New Zealand Listener Issue 33, 2025

Editor Kirsty Cameron Chief Subeditor Geoff Cumming Managing Editor Ruth Brown Art Director Derek Ward Books Editor Mark Broatch Entertainment & Arts Editor Russell Baillie Digital Editor Dionne Christian  Content Producer Louise Barnes  Subeditors Richard Betts, Alison Mudford, Bevan Rapson  Senior Designer Richard Kingsford Editorial contact listener@aremedia.co.nz Contributors this issue: Nick Ascroft, Steve Bolton, Steve Braunias, Russell Brown, Jane Clifton, Michael Cooper, Nik Dirga, Greg Dixon, Anthony Ellison, Alistair Guthrie, David Harvey, David Herkt, Michele Hewitson, Gill Hughes, Danyl McLauchlan, Veronika Meduna, Nicky Pellegrino, Graham Reid, Anna Rogers, Cathrin Schaer, Alex Scott, Chris Slane, Aaron Smale, Sarah Watt, Marc Wilson Chief Executive Officer Jane Huxley  General Manager Stuart Dick Editorial Director Sarah Henry Head of Digital Melissa Walsh  Senior Digital Content Producer Katie Delany  Sales Director Claire Chisholm  Senior Account…

Every August, something vibrant stirs across Aotearoa. Chalked verses bloom on pavements, poems appear on billboards, teenagers take the mic in crowded school halls, and stacks of poetry books are freshly displayed in libraries and bookstores, inviting readers to step inside their pages. This is Phantom Billstickers National Poetry Day – nearly three decades old and, this year, louder than ever. On Friday, August 22, poetry will spill from galleries and cocktail bars in suburbs and town squares from Kerikeri to Invercargill. The official calendar of events is packed with youth writing workshops, high-energy school slams, blackout and pavement poetry, literary dress-ups, and open-mics. No corner of the country will be untouched by the buzz of living poetry. Why the surge of excitement? Because poetry matters – perhaps now more…

Better than a motel Peter Bale’s “Gimme shelter” (August 16) was food for thought. Two years ago, I was teaching a Year 10 social sciences class at a local high school in Gisborne. An excited student entered my classroom and had a huge, happy expression on his face. “Hey, sir, guess what? Me and my mum have just moved into one of those Jacinda houses.” Top man, Wiremu (not his real name). I think they are called Kāinga Ora houses. “Well, anyway, sir, it’s really quiet, I have got my own room and me and mum have got our own couch and dining table – it’s wicked, and after living in a motel and getting hardly any sleep for the last couple of years, I love it, sir.” This young…

1. Who wrote the autobiography Straight Up? ❑ Ruby Tui ❑ Alison Mau ❑ Jenny-May Clarkson ❑ Brodie Kane 2. What was Gollum from The Lord of the Rings’ original name? ❑ Aragorn ❑ Shelob ❑ Sméagol ❑ Déagol 3. Who starred in the 1968 film Funny Girl? ❑ Barbra Streisand ❑ Judy Garland ❑ Lisa Minnelli ❑ Cher 4. The term The Ashes relating to test cricket matches between England and Australia dates back to when? ❑ 1871 ❑ 1882 ❑ 1907 ❑ 1923 5. Caracas is the capital of which South American country? ❑ Brazil ❑ Ecuador ❑ Venezuela ❑ Chile 6. William Broad is better known as who? ❑ Bill Bailey ❑ Bill Clinton ❑ Billy Joel ❑ Billy Idol 7. The phenomenon where a large group…

In an early Simpsons episode, Homer’s plan to deal with a crisis is to “hide under some coats and hope that somehow everything will work out”. This is the popular critique of the government’s response – or lack thereof – to the nation’s ongoing economic malaise. The Prime Minister’s reply is that there is a plan, it is working, but its brilliance is not yet apparent. As is often the case in politics, this is true and false simultaneously. One of the dirty secrets of macroeconomics is that a quick recession can be good for the economy. If you have a speculative bubble – like our residential property sector at the end of 2021 – and it bursts in the face of high interest rates, it can clear out bad…

In Berlin, dogs are welcome almost everywhere, something that surprises – then delights or horrifies – visitors from abroad, including from New Zealand. Observing how dogs are treated in Germany, a friend in Auckland complained she was once forced to leave a cafe because of her dog. “I mean, our table was outside on the street,” she argued. “And the dog’s lying on the ground, not sitting with us!” Not a problem here. There are more than 10 million dogs in Germany, and in Berlin, you can take your canine companion into most restaurants and bars. Four-legged friends are also allowed into most shops (except supermarkets) and offices, and on public transport. One Berlin think tank even lists a dog as an official team member. “Watson … contributes to ongoing…