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.

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Different school of thought • NCEA’s replacement should reinforce a student-centred approach to learning rather than bring back an outdated system, writes Mark Snoad.

Overstepping the mark

Bright Lines

Quips & Quotes

10 Quick Questions

Headless chooks • As Luxon talks up a glorious future, his ministers are introducing disconnected policies while sectors collapse all around them.

Taking up the challenge

Going to extremes

Murrr-durrr, they wrote

The perils of grey literature

Not a patch on paedophiles

Clipping the ticket • A visitor levy intended to fund services that overseas visitors use and conservation projects has become a cash cow for the government, with little money spent on tourism infrastructure.

When dogma trumps science • The US administration’s health and science funding cuts challenge NZ’s role in global research in areas such as vaccines and climate change.

Into the limelight • A chance encounter with a scene from Shakespeare reveals a celebrated moment in 19th-century stagecraft.

A quiet superstar • After a childhood of violence and broken dreams, Amanda Evans has forged a career making a huge difference to the lives of dying children.

High on her own supply?

Clever and crammed

Short cuts

History lessons • For his second novel, Airana Ngarewa draws from his own whakapapa to tell the story of a survivor of Tītokowaru’s war.

The nuclear option • A well-researched biography of our first Nobel laureate explores Ernest Rutherford’s achievements in plain language.

And your bird can sing • Once half of The Chicks, Suzanne Lynch marks 60 years in the music biz with a memoir that touches on the big names she’s backed.

Big numbers with Suzanne Lynch on backing vocals.

Floating in and out of comfort zones

Centre of the storm • Jacinda Ardern doco captures her time in power in vivid detail.

With quiet grace • Artist Robin White is given a languid, contemplative portrait by Gaylene Preston.

Drive like crazy • Paul Thomas Anderson steers Leonardo DiCaprio into Coen Brothers territory as a desperate dad.

Sam’s summons • Sam Neill gathered a Kiwi-heavy cast for his third season of courtroom drama The Twelve, set in Western Australia.

Paint by numbers • Through people’s stories and data, new four-part series Counting the Beat portrays how New Zealanders are really living.

Tv Films

Saturday/Rāhoroi October 4

Sunday/Rātapu October 5

Monday/Rāhina October 6

Tuesday/Rātū October 7

Wednesday/Rāapa October 8

Thursday/Rāpare October 9

Friday/Rāmere October 10

Radio October 4

Doctor’s notes • A new work by paediatrician and composer Louise Webster gets the APO treatment.

Little wonders • NZ research confirms most very-low-birthweight babies go on to lead healthy lives – though they could benefit from extra monitoring.

Cook this way • Jamie Oliver’s latest book is his first dedicated to healthy eating and is packed with tasty recipes.

Private, not exclusive • Villa Maria’s 2025 Private Bin collection includes some great-value wines.

What’s in a label? • Why finally getting a health diagnosis can bring relief – but also uncertainty.

Under the pump • A decline in a group of microscopic Southern Ocean algae could cascade up the food chain to penguins and...