Author Interview

Ruth Bayley is a history graduate who's woven what she's read in second world war soldiers' diaries and telegrams into her first novel, Barefoot. It's set between Wellington and the battlefields of… Audio

Poet Nick Ascroft considers one of his claims to fame to be "nearly winning the Kathleen Grattan Prize four times, the most anyone has nearly won it". Which might partly explain why his fifth… Audio

Francoise Malby-Anthony has spent the last 35 years in South Africa - 25 of them running an elephant reserve called Thula Thula. Francoise's first book was called An Elephant in My Kitchen -- that… Audio, Gallery

Since the death of Apple's controversial co-founder Steve Jobs in 2011, the tech company's massive success has been due to internal collaboration as much as innovation, says New York Times tech… Audio

What will the world look like in 2050? What will be our biggest challenges and the major issues shaping our world? And what countries will have the biggest economies? Hamish McRae is one of Europe's… Audio

Captain Robert Scott's last diary entry, as he lay freezing and starving to death on an ill-fated South Pole journey, concludes: "for God's sake look after our people". Uppermost were the three women… Audio

Author Helen Beaglehole first visited the Marlborough Sounds in a small yacht after a very stormy Cook Strait crossing. She returned numerous times over the next 40 years, exploring and sailing the… Audio

Kathryn speaks with screen writer and director Michael Bennett. He was the 2020 recipient of the Te Aupounamu Maori Screen Excellence Award, given in recognition of significant contributions to the… Audio

Australian media personality Amber Petty is not a fan of fairytales, even though she's seen one close up. Her best friend Mary married Prince Frederik of Denmark and she was a bridesmaid at the royal… Audio

Author Lauren Roche has lived a life of constant reinvention. She was a high school drop out, who stowed away on a ship to the US at the age of 16. After being deported home she turned to prostitution… Audio

Wanaka-based mountain guide Gavin Lang has not only climbed some of New Zealand's highest mountains and remotest peaks, but as an adventure photographer he's captured their beauty too. His book… Audio, Gallery

Writing started as a way to relieve the boredom for actress Sarah Winman. Jesse talks to Sarah Winman as she embarks on a book tour in New Zealand. Audio

Silvia Vasquez-Lavado is a Peruvian-American explorer, mountaineer and social entrepreneur. In 2018, she completed the Seven Summits, the tallest mountain on each continent, from both the Messner and… Audio

It can feel impossible to achieve a goal when your motivation tank is empty. Scientist Ayelet Fishbach shares some surprising lessons in her new book Get It Done. Audio

Acclaimed Maori historian Monty Soutar has turned his hand to fiction for the first time, drawing on almost 40 years of research into the history of Aotearoa and his own ancestral line. Kawai: For… Audio

Three of the world's finest crime writers; Val McDermid, Michael Robotham and J.P. Pomare join Kathryn in the studio. The trio are touring New Zealand this week, with an event, Crime after Crime. Audio

Serhii Plokhy is a professor of Ukrainian history at Harvard University and a leading authority on the Cold War and nuclear history. He's written a number of books on the subject, including Chernobyl… Audio

When his first novel was rejected by publishers in Australia, Matthew Reilly did the ultimate DIY job - he took out a loan, published it himself and convinced Sydney book stores to stock it. The book… Video, Audio

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Somewhere along the line, the pursuit became the point and happiness got lost say professors Benjamin and Jenna Storey. They see a deep sense of… Audio

Packing up their lives and becoming farmers was meant to be fresh start for New Zealand born writer and producer Nicola Harvey and husband Pat. But their move from young, burnt-out Sydney… Audio