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.

A Newsroom production for RNZ, supported by NZ On Air

On air:

Monday - Saturday at 4.30am, encore on weeknights at 10.15pm on RNZ National

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Athletics out of hibernation

New Zealand track and field athletes have achieved on the world scene for decades - but now there's a new strength and diversity not seen since the 1990s
Sam Tanner and Sam Ruthe, 800m, Potts Classic, Mitre 10 Park, Hastings.

The price of instant gratification

One million Kiwis use a Buy Now Pay Later scheme, but not everyone is convinced the regulations governing them are adequate to protect users from harm
A screenshot of the Buy Now Pay Later site Afterpay

Landmark case could force rewrite of emissions strategy

The once quiet workhorse of climate policy, the humble tree, is now headline material, fuelling political fights and finding itself at the very root of a legal battle over our climate future
Energy Minister Simon Watt

The great property breakup

New Zealanders finally seem to be dialling down their obsession with owning houses to create wealth
The seller wants $559,000 for this townhouse on Glengarry Road, Glen Eden.

Iran, Israel, and 'the great Satan'

A week after the US and Israel struck Iran, The Detail looks at what really led to the war, how Tehran hit back, and the political storm brewing at home
A man makes his way through debris littering a street following airstrikes in central Tehran, on March 4, 2026. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on March 4, they had total control of the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for global energy transit, as Israel launched a new wave of strikes on the Iranian capital. (Photo by AFP)

Why Air NZ is in the red while rivals soar

Our national carrier is flying through turbulent skies, with grounded planes, global conflict, and growing criticism from politicians and passengers 
Flights were cancelled through Wellington airport due to wind gusts.

A gold mine, an Australia mining giant, and a community divided

Central Otago is sitting on a gold mine that may be worth billions, but the decision of whether to dig has tensions simmering
A visual simulation released by Santana Minerals showing what the mine would look like from Māori Point Road, Tarras.

How supercritical geothermal energy could change our future 

With LNG on the way, The Detail looks at two possible fuel alternatives that could deal to New Zealand's reliance on gas and coa
Rotokawa Geothermal Power Station. Photo: Mercury

Net fishing is in, then out again

The Hauraki Gulf is back in the spotlight as National backflips on their own fisheries policy, leaving the commercial fishing industry sweating - and confused
A ring net fishing boat in Northland. Photo: Seafood NZ 

The longevity obsession

Bio-hackers are looking for the answers to stretching out their lives as long as possible, but research says there's a biological end point for our bodies
Bryan Johnson and his son.

A home for granny, a headache for the homeowner

Rule changes for putting a granny flat on your section cut very little red tape, but move questions of liability from councils to homeowners
Table and chairs on the terrace of a flat in summer.

All stick, no carrot with move-on laws

The government's making city shop owners happy with its decisive move-on orders for homeless people, but there are doubts they'll achieve anything
Homelessness Bin the Ban letter for parliment

Citizens arrests, armed guards, and the power of Sunny Kaushal

For the past decade, Sunny Kaushal has been a man on a mission to crack down on retail crime, and he's one step closer to getting his way
Sunny Kaushal

The arrest heard around the world

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's dramatic arrest is the first of its kind for the royal family in nearly 400 years, and has shaken the House of Windsor
This general view shows a sign for a street originally named after Britain's former prince Andrew, with the title of "prince" blackened out, along a road in the town of Carrickfergus, County Antrim in Northern Ireland on November 25, 2025. A Northern Irish council has voted to rename a street in the town of Carrickfergus called after Britain's disgraced former Prince Andrew after now known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. (Photo by Paul Faith / AFP)

Barker's of Geraldine in a jam over waste

The Canterbury preserves company wants to spray wastewater - which contains cleaning chemicals - onto a neighbouring DOC reserve. It's a stark difference to the way the company deals with wastewater at its French plant.
The Hae Hae Te Moana river, DOC conservation land, Barker's in the background

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