Is DIY in your DNA?
Lockdown can too easily lead to hare-brained schemes. Bruce Munro talks to a range of experts about what you should NOT attempt at home during the next few weeks, plus a few better ideas for filling those free days.
Bruce Munro
'This is not the big one': Virologist says prepare for worse
'This is not the big one': Virologist says prepare for worse
Is Covid-19 the "big one" about which Dr Robert Webster has been warning the world? Bruce Munro asks seven key questions of the Balclutha-born, United States-based virologist.
Global Insight: 'Solidarity needed' to win Covid-19 war
Global Insight: 'Solidarity needed' to win Covid-19 war
Covid-19 has brought science and interdependence back centre-stage, but global solidarity needs to step up if the war is to be won, Professor Robert Patman says.
A duty of care
A duty of care
Peter Grimsey's always on the move; easy to miss, or dismiss. But get Otago Girls' High School's longest serving support staffer to slow down and you might discover an attitude and a freedom many struggle to attain.
Global Insight: Covid-19 complicates oil price war
Global Insight: Covid-19 complicates oil price war
See full interview belowWhoever blinks first in the global oil price war, it will not mean an immediate return to higher prices at the pump, Professor Robert Patman predicts.
A culture of control
A culture of control
Senior academics say University of Otago has developed a negative, top-down, management culture that is undermining trust, productivity and mental health. Bruce Munro reports.
Meaning and purpose
Meaning and purpose
Rising star Nadia Reid talks to Bruce Munro about defying the folk-music label, childhood visions in Port Chalmers and her driving sense of purpose.
Global Insight: The Bernie factor
Global Insight: The Bernie factor
Bernie Sanders is only extreme by United States standards. But even there, he is gaining in popularity, Professor Robert Patman says.
The real cost
The real cost
Feel like you are slipping behind in the race to make ends meet despite almost record-low inflation? Bruce Munro unpacks the all-important Consumer Price Index and discovers some disturbing anomalies.
Global Insight: Could Coronavirus change the course of history?
Global Insight: Could Coronavirus change the course of history?
The deadly Coronavirus is being likened to Pearl Harbour and Chernobyl for its potential to change the course of history.
Our part in the rising
Our part in the rising
Five Kiwis, including one from Otago, played a pivotal role in the seminal event of modern Irish history. So why have they, until now, been written out of history? Bruce Munro talks to NZ Irish historian Dr Rory Sweetman about the Anzacs caught up in the Easter Rising.
Lessons for today
Lessons for today
Controversy over the "eat less meat and dairy" suggestion in a NZ curriculum resource begs serious questions. With kids heading back to the classroom, what are teachers trying to teach our children?
Global Insight: NZ may become minor global power
Global Insight: NZ may become minor global power
- See below for full interviewThis could be the year New Zealand emerges as a minor global power, Professor Robert Patman predicts.
Meet the Kiwis ready for the world's end
Meet the Kiwis ready for the world's end
In 2020, doomsday scenarios are legion. Bruce Munro talks to "preppers" of various stripes about getting ready for the end of the world as we know it.
Summer coats
Summer coats
Summertime is house-painting time. Bruce Munro reflects on the process, perils and payback of "painting your house".
Global Insight: Facebook's threat to democracy
Global Insight: Facebook's threat to democracy
Social media giants need to be held to account to ensure free and fair elections, Professor Robert Patman warns.
Lines that divide: A Dunedin paper road separates two worlds
Lines that divide: A Dunedin paper road separates two worlds
Bruce Munro talks to Dunedin neighbours on either side of the entrenched wealth and poverty divide and asks whether anyone wants to see it change.
Global Insight 2019 retrospective
Global Insight 2019 retrospective
Ineffectual climate change responses and international trade wars are related symptoms of a globalised world acting in an increasingly fragmented way.
Ready or not
Ready or not
Spuds are being dug up, supermarkets are playing carols 17 hours a day, church kids are wearing tea towels, police and budget advisers are gearing up - it must be the festive season.
Global Insight: New Zealand's relationship with Samoa
Global Insight: New Zealand's relationship with Samoa
New Zealand must remember its sometimes-negative history in the Pacific as it builds a deeper relationship with Pacific Island states, Professor Robert Patman says.