Anna Knox, who spent four years living in Saudi Arabia, has been waiting for a book like Celestial Bodies – a story that shakes up entrenched ideas of women in the Middle East. Early on in Jokha Alharthi’s Celestial Bodies, Abdullah, son of Sulayman the Merchant, describes his family home in the village of Al-Wafi with … Read more
Despite the world’s attention turning elsewhere, thousands of asylum seekers continue to die on perilous voyages across the Mediterranean. Alex Braae spoke to a New Zealander trying to save their lives. A human body doesn’t take long to disappear in the Mediterranean. Salt water breaks it down, fish nibble it, and before anyone notices, it … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Every teacher in the country to strike together, concerns over funding-starved Māori sector, and two big stories on the rubbish beat from the weekend. The timing couldn’t be more stark. The day before the government delivers their first ‘wellbeing budget’, every primary and secondary school teacher in … Read more
How can we be sure catching the tuna we’re eating hasn’t also harmed humans? At the moment we can’t. But could new technology bring transparency to the fishing industry, and help stamp out unsafe conditions? Sushi. We Kiwis love it. Incredible to think that in the 1980s it was still something many of us baulked … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Another leaked MPI report shows more fish dumped, meth testing scam dismissed by top scientist, and Christchurch residents turn to spring water to escape chlorine. Huge amounts of fish are being wasted and dumped, according to an MPI report leaked to Newshub. Almost 3000 tonnes of Southern Blue … Read more
As America marks one of their greatest orators on Martin Luther King Day, Christine Ammunson looks back on her trip to Georgetown University for the World Speechwriters Conference in October. As I hopped into an Uber, I reflected on an extraordinary week at the World Speechwriters Conference hearing from writers and strategists who’d served US presidents … Read more
Last Monday we ran a piece by Joan Druett on her new biography of 19th century sea captain William ‘Bully’ Hayes, who roamed the Pacific and New Zealand. Michael Field was among those who were concerned that it failed to properly address Hayes’s involvement in ‘blackbirding’; we asked him to write an essay in response … Read more