Johnny CrawfordJohnny Crawford

Johnny is trying his best to juggle his career in the public sector with his role as a single-dad to a chinchilla. Sometimes he produces theatre and watches movies.

Man’s pest friend: a brief history of rodents in New Zealand

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As efforts ramp up to save New Zealand’s native wildlife from invasive species, Johnny Crawford looks back wistfully on the centuries-long relationship between humans and rodents in Aotearoa. I think all of us can agree that New Zealand has a pest control problem. Our native species have long been terrorised by introduced ones from which … Read more

Giggle TV: the moronic video service taking over New Zealand’s shop walls

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Its rolling slate of cringey jokes and meaningless trivia is a familiar sight wherever there’s a captive audience – but what the hell is Giggle TV? Johnny Crawford looks into the tweet-stealing, wife joke-telling phenomenon. If you’ve spent any time in middle New Zealand in the past half-decade, you’re probably familiar with Giggle TV. Fish … Read more

Shilling in the name of: John Key and how the right co-opts leftwing music

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Nine years ago, John Key introduced the number one song of The Rock 1000 countdown: Rage Against The Machine’s ‘Killing in the Name Of’. Johnny Crawford writes about this bizarre moment in NZ musical history. While some of those that work forces are the same that burn crosses, some of them just want to rock … Read more