Author Interview
Outer space rendezvous with an asteroid heading towards earth
In the year 2182, an asteroid travelling between Mars and Jupiter right now, may end up on a collision course with planet earth. So NASA decided to pay it a visit. Dr Dante Lauretta is a planetary… Audio
Self-confessed taphophile: Deborah Challinor
Bestselling writer Deborah Challinor explores the world of Victorian funeral customs in the first book in a new series Black Silk and Sympathy. Deborah has written eighteen novels of historical… Audio
Nathan Thrall - A Day in the Life of Abed Salama
Jerusalem-based American journalist and author Nathan Thrall's new book is named on ten best books of the year lists, including The New Yorker, The Economist and the Financial Times. A Day in the Life… Audio
The wonderful world of play time in the animal kingdom
University of Massachusetts Professor Dr. David Toomey looks at this growing field of study that was once considered laughable. But now, research is showing how many animals, just like humans. Audio
Grace Yee's poems reveal the Chinese immigrant experience
Grace Yee's book, Chinese Fish, is a collection of poems, which tells the story of the Chin family, Chinese immigrants who move to New Zealand in the 1960s. The poems explore themes of migration… Audio
Nicole Avant's Think You'll Be Happy transforms tragedy into celebration
Nicole Avant's father - Clarence - is known as the Black Godfather and her mother Jacqueline Avant - a philanthropist and community pillar. They opened their Beverly Hills home to an incredible array… Audio
Look again: How to bring the sparkle back to life
The secret to appreciating your circumstances can be as simple as taking a break, a top neuroscientist says. Audio
'Really terrified': Author Stacy Gregg on writing the tale of her tūpuna
A no-nonsense message from her publisher spurred the author to write about her own whānau - and a cache of tapu military gold. Audio
Kate De Goldi: reading for pleasure
Kate De Goldi is one of New Zealand's most celebrated authors, an Arts Foundation Laureate, and a voracious reader. She joins Susie to share three books she's loved; Cahokia Jazz by Francis Spufford… Audio
Claire Keegan: Small Things Like These
Irish novelist and short story writer Claire Keegan was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2022 for her book Small Things Like These. It's the story of a coal merchant whose eyes are opened to the… Audio
Viet Thanh Nguyen on being Vietnamese and American
As a child watching the film Apocalypse Now, writer Viet Thanh Nguyen felt split in two - was he one of the Americans doing the killing or one of the Vietnamese being killed? "That moment really… Audio
An artists view of the New York art scene
Bianca Bosker has written a book about her experience of the New York art scene called: Get the Picture: A Mind-Bending Journey among the Inspired Artists and Obsessive Art Fiends Who Taught Me How… Audio
Bookmarks with Deborah Challinor
This week for Bookmarks we speak to one of New Zealand's best selling novelists Deborah Challinor. The talented writer has a knack for writing gripping, accurate historical fiction. Audio
Is big business stifling music creativity?
The same private equity firms that have made leveraged buyouts two words employees have come to dread, are pouring billions of dollars into buying up the music catalogs of artists like Bob Dylan, Tina… Audio
Accent discrimination: why we judge people by the way they speak
Dr Rob Drummond is Professor of Sociolinguistics at Manchester Metropolitan University. He joins Kathryn to discuss the way we speak. Audio
Sid Marsh - close encounters with wild tigers
Sid Marsh is a writer and artist who has spent the last 13 years seeking close encounters with Asian wild tigers in India and Malaysia. Audio
Kathy Lette: 'Revenge is not only sweet, it's totally non-fattening'
Dubbed "deliciously rude and darkly funny", "chick lit" author Kathy Lette has a new book out which wreaks revenge. The Revenge Club features four best friends approaching their sixties, feeling… Audio
Making the right choices using new ethics tools
It's getting harder and harder to be good in a world where choices that once seemed straightforward are now moral quandaries. Decisions like what to eat or which car to buy are connected to global… Audio
Ann Patchett: writing books that speak 'to how good people are'
Ann Patchett is one of the world's most acclaimed, prize-winning novelists and non-fiction writers. She was named one of Time magazine's '100 Most Influential People in the World' and is a regular… Audio
How to vanquish languishing and flourish
It's not depression. It's not burnout. Languishing is a sense of low-grade mental weariness. It's a term coined by sociologist Dr Corey Keyes during the pandemic when so many people felt like we were… Audio