Features

A "bunch of nerds who play games and make comedy sketches about games" have more than 5.5 million subscribers on YouTube, and they've managed to crowdfund a new studio. Video, Audio

Looking for way to get involved with the Rugby World Cup? You've found it! Check out RNZ's 2023 RWC Sweepstake and Wallchart here.

The Front Lawn combined theatre, song, comedy and film a generation before Flight of the Conchords. A new book explores their classic 1989 album Songs from the Front Lawn for Bloomsbury's popular international book series. Audio

Finding himself with time on his hands during Covid, actor Ben McKenzie started to ponder crypto currencies. Audio

Bass player Nick Chaplin has been a member of Slowdive since its formation and talks to Maggie Tweedie about the release of their fifth album, Everything Is Alive. Video, Audio

Moses Mackay, one third of the Pasifika opera trio Sol3 Mio, is back in Aotearoa to sing in the annual Spring fundraising Soirée for Te Papa. Video, Audio

It's been 33 years since Guy Wishart carried off a Silver Scroll for rock 'n' roll, but his latest outing, released on the arthouse label of Rattle Records, finds the weathered singer-songwriter searching for deeper issues. William Dart takes a deeper listen. Audio

Canadian writer Patrick deWitt has a penchant for weirdos and non-heroes. His latest novel, The Librarianist, follows introverted bookworm Bob Comet as he makes a late-life bid to connect with the world. Audio

Phrases such as 'triggered' and 'toxic' are taking us away from understanding our psychology and that of other people, says psychoanalyst Dr Jonathan Shedler. Audio

Australia is a "uniquely" hard market for New Zealand musicians, the guitarist and founding member of The Beths says. Audio

Most people considered mastering sourdough or juggling work and home-schooling enough of a challenge during New Zealand’s Covid-19 lockdowns. But Peter Feeney isn’t most people. Video, Audio

Erewhon Station in the Canterbury High Country is using a team of eight clydesdales to churn the soil over in preparation for sowing, and for other chores. Audio

As the National Party announced its long-awaited tax plan, some journalists took a hard look at its numbers, while others focused more on political strategy and perception. Audio

NZTrio pianist Somi Kim takes time out to speak to Bryan Crump about her busy schedule of solo and chamber performances including Homeland, the trio's three-part concert series. Audio

New life springs forth in the much-loved 'Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis' by Ralph Vaughan Williams, which is paired with the lush and deeply moving Fifth Symphony by Sibelius, and NZ pianist Stephen De Pledge performs Anthony Ritchie's Third Piano Concerto.

It's been a emotional rollercoaster for All Blacks fans across nine Rugby World Cups. No event draws such ecstasy nor despair for New Zealanders, writes  Jonty Dine. Video

One hundred years ago, it was common for streets to be filled with whistling the crying call of milkmen and builders on construction sites. So, what happened to this tradition? Professor of Music at the University of York Rachel Cowgill, says a keen core of whistlers remain. Audio

Country Life - Elle Perriam's Rural Change Fund has received donations of over $30,000 to provide counselling for farmers and rural people. Audio

Mediawatch - When TVNZ reported some election candidates' controversial past statements this week, critics hit back with claims its own news was compromised.  Audio

Ned Wenlock tells Kim Hill his debut graphic novel Tsunami is "quite a dark book".  Audio

Everyone deserves access to healthy, fresh food, says the cofounder of small-scale social enterprise Crooked Vege. Audio

Violinists Wilma Smith and Donald Armstrong are Co-Artistic Directors of this year's Martinborough Music Festival, which takes place at the end of September. Audio

It might be "humbling in a good way" for humans to one day share the world with AI, says computer scientist Brian Christian suggests  - assuming we don't get taken over. Audio

These zesty burgers by Jess Daniell are a great way to make a little salmon go a long way.