New Zealand Listener

New Zealand Listener is the country’s most respected general interest magazine, bringing you a wide variety of news, stories, columns, reviews, plus TV listings, every week.

Masthead

Sliding doors moments • The overwhelming task of clearing out the family home when his father died brought back memories – painful and happy – for Alistair Hughes.

Bright Lines

Not making cents

Quips & Quotes

10 Quick Questions

The advent of toxo-Christmosis

Turning points

The one that got away

Bagless in Bucharest

Blow your mind • Four key chemicals influence our brains and bodies: dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin and endorphins. In his forthcoming book The DOSE Effect, neuroscientist TJ Power says harnessing them can revolutionise our mental and physical health and relationships. This edited extract focuses on dopamine and serotonin.

Dopamine principles

Seratonin & the gut-brain axis

Breathe In Vagus

Gamblers at the gate • Today’s tech titans are rocking the establishment with a chutzpah reminiscent of the scientists behind the atomic bomb. And they have a similar appetite for risk-taking.

Winners (& losers) on the day • There’s more to sport than milestones, meltdowns and missing the cut. Test your familiarity with sport’s rich tapestry by taking our quiz of the 2024 sporting year.

Hungry like the wolf • Just as music can be the food of love, it can sound the death knell for your dinner party.

Beyond question • Each summer, we commission some of Aotearoa’s finest writers to tell us a short tale. This year’s theme is “distance”. Here are the second three.

One chonky chicken

Bumper year

Opening the page on 2025 • Books editor Mark Broatch casts a discerning eye over the must-reads to look out for this year.

Local Books

The Whitehall delegation • British comedian Jack Whitehall’s double act with his dad went from stage to screen and now it’s heading to New Zealand.

Tragedy plus time • Jesse Eisenberg on how his Holocaust tourism dramedy is inspired by the actor-director’s family history and his travels in Poland.

Maids of Mumbai • The friendship of three women is at the centre of a touching drama set against the bustle of India’s biggest city.

Married to the mob • Director Sean Baker’s enthralling Palme d’Or winner can feel like Pretty Woman with a Russian accent and a dark side.

Hey, hey, he’s the monkey • Robbie Williams biopic opts for CGI chimp over an actor to play him. Oddly, it works.

Bbq beats with bite • Politics and protest mingle with the sounds of summer.

New Spike in popularity • A Kiwi-made series is taking the beloved Badjelly the Witch to the world.

Tv Picks of the Week

Tv Films

Saturday/Rāhoroi January 11

Sunday/Rātapu January 12

Monday/Rāhina January 13

Tuesday/Rātū January 14

Wednesday/Rāapa January 15

Thursday/Rāpare January 16

FRIDAY/RĀMERE JANUARY 17

RADIO JANUARY 11 - 17

Reasons to be cheerful

Keep to the beat • A regular sleep-wake routine could be critical to heart health.

The cheek of it • Australian chef Scott Gooding and wife, actor Matilda Brown, turn their minds to recipes that are good for the body and the planet .

Liquid gold • 20 years separated the oldest and youngest wines at a tasting at Goldwater.

2025 The power of two • Having short and long-term goals will help you achieve your New Year resolutions.

Reading the tea leaves • Buried teabags help researchers track the rate of carbon breakdown in wetlands.

Willing Hands

Famous in paradise