Smart Talk

Associate Law Professor Scott Optican on the legality of court evidence obtained by different undercover policing techniques in New Zealand. A highlight of Auckland University's Raising the Bar 2021. Listen to Assoc. Law Professor Scott Optican on the legality of different undercover policing techniques in New Zealand. Covert policing techniques from the USA you see in the movies or on tv don&#x27...

Celebrating 50 years of the Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship, five writer read their letters to New Zealand's most famous author. A highlight of Word Christchurch 2020. To celebrate 50 years of the Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship, five New Zealand writers read their letters to our most famous author. Listen to Bill Manhire, Carl Nixon, Fiona Farrell, Vincent O'Sullivan and Paula Mo...

Pip Adam discusses her novel Nothing to See - one of the most talked-about books of 2020 - with Carl Shuker in this highlight of the 2020 Word Christchurch Spring Festival. Writer Pip Adam discusses her novel Nothing to See - one of the most talked-about books of 2020 - in this highlight of the 2020 Word Christchurch Spring Festival. Listen to Pip Adam talk about her work and her unique world view...

In 'Breath of the Birds' Dame Gillian Whitehead discusses the origin of taonga puoro, their revival, and how she has used traditional Māori musical instruments in her compositions. Eminent New Zealand composer Dame Gillian Whitehead celebrates her 80th birthday on 23 April 2021. In this 2019 Lilburn Lecture she explores the renaissance of taonga puoro (traditional Māori musical instruments), and h...

Eileen Merriman and Carl Shuker discuss their novels A Mistake and The Silence of Snow, which take medical mishaps as a starting point. A highlight of the 2020 Word Christchurch Spring Festival. Writers Eileen Merriman and Carl Shuker discuss their novels A Mistake and The Silence of Snow which both use medical mishaps as a starting point. And when it comes to medicine, both of these writers know...

New Zealand's leading poet of this generation, Bill Manhire, talks to John Campbell in this highlight of the 2020 Word Christchurch Writers Spring Festival. Bill Manhire is not only one of New Zealand's leading poets, he's mentored hundreds of writers through the International Institute of Modern Letters, where he established the MA in Creative Writing. For a long time, it was known simp...

Philip Armstrong's poetry and Laura Jean McKay's award-winning novel The Animals in That Country feature animals as significant characters. The authors talk at 2020 Word Christchurch. Animals feature as characters in both Philip Armstrong's poetry and Laura Jean McKay's award-winning novel The Animals in That Country. The authors talk at 2020 Word Christchurch. Listen to Laura Jean McKay...

From a childhood fascination with cooking, to possum trapping and living off the land as a hunter and forager, Annabel Langbein has always been obsessed with food. A 2020 Word Christchurch highlight. From a childhood fascination with cooking to possum-trapping and living off the land as a hunter and forager, Annabel Langbein has always been obsessed with food. This talk was a highlight of the 2020...

Farid Ahmed talks about his wife Husna, who died in the terror attacks in Christchurch on 15 March 2019. A moving highlight of the 2020 Word Christchurch Spring Festival. Listen to Farid Ahmed in conversation with Raf Manji about his book Husna's Story In this moving session from the 2020 Word Christchurch Spring Festival, Farid Ahmed talks about his wife Husna, who was murdered in the terror...

Elizabeth Knox talks to Noelle McCarthy about her most recent novel The Absolute Book. A highlight of the 2020 Word Christchurch Spring Festival. Listen to Elizabeth Knox talking to Noelle McCarthy about her genre-bending epic work of fantasy. Highlights of the discussion After a generous reading from the opening of the novel, Elizabeth Knox begins by discussing its protagonist, Taryn Cornick, who...

Hosted by John Campbell, some of Word Christchurch's most distinguished writers respond to the theme of courage: Behrouz Boochani, Laura Jean McKay, and Witi Ihimaera. The second of two hours. Hosted by John Campbell, three distinguished writers share stories created for this event. Their narratives are deeply revealing about the authors' own lives, but also the state of Aotearoa New Zealand...

Hosted by John Campbell, some of Word Christchurch's most distinguished writers respond to the theme of courage: Elizabeth Knox, Mohamed Hassan and Becky Manawatu. The first of two hours. Listen to Elizabeth Knox, Mohamed Hassan and Becky Manawatu reading stories in the company of John Campbell at Word Christchurch 2020 Highlights of the session Hosted by John Campbell, three distinguished writers...

Four adventurous women discuss their lives with Miriama Kamo in the opener to the 2020 WORD Christchurch writers' festival Listen to Miriam Lancewood, Annabel Langbein, Kaiora Tipene, and Selina Tusitala Marsh talking to Miriama Kamo Highlights of the panel discussion Four women tell stories from their adventurous lives in this event which launched the 2020 Word Christchurch Spring Festival in Oct...

In a powerful address, Lyttelton poet Ben Brown explores the impact of deprivation and cultural estrangement on generations of our boys, as well as the redemptive power of words. Hear Ben Brown delivering the 2020 Read NZ Te Pou Muramura Pānui Highlights from the lecture You're a male, which is not the simple definition it used to be, but let's allow that's what you are. You're...

The 2020 Lilburn Lecture is delivered by RNZ presenter and New Zealand music figure Karyn Hay exploring the reality of life for local musicians and songwriters. Recorded at the National Library. https://www.rnz.co.nz/concert/programmes/appointment/audio/2018771465/the-lilburn-lecture-2020 In this extract from New Zealand Music: Living the Dream, Karyn Hay explores what it's like to have a car...

Kim Hill chairs panel discussion about the measurement of climate change with Prof. Donna Strickland, Dr Thomas Baer and Prof. David Hutchinson. Listen to Kim Hill chairing a panel discussion with Nobel Laureate Prof. Donna Strickland, Dr Thomas Baer, and Prof. David Hutchinson. If electronics was the new technology of the last hundred years, it is being replaced in this century by photonics, acco...

An Election 2020 debate on the arts, with MPs from National, Labour and the Greens exploring their policy differences and similiarities. Miriama Kamo is in the chair. Listen to Miriama Kamo explore arts policies for the election with Chloe Swarbrick, Jonathan Young and Carmel Sepuloni. Recorded on 24 September, this panel organised by Auckland's arts regional trust Te Taumata Toi-a-Iwi brings...

Nations United explores the significance of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. In the midst of a pandemic radically transforming our world, it sets out what must be done. Listen to a group of international celebrities exploring the challenge of the climate crisis, human rights and gender equality. Read the transcript of the documentary Julia Roberts: This is a very important story. The import...

Writer John Bluck shares a very personal perspective on how moviegoing in New Zealand reflects our character, history and preoccupations. Writer John Bluck shares a very personal perspective on how moviegoing in New Zealand reflects our character, history and preoccupations. John Bluck traces a lifetime in the development of local cinema A Tikiti to the Pikitea Episode 1: The Dream Factory What di...

John Bluck explores the past, future, and current state of lawnmowing in a light-hearted but informative talk in six closely-cropped chapters. Listen to John Bluck's exploration of the past, present experience and ambiguous future of lawnmowing Chapter 1. An ordinary thing It is the most ordinary thing anyone can do, next to washing dishes and taking out the rubbish. And much more fun. And it...

The University of Auckland's Assoc. Prof. Siouxsie Wiles explains how glowing superbugs help in the development of new medicines to fight infection. From Raising the Bar 2020. Listen to Assoc. Prof Siouxsie Wiles on how glowing superbugs can help develop new medicines to fight infection, in the 2020 at-home version of Raising the Bar. Bioluminescence (which literally means 'living light'...

An informal talk from Prof. Darl Kolb about the experience of working from home, recorded during 2020's online version of the University of Auckland's Raising the Bar series. Listen to Darl Kolb how the experience of working from home can be reshaped by the language we use to describe it, in the 2020 at-home version of Raising the Bar. The Covid-19 lockdown that New Zealand went through was a prof...

Meng Foon talks with author Chris McDowall, and contributors Nadine Anne Hura and Veronika Meduna about an Atlas of Aotearoa in this highlight from the 2020 New Zealand Festival Writers' programme. Listen to Chris McDowall, Nadine Anne Hura and Veronika Meduna talking to Meng Foon about the Atlas of Aotearoa in this highlight in this highlight from the 2020 NZ Festival of the Arts writers' pr...

12 months after the Christchurch terror attacks, Guled Mire chairs an NZ Festival discussion with Alison Whittaker and Nyadol Nyuon from Australia, and Anahera Gildea and Jack McDonald from Aotearoa. Listen to Guled Mire, Alison Whittaker, Nyadol Nyuon, Anahera Gildea and Jack McDonald in this highlight from the 2020 New Zealand Festival writers' programme This panel discussion, recorded on t...

Cardiac surgeon Samer Nashef talks with Carl Shuker about risk, mistakes and how heart surgery has changed in this highlight from the 2020 New Zealand Festival writers' programme. Cardiac surgeon Samer Nashef talks with writer Carl Shuker about risk, mistakes and how heart surgery has changed in this highlight from the 2020 New Zealand Festival writers' programme. Listen here Cardiac surgeon...