Alex Casey 
It’s week three on Married at First Sight NZ, and it’s going downhill faster than Ksenia in a minivan. What a tremendous week on the greatest show on Earth. We got our first visit back to the big old brick commitment ceremony heaven in the sky, we got a lot of seaside drama, and we … Read more
Alex Casey talks to Michele Wilson of AWWA, New Zealand’s first brand of period proof undies, and takes a pair for a spin. It does seem pretty wild that you can 3D print yourself a sex robot in 2018, but there still isn’t the technology widely available to stop period-havers from bleeding through their pants, … Read more
We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time. Today, Alex Casey goes to the opening of Instagram’s most hotly anticipated mini golf bar. I don’t really know why I’m even bothering to write a review of Holey Moley when a fellow mini golf enthusiast summed up the entire … Read more
Alex Casey spends an afternoon with Astar, morning television superstar turned Youtube extraordinaire. Astar is digging through her garden bin with a Scream mask in one hand and a vape wedged under her arm. She emerges, coiffed hair and red lipstick still perfect, clutching a bunch of old twigs. “Halloween,” she explains, holding the foliage … Read more
It’s week two on Married at First Sight NZ, and several of our couples have lost their rose-tinted glasses already. Green up those boogie board bags, pack your versatile sarongs and make sure you say hi to Cat from The Bachelor Australia: we’re off to bloody Bali this week! With the final weddings taking place … Read more
Alex Casey walks back down the aisle for a second season of Married at First Sight NZ. Dust off your matchmaker iPads, rouse the digital birds and get that Sodastream making effervescent farts: Married at First Sight NZ is back for another romantic rollercoaster of a season. Look, I tried to predict what season two … Read more
We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time. Today, Alex Casey laments the loss of a Kiwi classic. Before we get to the ruinous truth: there’s no denying that Roses are New Zealand’s ultimate choco gift. Favourites are fine, but rustling your way through the long vertical box … Read more
To celebrate Hobbit Day (September 22), Alex Casey binges the entirety of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogies on Lightbox. I’ll never forget the sunny afternoon that I spotted Andy Serkis on the imaginatively named “Main” street of “Grey” town during the height of The Lord of the Rings madness. I would’ve … Read more
Last night The Aunties founder Jackie Clark won not just the Community and Not for Profit category but also the supreme prize at the special suffrage anniversary edition of the Westpac women of influence awards. To mark that achievement, which recognises her work with women survivors of domestic violence, we republish here her conversation with Alex Casey, … Read more
Alex Casey crunches the numbers on the new Married at First Sight NZ contestants and returns with some shocking predictions. Ahhh, time. She’s a fickle mistress. She’s a relationship-ruining text sent from your Nokia 3315 to the person that the text was about. She’s a pig that’s nicked your toothpaste, slipping through your fingers as you … Read more
Combining the social dynamics of Survivor, the hidden cameras of Big Brother and a cast of Kiwi five-year-olds, Alex Casey finds the perfect reality show. While it’s unbelievable that it’s been 125 years since women got the vote in New Zealand, it’s absolutely mad that it’s also taken this long for The Secret Life format to … Read more
It was a world first that fostered some of our finest young talent, so what the hell happened to TVNZ U? Five years since its closure, Alex Casey takes a look back at the little youth channel that could. Simon Dallow appeared to be holding a dildo, Tim Batt was eating cat food straight out … Read more
Alex Casey spoke to Alley Miller about finding the courage to get on a motorbike for the first time, and how this led her to her tribe. Alley Miller can recall the most magical moment of her entire life without a moment’s pause. It happened one afternoon when she was heading home on her motorbike. … Read more
Alex Casey counts down the most intriguing Instagrammed breakfasts of Sir The Mad Butcher. I don’t know about your social media diet, but I am sick of scrolling through endless pictures of smoothie bowls, protein oats and mermaid toast wondering when a foodie influencer will finally post something a) actually relatable or b) actually yum. … Read more
Alex Casey attempts to get to the bottom of the Naked Attraction controversy for The Spinoff TV. Every Friday night, a new set of brave, naked tributes line-up for examination on TVNZ’s surreal dating show Naked Attraction. It’s a series that’s made a lot of people mad, raking in over 500 complaints to the network … Read more
Alex Casey chats to Dynamo, one of the world’s greatest living magicians, ahead of his arena spectacular in Auckland. Dynamo is sitting way too close to a giant steak knife for my liking. If he was any other magician – and yes, there have been others – I would be worried that he might end … Read more
Alex Casey talks to Bajan-New Zealander Amber Maya about making music, going to school with Rihanna… and how to dispose of a body. Okay. Let’s start with something easy. Who… are you? I am a performing artist from Barbados and New Zealand. I make what I like to call soul-tronic, or electronic influenced RnB mainly. … Read more
Alex Casey talks to Nic Murray and Marie Fitzpatrick, co-founders of Good Bitches Baking, about changing the world, one cupcake at a time. It began, like all good things, with a warm cheese scone. Nic Murray’s baby nephew was battling cancer and it was a traumatic time for her whole family. One afternoon, she spent … Read more
Alex Casey goes for a stroll on the foot-shaped sands of Heartbreak Island, week four. Every relationship hits that point. You know the one. The golden playback dial gets put in the attic, if you know what I’m saying. You move from Foot Island to Dolphin Island, if you know what I’m saying. Mark Dye … Read more
Alex Casey goes for a stroll on the foot-shaped sands of Heartbreak Island, week three. I truly couldn’t have put it any better than Josh himself, when he looked down the barrel of the camera and sincerely announced that “Lord of the Flies is kicking off.” Except, this time, the infamous conch is a tumbler … Read more
Alex Casey goes for a stroll on the foot-shaped sands of Heartbreak Island, week two. The passion play plus can now take place. The passion play plus can now take place. The passion play plus can now take place. Now that I have summoned the tanned ghost of Mark Dye and we’ve done our drama … Read more
Alex Casey goes for a stroll on the foot-shaped sands of Heartbreak Island, week one. Look, if you had told me in high school that all the beautiful, popular people would someday end up swimming around in a kiddie pool full of milk on a man-made island shaped like a human foot, I would have … Read more
Alex Casey goes on a speed dating mission to get to know the beautiful brains behind the beautiful bodies of Heartbreak Island. They were hottest people I had ever seen in my life, all skin tight dresses and sharp suits, hair coiffed and curled for the gods. Me? I was wearing pants that I had … Read more
Alex Casey witnessed a whole new dystopia on the set of Mortal Engines. Here she shares her key findings on matters including the giant sets, the catering, and Peter Jackson’s feet Hugo Weaving is holding the soundstage door open for me. This is not a drill, this is not a test run, this is, quite simply, … Read more
Gone are the days of wholesome messages on cakes, we are now living in a rude cake world. Alex Casey visits Tomboy to sample some delicious truths. Baker Kate Marinkovich from Tomboy cakery doesn’t want to tell me the rudest thing she has ever had to ice onto a cake. “It’s just so rude” she winced. … Read more
Each week, Jesse Mulligan talks to hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders, through TV, radio and in print, and his voice is beloved throughout the country. He tells Alex Casey about the humiliating failures, awkward experiments and games of Strip Honk he endured along the way. This story originally ran in Barker’s 1972 magazine. Jesse Mulligan … Read more
As the world fusses endlessly over Ed Sheeran marrying a Suits star, The Spinoff unearths a true royal scandal. The Spinoff has learned that a New Zealander once sold two plastic dog poos to Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1995. This exclusive breaking news arrives on the same day that her youngest son, Prince Harry, … Read more
Alex Casey dissects episode five of The Handmaid’s Tale, including the march of the child brides and a lovely holiday to the colonies. Contains spoilers, obviously. Finally, we’ve caught somewhat of a break. ‘Seed’ was perhaps the most relaxed episode of the season so far, and when I say relaxed I mean a couple of … Read more
Alex Casey goes on an odyssey to discover the fate of Auckland’s disposable sanitary waste. Chux cloths. The odd bit of corn. A set of false teeth. It was the worst Generation Game any human had ever played, and I hadn’t even found what I was looking for yet. I was staring into the void … Read more