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.

NEW ZEALAND LISTENER • Te Kaiwhakarongo Aotearoa

For the love of God • Behind the religious imagery, Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel frescoes contain messages that still resonate, writes Christopher Longhurst.

Planning for the end

“Quote Marks”

10 Quick Questions

Fuel for a crisis • After decades of borrowing, there are few levers the government can pull to stave off a full-blown economic shock.

Friend and foe

Overthrowing pain

Opaque acquittal

War on dependence

The pain megaphone • Pain is definitely not ‘all in the head’, but a US psychologist believes the brain’s central role in the agony we endure holds the key to how we control it.

Prelude to pain • The more traumatic events we experience, the greater our risk of developing chronic pain. In this edited extract from Tell Me Where It Hurts, RACHEL ZOFFNESS writes that the link between the two offers hope for treatment.

Dilemmas & decisions • Waning trust, the rise of populism, AI: how we solve the challenges of our times will depend on the choices we make, a visiting economist says. BY DANYL McLAUCHLAN

She wore what? • Helen Clark’s appearance was long subject to intense scrutiny. Now, her wardrobe is central to a play exploring her rise to the top.

Penned names • Florence Knapp’s devastating debut novel proved a sensation. Ahead of her appearance at the Auckland Writers Festival, Knapp shares a few of her favourite things.

Black humour & hope • In the second of three reports from northern Europe, Graham Reid stays in a hotel where the walls once had ‘ears’.

Competitive spirit • In her teens, Sally Wenley had a life-changing accident. In her 20s, she went off the rails. By her early 30s, she was an award-winning broadcaster.

Blooming lovely • Informative, lovingly curated survey of Kiwi flora from botanist-craftswoman duo.

Land of promise • Novel explores bucolic idyll in Sylvia Plath’s life with Ted Hughes.

Short cuts

Exercise regime • A gym class taken by a group of friends turns into something far more menacing in Kiwi author’s second novel.

Tail of woe • An escaped prisoner attempts to find an anxious dog a home.

Served cold • Generational divides and revenge propel the entertaining latest from the author of Capital.

Rocket manosphere • An astronaut reaches for the stars – but at what cost?

Wherefore chart thou Romeo? • A hit jukebox musical touring NZ gives the Bard’s best-known love story a Britney and boy band makeover.

Crazy diamond shines on • The Mint Chicks’ second album, Crazy? Yes! Dumb? No!, has been named the Classic Record for this year’s Taite Music Prize. Chris Schulz looks back at the 2006 release and the volatile history of the band behind it.

Northern songs • Veteran Canadian troubadour Ron Sexsmith makes a long-awaited return to NZ.

Top of the class • An intriguing, exasperating, ramshackle debut by hyped LA alt-rock outfit.

Mums in scrums • Doco tackles what club rugby means to women players and whanau.

In their stride • NZ-inspired film follows blokes on long trek through Scotland.

Queen of the castle • Comedian Hayley Sproull takes on another presenting gig as the host of a new home improvement show with an old name.

Grace land • Docuseries on the rehab service unmaking monsters from the prison system.

Feel it in his bones • Dutch brass star heads to NZ for concerto premiere.

Muscling in • Manosphere influencers are whipping up fear over...