Ten years after that blue whale first woke up on a New Zealand beach, Beached Az is coming back to our screens. Below, an exclusive Beached Aziversary trailer plus details of what to expect from the new 10-episode series. The team behind the 2008 Youtube behemoth Beached Az (Anthony Macfarlane, Jarod Green and Nick Boshier) today release … Read more
The Monday Extract: “Stevie”, who works in the sex industry as a self-described “trans boy”, talks to social historian Caren Wilton. Photographs by Madeleine Slavick. I was born in a housebus in the early 1980s. On Dad’s side I’m Ngāpuhi, and on Mum’s side Ngāti Maniapoto, in the King Country. We travelled around lots when I was … Read more
Eight hours a night, every night, has become received wisdom – but how true is it? Alexandra Hansen of The Conversation decided to find out. Many of us try to live by the mantra eight hours of work, eight hours of leisure, eight hours of rest. Conventional wisdom has long told us we need eight … Read more
While police in uniform have been banned from the Auckland Pride Parade, organisers of the Wellington Pride Parade have said that uniformed police officers will still be welcome. Below, a statement from members of the Wellington LGBTQi community denouncing that decision. We are a collective of queer people who live around Te-Whanganui-a-Tara. We are disappointed … Read more
It seemed like a good idea at the time. But a few drinks with friends turned into a few more, and the next morning you’re not feeling so crash hot. Is there anything you can take to help? Ken Harvey of Monash University and Paulina Stehlik of Bond University look at the evidence Over recent years, a number of products … Read more
Reports that Botany MP has been sectioned and is in care for mental health issues have sparked a flurry of conjecture over the last couple of days. The Mental Health Foundation of NZ, which has to date not entered the debate around the controversial MP, who by his own account had a breakdown in recent … Read more
First hand experiences of prison are shared in a new exhibition that provides an insight into the collateral consequences of incarceration. Eighteen people from around Aotearoa have shared their stories with Justspeak and sat for 18 different portraits, displayed at Potocki Patterson gallery in Wellington and online. It’s an opportunity to hear stories that are too … Read more
Maurice Gee – recently named the author of the best New Zealand book of the past 50 years – writes a memoir of the boy who had a dark, terrifying idea for a game: “You be a girl, eh, and I’ll be a man climbing in the window.” Content warning: This excerpt contains a threat of sexual violence. I doubt that … Read more
A new study reveals self-confidence among people in Australia can significantly differ because of their month of birth, and it’s down to when you start at school. Researchers Lionel Page, Dipanwita Sarkar and Juliana Silva Goncalves explain their findings (Spinoff editor’s note: In New Zealand, children start school between the age of five and six, typically following … Read more
Jaws has a lot to answer for. Rather than being terrified of sharks, we should embrace shark tourism to make people realise that they need to be protected, writes Michelle Barnes and Sarah Ruth Sutcliffe. Shark ecotourism can change people’s attitudes about sharks and make them more likely to support conservation projects – even after … Read more
The story of the illustration of an unnamed Māori trading a crayfish with Joseph Banks, drawn by the Endeavour‘s onboard navigator Tupaia, is told in a beautifully produced book on Cook’s three voyages to New Zealand. Tupaia’s only known drawing of New Zealand may have been made during or soon after the visit to Tolaga Bay. … Read more
Would a journal publish a pseudo-study about arse-wiping? Gary Lewis, senior lecturer in psychology at Royal Holloway decided to find out I had what seemed like rather a good idea a few weeks back. Building on some prominent findings in social psychology, I hypothesised that politicians on the right would wipe their bum with their left hand; and … Read more
Forensic psychiatrist Rees Tapsell tells the story of “Tama”, who killed his aunt in a psychotic episode, and was referred to a kaupapa Māori rehabilitation unit. As a Māori forensic psychiatrist, I have been responsible for the treatment and rehabilitation of Māori who suffer mental illness and have committed violent offences while mentally unwell. In … Read more
He viewed Greymouth as “sub-human”, rather wished James K Baxter would STFU, and regarded the poetry of “plump and round” Bill Manhire as “promising”. A new book shares the 1968 diary of Landfall founder Charles Brasch. January 25, 1968 Jim [Baxter] talks so continuously because he is driven all the time by his need to put his … Read more
New verse by Eastbourne writer Maggie Rainey-Smith. Jogging she is young white and affiliated to a famous writing school an MA no less I’m assuming she must run at the very least so I can’t take offence when she tells me to jog on because I already know I’m invisible typing my life … Read more
For decades, New Zealand consumers have bought hoki on the assumption that it is a sustainable and properly managed fishery. That’s far from the truth, write Otago and Auckland University researchers Elisabeth Slooten; Bruce Robertson; Glenn Simmons; Graeme Bremner, and Nigel Haworth. New Zealand’s hoki fishery has come under renewed criticism this week after leaked … Read more
While NZ and Australian visitor numbers may be dropping, Erdoğan’s hailed ‘pious generation’ are attending commemorations in increasing numbers. Islamic influence on remembrance rites at Gallipoli has been growing for more than a decade, but its political significance has increased dramatically since the July 2016 attempted coup, write Brad West and Ayhan Aktar With ongoing political instability … Read more
Veteran Herald sports reporter Wynne Gray has written a new book about what happens to rugby players when they hang up their boots. In this excerpt, Mark “Bull” Allen – the All Blacks prop who led the Hurricanes in the Super 12 in 1996, and played 110 games for Taranaki – tells his story. The end came … Read more
If Trelise Cooper is “deeply committed to strong ethical standards” she appears to have a funny way of showing it, says fellow fashion designer Denise L’Estrange-Corbet. This article was first published on Newshub.co.nz. Dame Denise L’Estrange-Corbet has slammed Kiwi designers who use third world labour to manufacture their clothing. The WORLD co-founder yesterday spoke to … Read more
Many Spinoff Parents readers have asked how to make a submission on abortion law reform in New Zealand. We asked national president of ALRANZ Abortion Rights Aotearoa Terry Bellamak to write a guide for us. During the election campaign last year Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern promised to reform New Zealand’s abortion laws. Her government appears … Read more
The NZ Rideshare Drivers Network is asking Uber drivers and passengers to join a day of action over pay and conditions. Shobhit Kashyap, an Uber driver and Network spokesperson, makes the case The rideshare industry is dependent on more than just a piece of technology. It depends on the people who drive the vehicles. We … Read more
The latest inventory of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions shows a 20% increase in emissions from 1990 to 2016. The Science Media Centre has collected commentary from the experts Climate change minister James Shaw announced the result of the inventory this morning a few hours after Jacinda Ardern declared that the government would not hand out any new offshore … Read more
With heavy rain and wind pounding away at New Zealand, what does it mean for the buses, trains and roads? It’s a little more complicated than you might think. What sorts of weather lead us to change our daily travel behaviour? How do we respond to scorching heatwaves, sapping humidity, snow and frost, strong winds, … Read more
Facebook’s shares have taken a nosedive after something to do with data used by Cambridge Analytica. Confused? Here’s what it means, and what could come next. This piece was originally published on Radio NZ. Cambridge Analytica is a London-based consulting firm. It is under pressure over allegations it uses illegally obtained data and social media manipulation to … Read more
In 1879, the Whakatane meeting house Mataatua was taken apart and put on a ship bound for Australia, then England: “And so began the wanderings of New Zealand’s most-travelled wharenui…” Seeing Mataatua today, one is struck by its beauty. It is easy to imagine a government official being similarly struck in times past, and thinking … Read more
Craig Marriner was a nobody who won the 2002 book of the year award with his first novel Stonedogs, a raw, rough, street-wise tale of bogan life. His second novel sank without trace – and so did Marriner, who disappeared. He returns after a long absence with an evocation of life and literature in his … Read more
An Australian network is showing the NZ comedy show Screaming Reels in a time slot usually reserved actual fishing shows, suggesting the broadcaster was not aware it is a parody. The Spinoff asked co-host Leigh Hart to apologise to his confused Australian viewers. Instead, his ‘producers’ came back with this. It has come to our … Read more
At the end of last year, it was reported that many schools are having to cut teacher aide hours due to tightened budgets. Below, two accounts from Pukerua Bay School, north of Wellington: one from a principal on the importance of teacher aides in the classroom, another from a teacher aide on the impact of … Read more
From a new anthology of bird writing in New Zealand, the great naturalist Herbert Guthrie-Smith describes the introduction of a bird known by all: the sparrow. This excerpt is from his classic 1921 book Tutira. In October of 1882, a month, that is, after our arrival at Tutira, a small flight of sparrows rested for a … Read more