Features

Sky TV's move to raise the price of its streaming platform Neon shows competition for content is a bigger concern than competition for eyeballs, writes Dan Slevin.

On his new album Spirit 2.0, smooth-voiced British musician SAMPHA pays tribute to the '90s rave music his four older brothers were into. Video, Audio

  Video, Audio

William Dart's annual collection of the best and the rest runs the gamut from Christmas carols and #MeToo protests to the latest hip supergroup and what might be a farewell album from a veteran songwriter. Audio

In this week’s programme for the Second Sunday of Advent, we look towards Christmas with a carol by Shirley Murray and Jillian Bray; there’s an atmospheric recording in Westminster Abbey of Let all mortal flesh keep silence; and Hawkes Bay choir The Linden Singers perform People look East. Audio

Two Wellington designers have combined their skills to create kid-friendly versions of traditional Māori toki and timo. Audio

The fourth album in NZ drummer Myele Manzanza's Crisis and Opportunity series reflects on life as a musician in London during Covid. Audio

It was a mainstay in the 1970s. Now TikTok is making curdled milk cool again. Audio

In her new book Normal Women, British writer Phillipa Gregory celebrates the previously invisible women who shaped English culture. Audio

Desperate for some low-cost and useful gift ideas? It's not too late to craft some Christmas presents, soaps, salves and food items, naturopath and medical herbalist Jane Wrigglesworth says. Audio

It's 5pm Friday evening. Finished work for the day, you head outside to where you parked your bike up. But... there's nothing there. Nothing except the $10 lock you picked up at Kmart, sliced in two. Audio

In the mood for a festive film? RNZ movie critic Dan Slevin chooses 12 Christmas movies to suit nearly every taste. Video

In March 2020, American musician Amanda Palmer was signing merchandise after a Christchurch show when she heard the borders were closing due to Covid. Video, Audio

Kiran Patel, a proud Aucklander who was sick of hearing people complain about the lack of things to do in the city has put his ideas into a passion project.

This festival was created to give early-career NZ musicians a performance opportunity during COVID. In this concert you’ll hear music by violinist Hazuki Katsukawa, viola player Zephyr Wills, and cellist Begonia Chan.

While meteor showers are not uncommon, Tuesday night's event promises to be unique. Audio

Time editor-in-chief Sam Jacobs said the US pop icon was "the rare person who is both the writer and hero of her own story", adding that Swift had "found a way to transcend borders and be a source of light".

Is it really possible to enjoy the delights of the festive season without compromising your health? Yes, says nutritionist Claire Turnbull, but it takes planning, preparation and breaking old patterns. Here's how to do it. Audio

LISTEN: Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra and French cellist Victor Julien-Laferrière perform Dvořák, the bracing Concerto for Orchestra by Witold Lutosławski and a gorgeous work for strings by American composer George Walker.

American band The Royal Guardsmen's song has been loved in Aotearoa since 1967 when it first topped our music charts. But what is it's particular appeal to kiwis? Emma Ricketts asks the question that has baffled many for decades. Audio

Our Changing World goes behind the scenes at the National Geohazard Monitoring Centre, where a team of analysts are on alert 24/7 for earthquakes, volcanic activity, tsunamis and landslides. Audio

The Old Oak is 87-year-old director Ken Loach's latest film about a clash of cultures in a northern English village, it's one of the best films of the year, writes Dan Slevin. Audio

Bryan Crump speaks with pianist Antonio Pompa-Baldi ahead of his stint judging and performing in the Lewis Eady International Piano Festival. Video, Audio

 Bach's 'The Art of Fugue' is an incomplete work written in the last decade of Bach's life, the culmination of his experimentation with the form. His development of musical ideas influenced composers for centuries after his death.

Rebecca Priestley’s new memoir explores the complications of living in a world under threat across two parallel timelines, writes Sam Finnemore.