Features

DAMIEN WILKINS: ‘Most of us are in the army of the bereaved’

August 14th, 2025

Delirious is the dazzling 14th novel by Damien Wilkins. Dedicated to his late sister, Miriam, it’s an achingly beautiful – and often very funny – exploration of love and loss. The central characters, Mary and Pete, have lost their only son, Will, who was just a boy and are about to move into a rest home. Delirious won the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction at the Ockham NZ Book Awards this year. Wilkins is the director of the International Institute of Modern Letters at Victoria University of Wellington and he talks with Sarah Daniell about invention, reality, shopping malls, Rhythm and Alps, why anyone should do a writing course, and why no one should ever say ‘move on’.

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Exclusive offer for wine lovers with North & South

Lynnette Hudson, Tongue in Groove Wines Exclusive offer for wine lovers with North & South 14th August, 2025 North & South's new column, By the Bottle, with wine writer Timothy Giles, is an edgy, funny and insightful glimpse examining wine labels (Why do they look like that? Why do they…

Ross McCormack: ‘I always feel like an impostor in the arts’

John McDermott. NZDC. Work: Matter. IN COVERSATION WITH... Ross McCormack: ‘I always feel like an impostor in the arts’ 14th August, 2025 As coach and choreographer for MARY: The Birth of Frankenstein, arts laureate Ross McCormack is tasked with crafting the physical life of a ‘creature’. With death a constant…

Force of nature

A view from 1300 metres on the southeast ridge of Rahotu/Mitre Peak. BOOKS Force of nature 13th August, 2025 Peter Laurenson is an adventurer, photographer. His book, Aotearoa Light, is as much a thing of beauty as it is a call to action. In this edited extract, Laurenson reveals some…

TIMOTI TE MOKE – Doctor, author, activist

Photo: Stephen Tilley IN CONVERSATION WITH TIMOTI TE MOKE - Doctor, author, activist 11 August, 2025 When he was six years old, Timoti Te Moke (Ngāti Rangitihi, Tapuika and Ngāti Kurī) was removed from the loving care of his grandparents into the legal custody of his birth mother and stepfather.…

Oysters for the People, Shit in the River

Tom Walters outside the green shed at Matakana Oysters Oysters for the People, Shit in the River 4th August, 2025 The awa is poisoned, the oysters can’t be harvested, and the system meant to protect both has failed. In Mahurangi, one farmer stands between survival and collapse. North & South’s…

The Sport Column

Liam Lawson in Budapest. Credit: Instagram THE SPORT COLUMN Formula 1 - life in the fast lane Hastings-born, Pukekoehe-raised Liam Lawson, the 23-year-old who crossed the finish line eighth at Formula One’s Hungarian Grand Prix this week, has had successive top-10 finishes for the first time in his career. His…

The Fantasy World Of Winston Peters

The Fantasy World of Winston Peters The Fantasy World Of Winston Peters 7th August, 2025 In August 1994, North&South magazine featured a prescient profile on the man who would one day be called “kingmaker”. As the man himself has said, this would not be his first rodeo. Back then, NZ…

‘Who would believe a Māori boy?’

Murdoch Harris, when he was arrested and charged with 37 burglaries - all of which were later thrown out. ‘Who would believe a Māori boy?’ 7th August, 2025 A dodgy cop, a Brethren Police Minister, forced confessions and police brutality. A 1950s case revisited reveals the dark layers of racism…

Exclusive offer for wine lovers with North & South

Lynnette Hudson, Tongue in Groove Wines Exclusive offer for wine lovers with North & South 31st July 2025 North & South's new column, By the Bottle, with wine writer Timothy Giles, is an edgy, funny and insightful glimpse examining wine labels (Why do they look like that? Why do they…

In Conversation with Ali Mau

Mau, No Words for This. In Conversation with Ali Mau 31st July 2025 Ali Mau has never been one to stay silent. In her searing new memoir No Words For This, the award-winning journalist, broadcaster and advocate lays bare a childhood marked by trauma — and the strength that emerged…

Steve Braunias – The end is nigh

Alyse Hedley Steve Braunias - The end is nigh In Prepare (& Survive!), a new guide to getting through natural disasters and other apocalyptic events, well-meaning advice meets full-blown existential dread. Steve Braunias, deeply cynical and mildly horrified, reviews the handbook that wants to save your life — and your…

Weekend recipes all swoon, no stress

My Weekend Table RECIPES Weekend recipes all swoon, no stress 31st July 2025Setting aside the objectively beautiful photographs, My Weekend Table is a seriously solid collection of recipes and a celebration of the kind of food that draws people in and slows time — simple, generous, and deeply satisfying. From…

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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The Whistleblowers

The Whistleblowers 24th July 2025 In North & South last month doctors and other health professionals said they were being gagged which was, in turn, threatening patient safety. Three case studies are significant precedents of medical whistleblowing and are also reminders of the power of speaking out. Medical whistleblowing is…

Watching the detectives

Photo Shutterstock Watching the detectives 24th July 2025 The Sport Integrity Commission promises to dance like no one’s watching. Except they’re out of step. How can an organisation pledging integrity not be transparent? By Greg BruceThe Sport Integrity Commission (SIC) was set up last year to ensure (according to itself)…

Small town socks it to the world

Norsewear full team Small town socks it to the world 24th July 2025 Norsewood, in southern Hawke's Bay, has a population of 150. Like many small regional towns, it's been struggling. Two thirds of local families have someone who has been employed at Norsewear, the factory that was put on…

Sex workers: in their own words

Untold Intimacies: A History of Sex Work in Aotearoa Sex workers: in their own words 24th July 2025 Trailblazers, activists and educators shine bright in an enlightened history of sex work in Aotearoa. By Sky IdriannaThe history of sex work in Aotearoa is so often left in the dark -…

The Base of a World

Photo Supplied The Base of a World 16th July 2025 Jess Cornelius grew up a 10-minute walk from Tūrangawaewae Marae on the banks of the Waikato River in Ngāruawāhia. Now, from her home in Los Angeles where she lives with her husband and child, ICE teams bearing M4 Carbine assault…

You’ve (not) Got Mail: how the Post Office lost its legendary status

Photo: Shutterstock You’ve (not) Got Mail: how the Post Office lost its legendary status 16th July 2025 A small parcel is sent from the US to New Zealand - twice - but is never delivered. A complicated journey, bouncing back and forth across the Pacific Ocean, prompts a bigger question…

Comedy may not save us but it’s a good start

Mel Bracewell Comedy may not save us but it’s a good start 14th July 2025 At the last 2025 recording of Aotearoa’s longest running comedy show, 7 Days serves up mushrooms, school lunches and David Seymour. They’re all equally toxic and very good material. By Sarah DanielTwo women walk up…

The Sport Column

The Sport Column 10th July 2025 The efforts of Auckland City FC to get to the FIFA World Cup were heroic - just don't do the maths. By Greg BruceIn the first game of their crazy, inspirational, just-completed run at the FIFA Club World Champs, Auckland City FC, the tournament’s…

Jungle Drums

Jungle Drums 10th July 2025 Gangs, popular culture and moral outrage collided spectacularly in mid-1950s Aotearoa. By Scott Bainbridge1955 had been a tumultuous year for Auckland bodgie gang, the Angels. Their Friday night run-ins with arch-rivals the Vultures were making regular front page news. The Vultures, with their penchant for…

The Inconvenient Truthers: doctors speaking out

The Inconvenient Truthers: doctors speaking out 3rd July 2025 Freedom of speech in the health profession is like walking the knife edge - particularly so for doctors who are faced with egregious professional and personal implications for speaking out. According to one: “there are many controls in place to hold…

Dear Butter

Photo: Shutterstock Dear Butter 3rd July 2025 A strange encounter in the dairy section of a supermarket sparks a sad love letter. By Sarah DaniellHey you, It’s been a while. There was a moment - I want to say six months ago? - that you seemed more available. That soon…

ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES

ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES 3rd July 2025 The ambitious Symphony Centre is a development unlike anything Aotearoa New Zealand has seen before, both architecturally and philosophically. By Ben MooreHow do you mend an identity malaise that's been gnawing away at the heart of a city for decades? So much so that the…

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In Conversation With Serena Stevenson

In Conversation With Serena Stevenson 26th June 2025 When photo journalist and documentary artist Serena Stevenson decided to make Three Days In February, a film about the music and arts festival Splore at Tāpapakanga, she had more than 20 years of personal connection with the festival and five years of…

The cost of giving birth: Aotearoa v Europe

The cost of giving birth: Aotearoa v Europe 26th June 2025 Legislation is moving through Parliament to extend inpatient post-natal care from 48 to 72 hours. Charlotte Bellis runs the numbers and compares having a baby in Aotearoa New Zealand vs Europe. By Charlotte BellisI walked out of the hospital…

Desperate Housewife of Verona

Desperate Housewife of Verona 26th June 2025 Back in 2023 when actress Beatriz Romilly was about to star in Auckland Theatre Company’s King Lear, she said, presciently, in an interview with Canvas magazine, “does someone have to be completely destroyed to realise what a jerk they’re being? It’s the techies,…

‘You’re taking the place of a man’ – the women medical school grads who changed history

Rina Moore (née Rōpiha), c.1950s. Archives New Zealand ‘You’re taking the place of a man’ – the women medical school grads who changed history 19th June 2025 The unimaginably challenging path for women medical students in Aotearoa between 1896 and 1967, is chronicled in the first ever history of the…

Stu Wilson – Mighty, Not Fallen

Stu Wilson in action against the British Isles at Eden Park, Auckland. New Zealand All Blacks defeated Lions 38-6, 16 July 1983. Photo: PHOTOSPORT Stu Wilson - Mighty, Not Fallen 19th June 2025 When former All Black great Stu Wilson died last week accolades flowed, but there was one detail…

The Japanese school lunch – and lessons for Aotearoa

Japanese school lunch The Japanese school lunch - and lessons for Aotearoa 19th June 2025 Kyushoku: the deep culture of the Japanese school lunch, and lessons for Aotearoa. By Dr Renee LiangLast Friday, if you’d been on the 18th floor of the Majestic Centre on Willis Street, in Pōneke Wellington,…

In Conversation With Edward Sampson

In Conversation With Edward Sampson 12th June 2025 The Doc Edge Film Festival celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Sarah Daniell talks with Aotearoa NZ film maker Edward Sampson ahead of the world premiere of his directorial debut, the documentary-drama Devils on Horses - a powerful story that explores the…

The train to Holland Park

Brian Glanville with his wife, Pam, and four children. The train to Holland Park 12th June 2025 Steve Braunais meets his literary hero, the ‘doyen’ of football writing, Brian GlanvilleIt was a dark and stormy afternoon. Rain blew in sideways off the Thames. It was hard to tell whether the…

Culture Compass

Culture Compass 12th June 2025The culture compass in Aotearoa is firmly pointed towards the North East right now as the nation awaits the grand arrival of the Matariki cluster. Throughout the motu there are events and celebrations to honour the Māori New Year, some of which were highlighted in our…

In Conversation with Michelle Duff

Photos: By Ebony Lamb In Conversation with Michelle Duff 5th June 2025 Michelle Duff is an award winning writer and journalist from Pōneke Wellington. Her book of short stories, Surplus Women was inspired by the young women sent as domestic help from Britain to Aotearoa NZ from the 1850s. Duff talks…

How new AI soured my love for tech

How new AI soured my love for tech 5th June 2025 Ben Moore has always loved technology, the way it pushed boundaries. But AI is a bad actor, he writes, and the game has changed. By Ben MooreAn unhealthy number of my core memories involve computers. Christmas in the 90s;…

Siouxsie’s Saga

After a drawn-out hearing, no quick judgment is to be expected in the case taken by academic and science communicator Siouxsie Wiles against her employer, the University of Auckland. By Sasha Borissenko

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French Film Festival

Fergus Grady in Conversation with North & South 29th May 2025 Fergus Grady is a producer and director who co-created the critically acclaimed documentary Gloriavale: New Zealand’s Secret Cult, and Camino Skies. He is also the director of the Intrepid French Film Festival Aotearoa 2025. Grady lives in Tāmaki Makaurau…

Leaving The Table

Roy Colbert (left) on his 14th birthday with mother Molly, brother Barry and sister Julienne, who donated one of her kidneys to Colbert 12 years ago. Roy Colbert: Godfather of the Dunedin Sound 29nd May 2025 Roy Colbert helped make the ‘Dunedin Sound’ legendary. To mark the final week of…

Culture Compass

THE CULTURE COMPASS - Mānawatia Matariki! 29th May 2025The rise and rise of Matariki as a national celebration has been the best thing to happen to winter - and Aotearoa - since the arrival of the electric blanket. Among the many grim errors of colonisers was the steamrolling of established…

School Lunches

A schooling on school lunches 22nd May 2025 Nurturing young minds: the case for a high quality, universal school lunch programme. By Dr Renee LiangLet’s get the obvious point out of the way: feeding kids at school has both health and educational benefits. It also has much wider benefits in…

Talkback Radio And Empty Shells

Credit: Flickr Talkback Radio And Empty Shells 22nd May 2025 Last week, at the Voyager Awards, some brilliant journalism was celebrated. An interview on talkback radio this week was a reminder that some discourse sits outside the canon of great, insightful work. By Sarah DaniellSometimes it’s best not to look.…

The Jukebox Murder

The Jukebox Murder 22nd May 2025 A murder that shook Tāmaki Makaurau 70 years ago was adapted into a sell-out play and an award winning novel. Scott Bainbridge recalls the case that still has a hold, in the heart and memory of one who was ‘there’ and which recalls the…

Culture Compass

Culture Compass 15th May 2025The modern couch is a thing of wonder; a distant relative from the wooden benches the ancient Egyptians savoured grapes upon. A good contemporary couch - which these days is almost ubiquitously an oversized sectional - is designed to draw you in, hold you like your…

NZ Music Month

Neil Finn (centre) jams with Elroy (left) and Liam on the corner of Symonds St and Newton Rd. Photo: GREG BOWKER/ NZ HERALD Dizzy Spell 15th May 2025 Back in 2014, North & South featured a profile with Neil Finn about his collaborations with, among others, US producer David Fridmann,…

Nanny Dearest

Nanny Dearest: A Childhood Nightmare 8th May 2025 Belinda Robinson, the daughter of famous Aotearoa playwright - and founder of Pōneke’s Downstage Theatre - Bruce Mason and renowned obstetrician Diana Mason, speaks publicly about the childhood abuse inflicted by Lili, their opiate-addicted nanny. Warning: This extract contains themes around abuse and…

Catherine Chidgey

Catherine Chidgey in conversation with North & South 8th May 2025 Internationally lauded and best-selling Aotearoa author, Catherine Chidgey, has published her ninth novel, The Book of Guilt. Set in Britain in 1979, it’s a dystopian and sinister story about 13-year-old triplets - Vincent, Lawrence and William - who live…

First in Folk

First in Folk 8th May 2025 Nadia Reid is something to behold, live, and her fourth album, Enter Now Brightness is a thing of exquisite beauty and according to The Guardian: "remarkably peaceful and restorative". Reid is now based with her family in the UK but will be touring in…

Straight from the heart

Shayne Carter: songwriter, rock star, author, football fan, chess player, average driver. Photo: STEPHEN PERRY FOR METRO/SUPPLIED Straight from the heart May 1, 2025 From snotty punk to senior statesman of New Zealand music, Shayne Carter’s career has been wild and acclaimed. But his memoir reveals the drama and trauma…

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Scandal, weed and witchcraft

Anna Hoffman in 1960. Scandal, weed and witchcraft May 1, 2025 As a child she played the violin; as a woman, chess with a Mongrel Mob president. Scott Bainbridge on the life and curious times of Anna Hoffman, the Maharanee of Marijuana. By: Scott BainbridgeShe was the antithesis ‘it’ girl…

Culture Compass

Oliver Stretton-Pow, Hard Graft Mark II, 2025 Culture Compass May 1, 2025 Around ngā mōtu there is art, film, comedy and literature - here’s our guide to lightning the weight of the times.In heavy times like these, one could be fooled into thinking that going to a show or exhibition…

Politicians want to choose who treats you

Politicians want to choose who treats you April 24, 2025 On May 1, around 5500 senior doctors will go on strike over pay rates and workforce shortages. Dr Renee Liang writes about the place where politicians and health experts collide.Last week, I attended the launch of Health Coalition Aotearoa’s Level…

See this circle? It never ends. That’s how long I’ll be your friend.

See this circle? It never ends. That’s how long I’ll be your friend. April 24, 2025 Emma Neale, who is shortlisted for the Peter and Mary Biggs Prize at the 2025 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards, writes a personal essay centred around a childhood friendship. By: Emma NealeMy childhood best…

Lest We Forget what? Our ANZACS, Palestine, and the Kiwi Conviction Crisis

Lest We Forget what? Our ANZACS, Palestine, and the Kiwi Conviction Crisis April 24, 2025 ‘Lest we forget’ originates from Rudyard Kipling's Recessional who warned against taking inherited greatness for granted. ‘Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it’. Taimor Hazou on Aotearoa and values. By:…

The case for armed neutrality

The case for armed neutrality April 24, 2025 The coalition government has committed to spending $9 billion to enhance Aotearoa’s lethal strike capability. Ethics aside, argues Jeremy Rose, there is no economic benefit. By: Jeremy RoseThe government tells us we can’t afford to repair our broken public health system, lift…

Culture Compass

The Culture Compass 17th April 2025 This week’s Culture Compass is an Easter basket of art, comedy, music and environmental nightwatch. Consume in moderation.The collective cultural compass might currently point toward egg shells with their insides blown out for Easter crafts or baked goods that commemorate Jesus’ brutal execution but…

Polkinghorne

Power, Privilege and Polkinghorne 17th April 2025 Sarah Daniell attended a media screening of the documentary Polk: The Trial of Philip Polkinghorne and interviewed producer Mark McNeill By Sarah DaniellOnce, while covering a medical conference, I was introduced to a group of ophthalmologists. “You must meet these people,” said the…

Men of God

Men of God? 17th April 2025 In January 2022, North & South published an essay by history columnist Scott Hamilton, comparing Destiny Church’s Brian Tamaki and early 20th Century evangelist Arthur Dallimore. At the time of publication, Tamaki was making headlines for his repeated defiance of Covid-19 restrictions (and his…

Cave Creek

A River of Grief Runs Through It 17th April 2025 In the April 2005 edition of North & South, 10 years after the Cave Creek disaster, award-winning journalist Mike White interviewed survivors, families and key players in the aftermath and inquiry. He discovered for those affected there was no justice…

The Corporate Creep

The Corporate Creep … Why It’s Not Good For Our Health 10th April 2025 In the ‘business of health’ - do we have the wrong model? Dr Renee Liang on the slow creep of corporate lingo, fruitless meetings and why it’s time to call the BS Bingo card. By Dr.…

Severance and Tech

Helly (Britt Lower), Mark (Adam Scott) and Dylan (Zach Cherry) in Severance. Innies, Outies, Severance and Tech 10th April 2025 Severance, a heartbreaking show about the way we work. Heavy on symbolism, – clocks, elevators and working modules – become signposts to a corporate nightmare. Ben Moore reflects on the…

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The Dark Dad

The Dark Dad 10th April 2025 Mary Kisler’s memoir about her father, who was taken POW in Italy during the Second World War and returned home with PTSD, is a powerful, redemptive story and also one of forgiveness. An edited extract recalls the profound consequences of war for the family,…

Mark Adams Story

In the end, you can only decolonise your own head 10th April 2025 Observing and capturing: 50 years of photography in a handsome, rich new book by photographer Mark Adams.Mark Adams is one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most eminent photographers. His work has been exhibited in South Africa, Australia, and…

Parkinson’s and a pilgrimage

Parkinson’s and a pilgrimage April 3, 2025 When New Zealand author Jennifer Andrewes was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson’s in 2020, at the age of 48, she set out on an 1800km pilgrimage across France. In an extract from her book A will and a way: on foot across France, Andrewes…

Culture Compass

Royal Albatross, Dunedin Culture Compass April 3, 2025 April ushers in the end of daylight saving - though daylight savouring might be a more uplifting name, less desperate grasping of the light and more radiating abundance. Now it’s over, it’s time to take the hand of someone you love -…

Dauntless Donna

Dauntless Donna 25th March 2025 Lucidly and passionately, Donna Chisholm has reported on New Zealand lives and issues for nearly three decades. She promised wrongfully imprisoned David Dougherty she'd write about him until he was freed. And she did. NICOLA SHEPHEARD meets the woman colleagues call the "journalist's journalist". By…

Child Poverty

Child Poverty 25th March 2025 A picture of children living in poverty does not fit the stereotypical image you might imagine. The spread is far wider and more devastating long-term on families in Aotearoa NZ. By Dr Renee LiangChildren living in poverty in Aotearoa do not look like those familiar…

Culture Compass

Culture Compass 20th March 2025 Everything you need to know about arts, events, books, activism and activities around ngā motuWe're increasingly getting our cultural engagement through the device in our hand, our souls sucked into the phone and existing there, disembodied, like genies trapped in a digital urn until a…

Health – it’s a matter of consent

Health - it’s a matter of consent March 13, 2025 "Power is not truly effective power when there is no consent; it is simply ‘power over’, which demands compliance." By: Dr Renee LiangA few weeks ago, I watched as a father signed a consent form for his newborn twins to…

Little Girl Lost

Little Girl Lost March 13, 2025 Missing person files are, by definition, a sad lament. When it’s a child, acutely so. The disappearance in 1949 of 2½-year-old Elizabeth Shannon, who wandered off and vanished is still etched into the minds of many who lived in Wellington at the time. By:…

A Kete Half Empty

A Kete Half Empty March 13, 2025 In her essay below, first published in North & South in January 2020, Liang describes poverty as a "heritable condition" that perpetuates and amplifies through generations: “It is also not hard to see how individual poverty flows into communities and society, with downstream…

Secrets and Lies

Secrets and Lies An explosion in the popularity of DNA tests is exposing a litany of secrets and lies, with as many as one in four tests returning an unexpected result. And as Joanna Wane discovers, it’s ripping some families apart. How many people would have known what the…

Full Noise

Full Noise February 20, 2025 Sarah Daniell recently moved from the suburbs to the inner city in Auckland. In an occasional column she writes about discovering new noises, neighbours and a different place - and way - to live.I wake early each morning to the sound of the city…

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Operation Gypsy

Two young women are missing, allegedly murdered in violent circumstances. Who are Gypsy, and Alexa Cullen? What really happened to them? Or are they the same woman? Thirty years later, a tragic story remains a dark mystery.

USAID – The gutting of America’s biggest aid agency

Charlotte Bellis looks at the shuttering of the United States Agency for International Development and what it really means for our security.

Lives and money: The dangerous business of health privatisation

What’s the true cost of privatisation of healthcare in Aotearoa New Zealand? Lives and money - much more money, writes Dr Renee Liang.

The Sheep of the West

Charlotte Bellis on Europe’s response to the Trump inauguration, and why New Zealand needs to take a principled stance over foreign policy.

In the neighbourhood

Sarah Daniell recently moved from the suburbs to the inner city in Auckland. In an occasional column she writes about discovering new noises, neighbours and a different place - and way - to live.

LA fires up close and personal

The LA firestorm that started on January 7 has claimed the lives of 27 people and destroyed over 10,000 structures. Matt Ragghianti is a screenwriter, creative director and journalist who lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two teenage sons. In an exclusive essay for North & South, Ragghianti…

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