Ewes know it

'It has been my life's work,\" I announced grandly and quite possibly pompously the other day to Greg, no other audience being available, \"to advocate for the advancement of sheep.\" He pointed out that this was patently untrue. If it was true, he said annoyingly, although quite possibly reasonably, I'd have started my life's work a bit earlier, given that I had taken up this selfless work only seven years ago, the length of time we have been at Lush Places.

A moral panic

America's top doctor wants smoking-style warning labels for social media platforms.

Give and take

We're likely to reciprocate if someone's nice to us unexpectedly.

Culture club

Whether you make yoghurt at home with your own starter or buy a commercial brand, the health benefits remain roughly the same.

Now for the news

How will Stuff's take on broadcast news match up to its polished predecessor?

Time to rewind

A leaner NZ International Film Festival programme still offers promising local debuts and some art cinema classics.

Come dancing

Albums from Anna Coddington and Peggy Gou are smart and sassy. Bonny Light Horseman leans on heartache.

Calling on the muse

Kiwi journalist Garth Cartwright recalls his audience with the late Françoise Hardy in Paris.

Artist of high standing

Waiheke Island sculptor Anton Forde talks about creating the largest contemporary pou installation of his career.

'You were salvation'

A repurposed supply vessel provides a lifeline to migrants who risk their lives to cross the Mediterranean in a desperate bid for a new life.

Defining priorities

Sir Peter Gluckman, leading a once-in-a-generation review of science and universities, says significant change is on the cards - if he gets his way.

Welcome to the danger zone

Young minds are increasingly being sheltered from \"dangerous\" fiction, especially in the US where many states are banning books for their sexual content. Surely, writes Kirsty Gunn, reading such texts makes us think.

Worth the mahi

Maori writers are riding a wave of international demand for stories from indigenous people, and it’s encouraging a shift in attitude from the authors themselves.

Stuff of fantasy

They may not win critical plaudits and they might fly under our radars, but a growing number of NZ genre fiction writers are in huge demand internationally.

In the chill zone

We're only halfway through the year, but already a collection of great yarns, absorbing literature, brilliant memoirs and big ideas have grabbed our undivided attention. Books editor Mark Broatch surveys some of the best.

Jailhouse bloc

Kissing babies and posing for selfies may still be effective in tickling up voters, but Europe's recent elections reveal a suite of counterintuitive new strategies.

Relax, it's even more grim up north

There is a resonance to the timing of the British general election campaign, overlapping as it does with the European Football Championship. At the time of writing, it remains possible that Sir Keir Starmer will enjoy the blessings of an England win in the Euros and a Bank of England interest rate cut in his first fortnight as prime minister. The former is less likely than the latter.

Generating chaos

Just when we thought Australia's years of climate wars were over amid fresh seas of solar and wind farms, would-be prime minister Peter Dutton has gone nuclear.

Ferrari fixation

Gold-plated designs, bad management and inevitable cost blowouts continue to define our infrastructure spending.

Spilt milk

Excess dietary calcium goes into toilets, not bones.

To the Max

The testosterone and torments of late adolescence are centre stage in this novel about finding your place in life.

A chemical killer

A new book outlines the life of a woman who may well have been New Zealand’s most prolific poisoner. What was it that led police to exhume the body of her husband from its watery grave?

Creating the WOW factor

Meg Williams, in charge of the biggest festival involving a bunch of people wearing wacky outfits, admits she's not very flamboyant in her own dressing.

Leaving it all on the park

After cancer treatment, Graeme Downes takes stock of a musical life leading The Verlaines and lecturing future generations of songwriters.

Wrong message

A UK journalist who came here to talk about Rwanda’s authoritarian regime found herself the victim of a social media hate campaign.

Busting a gut

IBD is escalating, seemingly thanks to the Western lifestyle, and New Zealand has one of the highest rates in the world.

The point of Peters

There's been much to admire about the NZ First leader's politics over the years, but where has it got him?

Don't call us ...

Finland's ingenuity galvanised the rapid global uptake of cellphones, so it's paradoxical the country's latest claim to fame should be the elevation of no-speakies to a new commercial opportunity.

He is here

In the week my brother died, there was a storm in the universe.

Ditch the rich

A neighbour recently told me he's going Jeff Bezos-free, a decision that resonated with me immediately, as I have long resented the cone-headed tycoon for stealing the name of the world's mightiest river to drown the rest of us in his lucre lust.