Politician of the Year Awards
Subscriber contentBy Jane Clifton in Politics
Following an exhaustive study of the species Homo politicus, our esteemed judges are proud to announce the winners of their annual awards for MPs.
TV's best and worst of 2013
By Diana Wichtel in Television
This was a year when we glimpsed the country as it could be: diverse, eloquent, humorous and brave – with the odd dickhead to liven things up.
Review of The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug
By David Larsen in Film
David Larsen finds Peter Jackson's second Hobbit film far more to his liking than the first. Shame about the dragon though.
Nelson Mandela 1918 - 2013
By Helen Clark in Current Affairs
“It was like the sun came out” is how Nelson Mandela described hearing about the 1981 anti-apartheid protests in New Zealand. Former Prime Minister
Current Affairs
-
Jane Clifton: we’re just not that into you
Subscriber content -
Paul Thomas: good, better, best?
Subscriber content -
Eco-friendly Christmas trees, plus Health Briefs
Subscriber content
Culture
Rachel Kushner: telexes from the 20th century
Subscriber contentBy Guy Somerset
American Rachel Kushner is working on a contemporary novel, but only after writing about 1950s Cuba and, in this year’s The Flamethrowers, revolutionary
-
Lorde on high
Subscriber content -
Book review: Jeeves and the Wedding Bells: A Homage to PG Wodehouse, by Sebastian Faulks
Subscriber content -
Hahn hits mark with composer encores
Subscriber content
Lifestyle
Lauraine Jacobs: perfect picnic fare
Subscriber contentWith the arrival of summer, a cook’s thoughts turn to picnics and portable food.
-
Healthy resolutions, plus iEat with Annabel Langbein
Subscriber content -
Michael Cooper: summer sipping
Subscriber content -
Western Australia: time & tides
Subscriber content
Commentary
Sweet Valley heights
By Toby Manhire
Facebook, Apple, Google and Amazon are erecting Silicon Valley monuments to digital domination.
-
Editorial: back to basics
-
Letters: December 21, 2013
Subscriber content -
David Mahon in Beijing: passive power
Subscriber content
Competitions
Caption competition 55
Try your hand at this week's caption competition.
Books
Book review: Peter McLeavey: The Life and Times of a New Zealand Art Dealer, by Jill Trevelyan
Subscriber contentJill Trevelyan’s biography charts the life and times of the doyen of New Zealand gallerists.
-
Book review: Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking: A Memoir of Food and Longing, by Anya von Bremzen
Subscriber content -
Book review: The Valley of Amazement, by Amy Tan
Subscriber content -
Book review: The Men Who United the States, by Simon Winchester
Subscriber content
TV & Entertainment
-
Quick Bytes: including ten Christmas life hacks
-
On Radio, December 21-27: including Gifts from Under the Christmas Tree
Subscriber content -
On at the movies: December 21, 2013
Subscriber content
Film
Now showing: December 14, 2013
Subscriber contentBrief film reviews, including The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.
-
Sitar Wars, and 12 other films improved by adding a letter
-
On at the movies: December 7, 2013
Subscriber content -
On at the movies: November 30, 2013
Subscriber content
The Influentials
Influentials: Speeches that helped shape us
A look at some words of significance in New Zealand's history.
From Our Archive
George RR Martin interview
By David Larsen
The author of A Game of Thrones eschews the "Disneyland Middle Ages" to describe worlds of inequality and violence.
Archive
December 21, 2013
COVER STORY: Lorde on high