In his new book, The World’s Din: Listening to Records, Radio and Films in New Zealand 1880–1940 (Otago University Press, 2018), Peter Hoar, a senior lecturer in radio and media history at Auckland University of Technology, explores how new technology shaped how New Zealanders experienced the very act of listening in the late 19th and early 20th century. Ho ... Show More
Today
Ian Gittins, "The Cure: A Perfect Dream" (Gemini Books, 2025)
The story of The Cure: a tall tale of a truly unique British band. The Cure's story is a fantastical pop fable, but their trajectory has not been one of unbroken success. Along the way, their uneven, uneasy pop odyssey has taken in fierce intra-band tensions and fall-outs, numero ... Show More
36m 21s
Yesterday
What Went Wrong with The Night Manager?
It’s The Pop Culture Professors, and we consider the final three episodes of The Night Manager, season two. We ask what went wrong with the second season, as some promising beginnings are overwhelmed by an unwise decision to bring back a central character. At an ideological level ... Show More
23m 38s
Feb 10
Areum Jeong, "K-Pop Fandom: Performing Deokhu from the 1990s to Today" (U Michigan Press, 2026)
K-Pop Fandom: Performing Deokhu from the 1990s to Today (U Michigan Press, 2026) insists that K-pop fan practices and activities constitute a central productive force, shaping not only K-pop’s explosive global popularity, but also K-pop’s cultural impacts, politics, and horizons ... Show More
37m 23s
Aug 2023
New Zealand: everything you wanted to know
New Zealand has a short history in terms of human settlement – but according to Professor James Belich, that makes it all the more interesting and worthy of study. In conversation with David Musgrove, James answers listener questions on the history of New Zealand, in the latest i ... Show More
58m 41s
May 2025
Beaty Rubens, "Listen In: How Radio Changed the Home" (Bodleian Library, 2025)
Radio, today, can feel like a faithful old companion, but its early history was sensational. Between 1922 and 1939, British life was transformed by what was known as the Radio Craze. Listen In: How Radio Changed the Home (Bodleian Library, 2025) expresses what the radio's arrival ... Show More
50m 57s
Dec 2024
Andrew David Field, "Rocking China: Music Scenes in Beijing and Beyond" (Earnshaw Books, 2023)
Andrew Field, in his new book Rocking China (Earnshaw Books, 2023), documents one of the most exciting moments in the history of Chinese indie music. Through interviews with key players in these scenes over a period of two decades, Field explores the meanings of rock music in Chi ... Show More
1h 12m
Nov 13
Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s Next Act
Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern led her country through some of its greatest crises: the Christchurch mass shooting, a deadly volcano eruption, and a global pandemic. A new CNN documentary takes an intimate look at Ardern’s political career, filmed over seven yea ... Show More
40m 12s