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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Who's afraid of Aotearoa

A growing list of rollbacks of Māori language and culture beg the question: is the Government pushing New Zealand towards an identity crisis?
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A city with a cashflow problem

Auckland's economy is falling behind that of the South Island and rural areas, and there's no government hero coming to the rescue
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown at the launch of the State of the City report.

Northland's unprecedented crime surge

Beautiful Northland should be New Zealand's paradise but a surge in violent crime, drugs and poverty is even putting off police from moving up there
RNZ/Reece Baker

Jess Sayer gives life to the author behind Frankenstein

The Queen of Goth - Frankenstein author Mary Shelley - is the inspiration behind a new play written by Jess Sayer
'Mary: The Birth of Frankenstein' starts its run at the ASB Waterfront Theatre from August 21.

The razzmatazz of a bullseye sport

It's gone from a boozy pub game to a mega millions sport - darts' world tour is on in Auckland this weekend
English dart player Luke Littler is credited with a resurgence in the sport's popularity.

A boom in businesses going bust

New Zealand is on track for a record number of liquidations this year - again - but it's not all doom and gloom for Kiwi businesses
Dragonboat restaurant

Past the point of safe return, nowhere to go but Antarctica

After a risky rescue mission to Antarctica, the commander and pilot's blow-by-blow of the 20-hour round trip to McMurdo Station
Flight Lieutenant Ben Pickering (left) and Squadran Leader Adam Palmer (right)

Clearing out the confusion over NCEA changes 

A lesson in the big NCEA reset. The Detail puts an RNZ education specialist to the test on the major education system overhaul. 
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Sinking millions into Auckland's heritage buildings

Auckland museum's asbestos problem is being described as an octopus with more than eight tentacles - and one that comes with a whopping price tag
Outside the Auckland War Memorial Museum there are flags advertising the museum's newest exhibition DIVA

Reality TV's Achilles' heel

This just finished season of reality TV show Love Island UK kicked off with misogyny and bullying - and soaring viewership
Love Island logo

Will NZ move with the tide over Gaza?

With starvation reaching a crisis point in Gaza and an impetus to pressure Israel to pull back, New Zealand's reactions to the conflict remain muted
Maryam, a 26-year-old Palestinian mother, cradles her malnourished 40-day-old son Mahmoud as they await treatment at the Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on July 24, 2025. More than 100 aid organisations and human rights groups warned on Wednesday that "mass starvation" was spreading in Gaza, as the United States said its top envoy was heading to Europe for talks on a possible ceasefire and aid corridor.

Battling apathy over local government

It may seem as if no one cares about the level of government ruling over potholes and parks, but the number of candidates for his year's elections are up
Local body elections voting sign.

Lies and U-turns from Trump's team over the Epstein files

There are signs that the previously unwavering MAGA base of Donald Trump is starting to turn on him as he becomes increasingly embroiled in the Epstein files.
People hold signs calling for the release of files regarding late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein participate in a protest as part of the 'Good Trouble Lives On' national day of action against the administration of US President Donald Trump in Houston, Texas, on July 17, 2025. US President Donald Trump blasted his own supporters and "stupid" Republicans on July 16, 2025, as he went on the attack against anyone questioning his administration's handling of the case of dead sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein. Trump is facing the most serious split in his loyal right-wing base since he returned to power, over claims that his administration is covering up lurid details of disgraced financier Epstein's crimes to protect rich and powerful figures. Epstein died by suicide in a New York prison in 2019 -- during Trump's first term -- after being charged with sex trafficking in a scheme where he allegedly groomed young and underage women for sexual abuse by the rich and powerful. (Photo by RONALDO SCHEMIDT / AFP)

An FBI director on Kiwi soil

FBI Director Kash Patel's visit to New Zealand has been described as important, useful, and mutually beneficial - but it's also business as usual
Kash Patel FBI Director announced a standalone office in Wellington

Sweeping reforms to laundering laws

There's no doubt that money laundering is a problem in New Zealand, but we shouldn't be catching parents trying to open bank accounts for their kids in our criminal net 
A Lower Hutt man convicted of illegal gambling and money laundering has been forced to give up the more than $600,000 he profited from it.

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