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You Can’t Say That!

Or Can You?

It’s time for a grown-up conversation about tough issues

By Yvonne van Dongen

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Features

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Feature Article

Coming Home – The Story of Life After Near Death On a Mountainside

High on Aoraki Mount Cook, Phil Doole plants his ski poles into the snow and forces himself upward, plastic legs sinking into the icy footprints of those ahead. Three years earlier, he lost both legs on this same mountain after being trapped for 14 days in a blizzard. Now he’s…

Caring for Kahurangi: charismatic kiwi and other legends

Caring for Kahurangi tells the inspiring story of Friends of Flora — a volunteer group transforming a corner of Kahurangi National Park through 25 years of dedication to kiwi, whio, and other threatened species. Written by Sandy and Robin Toy, the book celebrates conservation success, community spirit, and hope in…

Tāme Iti: The taking of the Colin McCahon painting

In this powerful excerpt from Mana by Tāme Iti, the artist and activist reflects on his early encounters with Colin McCahon’s work, the symbolic power of the Urewera Mural, and the political motivations behind its 1997 disappearance. Blending art, protest, and identity, Iti reveals a deeply personal story about whenua,…

The Strip – Santi, Sapphire and the clubs that started a craze

The Strip - Santi, Sapphire and the clubs that started a craze 16th October 2025 In this series, true crime author Scott Bainbridge revisits the heyday of Auckland’s Strip Club and Sauna scene from its origins in the 1960s. Pink Pussycat Strip Club exterior. Karangahape Road, or K-Road was synonymous…

Catherine Chidgey

Catherine Chidgey in conversation with North & South 11th October 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…

The Sport Column

A wry reflection on the state of modern rugby and the All Blacks’ endless test schedule. Greg Bruce explores how fans, like tight-five forwards, must find meaning in the absurd grind of the game they can’t quit.

AOTEAROA: LAND OF THE SQUARE BLUE TUB

A charming, funny, and deeply Kiwi reflection on the humble Tip Top ice cream tub — once a vessel for dessert, now a national symbol of practicality and creativity. From frozen soup to car parts and compost, it holds the everyday essence of New Zealand life, revealing how the ordinary…

Not Given Lightly: the mischief, spirit and struggle of Chris Knox

A rich, insightful review of Not Given Lightly, Craig Robertson’s biography of Chris Knox — the provocative, brilliant heart of New Zealand’s Flying Nun scene. From punk icon to painter, Knox’s story captures the evolution of indie music, artistic integrity, and contradiction in a changing Aotearoa.

Culture Etc.

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Culture Etc

Culture Compass

No one with a half decent tour manager crosses the globe to our little island nation in winter, which means over the coming months there’s a preposterous stream of big names touching down, including Priscilla Presley, Oprah Winfrey, Doja Cat, Cliff Richard, Teddy Swims, and Lenny Kravitz - none of…

Culture Compass

Consuming culture is as much about seeing and connecting with others and their experiences as it is about feeding our insatiable appetite for stimulation. It’s an intimate act that allows us to see inside the hearts and minds of artists. Doing that – consuming arts and culture – is a…

Culture Compass

Culture Compass

The Culture Compass 24th July 2025If 2025 is teaching us anything, it’s that while chaos and turmoil run rampant, art in all its forms will remain. But still, like air, I’ll rise. Over the coming weeks, there are some spectacular examples of art and culture rising, including three unique festivals…

Culture Compass

The Culture Compass 10th July 2025While film fanatics patiently bide our time waiting for the New Zealand International Film Festival to roll around (tickets are on sale now), we must find other ways to keep dark existential musings at bay and the creative synapses firing. Here is our selection of…

The Culture Compass

The Culture Compass 26th June 2025We may be on the precipice of the July school holidays, but this week's Culture Compass will not be defined by them. Iconoclastic as always, here lies a selection of thought-provoking, cerebral, creative and entertaining arts and cultural events taking place across the motu. Most…

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…

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…

Partner Content

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Smith’s Dream

The late Maurice K Smith spent most of his career practising and teaching architecture in the United States, but also left a vivid impression in the country of his birth. By Lucy Streep.

Virtual Revolution

NORTH & SOUTH + AUT Virtual Revolution AUT puts the latest technology in the hands of today's students AUT has opened its virtual production studio, putting top-end Hollywood production technology in the hands of today’s students. Associate Professor Dafydd Sills-Jones, Head of AUT’s Virtual Creative Precinct, says the virtual production…

Trading concrete for cows: A leap from city life to country bliss

NORTH & SOUTH + FMG Trading concrete for cows: A leap from city life to country bliss When Julia Jones decided to swap city living for the rural idyll of a lifestyle block, she was signing up for more than just fresh air and open space. It was a dream…

Switched on: Waikato’s tech trailblazer

NORTH & SOUTH + Dynamo6 Switched on:Waikato's tech trailblazer Dynamo6’s journey from a small startup in Waikato to a leader in digital transformation and innovation is a testament to the power of vision, resilience, and strategic thinking. When Igor Matich founded Dynamo6, he envisioned a company rooted in the…

Four Corners

Utopia Lab

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Utopia Lab

Too Many People Are Dying On Our Roads

We need better roads, not better people.

Intensive Dairy Farming Is Killing The Environment

New Zealand should halve its number of cows.

The Criminal Justice System Is Broken

How we could reduce crime by locking up less people.

New Zealand Has A Dental Care Crisis

How do we fix it?

Why We Should Borrow More Money

A case for changing the way we think about national debt.

Bring Back the Glory Days of Rail

Why it's a smart idea to re-invest heavily in our national rail system.

Backstory

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Backstory

Heaven or a Place on Earth?

What awaits us after death?

The Lost Islands

Historic artefacts washed up by the tides hint at lost lands whose full stories we can only guess at.

Beyond the Badlands

Strange monsters and ominous ghosts can be traced to repressed memories of violent histories, argues one Australian researcher looking at the past through a novel lens.

The Northern Bear

Our relationship with Russia has been characterised by instability — cycling between friend and foe, the nation and its citizens have often become symbols of our own fear and anxieties.