Blog Archives

Rube Goldberg Fan Joseph Herscher Shares Tricks

Rube Goldberg Fan Joseph Herscher Shares Tricks

New Zealander Joseph Herscher’s foolproof way to roast turkey involves an axe, a back massager, various magnets, catapults, and a small dog. His Rube Goldberg machines to facilitate power napping and to remove milk…

How the Flat White Conquered UK Coffee Scene

How the Flat White Conquered UK Coffee Scene

Latte, Americano, cappuccino … the flat white might be relatively new to the scene (and sound less glamorous), but it now amounts for about 10 per cent of UK coffee sales, according to The…

UMO Frontman Ruban Nielson Keeps it Dumb

UMO Frontman Ruban Nielson Keeps it Dumb

On 2015’s Multi-Love, New Zealand-born Ruban Nielson, 38, frontman of Unknown Mortal Orchestra, saw his personal life laid out and analysed. Now, on the band’s fourth LP Sex & Food, he’s trying to keep…

Sperm Race Helping Save Sugar-Lapping Hihi

Sperm Race Helping Save Sugar-Lapping Hihi

“It’s likely you’ve never heard of a hihi, let alone seen one in the wild. Also known as stitchbirds, these colourful little critters are a true taonga. They’re only found in New Zealand, and…

Unique Zenkuro Sake Brewery Turning Heads

Unique Zenkuro Sake Brewery Turning Heads

New Zealand is famous for its award-winning wines, but now the country’s first and only sake brewery, Zenkuro Sake in Queenstown, is making a name for itself on the world stage.

US-Based Radio Exec Andrew Jeffries Loves LA

US-Based Radio Exec Andrew Jeffries Loves LA

Private shows by the likes of Ed Sheeran and Coldplay are all in a day’s work for Los Angeles based New Zealander Andrew Jeffries, who is executive vice president for programming across the West…

Sweet Country’s Sam Neill Marks Milestone

Sweet Country’s Sam Neill Marks Milestone

As is the case with many a beloved screen actor, everyone has their own mental image of Sam Neill, Karen Han writes for the Village Voice. For some, it’s of the prickly paleontologist Dr…

Chef Mark Simmons Runs the Show at NY’s Kiwiana

Chef Mark Simmons Runs the Show at NY’s Kiwiana

At the height of global protests against President Donald Trump’s immigration ban last year, New York restaurateur and chef Mark Simmons decided to add a personal message to the bottom of his customer bills…

Why Wayne Pivac Is Most Sought-After Coach in Rugby

Why Wayne Pivac Is Most Sought-After Coach in Rugby

Under New Zealand-born coach Wayne Pivac, there is a resurgence in Llanelli rugby. The Scarlets have been flying, according to Sunday Times rugby correspondent Stephen Jones. Recently, Stradey Park was packed to the rafters and…

Jamie McClennan Takes His Family on Tour

Jamie McClennan Takes His Family on Tour

New Zealand-born songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jamie McClennan and Scottish singer Emily Smith have been making country folk music together for 15 years. Now they tour for the first time with their two young children…

Neil Finn to Join Fleetwood Mac

Neil Finn to Join Fleetwood Mac

Legendary band Fleetwood Mac has announced that Neil Finn of Crowded House and Mike Campbell of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers will replace departing guitarist Lindsey Buckingham. The band’s firing of Buckingham over the group’s…

Photographer Michael Anderton Moves to Kildare

Photographer Michael Anderton Moves to Kildare

New Zealander Michael Anderton, who has set up a photographic gallery in Allenwood, has said that moving to the West Kildare village inspired him to develop his photography hobby. As a younger man he lived…

New Zealand in Time-Lapse

New Zealand in Time-Lapse

New Zealand’s striking and incredibly diverse landscape has helped it become the setting for many famed film series that include the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit, Travel + Leisure magazine reports, and…

Dairy Farmer Richard Watson Embraces AI Technology

Dairy Farmer Richard Watson Embraces AI Technology

In the two months since US-based New Zealand dairy farmer Richard Watson strapped 200 remote-control-sized transmitters around his cows’ necks, an artificial-intelligence system named Ida has pinged his phone with helpful alerts: when his…

Lorde Scripts a Party and Then Brings It

Lorde Scripts a Party and Then Brings It

Lorde’s “fast-paced, yet emotionally resonant show at TD Garden” in Boston “was a superlative showcase” for her second album Melodrama, Maura Johnston writes in a review of the recent concert for The Boston Globe. “Lorde,…

Glowworms Are Stars of the New Zealand Night

Glowworms Are Stars of the New Zealand Night

“If you want to experience a starry night in New Zealand even when it’s cloudy, there’s an option. When foul weather hides the Southern Cross and the Magellanic Clouds of the southern skies, you…

Brent Williams Charts Journey Through Depression

Brent Williams Charts Journey Through Depression

Ten years after his symptoms first took hold of him, New Zealander Brent Williams has written a graphic novel that is part memoir and part self-help book. Out of the Woods: A Journey Through…

Jessica McCormack’s Mayfair Magic at Any Budget

Jessica McCormack’s Mayfair Magic at Any Budget

The 19th-century Mayfair townhouse filled with contemporary art and antiques; the gobstopper-sized diamonds that populate her Instagram feed, the celebrity fan-base including the likes of Liv Tyler and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley…

Karl Urban in Dubai for Comic Con

Karl Urban in Dubai for Comic Con

New Zealand actor 45-year-old Karl Urban “is basically Comic Con personified”, according to Arab News, “with a deep sci-fi fantasy pedigree running from Xena: Warrior Princess through Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Lord of the…

Golfer Lydia Ko Envisions Her Pro Future

Golfer Lydia Ko Envisions Her Pro Future

Sometimes New Zealander Lydia Ko, 20, likes to imagine the future. More specifically, her professional future. The Auckland-raised golfer talks to ESPN’s Kevin Van Valkenburg about her plans. Ko thinks about what kind of career…

Contesting New Zealand’s Discovery

Contesting New Zealand’s Discovery

A history book by New Zealander Winston Cowie called, Conquistador Puzzle Trail, which suggests that the Spanish or Portuguese may have discovered New Zealand before the Dutchman Abel Tasman is causing a new stir….

Ruban Nielson and Taika Waititi Talk NZ Roots

Ruban Nielson and Taika Waititi Talk NZ Roots

Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s Ruban Nielson and filmmaker Taika Waititi come together over Skype to talk #PolynesianExcellence, and how their New Zealand roots help them keep it real, with Dazed magazine’s…

New Zealand Clears Historical Gay Sex Convictions

New Zealand Clears Historical Gay Sex Convictions

The New Zealand parliament has unanimously passed a bill that is expected to allow about 1000 men to apply to have past convictions for homosexual activity removed from their criminal records. Homosexuality was decriminalised in…

Gamer Andrew Barrow Wins Score Wars in Santa Fe

Gamer Andrew Barrow Wins Score Wars in Santa Fe

New Zealander Andrew Barrow, 29, is the new Galaga World Champion after winning the top prize at immersive art gallery Meow Wolf in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The objective of Galaga is to rack up…

Britain’s Sunday Times Interviews Jacinda Ardern

Britain’s Sunday Times Interviews Jacinda Ardern

This week, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is due to arrive in the UK for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London, and will see both Theresa May and the Queen. She knows England…

Māhia World’s Best Spot for Rocket Launching

Māhia World’s Best Spot for Rocket Launching

“The Māhia Peninsula has been a holidaymakers’ haven for decades. It offers sandy beaches, hot springs and scenic trails. And, for those of a technological mindset, it also offers the world’s first private orbital-rocket-launching…

Keith Murdoch a Giant Who Never Made It Home

Keith Murdoch a Giant Who Never Made It Home

Keith Murdoch, who has died in Australia, aged 74, played just three Tests for the All Blacks, but his name was etched in New Zealand rugby folklore after he became a recluse in the…

Karen Walker’s Monumental Challenge to Masculinity

Karen Walker’s Monumental Challenge to Masculinity

Israel Adesanya, 28, a UFC fighter, stars in a new fashion campaign for New Zealand designer Karen Walker, in which the pair tackles the concept of masculinity while promoting Walker’s new eyewear collection. While most…

In the Two Paddocks Man Cave with Sam Neill

In the Two Paddocks Man Cave with Sam Neill

Peaky Blinders star Sam Neill speaks to the Financial Times about his New Zealand oasis, Jacinda Ardern and tech titans buying bolt holes against catastrophe. At Two Paddocks, the vineyard and farm which Neill bought…

Hanging out with India Yelich in New York City

Hanging out with India Yelich in New York City

You’d think that spending your adolescence watching your sister – in this case, Lorde – become a world-famous pop princess might make you insecure, but 19-year-old India Yelich says no: She swears she won’t…

Ngaio Marsh’s Inspector Alleyn Continues to Impress

Ngaio Marsh’s Inspector Alleyn Continues to Impress

Dame Ngaio Marsh’s skilfully completed “continuation novel”, set in a New Zealand hospital, is an exquisite reminder of the brilliance of Marsh’s London detective Inspector Alleyn, Sophie Hannah writes in a review of the…

Model Lili Sumner Shares Top Beauty Secrets

Model Lili Sumner Shares Top Beauty Secrets

Whether she’s walking the runways of Miu Miu and Sonia Rykiel or gracing the inside pages of W, New Zealand-born model Lili Sumner has quickly become one of the most recognisable faces in fashion. Known…

Treading Grapes With Angela Osborne in California

Treading Grapes With Angela Osborne in California

California didn’t always produce top-quality Grenache, but these Central Coast growers, including New Zealand-born Angela Osborne, are changing that by focusing on varietal bottlings to produce terroir-driven wines on par with top-shelf Pinot Noirs…

Albert Mateni Brings the Hearts of Men to Life

Albert Mateni Brings the Hearts of Men to Life

New Zealand-born Tongan, Albert Mateni, 26, aims to inspire Pacific youth with his play, Hearts of Men set to debut on 5-14 April at the Mangere Arts Centre in Auckland. Affected by the suicide rate…

Hamish Bond Switches Strokes for Spokes

Hamish Bond Switches Strokes for Spokes

For eight years New Zealander Hamish Bond was unvanquished, winning double Olympic gold and seven world titles with rowing partner Eric Murray, CNN reports. But what do you do when winning becomes routine? In Bond’s…

Jacinda Ardern on Life as a Leader

Jacinda Ardern on Life as a Leader

In a Guardian interview, New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern reveals how her life has changed and her ambition for a can-do country. This time last year Ardern was known as a young opposition MP…

Our Illustrious Hall of Famer Sir Bob Charles

Our Illustrious Hall of Famer Sir Bob Charles

Carterton-born “legendary left-hander” Sir Bob Charles, 82, had a “remarkable” golfing career, the Bangkok Post’s Brett Brasier writes in his regular ‘Golf Tips’ column for the newspaper. “My few words on the great golfers that…

Sam Stuchbury Makes Prestigious Forbes List

Sam Stuchbury Makes Prestigious Forbes List

Sam Stuchbury, 27, is co-founder of The Social Club, an influencer marketing platform in Auckland, and has made the annual Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Asia list, which features 300 young innovators and disruptors across…

On Formula One Driver Brendon Hartley’s Comeback

On Formula One Driver Brendon Hartley’s Comeback

A demotion from the Red Bull programme allowed Palmerston North-born Brendon Hartley to seek new ventures, with the driver going on to forge a reputation in sports car racing that he was never able…

Opiuo to Take 20-Piece Syzygy Orchestra to Colorado

Opiuo to Take 20-Piece Syzygy Orchestra to Colorado

New Zealand-born, Australian-based electro-funk DJ Opiuo (Oscar Davey-Wraight) will travel to Colorado for a headlining show at Red Rocks on 21 April. After last year’s Red Rocks performance before Emancipator, where it was hard to…

Soul Singer Jordan Rakei Caters Directly to Fans

Soul Singer Jordan Rakei Caters Directly to Fans

Jordan Rakei’s first SXSW appearance was also his first time setting foot in the state of Texas, one of the few areas of the world he had yet to visit. Born in New Zealand,…

How Flight of the Conchords Took Off

How Flight of the Conchords Took Off

Few comedians ever play London’s O2 Arena and fewer still manage three nights in a row. Those who do tend to have some things in common: a relatable observational style, limited creative ambition and…

Poet Ashleigh Young to Open Bathurst Festival

Poet Ashleigh Young to Open Bathurst Festival

Wellington author, poet and literary editor Ashleigh Young will open the Bathurst Writers’ and Readers’ Festival on May 4. The festival consists of three days of live streamed sessions direct from the Sydney Writers’ Festival…

Doughnut Maker Adam Wills a Trailblazer in UK

Doughnut Maker Adam Wills a Trailblazer in UK

Artisanal doughnut and coffee chain Crosstown Doughnuts, co-founded by New Zealander Adam Wills, is at the forefront of the decadent craze in London. Now with seven locations throughout England’s capital city,

Joe Schmidt Turns Ireland into Formidable Machine

Joe Schmidt Turns Ireland into Formidable Machine

During this year’s Ireland Grand Slam tournament, Joe Schmidt has been the master of almost everything he has surveyed. At times during his five-year tenure as Ireland head coach, the New Zealander has been…

Corpses and Clues in Ngaio Marsh’s Posthumous Novel

Corpses and Clues in Ngaio Marsh’s Posthumous Novel

“Roderick Alleyn, the ineffably posh Scotland Yard detective created by Dame Ngaio Marsh, returns for a posthumous outing with the help of Stella Duffy, herself a distinguished crime writer,” Andrew Taylor writes…

Actor Sam Neill Stars in His First Western

Actor Sam Neill Stars in His First Western

Sam Neill’s acting career has broken the 80-film barrier. In his most recent film, Sweet Country, the New Zealander plays a missionary making a new life for himself on the Australian frontier in the…

Helen Clark Film Reveals a Shadowy World at the UN

Helen Clark Film Reveals a Shadowy World at the UN

Filmmaker Gaylene Preston’s documentary My Year With Helen playing in Australia this month provides a happy and timely reminder that before there was Jacinda Ardern, there was Helen Clark. The extraordinary post-parliamentary career of former…

Batsman Kane Williamson on Track to Be World’s Best

Batsman Kane Williamson on Track to Be World’s Best

Mr Williamson sits on his sofa at home in Tauranga trying to watch the television, circa 1993. He lobs a ball, which the child prodigy Kane carefully hits around the living room. Around the world…

On the Rodeo Trail in New Zealand

On the Rodeo Trail in New Zealand

Animal activists are calling for rodeos to be banned in New Zealand, but cowboys say bull riding is their calling. Eleanor Ainge Roy and Paul Roy report on the controversial sport in a photo…

Rugby Union Star Dylan Mika Hugely Talented

Rugby Union Star Dylan Mika Hugely Talented

Former Samoa and All Blacks flanker Dylan Mika has died in Auckland of a heart attack at the age of 45. Mika played two tests for Samoa and seven for the All Blacks who he…

Alien Weaponry’s Furious Debut Tū Out in June

Alien Weaponry’s Furious Debut Tū Out in June

Three teenagers from the tiny Northland town of Waipu have managed to capture imaginations with their unique thrash metal sound and commanding live performances. Now, Alien Weaponry is ready to release…

Luxe Fisher & Paykel Appliances Appeal in LA

Luxe Fisher & Paykel Appliances Appeal in LA

“If you have a ‘Kitchen Porn’ board on Pinterest, and your idea of a perfect Saturday afternoon is drooling over showpiece ranges and luxe dishwashing drawers, then welcome to your new favourite place to…

Beautiful Wellington Not Short on Great Food

Beautiful Wellington Not Short on Great Food

“Home is where the heart is, and Wellington has my heart – with its harbour, skies and hills, it’s just so beautiful,” London-based chef Margot Henderson tells the Financial Times in a piece about…

Ivana Kostovich Wanders the World in Two

Ivana Kostovich Wanders the World in Two

New Zealander Ivana Kostovich, 31, and Scottish fiancée Jamie Craig, 31, hope their adventures around the globe will inspire others to do the same. They’ve launched a blog called Wander…

Grant Phelps’ Chilean Hotel a Sustainable Paradise

Grant Phelps’ Chilean Hotel a Sustainable Paradise

New Zealand-born winemaker Grant Phelps has just opened WineBox, a wine-focused hotel in the city of Valparaíso, Chile constructed out of 25 decommissioned shipping containers. Set on a former micro landfill in Cerro Mariposa (or…