The Detail
Episodes
'On every dimension, New Zealand is falling behind' when it comes to social cohesion
07 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The results of a new report on social cohesion are so poor they even surprised the author. He says it's time we fix it, before it's too late. …G...
The New Zealand institution heralding change
06 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The New Zealand Herald is barely out of everyone else's headlines these days, but will readers notice the changes that are bubbling beneath the masthe...
New Zealand start-up aims to take space transport to new heights
04 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dawn Aerospace builds space planes and propulsion systems out of their Christchurch workshop. Their next goal is two trips to space, every day. ̷...
Fixing the GP crisis
03 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A crisis in primary health care is worsening and calls are increasing for some hospital funding to be diverted to GPs…Go to this episode on rnz....
Super Rugby Pacific, back and better than ever
02 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Halfway through the season, Super Rugby has ditched expectations and crowds are taking noticeA shakeup in competition and rule changes have revived th...
Parents on notice after a spate of drownings
01 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
With drowning numbers creeping up, a water safety expert explains why so many of these deaths are avoidable…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for ...
Reforming the reforms - the RMA is up for debate, again
31 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Legislation designed to simplify the country's resource management laws has now become more complex than the multitude of statutes it originally repla...
An atheist on why churches should remain tax-free
30 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Critics say that churches' exemption from paying income tax gives them an unfair competitive advantage. But one atheist says these tax laws are essent...
Tinā, the Samoan film that's a hit with palagi
28 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
At last New Zealand has another hit film on its hands, 10 years after the last big box office draw.Tinā is a film that will make you laugh and cry, b...
New campaign aims to tackle rising sideline abuse in sport
27 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Rugby ref Ben O'Keefe knows first-hand what it's like to receive abuse from spectators. He says if we don't tackle it, it will drive children away fro...
Five years after the first big lockdown, is NZ ready for the next pandemic
26 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The next pandemic could arrive at any time, but the government has ignored a Royal Commission of Inquiry report that could help it prepareHalf a decad...
Good riddance to bad rubbish at a north Auckland tip
25 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
More than half of Auckland's rubbish gets dumped at one landfill, where waste is turned into energy to power homes and grow food…Go to this epis...
Timeless Summer, endless debt
24 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
There's a call for laws to be introduced requiring ticket sellers for big events to hold punters' cash in trust, so we don't see a repeat of fans' mon...
In Delhi and D.C., Christopher Luxon and Winston Peters in their elements
23 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Taking the train with Winston Peters and watching Christopher Luxon play cricket: what it's like traveling with a foreign trade delegationChristopher ...
Excavating a historical waka, and the story that goes with it
21 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The discovery of a waka buried on the coastline of Rēkohu/ Chatham Islands has caused a century-old tension to resurfaceIn the Chatham Islands, local...
The physical toll of nine months on the ISS
20 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
After nine months in space, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore splashed back down the earth. Their bodies and minds may never catch up. Swollen faces, s...
'Bewildered' experts aren't on board for changes to fisheries management
19 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The government wants to streamline regulations, but marine advocates worry the changes would make fishing less transparent and expedite destruction of...
What's in a name - trademarks in 2025
18 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
With trademark applications surging, The Detail looks at what it takes to get a mark registered in New Zealand…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz f...
The art of tiptoeing around Trump
17 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In Donald Trump's firing line, foreign leaders decide whether to butter up or shout back Former New Zealand Ambassador to the US Tim Groser explains t...
Niche but relatable - the film festival where the theme is fraud
16 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Swindles, scams and deception take centre-stage at Wellington's highly specific documentary film festival The Wellington Fraud Film Festival will sh...
From New Zealand to Afghanistan, with Project 51
14 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today marks six years since the Christchurch mosque attacks. One couple's new documentary honours the lives lost - and the lives changed as a resultPr...
The cost of a meal that sticks in the throat
13 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The school lunch debacle has deteriorated so much that there is an increasing clamour to rip it up and start again In treating school lunches as a ser...
Master Electricians' warning on the Right to Repair Bill
12 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The bill passed its first reading in Parliament last month, but one trade feels the amendment is a live wire…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for...
Why we want to be mates with Vietnam
11 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
New Zealand is after a trade slice of rapidly growing Vietnam, and a new agreement should strengthen those connections.Vietnam is one of the fastest g...
Designing a better night's sleep
10 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
New building products being tested at Auckland University may be the answer to restless summer nights in city apartments…Go to this episode on r...
Takapuna Golf Course thinks council plans for land are below par
09 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On Auckland's North Shore, a public golf course is fighting council plans to use their course as a floodwater catchment Auckland Council wants to tur...
Wikipedia, a surprising repository of fact
07 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In a world where misinformation and disinformation are rampant, the website has become an unlikely source of truth…Go to this episode on rnz.co....
Canadians go from anxious to angry over Trump moves
06 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Canadians are united in their horror over US tariffs that have the power to plunge the country into recession and cause mass unemploymentDonald Trump&...
The shockingly bad press for ECT
05 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Up to 300 New Zealanders a year are administered electric shock treatment - and the vast majority are happier for it Electroconvulsive Therapy has had...
Time to ditch your 3G phone
04 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Tens of thousands of handsets and other devices are likely to become redundant by the end of the year as NZ shuts down the 3G phone networkAs New Zeal...
Citizens arrest laws raise red flags for experts
03 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The government wants to make retail a safer work environment by allowing citizens arrest. One legal expert fears the change will have the opposite eff...
Preparing our kids for the wild world of the internet
02 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A claim we're not paying enough attention to giving our children the ability to sort out what's real and what's not in the murky depths of the interne...
Celebrating 100 years of Indians in Wellington
28 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A new book promises to lift the lid on the history of Wellington's Indian community in ways that would surprise most people There's more to the I...
Shaking up the media landscape
27 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Media oversight and regulation is described as messy, and screen productions desperately need help. Changes are in the wind. The government is makin...
SovCits are fighting the law, but the law's winning
26 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
More people are using 'SovCit' arguments in court, engaging in so-called 'paper terrorism'Sovereign citizens believe they are exempt the laws of New Z...
When shaken baby syndrome verdict is unsafe
25 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A supposed shaken baby case is raising questions over the misdiagnosis of injured infants, with authorities rushing to lay the blame on parents…...
The corruption ranking that could affect your mortgage
24 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
New Zealand has been too complacent for too long about our reputation for honesty, and now we're on a downward slide in international perception R...
A Kiwi champion for Lucy Letby
23 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How a Kiwi documentary producer has been a part of a network to get authorities to revisit one of the most notorious murder cases the United Kingdom h...
In the shadow of a rainbow
21 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Recent events in Auckland have resurfaced memories of when being gay was considered a neurotic personality disorder…Go to this episode on rnz.co...
Our defence budget under scrutiny
20 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Our cash-strapped, underfunded, overspent defence force is in line for a budget boost, and experts say it can't come soon enoughFrom peacekeeping on t...
Submissions to GMO law change bill are closed, and experts are worried
19 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Experts agree that advances to GMO technology means laws need to change. But just how those changes look is contentious. Changes are coming to our ge...
Auckland's trash is another town's treasure
18 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ecogas is New Zealand's only plant of its kind processing food waste. Its co-founder says that's embarrassing. …Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz...
NZ's health leadership crisis
17 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
New health minister Simeon Brown is presiding over a list of resignations from high-ranking health officials…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for...
The Beehive doors are shut to the CTU
16 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
She says her government is delivering for workers, but Brooke Van Velden won't meet with the biggest worker organisation we have - the Council for Tra...
Dark questions over child video stars
14 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Strong parental control seems to be the key to keeping insta-famous and highly visible YouTube kids safe…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for mor...
Uneven maternity care across Aotearoa
13 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Despite a model based on choice, New Zealanders options for birth are limited based on post code.The World Health Organisation has called for a commun...
Geopolitical games in the South Pacific
12 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As the US looks to be leaving the Pacific, and New Zealand is rowing with Kiribati and the Cook Islands, experts worry about Chinese influence …...
Funding a good death
11 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why the palliative care sector feels under fire, under-funded and under pressure to allow assisted dying practitioners into its facilities A governmen...
A step up in fake news
10 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The president, the tech oligarchs, the media and AI - why we can expect a new wave of information you just can't trust …Go to this episode on rn...
NZ school system not making the grade
09 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As the 2025 schoolyear kicks off, a slew of problems for students, teachers and the government…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
Trump's memecoin drops in value, and critics aren't surprised
07 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Memecoin operates in a decentralised, unregulated system. Critics say that's the point - and the problem. A cryptocurrency expert worries that memeco...
Chris Wood could be NZ's best footballer, ever
06 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
He's a Kiwi superstar in the Beautiful Game, but we don't talk enough about Chris Wood. That could be changing. …Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz...
The mammoth job of managing stranded whales
04 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Euthanising a beached whale is an unpopular move. But sometimes trying to save it is worse. …Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
Troubled waters for Yachting NZ
03 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Our fourth strongest Olympic sport is in hot water over allegations about the way it conducts itself Yachting New Zealand is the country's first ...
A retail crime-fighting app helping police track repeat offenders
02 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A recent shoplifting allegation put the spotlight on crime-fighting platform Auror, but concerns about the app have been bubbling away for some time A...
New Zealand's last war
31 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A new documentary on the Haka Party Incident tells the story of the 'three-minute war' through the eyes of the people who fought it…Go to this e...
In 2025, a pivotal year for Māori-Crown relations
30 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
From the Treaty Principles Bill submissions to Rātana to the Waitangi Tribunal shake-up, 2025 looks to be a big year for race relations in AotearoaTh...
The app is back, but the clock is still counting down for TikTok
29 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The TikTok saga has raised questions of what your personal data is worth in a trade-off with money making opportunitiesTikTok spent a mere 12 hours in...
Behind the scenes with Eden Park's CEO
28 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Eden Park's CEO says his is the only option for Auckland's main stadium. But to survive, it will need to be more than a rugby park.Eden Park is in the...
Breathing life into Queen Street, with lessons from London
27 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Main streets across New Zealand are run-down and struggling, but we can look to Oxford Street for inspirationAfter years as a 'national embarrass...
Surviving early 2025's worsening job market
26 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A tough market for job seekers isn't set to improve until the second half of the year. The potential fall-out could be major brain drainRising unemplo...
The year in Detail
12 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Detail wraps up its sixth year with an all-in look at what the team enjoyed most (and least) about 2024 It's The Detail's last episode o...
Closing the gender pay gap, one disclosure at a time
11 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Despite a law against paying employees differently based on their gender, we've still got a gender pay gap. A new bill could help.A bill before Parlia...
For refugees coming to New Zealand, a refuge
10 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Every year, 1500 refugees come through the Mangere Refugee Resettlement Centre. For many, it's the first home with four walls and a roof they've had i...
Behind SolarZero's collapse
09 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
How a solar power company backed by public funds and one of the world's largest asset managers went into liquidation…Go to this episode on rnz.c...
The long, expensive and complicated process of surrogacy
08 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Having a baby by surrogacy in New Zealand is complicated, convoluted and costly. A bill promised to fast-track change, but progress has been anything ...
Christmas red flags for online shoppers
06 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
New research identifies a surge in fake online shops scamming Kiwis out of pocket in the lead up to Christmas…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz fo...
The risk of missing the boat on a good deal for the Cook Strait ferries
05 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It hasn't been clear sailing for the Interislander, but any day the government will announce plans for the ferries' future…Go to this episode on...
The birth of a city
04 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Developers are moving at pace to turn the south Auckland town of Drury into our next city…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
Seabed mining left out of regional plan for Taranaki
03 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There's a clash of wills going on between central and local government in Taranaki when it comes to plans for seabed mining…Go to this episode o...
The niggle that could trip up an India trade deal
02 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There's already plenty of doubt that we'll get an India trade deal signed in the Prime Minister's first term as he promised. Here's another hiccup.A r...
All hail the social media X-odus
01 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
X is out, Bluesky is in and Mastodon is for the birds - and the nerds. The fight for the top spot in an ever-evolving social media landscape is polit...
The good, the bad and ugly of mumfluencing
29 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Mumfluencing can be a lucrative business, but making a living off of children can come at a cost…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more detail...
NZs Prime Ministers ranked
28 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Historians talk to The Detail about the good, the bad and the grumpy of the 23 past Prime Ministers of New ZealandA look at the New Zealand Prime Mini...
Methanol and inaccessible medical care - a lethal combination
27 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Facing methanol poisoning in a place like Laos means hurdles to getting help, including accessing health care in time…Go to this episode on rnz....
How rough sex and strangulation entered the nation's conversations, and bedrooms
26 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Rough sex is appearing in songs, tv shows, and in sexual encounters between young people. But research suggests many women participating in it don't w...
Taking the shock out of mental health law
25 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Our Prime Minister's just apologised for decades of child abuse in care, but the Mental Health Act allows the same kind of treatment to be dished out ...
The death of the local rag
24 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Our local free newspapers are disappearing at a rapid rate, as costs soar, revenue plummets and readers turn to screens While media companies continue...
Organ donation celebrated with a thank you day
22 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Next Saturday is Thank You Day, a chance to express gratitude to everyone involved in organ donation, and raise awareness about the issue.It's a ...
Burma the flying elephant
21 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Moving an elephant across an ocean is no small feat for her keepers, physically or mentallyAuckland Zoo has said goodbye to New Zealand's last el...
The case for juries
20 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Defence lawyers say there are better ways of clearing clogged courts than the government's plan to have fewer jury trialsThe government wants to cut c...
The Kiwi business leader giving exploited migrants a second chance
19 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Meet the Auckland businessman who's helping to pick up the pieces of Indian migrant exploitation …Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more deta...
Poor outcomes for poverty
18 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to our outcomes on poverty, New Zealand's marks are poor. Experts gathering this week in Wellington want to change that.In Wellington th...
Nerves and uncertainty over Trump's tariff plans
17 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
New Zealand isn't the target of Trump's tariff threats, but might just be collateral damage in a global economic war.The evidence, analysis and logic ...
The great lunch debate
15 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
How we eat lunch at work has changed, but a good lunch is more about how you eat than whatThe classic lunch break is no longer what it was, with a cha...
Changes are on the way for NZ Post, and posties aren't happy
14 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Posties say proposals to NZ Post that include job cuts, price increases, communal delivery points, and fewer deliveries and postal outlets threaten ou...
When women hit the grass ceiling of coaching
13 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It's being labelled toxic positivity; opening the door to women in sport, but closing it before they get into high performance coaching jobs …G...
Fiji's climate change reality
12 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Crops and vegetables contaminated with sea water, an ocean that's getting fished out, and inundation at high tide is the reality of life for perhaps h...
Deepfake porn showing up in New Zealand classrooms
11 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Deepfake porn is easier than ever to create, and students are suffering the consequencesAn increasing number of New Zealand students are being victimi...
Cancelled school bus leaves parents scrambling, and angry
10 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Ministry of Education has cancelled 39 rural bus routes. Parents say it will leave 100s of students unable to get to school.The government is crac...
NZ's best baller is back in action
08 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It's been 645 days between dunks for Kiwi NBA stalwart Steven Adams. He's older, wiser, and more often than not, on the bench.If your NBA feed has bee...
Pahiatua's Polish children return
07 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The welcome mat is laid out for the return of Polish refugee children in Pahiatua, where their arrival 80 years ago has been wound into the fabric of ...
When informed consent evaporates on the operating table
06 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
At North Shore Hospital, anaesthetised patients were examined by student doctors without giving consent. It's likely that most don't even know it happ...
AI ate my homework
05 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Chat GPT is here and changing education, with new versions of the technology making the use of it harder to detect…Go to this episode on rnz.co....
Concerns over new, streamlined building consent process
04 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Getting a building consent is about to get easier, with some builders allowed to skip council inspections…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for mo...
The risk that roadside drug testing could make roads less safe
03 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Some fear drivers will swap prescription drugs like medicinal cannabis for more dangerous substances, like opiates, that don't show up on saliva tests...
The making of Donald Trump
01 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A few days out from the US presidential election, The Apprentice tells the story of how Trump became TrumpWith a few days before the US presidential e...
The pancreatic cancer patient on a mission to save lives
31 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Nyree Smith's cancer is terminal, but during Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month, she's on a mission to get Kiwis to their doctors before it's too lateF...
Abuse survivors want Jagose gone
30 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A deep dive into the massive Royal Commission report into Abuse in Care reveals a host of roles and names of those who stonewalled victims' compensati...
Clean, green mining as corporate branding
29 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
An Australian mining CEO took a top spot at CHOGM's business plenary to talk about how his company is going 'real carbon zero' by 2030…Go to thi...