Books & Authors

In a very short space of time, humans have found a way to live longer lives. We've doubled our life expectancy with scientific and medical innovations. Science writer Steven Johnson talks to Jesse. Audio

Louise Ward of Wardini Books reviews Cardboard Cowboys by Brian Conaghan, published by Bloomsbury. Audio

Jenny Valentish was researching a book about addiction and substance abuse she noticed something curious. Some people who treated drug taking like an Olympic sport, would, upon getting sober, hurl… Audio

Ten years ago, a rich, eccentric art dealer hid a treasure chest full of gold and precious gems and wrote a poem with clues about how to find it.  Audio

Sonja de Friez reviews Books Do Furnish a Life by Richard Dawkins, published by Penguin Random House Audio

New Zealand politician Sir Michael Cullen died this week aged 76. Last year, the former Labour Party deputy prime minister spoke to Kathryn Ryan about his memoir Labour Saving and what he saw from a… Audio

Paul Diamond reviews Rangikura by Tayi Tibble, published by VUP. Audio

New Zealand author Jeff Evans' latest book, Reawakened: Traditional navigators of Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa tells the stories of 10 master navigators who are leading figures in the renaissance of Pacific… Audio

Stanford Law School professor and author Richard Thompson-Ford details the importance of fashion throughout the centuries in his new book Dress Codes - How the Laws of Fashion Made History.  Audio

When the Berlin Wall came down how did over 100,000 Stasi officers manage to disappear? In his book The Grey Men, former FBI agent Ralph Hope investigates what happened to the former East Berlin… Audio

Briar Lawry from Unity Books reviews Temporary by Hilary Leichter, published by Faber. Audio

Harry Broad reviews Checkmate in Berlin by Giles Milton, published by Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand. Audio

On March 25, 1942, 997 young, mainly middle class women boarded a train in Slovakia. They'd been told to report to central locations in the country's east to sign up for what was described as… Audio

Does it really matter how you spend your 20s? If you treat the decade as "developmental downtime" you're missing an opportunity to get a head start at life, argues Dr Meg Jay, author of the… Video, Audio

Asked to think of a "typical Kiwi farmer" and your mind might stray to a Fred Dagg or a Wal Footrot, but a new book has captured the diversity of those making a living off the land. The Kiwi Farmers… Audio

Faith Wilson reviews Party Legend by Sam Duckor Jones, published by VUP. Audio

Psychologist and author Steve Biddulph is a best known for his very popular parenting books Raising Boys and Raising Girls. His latest book takes on a slightly bigger subject: the human race in… Audio