Author Interview

Today on Mapuna we revisit the Battle of Orakau in the Waikato in 1864. More than 1400 British troops laid siege to the fortified pa at Orakau defended by a few hundred Maori. At one point the… Audio

One of our body's greatest weapons again illness and injury can also be a cause of diabetes, depression and cancer. Inflammation is sometimes an insidious force in our bodies, destroying healthy… Audio

When Helen Lehndorf forages along paths in parks in the city, or in the wild spaces of the Manawatu, she gets some greens for her dinner, and solace for her soul.  She shares her personal story as… Audio

Inter-generational anger is "virtuous, righteous and well-deserved" when it comes to environmental mismanagement, says award-winning American writer Lydia Millet. "We've co-evolved with all these… Audio

This year marks the centenary of the death of one of Aotearoa's most loved writers, Katherine Mansfield. British author Claire Harman's biography All Sorts of Lives: Katherine Mansfield and the art of… Audio

New Zealand biographer Joanne Drayton made a name for herself writing about other people. In The Queen's Wife, she tells her own modern love story. Audio

Kathryn Harkup is a chemist and science writer who sets up her own Q Branch to test how 007 would stand up to the laws of physics, chemistry and biology.  Audio

Rina Raphael says wellness brands prey on women's anxieties. Her new book looks at why women buy into the multi-billion dollar industry. It's called The Gospel of Wellness: Gyms, Gurus, Goop, and the… Audio

For Bookmarks today we speak to businesswoman and interior designer Laura Heynike. She's the Founder and Creative Director of interior design company Pocketspace. Audio

The melodramatic intensity we bring to our own heartbreak is extremely funny to writer Monica Heisey. Her debut novel Really Good, Actually draws on the "isolating" yet "absurd" experience of getting… Audio

As the one year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine approaches, one question still puzzles many people. Why did Vladimir Putin, considered a masterful and calculating, if ruthless, leader… Audio

Set in 1940s rural Trinidad, Kevin Jared Hosein's debut novel Hungry Ghosts reflects on the fractures left for the Southern Caribbean island by a complex colonial legacy. Audio

A good life is a complicated life. It's got highs and lows and it's messy, but meaningful, happy and healthy if you put effort into one thing. Professor Marc Shultz speaks to Jesse about their… Audio

Wine expert and writer Joelle Thomson's just released a guide for touring around Aotearoa's best wineries. She's combined her love of wine with a practical guide to seeing vineyards and the… Audio

Travel writer Brandon Presser went to live on Pitcairn Island in 2018. While there, he pieced together a full story of the island, The Far Land - 200 years of murder, mania and mutiny in the South… Audio

Dear Prudence offers advice about prickly predicaments for Slate.com. Jenee Desmond Harris took over the column two years ago. She offers the lessons she's learned about living a good life from giving… Audio

Were you born between 1977 and 1983? If so, you're a Xennial – part of the microgeneration sandwiched between Generation X (born 1965 and later) and the Millennials (born up until 1996). Audio

How do you know if you're just feeling a bit sad or if you are depressed? What level of sadness is 'normal'? How do you work out what's going on when you feel down? What kinds of treatment are… Audio

Visual effects art director, Dylan Coburn has drawn storyboards for some of the biggest recent New Zealand projects - Rings of Power, Cowboy Bebop - even Dame Valerie Adams More Than Gold... It's an… Audio

Wellington's Otari-Wilton's Bush is the only botanic garden dedicated solely to the collection and conservation of plants unique to Aotearoa. For writer and historian Bee Dawson it's a place of… Audio