Books & Authors

Gretchen Albrecht is one of New Zealand's most prominent painters. A forerunner of the women's art movement, Albrecht's work of the 1960s and 70s anticipated key aspects of feminist art practice. Art… Audio, Gallery

To 'look' like a skater is still a badge of honour even for a "grey-haired dad with a bad knee", says writer and skateboarder Max Olijnyk. He tells Kim Hill why, in his 40s, he's still completely… Video, Audio

Maria Tumarkin is an Australian author, cultural historian and professor of writing at the University of Melbourne. She is the author of four critically-acclaimed books of ideas including Otherland… Audio

Novelist, playwright and opera director, Jenny Erpenbeck is one of Europe's major literary voices. Born in East Berlin in 1967, she is the author of seven works of fiction, including The Book of Words… Audio

Louise Ward from Wardini Books reviews two children's books:The Encyclopaedia of Grannies by Eric Veille and Where's My Jumper? by Nicola Slater. Published by Gecko Press ($29.99) / Simon & Schuster… Audio

Today we are discussing the life of church leader, faith healer and political activist Tahupotiki Wiremu Ratana who founded the Ratana religion. Keith Newman is a journalist and the author of Ratana… Audio

What happens when we die? These questions have posed for centuries. Best-selling author Mary Roach has decided to find out in her new book Spook.  Audio

David Hill reviews Glyn Harper's For King and Other Countries: The New Zealanders who fought in other services in the First World War. The book is published by Massey University Press ($59.99). Audio

Bill Helmreich walked every block of NYC to write his award winning book The New York Nobody Knows back in 2013. Now he has re-walked most of Manhattan-over 1000kms-to write this new, one-of-a-kind… Audio

"More of us " is a book of poetry by 46 refugees and migrants, from 29 countries who have traveled to our shores and now call Aotearoa 'home'. Lynn Freeman talks to the collection's lead editor… Audio

Sergeant Pepper marched in the era of the LP, that 12 inch circular bit of vinyl that transformed the music industry. It was a time when artists were not defined by just their hits, but an entire… Video, Audio

Today Lisa Finucane reviews The Dollmaker by Nina Allan, published by Hachette NZ ($37.99). Audio

Put the jade egg and coffee enema products down. They don't belong anywhere near your private parts. This is the advice from Dr Jen Gunter, known as Twitter's gynecologist.  Audio

Two years ago we talked to a Kiwi woman who, along with her sister, had set up project delivering books by motorbike to some of Vietnam's poorest villages. The Motorbike Book Club is still going… Audio, Gallery

Harry Ricketts from quarterly review periodical New Zealand Books Pukapuka Aotearoa, reviews The Braided River: Migration and the Personal Essay by Diane Comer. The personal stories of 37 migrants to… Audio

Emily Writes' middle of the night blogging about parenting struck a chord it became a successful book, Rants in the Dark, which is since been turned into a play. Audio

Elisabeth Easther reviews Identity Crisis by Ben Elton, described as a blistering satire on a fracturing world - and a roller-coaster thriller. It is published by Penguin Random House. Audio

Barbara Oakley is the co-founder of the world's most popular online course, Learning How to Learn: Powerful mental tools to help you master tough subjects, which has had two million students enrolled… Audio

Historian and author Peter Cooke's looked right back to the early days of Maori settlement to trace the pioneering engineering the country has been founded on. He speaks to Jim about the advantage our… Audio