A night at the Globe
When a 400-year-old play was brought to life in Auckland with Pasifika costume, dance, language and actors, audience numbers broke records.
Judging a book by its cover
This issue’s cover posed a challenge: to present cannabis in a way that was recognisable, but that didn’t immediately call to mind a number of associations. An image of a cannabis leaf has layers of meaning attached to it. We wanted to make it possible for readers to take a fresh look. We are, as a nation, taking a fresh look at cannibis. Last year a survey found that nearly two-thirds of us didn’t have a problem with people using it for fun, and even more people thought it should be available for medical purposes. As with alcohol, we seem to be happy to leave the risk calculation up to the individual. (I think my dad summed up the views of those two-thirds of New Zealanders quite well: “You should be free to misuse your body however you like.”) In another survey, most people said that of all New Zealand’s environmental features, rivers and lakes were the worst-managed—and two-thirds of people believed dairy farming to be the culprit. In other words, we shouldn’t be free to misuse land however we like. We shouldn’t be allowed to spread certain substances on the nation’s pastures. Less management of cannabis, please, and more of freshwater. Our social views change slowly enough that the government ought to be able to keep up. On these issues, it hasn’t. As we begin to value things differently, the costs of them change, too. Since European settlers arrived in New Zealand, the nation’s waterways have been treated as a pre-fabricated sewage network—put it in the river, and the river carries it away. We don’t want to use our rivers in this manner anymore, but the primary sector has been caught by surprise at the change—not to mention the need to invent a brand-new nationwide nutrient-drainage system from scratch. As Kennedy Warne describes in his story on rivers, agriculture and environmental tipping points on page 36, a large group of scientists are working on this problem, but the solutions aren’t free or easy. Animal-derived foods cost more than the price we pay for them, and our waterways pay the difference. We can remove this cost from our lakes and rivers if we take it on ourselves, but the size of the issue means that it can’t be left to individual decision-making—regulation is required. Meanwhile, our other value change is looking better for the nation’s bottom line. Treasury has already done the maths on the revenue it stands to gain via GST and company taxes on legalised cannabis—and it’s in the hundreds of millions. Not to mention the potential savings to police of no longer enforcing prohibition. Costs, returns, values—it is a complex public equation, but I invite you to open this issue and make a fresh calculation with an open mind.
Backstage pass
Photographing actors on the set of a Shakespeare play is a far cry from Peter Meecham’s last story for New Zealand Geographic. In 1992, he documented a 160-kilometre horseback journey through Central Otago for the magazine; 25 years later, he’s back, with the story of a four-month theatrical production in Auckland. Meecham, a photojournalist who works for a variety of newspapers, is more accustomed to spending time on the sidelines than in the wings, but the Pop-Up Globe and the passion of its cast and crew proved unexpectedly compelling. To his surprise, his 13-year-old son also took a liking to the plays, insisting on being his assistant in order to covertly watch the performances—and developing a brand-new interest in the arts. “He’s the captain of the open-weight under-13 rugby team in Auckland, he’s rugby-mad, he plays cricket, he watches basketball consistently on TV—it drives me nuts,” says Meecham. Meecham had a front-seat view of the evolution of the four plays, following them from previews through to closing nights. He saw jokes emerge and actors’ confidence grow, as the crew formed a tight-knit bond born of their marathon four months of shows. The plays may be 400 years old, but as Meecham and his son saw first-hand, they can still make an audience of a thousand people laugh.
Switch and bait
In determining priorities—or simply making sense—the order matters.
Into the weeds
We can’t decide what to call it—marijuana, dope, pot, grass, bud, green, hash, weed, devil’s lettuce, jazz cigarettes—or how to manage it. One thing is certain: cannabis is undergoing a radical image makeover. As arguments over its safety and medical efficacy.
Rebels with a cause
Teenagers are stereotyped as being fiercely independent and rejecting the status quo, but having a sense of community belonging is in fact critical to their happiness.
River language
Can a river speak, and, if so, are we listening?
Up the creek
Don Rowe goes bush with The Kiwi Bushman
Silent Sisters
Carmelite nuns live in seclusion, rarely venturing from their cloister. Instead, they devote themselves to prayer and contemplation. Eighty years after it was established, a glimpse inside an Auckland monastery reveals simplicity and contentment born of another time.
Tracks of the Hunter
An Aboriginal hunter takes an Emmy-winning cinematographer on a survival quest through Australia’s Arnhem Land armed with little more than a spear and ancient survival skills.
Elites
Join the young and talented recruits of China’s Wuqiao School of Acrobatic Arts as they push themselves to extremes trying to achieve that perfect performance–with dreams of making it as a professional elite acrobat.
Inside Kung Fu Inc
It’s the birthplace of kung fu and Zen Buddhism. Home to an ancient sect of warrior monks. The thousand year old legend that is Shaolin Temple. They’ve survived battling warlords and the wars and upheavals of the twentieth century but will fists and faith be enough to ensure Shaolin survives the grip of modernization? Or will a corporate face lift change Shaolin forever? Get ready as a new generation of monks train for the fight of their lives…
Stomachs of Steel
Enter the amazing world of sword-swallowers and meet some of the fearless performers who swallow 24 inches of steel for a living.
International SOS
‘International SOS’ runs the world’s leading evacuation and medical emergency services’ company. For the first time this company allows a film crew an inside look at its busiest alarm centre.
Animal Imitators
Enter the bizarre world of animal imitators and learn what drives people to undergo extensive body modification to closer resemble their favourite animal.
Polar people
The North Pole and the South Pole are icescapes that seem and look very alike, but look closer and you will find they are as opposite as night and day, summer and winter, for the Arctic and Antarctic are literally poles apart.
The Vanishing Tattoo
Journey deep into the jungles of Borneo in search of the last few remaining traditional Iban tattoo artists, in a daring attempt to help the Iban keep their ancient practises alive.
Human Cannonballs
Enter the bizarre world of daredevil performers who blast themselves out of giant cannons for a living.
Jade Hunters of China
Join China’s jade hunters as they gamble their lives on finding precious stones hidden high up in the Kunlun Mountains
The Pirate Patrols
The Pirate Patrols goes behind the scenes of Malaysia’s various waterborne prevention teams and follows their efforts to combat piracy in the Strait of Malacca, the world’s busiest waterway.
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