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.

New Zealand Listener

Lockdown crimes

Obesity epidemic

Caption competition • THIS WEEK’S PICTURE

Quips&Quotes

10 Quick Questions

Funny You Should Ask • The QI elves are a team of writers and comedians who find the answers to impossible questions, doing the research for the long-running QI TV series, podcasts and the spin-off books. We are running some of their finest findings from their book Funny You Should Ask.

You said it! • From royalty and rugby players to politicians and prima donnas, here’s a selection of the funniest Caption Competition winners from the past year.

The drama of an early Covid jab • Getting a vaccination for the coronavirus went reasonably smoothly – then the virus bit back.

Lessons from a plague year

Investing in 2021: risks and opportunities • COVID-19 turned markets on their heads nearly a year ago. It hadn’t even made the lists of big investments risks. The response from governments, technological trends and the fastest development of vaccines in human history made 2020 a year to remember. Ongoing uncertainty means 2021 will be a year of investment risks and opportunities, says Hamish Pepper, strategist at Harbour Asset Management.

Salvation frustration • 2020 may be over, but we’re nowhere near being out of the woods

Beyond Jacinda • Will the “transformation” promised by Jacinda Ardern in her first term as PM be delivered or will a new generation force change as the boomers once did?

‘AM I GIVING YOU WHAT YOU NEED?’ • As the world struggles to cope with the Covid pandemic, UK therapists say people are taking the chance to reassess relationships and make positive changes.

THERAPY BY ZOOM

GRAPPLING WITH GRIEF • When Gang of Four guitarist Andy Gill died a year ago, his wife – journalist Catherine Mayer – was unprepared for the barriers to dealing with death.

‘I’ve learnt to be myself and step into my own power’ • Silver Ferns captain Ameliaranne Ekenasio is not only forging a new leadership style but also promoting causes dear to her heart.

Speak easy • A ground-breaking study aims to unravel a genetic cause of stuttering.

HEALTH BRIEFS

Hold the stress • Avoiding what winds you up is just as important as cutting back on unhealthy foods.

NUTRITION BITES

That’s the story • Eighty people have contributed favourite recipes and stories for the second Volcanic Kitchens project, after the success of the first volume.

Summer reds • A range of great-value reds that are ideal drinking in the holiday heat.

Bud buddies • They may be small, but wireless earbuds are making big strides in sound and creature comforts.

Walk this way • Your anxiety levels can influence whether you veer right or left when walking on a footpath – but so can crowd behaviour.

SCIENCE & NATURE BRIEFS

Game on • By becoming head coach – even for just half a game – Becky Hammon has made her mark.

TIGHTROPE ACT • Barack Obama mounts a robust defence of his presidency in the satisfying first volume of his memoirs.

Front and centre • Female characters of myth finally getting star billing.

Short cuts

On the daily • The second volume of an Australian writer’s diaries are a treat, particularly for the initiated.

Baghdad betrayals • Experience of living in Saddam Hussein’s Iraq informs a tense debut novel.

Comfort and joy • The Year of Covid changed our reading habits for good.

Growing attraction • The history of our gardens provides a down-to-earth and...