Witi Ihimaera Smiler has published over forty written works, including novels, memoir, non-fiction, and short stories, and he's not slowing down.

This year alone he's already released three books – ‘Te Kaikaukau | The Swimmer’, ‘The Star Path of the Whales: A Return to the Realm of The Whale Rider’, and ‘Ariā and the Monster Island’, the third children’s book in the Astromancer series.

He broke new ground as the country's first Māori novelist and has inspired generations of writers to find and tell their own stories, shaped by Māori culture and identity.

Ihimaera Smiler is appearing at the Nelson Arts Festival later this month, and joined Jack Tame to chat about his journey as an author and his work towards achieving his dream of writing a novel in te reo.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fontaines D.C. has released their newest album.

'Dopamine Chamber' follows on from 'Romance', continuing the alternative rock sound the band created in the 2024 album.

Its garnered positive reviews since its release yesterday, and so Chris Schulz joined Jack Tame to share his thoughts.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Phoenix Palm Trees are fairly common in New Zealand, but what isn't commonly known is how dangerous they are.

After hearing about Jack's experience with the trees, Ruud Kleinpaste decided to break down some of the problems with them and give a few tips around getting rid of them.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.