Bruce Munro

Film as only the French can do is back on the big screen, writes Bruce Munro.

What is the future of the Treaty of Waitangi after the apologies and economic redress? Many will be surprised to discover significant political and legal change could lie just over the horizon. But the public has nothing to fear and much to gain, those involved tell Bruce Munro.

Edwin Wright is pleased to be returning to Dunedin to play a mass murderer on the stage that gave him a life worth living. The leftwing actor tells Bruce Munro why he believes we need to hear the words and thoughts of far-right killer Anders Behring Breivik. 

It is a lovely conjunction; the master and the former apprentice holding exhibitions in the same part of the country at the same time. Bruce Munro talks to world-renowned New Zealand glass artist Ann Robinson and her heir apparent Mike Crawford.

The only institutions in New Zealand mandated by law to "tell it like it is" are being told by government departments to "be seen but not heard", say academics who fear it is harming people, the environment and democracy. Government and university representatives, however, say it's not a problem. Bruce Munro investigates suppression clauses in government contracts with university researchers.

In a world where old and new seem locked in mortal combat, here is a true tale of their mellifluous symbiosis. Bruce Munro goes sailing with a British artist and a Dunedin illustrations assistant who have used 21st-century technology to forge an old-fashioned friendship.

A major new history of New Zealand women was fired, and sustained, by surprises. Professor Barbara Brookes talks to Bruce Munro about the dramatic incomplete transformation of women's lives and the new understandings gained by looking from a different perspective. 

Now submerged by Lake Mahinerangi, west of Dunedin, the township of Waipori has a fascinating history, writes Bruce Munro.

Youth at risk of long-term welfare dependency is still our number one social issue, say those at the coalface. But Otago has found a way to significantly buck the trend, writes Bruce Munro.

A campaign to get Dunedin youth off welfare is a startling success.

Do you want your children to continue the tradition of pine Christmas trees dripping with tinsel, lights and angels? Then put a bit of effort into creating your own unconventional Christmas trees, writes Bruce Munro.

The vegans are rising, with a message of animal equality and planetary salvation. Do we all need to turn vegan in order to treat animals well and avoid environmental disaster? Meat-eater Bruce Munro goes hunting for answers.  

The gentle, keep-cool-'til-after-school guy we all felt we knew growing up, is on a mission to rehabilitate hardened criminals and help everyone create the life they want. Olly Ohlson, now living in Dunedin, tells BRUCE MUNRO his surprising story and shares his passionate vision.

He grew up in state care; a life of dislocation and abuse. It is no surprise he ended up in a gang and spent half his life in prison. The miracle is that he has not been back inside for 15 years.

Hitting bookshop shelves like a 10.9kg brick is the fascinating four-volume compendium The Fishes of New Zealand. It is exactly the resource that co-author and ichthyophile Andrew Stewart wanted as a child, he tells Bruce Munro.

Dunedin is to become Ngai Tahu central. From Friday, iwi members from throughout the South Island and beyond, will gather in the city for Hui-a-Iwi; a biennial celebration of all things Ngai Tahu.

Their tribal area is the biggest in New Zealand. They have turned a $170 million Treaty Settlement into a $1 billion-and-climbing wealth fund. And they are about to stage a massive festival in Dunedin. But success is stirring some searching questions about what it means to be Ngai Tahu, writes Bruce Munro. 

El Nino is expected to arrive with a vengeance. It could be as devastating as the Super El Nino of 1997/98, writes Bruce Munro. But what exactly is this phenomenon, how will it affect us, and is there anything we should be doing about it right now? 

The international community expects New Zealand to be a key player in the resettlement of up to 1.7 million Pacific Islanders forced from their homes by climate change in coming decades. As a nation we have barely begun thinking about it, writes Bruce Munro.