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COVER STORY

There are a MILLION mutts in New Zealand. Many live better than we do. What does that say about us?

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Following The Threads

The loss of a collaboration between artist Colin McCahon and weaver Ilse von Randow has sparked both a deep search and a conversation about how we value art. By Hayden Donnell

Island Life

Over 35 years, a barren former sheep farm overrun with rodents has been turned into a lush landscape alive with native wildlife. By Colin Miskelly

How’s the Air Up There?

For more than 40 years, scientists in a tiny Central Otago pitstop have been studying the ozone layer and the carcinogenic UV rays from the sun. By George Driver

The Virus Hunter

By choosing a career in science over dance, evolutionary biologist Jemma Geoghegan may have saved your life. By Paul Gorman

Blue Smoke: The Past, Present and Future of Our Cars

Our vast fleet of aging cars is a growing problem. But as our Nissan Sentra-owning journalist finds, it’s not easy getting rid of old bangers. By George Driver

Voice Control

Discussions about what is and who should have free speech rarely reach consensus. By Yvonne van Dongen

Career public servant Kara Isaac experienced New Zealand’s managed isolation both as a “guest” and on the leadership team of the organisation running the frontline defence against the spread of Covid-19. By Yvonne van Dongen

A Call for Care

Residential care facilities for the treatment of mental health or addiction have fallen out of favour. By Sally Blundell

The Writing’s on the Wall

Being an adult who can’t read is enormously challenging — though as people who’ve been functionally illiterate their entire lives can attest, there’s always time to learn. By Sharon Stephenson

The Goldfields Gravediggers

Otago’s earliest cemeteries are filled with unmarked graves. Now some of the skeletons are telling their tales. By George Driver

The Misery-Go-Round

New Zealand’s child protection agency, Oranga Tamariki, is constantly in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. But is it the institution that is flawed or the society that expects it to fix bigger problems? By Aaron Smale

The Man in the Shadows

The prime minister’s chief of staff is the most powerful non-elected political figure in the country. Current chief of staff Raj Nahna eschews the spotlight but, despite his best efforts, it somehow finds him. By Pete McKenzie

Illustration: Daron Parton.

The CEO of Age Concern says seniors on a fixed budget will stop eating, and forgo costs for basics like the internet or a cell phone. “They lose the joy of life.”

Where Will You Live When You’re Old?

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Where Will You Live When You’re Old?

You are 30, 50, or 60 years old. Life is going to plan.Or is it? By Ollie Neas

The Fate Of Our National Estate

A new report calls for partnership with tangata whenua to be at the heart of our national parks. By George Driver

The Bigger Picture

Despite decades of alarm about rising rates of obesity, as a nation we’re getting fatter — clear evidence our approach so far simply isn’t working. By Mirjam Guesgen

Spread Thin

The “Sandwich Generation” used to apply to a temporary mid-life squeeze of caring for both younger children and ageing parents. Now, those years are broadening and for many New Zealand families, retirement plans are being impacted by the needs of older kids and geriatric parents. By Sarah Catherall

Aotearoa, Land Of The Digital Cloud

Overseas tech companies are spending billions of dollars building warehouses to store New Zealand’s — and the world’s — information here. Why? By George Driver

Traumatic Births: “A Club No One Wants to Join”

Lizzie Marvelly recounts the birth experience in a major New Zealand hospital which left her physically and emotionally battered. Additional reporting on the state of maternity care by Ollie Neas. By Lizzie Marvelly and Ollie Neas

Happiness by the numbers

In May Grant Robertson will deliver his fourth "Wellbeing Budget". But what is wellbeing, where does it come from — and how does New Zealand measure up? By Tobias Buck

You Have Now Entered Carbon Country

New Zealand’s climate policy is creating a dense forest of winners and losers. By George Driver

The Unhappy Valley

It’s bloody paradise, it’s a nightmare, it’s a bargain — the residents don’t agree on much, except that Waipori Falls is unlike anywhere else in New Zealand. By George Driver

The Forever Files

From the age of 18 to his retirement at 65, Wellington GP Dorian Saker was a watched man. Driven by Cold War insecurities, our security services spied on Saker and his friends, a group of young professionals whose ‘crimes’ were to be thinkers, socially conscious and . . . not…

A Quiet Place

As human-made noise colonises more and more of the planet, a small group of volunteers is starting to fight back. By Petrina Darrah

Click and Collect for Drugs

How the internet is convincing Kiwis that buying drugs is as safe and convenient as online shopping. By Pete McKenzie

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He Said, She…

Have New Zealand's defamation laws killed our #MeToo movement? By Pete McKenzie

The Most Outspoken Man In Sport

Black Cap Jimmy Neesham on his journey from crisis to comeback. By James Borrowdale

The Change Agent

Ngāi Tahu's first female chair is on a mission to transform the iwi's operations from the ground up. By Sally Blundell

This Old House

In which the author investigates his newly purchased home and discovers a rich vein of New Zealand history. By John Summers

Argo II

The untold story of how a pair of wily New Zealand diplomats helped the CIA save lives during the Iranian hostage crisis. By Pete McKenzie

Waiting for a Miracle

New Zealand has no Catholic saints — yet. By Oliver Lewis

This is Like, Totally Weird

Why your kid talks like a tiny American. By Don Rowe

Red Flags

Amid concerns that China is co-opting academics and acquiring sensitive technology from universities around the world, New Zealand scientists are being forced to navigate a perilous geopolitical maze. By Pete McKenzie

The Dark Side of the Moon

Is New Zealand lending support to an aggressive American push to commercialise outer space? By Kate Evans

Bad Jobs

The labour market is red hot — so why are hundreds of thousands of workers poor, insecure and stressed? By Rebecca Macfie

Can Greyhound Racing Survive?

With damning reports of injury and doping, a once-fashionable sport is officially on notice. By Mirjam Guesgen

How to Buy a Mountain

How crowdfunding is saving our precious places. By Sally Blundell

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Prince of the Commune

A rare and disturbing conversation. By Anke Richter

Hired Guns

Hundreds of former New Zealand soldiers have gone on to lucrative careers as private contractors, often experiencing deep trauma when they return home. By Pete McKenzie

High Growth

How hemp went from a niche interest of hippie enthusiasts to an industrial cash crop with serious market potential. By Oliver Lewis

The Roaring Game

Curling is a sport with a 500-year-old history, but one mystery still remains: why the game’s distinctive stones move the way they do. By Laurie Winkless

A Tale of Two Churches

Why is Christchurch restoring its Anglican cathedral but destroying the architecturally significant Catholic basilica? By Sally Blundell

Poetry for the People

New Zealand's Poet Laureate programme democratises an art form typically seen as the province of literary elites. By Tobias Buck

The Fight for the Future of Farming

Meet the farmers who are risking their reputations to save our environment. By Nicola Harvey

Best In Class

A round-up of the most popular, innovative and surprising courses at New Zealand's universities. By Patrice Dougan

Homecoming

A much-awaited road trip prompts Linda Burgess to wonder why she felt more comfortable with her national identity than the country she calls home. By Linda Burgess

Lost In Transit

Hundreds of families have been divided by Covid border policies. Can't the country of 'be kind' do better? By Branko Marcetic

A Tiny Piece Of Her Brain Could Save Yours

At the Centre for Brain Research, patients give Auckland scientists a rare and invaluable advantage. By Donna Chrisholm

“We Spent 25 Years Doing Virtually Nothing”

The inside story of why New Zealand is one of the developed world's worst laggards when it comes to combatting climate change. By Veronika Meduna

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The Age of Permanent Anxiety

As mounting crises throw our future into turmoil, anxiety may become a permanent state of mind for more and more of us. How will we cope?. By Anna Rawhiti-Connell

An Equal Shot

As the vaccine rollout finally ramps up, who’s getting left behind? By Helen Glenny

The Info-Demic

Could vaccine misinformation from Chinese-language media outlets in New Zealand harm our local rollout? By Emmanuel Stokes

$1 Billion And Counting

Twenty years ago Peter Jackson brought Hollywood to Aotearoa — and we’re still shelling out mega bucks to keep it here. Is it worth it? By Madeleine Chapman

Down On The Farm

The complexities of modern farming have brought new pressures to rural life. For some, the load becomes too much to carry. By Paul Gorman

Burst Bubbles

Once borders re-open, will our anxiety about holidaying in a post-Covid world change the way we travel forever? By Anna Rawhiti-Connell

The High Price of Absolutely Everything

Bullying, price gouging and market monopolies — the real reason New Zealand is so expensive. By Ollie Neas

A Lot Of Harm To Put Right

Emma Espiner and Dame Naida Glavish discuss inequities for Māori in the health system. By Emma Espiner

The Great Divide

New Zealand has transformed from a home-owning democracy into a society fractured by property wealth. How did it happen — and what is it doing to us? By Rebecca Macfie