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Against a backdrop of arts and culture funding cuts, a looming election and the India NZ FTA taking effect, the first Indian Film Festival of New Zealand kicks off this week, orgsnized by Petrina D'Rozario.

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Originating in colonial America as a freeze-distilled cider brandy, this heritage drop is making a comeback. Thanks to Nelson’s famous orchards and small-batch craftsmanship, local distillers—like the team behind Elsewhen—are turning local apples into a smooth spirit.

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University of Canterbury researchers are using Christchurch’s earthquake-affected Red Zone as a "living laboratory" to test eco-friendly soil restoration. Produced by Kadambari Raghukumar.

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Berries are booming on the global stage - and NZ punches above its weight when it comes to production of blueberries and boysenberries. Behind the winning varieties of the fruit, are scientists like France-born Pauline Keribiro, bringing a wealth of global experience to keep NZ competing on the global stage.

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Inside Lincoln’s Allan Herbarium lies a vault of over 800,000 dried plants—a living history of Aotearoa’s flora. In this episode, collection manager Dr. Ines Schönberger unlocks the cabinets to reveal how century-old pressings, rare species, and modern plant taxonomy safeguard New Zealand’s biodiversity.

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Coffee is something of a staple here in New Zealand, but China has traditionally been better known for its tea drinkers. Liz Garton meets a couple of coffee aficionados and learns about China's expanding coffee culture and the kiwi crossover.

Find out more about The MQ Coffee tour to its farm in Yunnan China via its instagram page @mqcoffeelab.

And if you’re keen to know more about homegrown coffee, check out this Country Life story.

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A selection of award-winning films comes to New Zealand this month, showcasing contemporary Latin American and Spanish cinema at the 24th Latin American Film Festival of New Zealand.

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Pushing through challenges in the sport and the industry in New Zealand, martial arts clubs like Kings Academy continue to support up and coming fighters to pursue their dreams of making it to international MMA rings. In this episode we go behind club doors to chat about strategy, gym culture, and what it takes to train champions with coach Vahid Unesi, and fighters Mose Afoa and Arshia Ebadi. Produced by Kadambari Raghukumar.

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Every year, swimmers gather in Alexandra, South Island, united in sheer mental grit. No wetsuit. No neoprene. Just a standard swimsuit, a cap, and a ton of endurance. Laetitia Berten, director of the Ice Swimming Championships joins us in this episode to talk about how she got into the sport - and why.

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North of Auckland, Warkworth has seen an influx of people from a specific Pacific nation –all there for a very particular reason. A community built from scratch thanks to one man and his vision. Phil Vine with this episode.

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