There are very few people today writing about the things Fairburn, Glover and Baxter wrote about. They kept politicians to task; how many writers in NZ are doing that now?

Here Gordon McLauchlan and Hamish Keith hold a fascinating discussion across a spectrum of topical subjects, among them the lack of rebellion in NZ art and literature today, the often obstructive nature of committees, and the influence of diverse cultures on New Zealand. The interview also brings to light Gordon’s early career as a journalist writing for ‘Truth’ and perhaps more surprisingly, his boxing past, his intolerance of the possessive apostrophe and what he is discovering as he revisits his best seller, The Passionless People.

Gordon McLauchlan is best known as a cultural critic and a social historian. He has written a number of best-sellers, including The Passionless People, which was the subject of two one-hour television programmes. Gordon also spent 10 years as the editor-in-chief of The New Zealand Encyclopedia, and published A Short History of New Zealand (Penguin) in 2004 (reissued in 2009). (www.bookcouncil.org.nz/Writers/Profiles/McLauchlan,-Gordon.htm)