Radio competitions are won by impulsive decision-makers. A giveaway on RNZ taught one woman to never hesitate. About a decade ago, on a lazy hot afternoon in early January, I was at home listening to Matinee Idle, Radio NZ’s summer programme. I was a big fan of the programme. That afternoon they were running a … Read more
If we started seeing it as a process of becoming more and more ourselves, would we find more value in ageing? For the first 15 years of my life, I desperately wanted to be older. Then came a period of about the same length during which I enjoyed being young. In my fourth decade, I’ve … Read more
For Amy Russell, ceasing deforestation of her lower limbs was a declaration of independence. When I wrote on The Spinoff recently about going barefoot everywhere, and then about being a fat runner, I got a lot more positive feedback than I expected, and a lot less criticism. So I thought clearly I need to push … Read more
Amy Russell loves to run, but as an overweight person, she is marginalised by an industry that finds that hard to understand. I love to run. Something about its intensity and rhythm is captivating to me. It’s simple as can be, but physically and mentally all-consuming. When a friend asked me ‘what do you think … Read more
If you see a woman walking barefoot around Parliament, it’s probably Wellington policy advisor Amy Russell. She explains why she rarely wears shoes, and why the raised eyebrows don’t bother her, much. By and large, I don’t wear shoes. I mostly walk barefoot to and from work. I go barefoot in the office. I go … Read more
A story about the perils of being a non-drinking university student gave an inaccurate impression of how widespread heavy drinking really is, argues Amy Russell. On Saturday The Spinoff published a good read first published in Critic, the Otago University student magazine, titled “What it’s like to be sober at New Zealand’s drunkest university”. The … Read more