Dame Robin White is well-regarded as one of New Zealand's most significant living artists, and she teamed up with Dame Gaylene Preston for a new project.

Grace: A Prayer for Peace traces White’s evolution as an artist and her creative output fuelled by the world around her.

"We knew one another through our work, but we didn't know that. And then when we ran into one another Rita Angus exhibition - we kind of met in the flesh, but that's when we really knew one another."

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Kiwi chef Al Brown is well-regarded as one of New Zealand's top foodies, and he's back with a new book for novice fishermen.

Fans of Al’s work will have seen his love of all things fish in his many cookbooks, restaurants and TV shows, and his book Hooked: Learning to Fish aims to teach Kiwis a thing or two.

He says he has a massive love of fishing and lots of positive memories around fishing - and he used that insight to help craft the book.

"I started writing it for 12-year-olds, but it kept morphing into more...not just a how-to, but so much more in there for everyone else to use as well."

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Fulfillment by Lee Cole. Two half brothers lead very different lives. When they converge on their mother’s home in rural Kentucky, the rivalry between them intensifies with potentially terrifying consequences. This is a story about class, privilege, family, brotherhood and ordinary people living ordinary, messy lives - and what it takes to find fulfilment.

All the Way to the River by Elizabeth Gilbert - who is of course the author of the bestselling Eat, Pray, Love. This is another deeply personal story, about her relationship with Rayya Elias - which was one of co-dependence, serious addictions and a spiral of self destruction. Rayya was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and after her death Elizabeth shone a spotlight on their affair and managed to recover through a determined adherence to a 12 step programme. It’s a really brave book, harrowing at times and ultimately fascinating.

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Destination Facebook groups are a useful tool to utilise while travelling - and they can help you be better prepared in the face of disaster.

Between natural disasters, adverse weather conditions or mosquito outbreaks, online communities can be useful to get perspective from the locals to prepare for all kinds of scenarios.

BloggerAtLarge writer Megan Singleton explained further - read more about it here.

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It’s been a sad week. Humanity has not been at its best.

A police officer almost lost his life and we got a glimpse into the harsh reality of life in the bush for three young children. A conservative activist lost his life practicing politics in the US. And a trial begun here against a mother who is alleged to have killed her children, drugging them and then placing them in a suitcase and leaving them at a storage unit.

And to top it off, a complaint about the comedic ad with Tina from Turner’s was upheld by the Advertising Standards Authority. Which may be proof we’re losing our sense of humour!

It’s not just the events themselves that were saddening, but also the way we, the public, responded to them. We have a tendency to react without knowing the full story, we weaponize tragedy politically, and we’re easily outraged by a burnout.

After shooting a police officer in the head in front of his child, it was baffling to hear Tom Phillips being regaled as a folk hero of sorts.

After seeing the conditions these children were living in, and learning how he armed them and took them on his many alleged armed robberies, restricted them from society and family, and took away their rights to education and medical care - he doesn’t sound much like a hero to me.

If the court orders preventing a lot of information being made public, comments from the police about Phillips receiving help, and the children being in state care tells us anything, it’s that this is a complicated story.

There are already plenty of questions to be asked - from the police and Orange Tamariki’s response to the first abduction through to now, whether the risk to the children was appropriately assessed, and whether the police have responded in their best interests over the last 4 years.

But right now, the most important thing to remember is there are young people at the heart of this. Young people who will always be defined by and identified with what has happened. Protecting them, helping them deal with what they have been through, and adjusting to life again, is the most important thing. Our 2 cents on what we think about what’s happened and the people involved is utterly irrelevant.

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This week on The Sunday Panel, managing director of 818, Chris Henry and journalist and editor, Jo McCarroll, joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!

How concerned are we about the growing political violence in America following the Charlie Kirk incident? Is there a way back to being able to debate and accept different views - or has that ship sailed?

Can information really be suppressed in a global media world? A suppression order has been put in place around the Tom Phillips case, but suppressed information has been reported on the internet. have we lost the ability to give people a fair trial or the privacy they need?

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More and more people are looking into living longer and staying healthier, with the longevity movement encouraging individuals to take control of their health.

People can be driven by a fear of becoming dependent or losing bodily function and appearance, and they're aiming to treat symptoms of aging through lifestyle changes, supplements, and medical advancements.

Naturopath and wellness expert Erin O'Hara explains the benefits of the movement - and reveals some habits you can utilise to help with the aging process.

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