Culture 101

Arts News from across the country with Mark and Angie - for the second week of April 2025. Audio

"I am like the active verb to be and to do," wrote the determined trailblazing early New Zealand painter and writer Emily Cumming Harris. "I am," she added, "too necessary an appendage to be left… Read more Audio

Isabel Frey is singer and ethnomusicologist from Vienna, who is attempting to carry the musical tradition of the Jewish Labour Bund, the Yiddish-speaking socialist party in pre-World War II Eastern… Read more Audio

On the road between Christchurch and Queenstown, the town of Fairlie often gets called gateway to the Mackenzie Country.  Read more Video, Audio

 Shawn Simpson is a Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh and joined Culture 101. Read more Audio

The Kaikoura titi, or Hutton's shearwater is a remarkable bird. Endemic to Kaikoura and endangered, it is the only alpine-breeding seabird in the world.  Read more Audio

Thousands of students were outside Parliament in Wellington on Friday for the School Strike 4 Climate protest. The core team organising were aged between 14 and 17 and their overarching theme "Don't… Read more Audio

The Auckland-based artist shares some of his cultural recommendations. Read more Audio

Arts News for 6 April 2025 Audio

Set in a Shinto shrine, nestled among the swaying cherry blossoms in the seaside town of Ushimado, The Cats of Gokogu Shrine is the new film from Japanese filmmaker Kazuhiro Soda. It tells the story… Read more Audio

The joys of starting a band and reading are both at the heart of a new book series from tOtautahi Christchurch based Rachael King, and she knows a fair bit about both: Violet and the Velvets: The Case… Read more Audio

Foxton's is a small town in the Horowhenua known for its large sandy beach, bustling holiday park, scenic cycling paths and the locally-loved soft drink, Foxton Fizz. But there's more to this charming… Read more Audio