Danyl McLauchlan: Nostalgia for the relative normality of the 'Jacinda years' is taking hold

Cost-of-living crisis continues and government tinkers while Labour eyes a comeback.

Anthony Ellison’s cartoon of the week

Anthony Ellison shares his perspective on the week in politics.

Greg Dixon’s Another Kind of Politics: Road Cone Hotline identifies over 650 total losers

Greg Dixon runs a satirical eye over the week in local and international politics.

Danyl McLauchlan: Is it time to rid ourselves of local councils?

What will become of local councils?

Charlotte Grimshaw: An empathy deficit is wreaking havoc around the world

In urgent and particular ways, empathy is the issue of our times.

How Britain’s mental health burden is threatening its future

Britain, it seems, is bad for your mental health - and that’s bad for the economy.

Law & society: Does MMP need a tweak?

MMP has brought unintended consequences, so how can we make it more representative.

Aaron Smale: Shane Jones's achievements don’t match his rhetoric

Shane Jones believes he’s going to force Ngāpuhi into settling their treaty claims.

Listener weekly quiz: July 16

Test your general knowledge with the Listener’s weekly quiz.

Net loss: How our demand for fish is decimating albatross

A veteran scientist says we can quickly counter one threat – commercial fishing.

‘I just want to work’: The reality of life after redundancy

As job losses rise, highly skilled NZers are trying to turn redundancy into new beginnings

The Bigger Picture: End of the rainbow

July 10 marks the 40th anniversary of the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior.

If corn syrup can be unhealthy, shouldn’t we avoid eating corn?

Corn products are not created equal, so it pays to know what that means for your body.

Are we taking antibiotic resistance seriously enough?

Resistance to common medicines is growing, but the bigger issue now is our waterways.

Does junk food cause teenage acne?

Highly processed “junk” food may influence the development and severity of acne.

Does kānuka extract have life-extending potential?

Exploratory science finds Kānuka oil's bio-actives may have anti-ageing properties.

The psychology of being cool

Researchers attempt to identify what makes up the essence of cool.

The Good Life: A sniff of nostalgia

You can register the tenor of a small town by its charity shops, and by their smells.

Foddies Chrissy Glentis’s top picks for those with food intolerances

Two recipes that follow the low-FODMAP diet for people with food intolerances.

Steve Braunias: ‘A funeral is a special event - you only die once.’

Steve Braunias on family gatherings, rainy days and the long, sharp claws of grief.

Outsider art: Steve Braunias on the global interest in NZ’s ‘Picasso’

Untrained and unable to speak, Susan Te Kahurangi King is one of our greatest artists.

Dancing up a storm: The radical contemporary-ballet crossover of Home, Land and Sea

The Royal NZ Ballet, NZ Dance Company and Shayne Carter find common ground in new work.

New documentary examines the horrors of Auschwitz through music

Scores found languishing in archives, untouched since war's end, form basis for doco.

Why local musician has the wind in her sails

Gabrielle Pho has been devoted to the French horn since the age of three.

Nancy & the Nazis: Bringing the Mitford sisters to life in Outrageous TV drama

The notorious, rebellious society girls inspire a sprightly period piece.

Fiona Kidman: A writer’s life makes for stunning doco

The grand dame of NZ lit reflects on her sometimes controversial career.

Lost Boss: Unearthing Bruce Springsteen’s hidden gems

Graham Reid picks five great songs from the new collection of unreleased tracks.

NZ Listener’s Songs of the Week: Six60 and Estère’s overseas collaborations, and a Lucy Lawless sampler

Listen to the best of this week's new releases - selected by the Listener team.

Book of the day: Endling by Maria Reva

Novelist’s Ukraine-set dark feminist satire twists around very real existential threat.

Spy v spy: True tales of sleeper agents & spymasters

Two new books highlight the toll on agents playing the long game between East and West.

Stacy Gregg: 'Don’t even get me started on the inherent rejection attached to writing for a living'

The bestselling author on life lessons, rejection, star writers and being the 'pony girl'.

The bestselling authors who draw on the strength of others

The cliché of the lonely writer couldn't be further than the truth.

The mystery of Minnie Dean: Was the only woman executed by law in New Zealand innocent?

Notorious "baby farmer” Minnie Dean hanged for infanticide but did the judge get it right?

Justice with heart: Steve Braunias spends a day at NZ’s court for the mentally ill

Our one specialist court assessing whether a defendant is mentally fit to enter plea.

Eyewitness doubts continue to haunt Scott Watson case 25 years after conviction

Eyewitnesses to solve crimes is a standard policing procedure, but how reliable are they?

No DNA, no CCTV, no chance: The 50-year hunt for what really happened to Mona Blades

Reassessing evidence in the Mona Blades case and the orange Datsun that led NZ astray.

Charlotte Grimshaw: An empathy deficit is wreaking havoc around the world

In urgent and particular ways, empathy is the issue of our times.

How Britain’s mental health burden is threatening its future

Britain, it seems, is bad for your mental health - and that’s bad for the economy.

Jane Clifton: Europe’s new pest threat - ants, bedbugs and moths run rampant

There’s something karmically dystopian about insects destroying human habitats.

Why breaking up with the US may be in Australia’s best interests

In this new world, Australia will look to other allies to help deepen its security.

This Titirangi home was transformed into a functional family home

A mid-century Auckland home is reconfigured to make it more functional for a young family

This contemporary Redcliffs home maximises its view of the estuary

A home on a Christchurch estuary provides its owner with an outlook that’s always changing

10 things we learnt from listener.co.nz stories this week

Peacekeeping, population and why cannabis could cure insomnia.

10 things we learnt from listener.co.nz stories this week

The former PM who helped solve a violent crime to 11 words to say before you die.