New research reveals dramatic increases in the assessment of government trustworthiness. Shaun Goldfinch of Curtin Universty, Robin Gauld of the University of Otago, and Ross Taplin of Curtin University explain the findings, and why they matter. It has become accepted wisdom that the Covid-19 pandemic has seen trust in government rise across countries. But by … Read more
Some people have an ‘appreciate from afar’ approach to nature. But this summer, with all the encouragement for New Zealanders to explore Aotearoa, more of us are biting the bullet and heading into the great outdoors, writes the Department of Conservation’s ‘anonymous DOC blogger’. First published on DOC’s Conservation Blog. It’s not that I don’t … Read more
The 25th Amendment declares that upon the removal, resignation or death of the president, the vice president assumes the presidency. But what if he doesn’t want to go? Stephanie Newbold of Rutgers University, Newark, writes. A day after President Donald Trump incited supporters to attack the US Capitol, Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer called on Vice President … Read more
Summer reisssue: An anonymous Department of Conservation staff member, who wishes to be known only as the Carefree Vigilante, provides a handy guide to dealing with menstruation, and menstrual products, in the wild. First published 28 February 2020. Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by … Read more
Joe Biden’s victory presents an opportunity to reset the White House agenda and put it on a different course. Three scholars discuss what a Biden presidency may have in store in three key areas: race, the Supreme Court and foreign policy. Racism, policing and Black Lives Matter protests Brian Purnell, Bowdoin College The next four … Read more
Plus: a state-by-state breakdown of Senate races across the US. If you’re reading on the app, click here. The US has already seen record early voting in the presidential election, with more than 100 million people casting ballots before election day. Now, the counting begins. With a variety of differences in when early votes and … Read more
While there are increasing examples of a return to some lockdown measures, there is little evidence to demonstrate the success of a second lockdown, because it’s too early to tell, write Maximilian de Courten, Bojana Klepac Pogrmilovic and Rosemary V Calder of Victoria University, Melbourne. The World Health Organisation reported more than 230,000 new Covid-19 cases … Read more
The strain of the experience, writes a returning NZ citizen, is compounded by the opprobrium. Over recent days I have been struggling psychologically with the experience of returning home. Not only the experience of being detained, which while of course necessary is no easier for it, but particularly the experience of being the subject of … Read more
This is a huge opportunity – and a wero – to demonstrate commitments to diversity, write sector engineers Troy Brockbank, Elle Archer, Sifa Pole and Sina Cotter Tait and Honor Columbus. Aotearoa is awash with discussion on how we might re-imagine our post-Covid future; what could and should our economy and society look like? The … Read more
With Ardern and New Zealand in headlines for what promises to be a successful elimination strategy, we have an opportunity to use that influence in international relations, write Nina Hall, Max Harris, Evelyn Marsters, Thomas Nash and Arama Rata of New Zealand Alternative. The international praise of Jacinda Ardern’s response to Covid-19 means that New … Read more
Nurses are the first people you’ll meet if you think you have Covid-19. Here, one of our frontline workers describes the rapid changes both healthcare workers and the public are facing. As told to Josie Adams. I was working at an urgent care clinic in East Auckland when the first reports of Covid-19 came out … Read more
An anonymous Department of Conservation staff member, who wishes to be known only as the Carefree Vigilante, provides a handy guide to dealing with menstruation, and menstrual products, in the wild. This post was first published on the Department of Conservation blog. I’ve got six or seven rational fears and about 900 irrational ones. On … Read more
16 year old climate activist Greta Thunberg has given world leaders at the United Nations a harsh and furious dressing down, over their inaction on climate change. Here’s what she had to say, in full. This is all wrong. I shouldn’t be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of … Read more
All the polls pointed to a Labor win in Australia yesterday. That’s not what happened at all, writes Michelle Grattan. The Coalition has been re-elected in a shock result in which Labor lost seats in Queensland, Tasmania and NSW and failed to make more than minimal gains nationally. But former prime minister Tony Abbott has … Read more
Biochemist Stuart Thompson tracks the banana from its origins on the island of Mauritius to its current endangered status. Panama disease, an infection that ravages banana plants, has been sweeping across Asia, Australia, the Middle East and Africa. The impact has been devastating. In the Philippines alone, losses have totalled US$400m. And the disease threatens … Read more
Massey University’s Sean Phelan and Leon Salter look at the role media played in of one the biggest controversies of the last election. Two months before New Zealand’s 2017 elections, which eventually installed the Ardern coalition government, then Green party co-leader Metiria Turei gave a speech on welfare reform. Many political commentators had predicted an easy victory … Read more
What does an ageing population actually mean in an economic context, and are we thinking about it all wrong? Experts Warren Sanderson and Sergei Scherbov weigh in. This piece was originally published on The Conversation. In 1950, men and women at age 65 could expect to live about 11 years more on average. Today, that number … Read more
If you were one of the few people who used it, you might have noticed Google+ has just closed down. As RMIT researcher Stan Karanasios argues, it’s part of a wave of user-generated feedback closures, which is having a huge effect on online communities. This piece was originally published on The Conversation. This week saw the … Read more
Christchurch shooting survivor Farid Ahmed, whose wife was killed on March 15, spoke at the National Remembrance Service today. This is his speech. Allah says in the Qur’an, “Do not say about those who are killed in the service of Allah, in the worship of Allah, that they are dead, but know they are living. … Read more
While we’re learning to listen to the younger generations on other things, it’s time to prioritise tamariki voices about our smokefree future too. In a traditional whānau unit, kaumātua and grandparents hold the greatest responsibility for the learning and development of our young. In talking to one kaumātua recently, he shared that mokopuna, when broken … Read more
An Auckland secondary school teacher posted some thoughts on the climate strike. They were smart and pithy thoughts, so with permission, we’re republishing below. Here’s why you’re all wrong about the student “strike” about climate change that may or may not be happening. Firstly, they should all be encouraged to go on the protest. Secondly, … Read more
Pussy Riot’s Masha Alyokhina has been travelling from Auckland to Wellington overnight to join SOUL (Save Our Unique Landscape) in presenting a petition to MP Marama Davidson on the steps of parliament this morning. She speaks here about why she supports the campaign. It’s a real honour that Pussy Riot can be a part of this campaign. Today … Read more
The ‘perfect’ office temperature? It’s a myth, write Fan Zhang of Griffith University, Peter Hancock of the University of Central Florida and Richard de Dear of the University of Sydney It might be blisteringly hot outside, but if you work in an office building, the chances are it’s always reassuringly cool (or cold, depending on your preference) once you walk inside. In Australia … Read more
All week this week we revisit the great poet James K Baxter on the occasion of a new book of his letters. Today: a selection of the letters written in 1969, dealing with his experiences at the Jerusalem commune in Whanganui, and a crash-pad in Grafton in Auckland. To Robin Dudding, Christchurch Dear Bob, After the middle … Read more
The exposure of New Zealand banking to the whims of the Australian owners of our four biggest banks are well known. But if one of those NZ banks fails, Australian taxpayers could find themselves cleaning up the mess, write Matthew Greenwood-Nimmo and Timothy Jackson of the University of Melbourne Australian banks have been under enormous scrutiny during the financial … Read more
Signs of another marine heat wave should direct attention to the serious impact of warming oceans, write Craig Stevens and Ben Noll of Niwa As New Zealanders are enjoying their days at the beach, unusually warm ocean temperatures look to be a harbinger of another marine heatwave. Despite the exceptional conditions during last year’s heatwave in … Read more
The Monday Extract: Dutch émigré artist Theo Schoon was an anti-Semite and a shithead in so many ways, but he was also a brilliant artist who recognised the beauty and power of Māori art at a time when few Pākehā gave it a second thought. His biographer Damian Skinner reckons with a ghastly genius. In the summer … Read more
While your chances of being attacked by a shark are tiny, the risks of an injury from beach litter and marine debris are surprisingly high – and growing every year. Our beaches are our summer playgrounds, yet beach litter and marine debris injures one-fifth of beach users, particularly children and older people. Our research, published … Read more
Want to feel smart but also read something snackable? Check out the Science Media Centre’s top 10 NZ science stories for the year. From finding the alleged Golden State Killer to ‘gene-edited babies’ – it’s time to take a look at the issues that shook the science world over the past 12 months. In New … Read more