Independent Analysis and Reportage
Source: Radio New Zealand Say everyone had a best friend who was always available, never judgmental, totally on the same page about everything and needed nothing in return. Wouldn’t that solve the loneliness so many people are facing? No, experts say. In fact, having a best friend like that might make things much worse. This…
Source: Radio New Zealand As a child, filmmaker Brooke Darrow remembers going to a funeral for somebody who’d died on a motorbike, then finding it “incredibly confusing” when her dad and brothers continued to ride their bikes around the paddocks like nothing had happened. To better understand the “allure” of motorbike riding, she made the…
Source: Radio New Zealand Manufacturer Taylorson denied that its sleeping pods represented an “inherent or widespread danger” and said they were safe to use. Supplied An expert is calling for a ban on padded sleeping pods for infants as a coroner finds a baby’s death was partly due to one. A five-month-old boy died in…
Source: Radio New Zealand Professor Bev Lawton holding an HVP swab Charlie Dreaver Health experts in New Zealand say that cervical cancer is not only preventable, we have the ability to eliminate it once and for all. On average, about 175 New Zealanders are diagnosed with cervical cancer every year and about 55 people die…
Analysis by Keith Rankin Keith Rankin – One of our least-discussed discriminatory ‘isms’ is what I call ‘lookism’. Discrimination on the basis of a person’s or a group’s appearance, noting in particular features of ancestry, age, and culture. Discrimination based on how individuals and peoples look to other people. Discrimination on the basis of the presence ... <a title="Keith Rankin on Lookism" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2025/09/14/keith-rankin-on-lookism/" aria-label="Read more about Keith Rankin on Lookism">Read more</a>
Asia Pacific Report Former US President Barack Obama has taken to social media to praise Harvard’s decision to stand up for academic freedom by rebuffing the Trump administration’s demands. “Harvard has set an example for other higher-ed institutions — rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom, while taking concrete steps to make ... <a title="Obama praises Harvard for ‘setting example’ to universities resisting Trump" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2025/04/15/obama-praises-harvard-for-setting-example-to-universities-resisting-trump/" aria-label="Read more about Obama praises Harvard for ‘setting example’ to universities resisting Trump">Read more</a>
Hundreds of university staff and students in Melbourne and Sydney called on their vice-chancellors to cancel pro-Israel events earlier this month, write Michael West Media’s Wendy Bacon and Yaakov Aharon. SPECIAL REPORT: By Wendy Bacon and Yaakov Aharon While Australia’s universities continue to repress pro-Palestine peace protests, they gave the green light to pro-Israel events ... <a title="Israeli military reservists court Australian universities amid ‘hypocrisy’ over anti-war protests" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2025/04/15/israeli-military-reservists-court-australian-universities-amid-hypocrisy-over-anti-war-protests/" aria-label="Read more about Israeli military reservists court Australian universities amid ‘hypocrisy’ over anti-war protests">Read more</a>
Democracy Now! Jewish students at Columbia University chained themselves to a campus gate across from the graduate School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) this week, braving rain and cold to demand the school release information related to the targeting and ICE arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a former SIPA student. Democracy Now! was at the ... <a title="Jewish students chain themselves to Columbia gates to protest over ICE jailing of Mahmoud Khalil" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2025/04/04/jewish-students-chain-themselves-to-columbia-gates-to-protest-over-ice-jailing-of-mahmoud-khalil/" aria-label="Read more about Jewish students chain themselves to Columbia gates to protest over ICE jailing of Mahmoud Khalil">Read more</a>
Columbia Journalism School Freedom of the press — a bedrock principle of American democracy — is under threat in the United States. Here at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism we are witnessing and experiencing an alarming chill. We write to affirm our commitment to supporting and exercising First Amendment rights for students, faculty, and ... <a title="Free press under threat in US – Columbia J-School speaks out" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2025/03/18/free-press-under-threat-in-us-columbia-j-school-speaks-out/" aria-label="Read more about Free press under threat in US – Columbia J-School speaks out">Read more</a>
SPECIAL REPORT: By Markela Panegyres and Jonathan Strauss in Sydney The new Universities Australia (UA) definition of antisemitism, endorsed last month for adoption by 39 Australian universities, is an ugly attempt to quash the pro-Palestine solidarity movement on campuses and to silence academics, university workers and students who critique Israel and Zionism. While the Scott ... <a title="Australian university workers: ‘We will not be silenced over Palestine’" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2025/03/06/australian-university-workers-we-will-not-be-silenced-over-palestine/" aria-label="Read more about Australian university workers: ‘We will not be silenced over Palestine’">Read more</a>
The New Zealand government coalition is tweaking university regulations to curb what it says is an increasingly “risk-averse approach” to free speech. The proposed changes will set clear expectations on how universities should approach freedom of speech issues. Each university will then have to adopt a “freedom of speech statement” consistent with the central government’s ... <a title="NZ govt plans to make ‘heavy handed’ change to free speech rules for universities" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2024/12/22/nz-govt-plans-to-make-heavy-handed-change-to-free-speech-rules-for-universities/" aria-label="Read more about NZ govt plans to make ‘heavy handed’ change to free speech rules for universities">Read more</a>
Asia Pacific Report Thousands of students across Aotearoa New Zealand protested in a nationwide rally at seven universities across the country in a global day of solidarity with Palestine, calling on their universities to divest all partnerships with Israel. A combined group of students and academic staff from the country’s two largest universities chanted “AUT ... <a title="NZ students stage Gaza protests in global ‘take a stand’ rallies" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2024/05/24/nz-students-stage-gaza-protests-in-global-take-a-stand-rallies/" aria-label="Read more about NZ students stage Gaza protests in global ‘take a stand’ rallies">Read more</a>