New Zealand Listener

New Zealand Listener is the country’s most respected general interest magazine, bringing you a wide variety of news, stories, columns, reviews, plus TV listings, every week.

Masthead

Fast and furious • A growing international sport we’re actually quite good at could do with wider exposure, writes Cliff Studman.

Double standards

Bright Lines

10 Quick Questions

Best of both worlds – or is it?

Bondi, December 14, 2025

It’s growth, but not as we know it

New year, new you

Streets ahead • Paper maps are fading into obscurity as travellers turn to GPS to get around. But both technologies are liable to lead us astray.

A very forgettable country • Mark Cooper-Jones and Jay Foreman’s This Way Up begins with the curious case of why New Zealand is missing from so many world maps. Here is an edited excerpt.

Blind devotion • Concluding our series on Kiwis with a passion for older cars, ANDREW KERR talks to an owner who can’t drive his beloved Morris Marina, and seeks the verdict of an Alfa Romeo-owning architect.

The Design Perspective • Architect Ken Crosson runs a trained eye over our selection of ‘classic’ cars.

Never out of fashion • Co-founder of legendary menswear boutique Strangely Normal, Claire Dutton has an eye for distinction.

Fact & friction • Images from a year in which Donald Trump took centre stage in global affairs, natural and man-made disasters caused havoc, reputations rose and fell, and we still found light relief.

A purple swamp hen • Each summer, we invite some of Aotearoa’s finest writers to tell us a short tale. This year’s theme is distraction. Here are the final three stories.

Base patrol

The witching hour

Clear your shelves • Books editor Mark Broatch previews the arresting works of journalism, science writing and memoir, first-class novels and gripping thrillers to look forward to in the year ahead.

Local Books

Kingi’s last stand • On the cusp of completing his 10-album mission, Troy Kingi says he wants out of the limelight. Some aren’t so sure.

Sticky fingerstyle

A sweet sorrow • Jessie Buckley shines as Bard’s wife in tale of grief inspiring great art.

Daddy issues • Contfronting Nordic father-daughter drama has universal resonance.

Anchor man • Songwriter Don McGlashan looks back at his life in insightful doco.

Stopping the nation • It’s shaping as a promising year for local TV productions, even if Shorty remains on life support.

Cops and lodgers

In for a long knight • Westeros gets new odd couple in fun ‘Thrones’ prequel.

Tv Picks of the week

Tv Films

Saturday/Rāhoroi

Sunday/Rātapu

Monday/Rāhina

Tuesday/Rātū

Wednesday/Rāapa

Thursday/Rāpare

Friday/Rāmere

Radio

New sounds • Justin Villaflores brings new techniques to young musicians and new sonorities to Western ears.

Checks and balances • Frozen vegetables are increasingly being packaged in New Zealand using imported ingredients, but that doesn’t mean they are less safe.

Surprise packets • Ottolenghi collaborator Helen Goh’s latest book draws on Asian and Middle Eastern flavours.

Diverse portfolio

Rodents of death • Rats have learnt to play the videogame Doom.

Gaping wound • The health sector must do better to safeguard patient digital information.

Rules-Based Disorder

Flying a kite