After a 16 year hiatus, Vietnamese-Australian writer Nam Le returned to the literary scene with his award-winning poetry collection '36 Ways of Writing a Vietnamese Poem'. An unapologetic interrogation of what it means to be a part of a diaspora, Le took the much-coveted Book of the Year prize at last year's New South Wales Literary Awards Le's parents left Vietnam by boat as refugees when he was one year old, eventually settling in Melbourne - an experience he grappled with in the title story of his previous short story collection, 'The Boat'. He spoke to Kate about his upcoming trip to NZ to perform poetry as a part of WORD Christcurch early next month.

Farming is one of New Zealand's proudest industries, built on resilience, hard work and getting the job done. But it's also one of our deadliest workplaces. Now two women are determined to change that, one is helping reshape the culture of farm safety from the top down, the other is living it every day on the land, sharing the realities of farming with thousands online. Mihi spoke to Chloe Butcher-Herries and Lindy Nelson to find out how they did it.

Beavers are back on the scene in the West London suburb of Ealing. The semi-aquatic rodents were reintroduced to a local park by conservationists three years ago - the first time they'd had the privilege of dam and lodge-building in the area in 400 years. In the time since then, the wetland and dam construction have helped with flooding in an area previously assaulted by flooding on a regular basis.

The City Rail Link is about three and a half kilometres of tunnels and will be the country's largest transport infrastructure project to date. It's set to speed up public transport in the city, creating more connections and modernise So have all the road cones been worth it? Mihi checked in with Joel Rowan who's Auckland Transports, communications manager for the City Rail Link.

Dr David White is a serial entrepreneur, behind medical technology like nosebuds that enhance airflow through the power of humming - and a wearable device that tracks stress and recovery. Well this week he's been revealed as a finalist in this year's Kiwinet Awards, vying for the coveted BNZ Researcher Entrepreneur award. He popped into the Auckland studio to talk to Mihi.

Award-winning documentary filmmaker, Gwen Isaac ('Ms. Information', 'Where There is Life') has turned the lens to her own life, exploring growing up with a bipolar mother in small town New Zealand. Gwen's mother, Merrilyn Isaac, nicknamed "Mad Merry", was a gifted painter living with bipolar disorder in the 80's - a time when little was understood about the condition. Her life became that of local folklore. 'Be Merry' marks Gwen's most personal documentary to date, documenting her return to her Far North hometown to untangle fact from family legend, and motherhood from mental illness. She speaks with Kate Rodger ahead of the upcoming Christchurch and Wellington NZIFF screenings.

Vikas Swarup is a man of myriad talents - he's juggled the lives of both international diplomat and globally-acclaimed writer. His debut novel Q&A went on to form the basis for the 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire, which won eight Oscars and put India on the world pop cultural stage in a way like never before. Swarup is back with another tale of an underdog up against astronomical odds to try and survive and prosper with his latest novel, The Girl with the Seven Lives. He told Kate it's Slumdog Millionaire meets Arabian Nights, following the story of a 25-year-old woman named Devi who has been kidnapped and must tell her life story to her captor while searching for a way to escape.

Even 250 years on from the sea voyages that made his name and set our colonial history in motion, Captain Cook remains a much-discussed figure here in Aotearoa. He's one of the most controversial figures in our country's history, conscripted into the 'culture wars' - a symbol of colonial sins to some, a hero and pioneer to others. Historian Tony Ballantyne has taken on the mammoth task of unweaving the tangled web of Cook's legacy in his new book, 'Captain Cook and Unsettled Afterlives', he told Mihi about how he's sorted the legacy of Cook into three eras that have all come to define his reception in modern New Zealand.

The latest RNZ Pacific news and sport

The latest RNZ Pacific news and sport