NZEDGE News — New Zealand through the eyes of the world's media

Musician Lachi McBride One to Watch

In a new Rolling Stone AU/NZ series, the magazine takes a look at some rising Aotearoa artists who are looking to impress in 2023 and beyond. It may still be an uncertain time for…

London’s Prettiest Restaurant is Apricity

“There’s an instantly soothing, unexpected simplicity at Chantelle Nicholson’s low-waste restaurant Apricity, Mayfair’s newest distinguished address a skip from Selfridges. Gentle and calm, its appeal is worthy of a description that extends…

Gibbs Farm Alive with Gravity-Defying Sculptures

“The Gibbs Farm sculpture park collection brings together some staggering outdoor sculptures in North Auckland,” Ocula magazine reports. “The vast majority of sculptures commissioned for the park – works by Anish Kapoor, Andy Goldsworthy, and…

Simone Kessell Discusses Her Yellowjackets Role

In a Vanity Fair exclusive first look at adult Lottie Matthews (one of the Yellowjackets plane crash survivors), New Zealand-born actor Simone Kessell, 47, discusses where she’s been and asks, “How long can you…

Six of the Best Adventures in New Zealand

“Whether you prefer a stomach-dropping free fall or a calf-burning rock ascent, New Zealand has no shortage of hair-raising adventures for those with a head for heights,” Justin Meneguzzi writes for National Geographic Traveller. In…

New Zealand’s Leader Jacinda Ardern Steps Down

Jacinda Ardern, who became a global liberal icon as New Zealand’s prime minister but faced deepening political challenges with an election looming at home, has said in a surprise announcement that she would step…

Auckland’s Pastries Rival France’s Best

Your time is up Wellington, Auckland is Aotearoa’s new culinary capital according to The New York Times, including the City of Sails in the top five on its annual interactive travel list, ‘52 Places…

Crypto Ponzi Scheme Avenger Danny de Kek Speaks Up

From his home in New Zealand, the YouTuber Danny de Hek assails what he calls a dangerous and deceptive scheme, one rant at a time. David Segal interviews de Hek for The New York…

Kimbra on the Ups and Downs of Fame

At just 21, the New Zealand musician Kimbra became famous for her part in smash-hit duet Somebody That I Used to Know. So what happened after? The Guardian’s Katie Cunningham checks in with the…

Life on Scott Base Shared via TikTok

As part of the Guardian series ‘Life on the edge’, Scott Base redevelopment manager Matthew Jordan talks to Eva Corlett about what it’s like to live inside New Zealand’s Antarctica headquarters. “My work is supporting…

Why Katherine Mansfield Still Divides Opinion

In an edited extract from her foreword to Wild Places: Selected Stories by Katherine Mansfield, English author Helen Simpson asks: “How and why did Katherine Mansfield provoke such violent extremes of admiration and hostility, both…

Sealark Exploration Scouring the Pacific

“The nature of [World War Two], scattered as it was across thousands of miles of sea and sand, meant that many people, ships, and aircraft disappeared without a trace,” BC Cook writes for Marianas…

Quarter Acre Brings NZ-Inspired Dining to Dallas

“When word spread that Toby Archibald, a chef who’d formerly worked at Bullion and Georgie by Curtis Stone, would be opening a restaurant inspired by his New Zealand heritage, I wondered what that might…

M3GAN a Deadly Doll with a Killer Wardrobe

The titular star of the New Zealand-made horror film M3GAN, released last week in the US, had to try on several outfits before finding a signature look, Joshua Lyon reports for The New York…

In Search of Home Time with Emilia Wickstead

The homeware sector is expected to reach a market value of more than US$200 billion by the end of 2031, Hikmat Mohammed writes in a story for Women’s Wear Daily that includes New Zealand-born designer,…

Killer Doll Movie M3GAN Reviews Well in US

New Zealand director Gerard Johnstone’s latest film, the comedy horror M3GAN, is well reviewed in Variety, with critic Owen Gleiberman describing it as “creepy, preposterous and diverting”. “Gemma (Allison Williams), a robotics engineer, works for…

UFC’s Israel Adesanya Fights on His Terms

New Zealander Israel Adesanya has cleared out most of his challengers and has faced criticism for some fights lacking flashy knockouts. “It’s a high-level game we play, but not everyone who watches is high-level,”…

Lynley Crosswell Gives Out Experiences in Victoria

New Zealander Lynley Crosswell took over as chief executive of Museums Victoria which includes the Melbourne Museum, Scienceworks, Immigration Museum, IMAX and the Royal Exhibition Building, in 2017. She is the first woman chief…

The Beths Gifted Fans an Outstanding 2022 Album

In a round-up of the year’s most outstanding albums, the Boston Herald’s Jed Gottlieb includes Auckland indie band The Beths’ Expert in a Dying Field in his top five. Other albums making the cut are…

Mansfield Left Other Modernists in the Dust

“This year, we celebrated the annus mirabilis of literary modernism, whose greatest novel, Ulysses, and greatest poem, The Waste Land, both turned 100 … This year will see another modernist milestone. 9 January 2023 will…

Wales Rugby Welcomes Back Warren Gatland

New Zealander Warren Gatland made a sensational comeback as Wales head coach replacing fellow New Zealander Wayne Pivac after a disappointing year, Ben Coles reports for The Telegraph. “The very nature of a change-over at…

New Zealand Part of Growing Wellbeing Network

For a small but growing network of countries, the world’s go-to metric of economic health is no longer fit for purpose, Sam Meredith reports for CNBC. Mostly led by women, Finland, Iceland, Scotland, Wales…

Tiritiri Matangi a Birdwatching Paradise

“From the depths of Antarctica to the heart of the Amazon, the earth is teeming with a massive array of passerines, waterfowl, raptors, and other avifauna – and for seasoned birders, there’s no better…

Ten Things to Keep in Mind Before Visiting NZ

To prepare those interested in a trip to Aotearoa, The Jerusalem Post polled their “Nomad community for advice on what they would tell someone visiting the country for the first time”, and this included…

TikTok for Good Award Goes to Jazz Thornton

It’s not quite the silver screen, but for the savants of the 16×9 phone screen, TikTok’s second annual For You Fest held in Sydney celebrates the top tier of talent to trends, including New…

Model Holly Rose Emery Ahead of the Curve

As teenagers, Aucklander Holly Rose Emery (left), who is based in New York, and Australian Gemma Ward both shot to the top of the international modelling industry. Harper’s Bazaar asked them to come together…

Sustainability is Abel’s Top Note

Artisanal companies from Britain to New Zealand are putting environmentally sensitive production, practices and packaging at the centre of their business models, Isabella Kwai reports for The New York Times. Based between Wellington and Amsterdam,…

Monica Galetti Took a Risk and Made It in London

New Zealand chef Monica Galetti, 47, speaks to The Guardian about her childhood in Samoa, controlling her temper, meeting the Queen and forgetting to curtsey. “Mum worked in New Zealand to provide for our family….

NZ Bans Cigarette Sales for Those Born After 2009

New Zealand has adopted a steadily rising tobacco-purchase age and mandated the near-elimination of nicotine from all cigarettes sold in the country, pushing forward on a plan to create a smoke-free nation as other…

Richard Chandler Aims to Build Tesla of Aeroplanes

Futuristic electric vertical-takeoff air taxis have grabbed all the headlines – and billions in venture dollars – but Singapore-based investor New Zealand-born Richard Chandler, 63, thinks he has a better idea: conventional battery-powered aircraft…

Jazz Pianist Mike Nock Relearns Seminal Album

At 82, the exuberant Christchurch-born, Sydney-based pianist Mike Nock has a lifetime of stories to share, and an abundance of insights to accompany them, Jessica Nicholas writes for The Age. She speaks with Nock…

Allbirds’ Tim Brown Reflects on Career Change

Many entrepreneurs will tell you that what they’re doing now is not what they initially set out to do. Each month in a series called, The Pivot, Canadian Business speaks to founders, business leaders…

Violinist Bryony Gibson-Cornish Appointed at RCM

New Zealand-born violist Bryony Gibson-Cornish is one of five new professors appointed to the String Faculty at the Royal College of Music (RCM), London. Gibson-Cornish, who performs as part of the Marmen Quartet, will…

Geothermal New Zealand Can’t Be Missed

“New Zealand’s volcanic activity is so close to the earth’s surface that you can even dig your own hot tub in the sand,” Forbes contributor Johanna Read writes. “ volcanic zone makes for…

New Zealand’s Indy Forging Own Pop Path

Last month, a new indie pop star emerged – and she’s making the main character anthems of everyone’s dreams, according to Brittany Spanos writing for Rolling Stone. After nearly four years of writing, workshopping,…

Shane van Gisbergen Wins Bathurst 1000

Aucklander Shane van Gisbergen, 33, (pictured right) now has more Supercars wins in one season than anybody else, after he and Australian Garth Tander, 45, surged to their second Bathurst 1000 title in three…

Meet Hollywood Hairstylist Jaime Leigh McIntosh

Jaime Leigh McIntosh is on a rare break. The Cambridge-born, Los Angeles-based hair stylist has spent the last three years leading the hair department for two of the most talked-about films of the moment:…

Pioneering Physicist Mark Warner a Selfless Mentor

We are all familiar with elastic bands and other soft, rubbery materials, but familiarity should not diminish our surprise at their properties. What other solids can be stretched many times their original length without…

Decorating Doyen Veere Grenney Revives Townhouse

Veere Grenney, whose work on a Belgravia townhouse features in Elle Decor this month, is an acclaimed, tentpole designer with a playful style (custom chintz sofas, chicken-wire wardrobes, upstairs-downstairs half-glazed doors with curtains, mounted…

Dancer Lance Savali Never Misses a Beat

Lance Savali is a Wellington-born dancer, who shot to stardom after beginning his career with compatriot Parris Goebel’s dance crew, The Royal Family. Speaking to Complex AU, Savali chats about working with some of…

Auckland a Condé Nast Favourite

Auckland has made the Condé Nast Traveler global guide to the ‘Best Places to Go in 2023’ list, one of 23 locations worldwide to make the cut. “Widely praised for its containment of COVID-19, New…

Hamish Kilgour a Freewheeling Musician With Worldly Reach

Hamish Kilgour, a founding member of the New Zealand band the Clean, who was celebrated among fans of underground music for his propulsive drumming and his countercultural approach to life, has died in Christchurch,…

Literary Review Looks at Mansfield and the Movies

“One of Katherine Mansfield’s defining characteristics was her restlessness, both personal and artistic: she was always most at home when on the move,” Claire Harman writes for the Literary Review. “It helped that she…

Simran Kaur Is a Girl That Invests

When Simran Kaur, creator and co-host of the podcast Girls That Invest, and author of the bestselling book of the same name, was growing up in New Zealand, there was no resource for young…

Auckland Couple with New Baby Looks Ahead

Tuesday 15 November 2022 marked the day that the global population reached 8 billion, according to the United Nations. The impact of this is far-reaching, putting additional pressure on already stretched resources and challenging…

Crafting Savage x Fenty with Parris Goebel

In-demand New Zealand choreographer Parris Goebel talks with Harper’s Bazaar about shaping the annual fashion spectacle Savage x Fenty and her longstanding creative friendship with Rihanna. While Rihanna is the mastermind behind the Savage x…

Hong Kong Trail Designed by Will Hayward Opens

The 92km Tinworth Trail, dedicated to a former trail race organiser who died two years ago and designed by New Zealander Will Hayward, runs from the North East of Hong Kong to the South…

Artist Francis Upritchard Shows in Switzerland

New Zealand-born artist Francis Upritchard, 46, has had her first solo show in Switzerland at Biel’s Kunsthaus Pasquart, exhibiting over 100 works. “Upritchard’s sculptures represent a striking amalgamation of fantasy and reality. Incorporating a wide…