The Detail
Episodes
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...
New Zealand's state of play
28 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It's Play Week in New Zealand, and play experts want to turn our cities into more fun and joyful places, not just for children During New Zealand Play...
CHOGM: More than just an expensive talkfest
25 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A look at some of the people who turned up to the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting, hoping to advance plans for global changeDelegations to CH...
The Thames Valley rugby team that outshone the Auld Mug
24 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The most celebrated victory of New Zealand's incredible sporting weekend may have been the one at a small rugby ground in Te ArohaNever mind our sport...
A push to make stalking illegal in New Zealand
23 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A new bill to criminalise stalking could be here by the end of the year. Here's what it might look like…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more...
Manawanui wreck the unwanted guest at CHOGM
22 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The wreck of the Manawanui is leaving an oily sheen on the water, and taking the shine off the job of hosting world leaders including the KingSamoa is...
The Official Cash Rate is down, but are you up on the impact?
21 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The OCR goes up to bring inflation down. So now that the OCR is falling, what does it mean for inflation - and what does that mean for New Zealanders?...
When being colourblind backfires
20 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Is the government's new directive that public services should be prioritised on the basis of need, not race, a championing of equity - or has it just ...
The twilight of the movie superhero age
18 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It's superhero saturation at the box office with Batman's offsiders claiming screen time without Batman. Are movie goers Marvelled-out, done with DC?...
Featherston, a fairy tale of reinvention
17 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the space of a decade the Wairarapa town of Featherston has reinvented itself, from a broken down P-plagued problem place, to a vibrant reading cen...
The good, the bad and angry of the flourishing menopause industry
16 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Coaches, gels, health supplements, and even pyjamas. Menopause has become a marketing opportunityMenopause has become a marketing opportunity, but a s...
At Wellington Games Week, a lucrative but fickle business
15 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
New Zealand's booming video game industry reaches for $1 billion exports in the next few yearsThe New Zealand gaming industry grew by 24 percent last ...