The number of paid lobbyists with their own parliamentary swipe card has increased dramatically in the past year. So too has the whiff of cronyism and corporate influence in the affairs of state. Is our democracy under threat? Do we have the tools to really know? Bruce Munro investigates.
A small ethnic minority village tucked away in mountainous southwest China is as fine a place to get lost as any, Bruce Munro discovered.
Our ill-informed caricatures of terrorists make attacks more likely, terrorism specialist Prof Richard Jackson says. Bruce Munro talks to the University of Otago researcher and ''radical pacifist'', whose first novel gives terrorism a human face.
The closure of Hillside workshops is just a foretaste of what awaits New Zealand in a hyperglobalised world, critics of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement warn.
Scientists warn New Zealand is not pulling its weight on climate change and is unprepared to meet the needs of the most vulnerable.
Shakespeare meets Twilight in this Romeo and Juliet adaptation, according to Bruce Munro.
Predator-free is a fraught phrase with some hidden fish-hooks.
Zombies, Japanese superheroes and fantasy films are as popular as they are ubiquitous. But for some it is a deeper, more consuming passion. Bruce Munro takes a peek inside Otago's fantasy gaming subculture.
Oil and gas exploration heating up off Otago's coast brings not only potential benefits but risks too. Bruce Munro looks at the likely effects of a well blow-out and asks whether the planet can afford even one more well.
The tribulations and triumphs of Dunedin musician Nick Knox are aired in a new mini-documentary that premieres this weekend. Bruce Munro talks to Knox, and film-makers Max Bellamy and J. Ollie Lucks, about the transformative power of accidents, music and film.
Even as exploratory drilling gets started off the Otago coast, everyone agrees we have to move from fossil fuels to a low-carbon future. But does that mean giving up the car, the dishwasher and YouTube? Bruce Munro talks to those researching and living The Transition.
Investors are being urged to recognise the risk of putting money into the fossil fuel industry.
Oil and gas exploration in our backyard is on its way. No matter whether you are for or against deep sea drilling, it is set to begin in earnest off the Otago coast.
The centenary of the start of World War 1 has begun. Who knows what this year holds for us. Likewise, did Otago people enter 1914 with any inkling of the upheaval and horror that lay a few short months ahead? Bruce Munro takes a look through the eyes of a then-unknown local hero.
New Zealand's one-in-10 problem drinkers are warping the lives of many around them, and never more so than at Christmas. Offering hope to those affected by others' addictions are publicity-shy Al-Anon members, who say their paradoxical approach works best for those who want it, not those who need it, writes Bruce Munro.
It may be small but there is a lot going on in the Strath Taieri town of Sutton as Bruce Munro finds out.
Food shortages are the greatest threat Typhoon Haiyan survivors face in the coming months, a New Zealand aid worker in the central Philippines says.
New Zealanders are paying millions of dollars for often useless warranties and unjustifiable repair bills. Ignorance of consumer rights is the key culprit. But so too is long-awaited consumer law change. Bruce Munro investigates.
Shangri-la may be a fabled utopia come to life, but getting there was a real stomach-churning adventure, writes Bruce Munro.
Restorative justice is New Zealand's social development gold mine. But how long will it be, asks Bruce Munro, before we realise its full transformative potential?
