Dunedin, and now Wellington – does pedestrianisation solve problems, or create them? Audio
'Set up to fail': The alternative education problem
These programmes are the last resort for kids who can't cope in mainstream schools – but barely any leave with NCEA qualifications. Audio
The Week in Detail: Gang towns, Prigozhin, and single-use plastics
The Detail podcast brings you the issues behind the news every weekday. Here's what we covered this week. Audio
Long Read: Guilt, Part I: Murder in Paeroa
By Ryan Wolf: Speculation still swirls about the unsolved 2012 murder of pizza shop owner Jordan Voudouris. Audio
What just happened in Russia?
Was the weekend of chaos a failed coup, or did the man once known as 'Putin's Chef' just snap, condemning himself to exile? Audio
Life under the shadow of Ruapehu Alpine Lifts
A government bail-out will keep the skifields open this winter, but businesses have been living with a question mark over Ruapehu's long-term future for months. Audio
A tale of two gang towns
A huge Mongrel Mob tangi in Ōpōtiki has thrown up some stark contrasts in the way different towns deal with gangs. Audio
The Week in Detail: Waitlist algorithms, teacher strikes, and the Kermadecs
The Detail podcast brings you the issues behind the news every weekday. Here's what we covered this week. Audio
Long Read: Strange Days on Lake Rotomahana
By Tim Bollinger: Once New Zealand’s very own wonder of the world, the Pink and White Terraces were destroyed in a single night of volcanic destruction. Audio
The oil disaster in our backyard
Experts say this sunken shipwreck could be a disaster bigger than the Rena. Why hasn't anything been done to prevent it? Audio
What it's like to be a high school teacher in New Zealand
Tens of thousands of secondary teachers have walked off the job this year in a fight for better pay and conditions. Just how bad is it? Audio
Long Read: Homeward Bound
By Veronika Meduna: Moriori await the final return to the Chatham Islands of human remains recovered from institutions around the world. Audio