Hear them roar

For the past couple of years one of the most excruciating sights in British politics has been when a Labour Party figure is asked to define what a woman is. In their desperate efforts to say nothing while speaking words, they have frequently taken the English language into whole new territories of evasion and obfuscation.

Of grumps and gripes

Policy moles are popping up all over the place and being whacked down just as quickly.

Swings and turnabouts

Unless the government reverses key policies - and Chris Hipkins replies to his letter - Jules Older will be taking his left-leaning vote elsewhere.

Bear with me

Hangzhou Zoo in China has been accused of dressing up humans in furry costumes and passing them off as sun bears. The zoo has denied this of course. The very idea of a Chinese state-run anything carrying out any sort of deception is as ludicrous as the very idea of a human pretending to be a bear. It turns out that the idea that humans were pretending to be bears was baloney.

Going his own way

Pianist rediscovers the lost art of classical improv.

Share Gaul

What have we done to deserve two shows in which ex-All Blacks explain France to us?

Reel life memoir

Lovely touches in a Gujarati spin on Cinema Paradiso.

Talking to a brick wall

Podcaster solo act takes Monolith to great heights.

Aged care

When an alien lands in the bushes, bored old folk go to the rescue.

Once more with feeling

It may not be original but the Feelers’ self-tribute” album hits some worthy notes.

An independent spirit

Bernie Griffen was a late bloomer. His first album, Everything So Far, didn't come until he was 60. Griffen, who died at 72 earlier this month, might have been late to recording but music was the pulse of his life.

Who's a happy cavy?

In Carl Bland's new play, a guinea pig has something to say about human nature.

More power to her

Lower Hutt's Zoë Robins takes a prominent role in the second series of fantasy epic The Wheel of Time.

Once were warriors

Two books illustrate the ways in which women’s lives have been diminished by generations of prejudice.

Shock tactics

Post-quake tales explore life beyond the shipping containers.

Double or quits

What does it mean to be truly modern, asks this debut novel from a NZ-born author.

Off the shelf

Patrick de Witt, a chronicler of weirdos, delivers a simple, warm-hearted tale of a retired librarian.

Getting there

Richard Ford's road-trip novel is a nuanced portrait of a fractious father-son relationship - and a vision of Trump's America.

A fresh start

The country needs more startups, but are tax breaks the best way to get there?

Hear & there

Older people who feel they are slowing down should think about having their hearing checked.

Gone to seed

Roasting food can introduce potentially harmful chemicals, but preparation is the key.

Handle with care

Just because a medicine is sold over the counter doesn't mean it is completely free of side effects.

Just chilling

It takes a certain type of person to plunge into the freezing depths of one of the country's coldest lakes in the middle of winter.

Voices of hope

Amid a rising tide of racism and misinformation, Australians are grappling with a simple question that is tearing the country apart.

March of the oligarchy

A new science explains why violence and disorder are on the rise and traces a trajectory that has been in the works for centuries.

Bring to books

The benefits to students of having a school library are well documented, but many schools don't have one.

Keep out!

Climate change means alien invaders are more likely to wreak havoc on our wildlife, farms and economy. Those charged with repelling the threat say our isolation is no longer enough.

Sites unseen

Curator Josh Emmitt says archaeology is not about studying rubbish, it's about trying to understand the human story.

Low hanging fruit

Sometimes the best approach to publicity is just to say nothing.

Help is on its way

Three of the world's most intractable problems are about to be massively alleviated to a degree that merits global street parties - but the bunting is being withheld by a surprising number of misery-gutses.