The Detail
Join The Detail team six days a week as they make sense of the big stories with the country’s best journalists and experts.
Episodes
The news year, unpacked, by five divas with microphones
As the year draws to a close, The Detail looks back at 12 months of deep dives, sharp analysis, and the kinds of conversations that helped New Zealanders make sense of a turbulent, fast-moving world
Guests:
- Alexia Russell - The Detail editor
- Gwen McClure - The Detail producer/ host
- Amanda Gillies - The Detail host
- Sharon Brettkelly - The Detail host
- Davina Zimmer - The Detail ass...
From storms to scorchers, what this summer's wild weather means for New Zealand tourism
With tourism numbers back to pre-covid levels, New Zealanders are getting ready for a swarm of tourists. Experts say those tourists should be getting ready for New Zealand's wild, changeable weather.
Guests:
- Chris Brandolino - Earth Sciences New Zealand principal scientist and meteorologist
- Dr Stephen Espiner - Lincoln University associat...
From stray dogs to traffic jams to the most controversial topic of all - berms - councillors and mayors from across the country report what's getting on their residents' nerves
When residents have a gripe about rain, stray dogs, berm maintenance, or even a tree root, they call their councillor. Today The Detail is calling those councillors, too.
Guests:
- Bryan Cadogan - former Clutha mayor
- Sam Jennings - Horowhenua District councill...
At Auckland Museum's new shark exhibition, all the models are to scale, allowing visitors to get face-to-face with some of the largest creatures on the planet
From a shark the size of a cigar to the long-extinct 400-kilo 'buzzsaw' to those that glow in the dark, sharks are an incredibly diverse species - and according to the exhibition's curator, 'the most misunderstood animals on the planet'
Guests:
- Clint...
Between the high cost of living and a slew of toys failing safety tests, buying Christmas presents for kids is fraught
How to shop for your kids this Christmas, in the wake of the asbestos-contaminated sand, toy recalls, and children's products failing safety tests
Guests:
- Gemma Rasmussen - Consumer NZ head of research and advocacy
- Mareta Hunt - Safekids Aotearoa Poutokomanawa/Director
Learn More:
- Toy safety tips
- More ab...
A year of highs, lows and hard questions: Inside New Zealand's rollercoaster sporting season
The country's biggest sports teams delivered everything from turmoil to triumph in 2025, with a mixed bag of results across rugby, league, netball and cricket, with off-field drama often dominating headlines.
Guests:
- Rikki Swannell - Sports commentator and journalist
Learn More:
- The Post's All Blacks season player ratings
- R...
The opening has been pushed back again, the price is extraordinary, but Auckland's City Rail Link is expected to deliver the region the wow factor
Those in charge of the country's most expensive transport infrastructure are confident the new timetable for opening will stick - but they won't name a date
Guests:
- Alan Trestour - CRL Head of Delivery for Auckland Transport
- Patrick Brockie - CRL chief executive
- Stacey van der ...
There's a lot of hand-wringing but few answers when it comes to culling New Zealand's rapidly expanding deer population
In a war between hunters and conservationists over the control of one of our most damaging pests, only the deer are winning
Guests:
- Richard Dawkins - Federated Farmers meat and wool chair
- Jill Herron - Newsroom journalist
- John Bissell - hunter and conservationist
Learn More:
- RNZ's podcast Deer Wars
- More ...
Aviation under pressure: Airbus A320 glitch adds to a year of crashes, questions, and shaken confidence
The Airbus A320 fault sparked worldwide delays and airport chaos, and has renewed fears over aviation safety in a turbulent 2025
Guests:
- Grant Bradley - Aviation commentator
- Dan Lake - Travel commentator
Learn More:
- Planes grounded after Airbus discovers solar radiation could impact systems
- Victim identified following fatal...
Regional councils have to find a different way of operating that cuts down on double ups and layers of bureaucracy
Regional councillors who've just been sworn in have been shown the writing on the wall by the government, which is plotting a swift end to their terms
Guests:
- Glenn McConnell - Stuff political reporter
Learn More:
- Read Glenn's piece on the regional council shake up here
- Beehive news release on local go...
An HIV diagnosis used to be a death sentence, but that hasn't been the case in years - so why hasn't the stigma changed with the science?
More than four decades after the first New Zealander was diagnosed with HIV, medical advances have completely changed the face of the once-fatal virus, but one man living with it says he doesn't "think that the HIV stigma has changed radically"
Guests:
- Rodrigo Olin German - H...
It doesn't have to be extravagant, expensive or loaded with tinsel and tat - bring your smile to host the perfect seasonal party
If you're fed up with Northern Hemisphere listicles on how to prepare for a cold Christmas, here's a taste of what it takes to host a summer celebration
Guests:
- Trudi Nelson - Food writer and broadcaster
- Colin Mathura-Jeffree - Model, TV personality, and professional guest
We've failed to reach our smokefree obligations, but has New Zealand done well enough to relax our efforts?
New Zealand was once a world leader in getting people to give up cigarettes, but we seem to have pulled up the brakes
Guests:
- Chris Bullen - University of Auckland public health professor
- Anaru Waa - University of Otago professor
- Jasmine Graham - Hāpai te Hauora general manager
Learn More:
The West Coast has long been mining country, but a proposed expansion of coal mining operations - and the backlash - leaves the region's economy and ecology uncertain
A proposal to expand mining operations on the Denniston Plateau pits the economy against ecology, leaving the Government facing a high-stakes decision
Guests:
- Fox Meyer - Newsroom political reporter
Learn More:
As the cost of insurance rises, Consumer NZ sees worrying signs that more people are dropping their house insurance
From house insurance to health insurance, mortgage to pet to funeral, the list of what can be insured seems to be growing. Insurance experts list the ones you can cancel.
Guests:
- Rebecca Styles - Consumer NZ head of investigations
- Bianca Russell - North Shore office manager
- Chris Walsh - MoneyHub founder
Learn More...
Unions who won an employment case for four Uber drivers in three different courts could find the ruling short-lived, with the introduction of new legislation
An expert in employment law says new legislation will override a Supreme Court ruling, but that bill is full of holes - and will itself end up being tested in the courts
Guests:
- Simon Schofield - University of Auckland professional teaching fellow
Learn More:
Psychological tricks and traps using deceptive website design techniques are starting to overwhelm online shopping.
What's being termed 'dark patterns' are becoming increasingly prevalent on shopping websites as online businesses scramble for your dollars
Guests:
- Chris Shulz - Consumer NZ senior investigative journalist
- Alex Sims - University of Auckland commercial law professor
Learn More:
Two big political memoirs have hit the bookshops this year - but which high profile politicians are missing from the shelves
From memoirs to biographies; autobiographies - both authorised and unauthorised - to the mid-career manifesto, the documented lives of politicians come in many forms
Guests:
- Tim Murphy - Newsroom co-editor
- Jim McAloon - Victoria University professor of political history
Learn More:
A surprise reversal on high beef tariffs has been a welcome relief for farmers, but with Trump in the White House, celebrations are muted
U.S President Donald Trump no longer has beef with some Kiwi exports, but others are still stuck paying a high price - and an economist warns it's anyone's guess how long the relief will last
Guests:
- Brad Olsen - New Zealand economist
- Kate Acland - Beef and Lamb New Zealand chair and ...
Kākāpō numbers are recovering at such a rate that we are running out of pest-free islands to put them on
2026 could be the year that the kākāpō breeding programme takes such a big leap forward that conservationists can finally take a step back
Guests:
- Alison Ballance - Kākāpō Files
Learn More:
- Read DoC's blog on the 2026 mast season
- Learn about Auckland Zoo's kākāpō programme
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