29 Dec 2017

The best features of 2017

10:02 am on 23 February 2023

Happiness, health, arts, sport, science and the best roast potatoes you've ever had.

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Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly

The Top Ten

Our ten most popular features this year are a mixed bunch – from ice baths to shoes for larger-footed women and the perfect roast potato.

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Photo: Supplied/Niki Bezzant

The Chefs

Speaking the language of food.

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 Kelda Hains Photo: Supplied

The Fiction Writers

Storytellers tell us their own stories.

Emily Perkins

 Emily Perkins Photo: supplied

The Economists

New Zealand's precariat, the benefits of a universal basic income and the value of true materialism.

James Rickards

James Rickards Photo: supplied

The Scientists

Planetary sustainability, galactic real estate and life on Mars.

This artist's concept depicts select planetary discoveries made to date by NASA's Kepler space telescope.

Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The Comics

Funny folks front up.

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Photo: Lilly Singh

The Gardeners

Green-thumbs share stories and advice.

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Zoe Reid Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King

The Bold Women

Words with women doing it their own way.

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Wendy Tolley, Dame Kate Harcourt and Chrissy O Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King

The Political Thinkers

Explorations of power and polarities.

Professor Alan Jacobs

Professor Alan Jacobs Photo: http://ayjay.org/

The Musicians

Local and international artists let us in on their lives and methods.

Ria Hall

Ria Hall Photo: Meek Zuidewyk

The Historians

Experts on Greek mythology, sneakers, fake news, sugar and the working Kiwi women of WWII.

Jane Tolerton holding a photo of the NZ Volunteer Sisterhood before the first group left Wellington for Egypt in October 1915. Hatless in the middle is Ettie Rout, the one woman associated with NZ in WWI whose name is well known.

Jane Tolerton Photo: Bev Short

The Sporting Life

Runners, surfers, cricketers, America's Cup insights and a poleaxe champ.

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 Dayna Berghan-Whyman Photo: Dayna Berghan-Whyman

The Actors

Behind the scenes with local and international actors.

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 Liam Coleman Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly

The Online World

Selfies, trolling, tech addiction and trust in the digital age.

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Photo: Public domain

To the Future

Driverless cars, food computers, robotic reporters, wearables and more.

Robohack

Photo: screenshot

Disability

Tackling life with a disability.

Georgia Steel

Georgia Steel Photo: Supplied

Equality

What divides us and the people breaking it down.

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Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly

Fellow Creatures

Crafty cats, retired dogs, empathetic cows and warring octopuses.

Spur the dog

 Spur - an injured farm dog given a second chance at life was given a second chance at life by Retired Working Dogs Adoption.  Photo: RNZ

Happiness

What it is, how to get it – and should we be chasing it anyway?

The many faces of the RNZ Joy Project, a look at happiness.

The many faces of the RNZ Joy Project, a look at happiness. Photo: RNZ

Health

Caring for the body, mind and spirit.

Alison Ballance and Simon Morton discover which fruits and vegetable have the most vitamin c. Science of vitamin c

Simon Morton and Alison Ballance Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King

Parenting

Anger, anxiety, discipline, disobedience, learning, love – the mixed bag that is parenting.

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Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King

Powerful Encounters

Wisdom, wit, sparring and sparks.

Ngamoni Huata no Tuhourangi Ngati Wahiao, Tuhoe, Ngati Rangiwewehi.

Ngamoni Huata no Tuhourangi Ngati Wahiao, Tuhoe, Ngati Rangiwewehi. Photo: RNZ/Justine Murray

Relationships

Families, friends, sex, love, leaders and the upside of social awkwardness.

Illustration by Pinky Fang

Illustration by Pinky Fang Photo: RNZ

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Earth-friendly innovations and lifestyles.

Kate Meads

Kate Meads Photo: supplied

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