Madeleine Chapman 
The Single Object is a series exploring our material culture, examining the meaning and influence of the objects that surround us in everyday life. Lakiloko Keakea is the first Tuvaluan artist to have a solo exhibition, now showing at Objectspace, Madeleine Chapman explores the beauty and purpose of Tuvalu art. Like a lot of artists, Lakiloko … Read more
It’s literally impossible to buy Black Ferns merchandise. Madeleine Chapman still tried, and got very angry in the process. You can learn a lot about me by looking in my wardrobe. The first thing you’ll learn is that I dress poorly and it’s a real issue. The second thing you’ll learn is who I support. … Read more
Influencers may promote your product for a fee, but loyalty is not included. Madeleine Chapman investigates the dessert box saga of 2018. It all began with a complaint. It wasn’t an exciting complaint. In fact, it was pretty boring as far as rants go. Someone bought a product online and found that the product she … Read more
The man embroiled in the scandal that saw Clare Curran sacked by Jacinda Ardern challenged an audience at AUT to think about their careers. Madeleine Chapman was there In an AUT function room at 5pm on a Thursday, Derek Handley, the man who was supposed to be New Zealand’s Chief Technology Officer, is speaking about … Read more
No platform has caused as much career havoc as twitter.com. Madeleine Chapman looks back (but not that far back) on New Zealand politics’ best worst tweets. This story was published in September 2018. There’s no greater marketing tool than the words “This tweet has been deleted”. The thrill of imagining what once was and is … Read more
If Don Brash can be invited onto national television to speak about Māori language week, then I can speak about almost anything, argues Madeleine Chapman. First published in September 2018. There are plenty of uninformed takes to be heard on the radio. People call into talkback and air an opinion that isn’t shared by a … Read more
Victoria University has this week been shown to award significantly more C and D grades to its law students than the Universities of Auckland and Otago. But does it matter? C’s get degrees, never more so than at the law faculty of Victoria University of Wellington. Oscar Battell-Wallace is in his final year of a … Read more
New Zealand is in desperate need of skilled tradespeople, which means it’s past time we got women onboard and on the drills. In Mount Albert, on the land where a psychiatric hospital once stood, houses are about to be built. Earlier this year, the government announced it was purchasing 29 hectares of land from Unitec … Read more
The first of a promised 100,000 Kiwibuild homes was unveiled today. Madeleine Chapman donned her safety glasses and gave the Auckland property a definitive review. Kiwibuild homes are on the market. Housing minister Phil Twyford stood in front of one today to say that the first 18 had been completed and would be sold through … Read more
The debate around girls playing in boys’ sports teams has resurfaced. Just let them play, says Madeleine Chapman. When Pennsylvania beat Tennessee in the opening round of the 2014 Little League World Series, it made the news. The Pennsylvania pitcher, who pitched a shutout, was congratulated by world famous athletes and invited to appear on … Read more
Concussions are a problem rugby has never really reckoned with, and they have the power to truly change how we view the game. Madeleine Chapman investigates. It’s a long-running narrative that some of the best All Blacks in history have been those able to get knocked down and get back up again, both figuratively and … Read more
Advertising a double header rugby event means you have to treat all four teams equally, which Rugby Australia failed to do, says Madeleine Chapman. On Saturday afternoon, before playing an international test match at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium, the World Champion Black Ferns warmed up on a small patch of astroturf by the road. Warming up … Read more
Celine Dion just finished her world tour with three concerts at Auckland’s Spark Arena. Huge fan Madeleine Chapman was there to experience the magic. In 2015, I flew to Las Vegas, the last place I’d choose to holiday, and spent a lot of money so that I could see Celine Dion’s show at Caesar’s Palace. … Read more
Quinovic property management have embraced their stereotype of crusty rich people by sharing terrible memes as ads. Madeleine Chapman discovers they’ve been doing it for years. First published 13 August 2018 Mark Richardson explained memes to the eight contestants on The Block NZ last night. “The meme has become very on-trend in the world of … Read more
An otherwise unremarkable Auckland University debate on free speech and PC culture turned into a cause célèbre when one of the participants, Don Brash, was banned by Massey University. Madeleine Chapman tunes in to the livestream. “Good evening” “Good evening” “Good evening” “Good evening” “Good evening” The head of the University of Auckland debating society, introduced … Read more
Whanganui High School invited only Māori and Pasifika boys to a Joseph Parker speaking event, which some believed to be racism in action. Hint: it wasn’t. Here we go again. On Tuesday, news broke that Whanganui High School had limited a Joseph Parker speaking event to Māori and Pasifika boys and their fathers. Some parents … Read more
The Single Object is a series exploring our material culture, examining the meaning and influence of the objects that surround us in everyday life. In the first of the series, Madeleine Chapman inspects a pen, and learns about the power of privilege. In 1978, young brown men were being arrested. With unemployment rising and the … Read more
Meat on aeroplanes has unexpectedly emerged as a critical political fault line. Madeleine Chapman speaks to Mark Patterson, the farmer politician with the chops. Like a locally slaughtered snag in a slice of Tip Top white bread, Mark Patterson has made himself at home in parliament. By picking an issue and sticking with it, Patterson … Read more
Spinoff writer Madeleine Chapman co-wrote basketball star Steven Adams’ autobiography, in shops next week. She tells how she wrote the book alongside an athlete she’s known since they were both teenagers. Warning: contains a lot of food. I knew of Steven Adams before I met him. A common situation now but not so much in … Read more
The road to health is long and winding but should it be paved with vitamin supplements? Madeleine Chapman dives into the world of monthly vitamin subscriptions. Seven-minute abs, that one trick for a slim waist, and the perfect fruit to get rid of cellulite. They all promise a better you with little to no effort. … Read more
One of this year’s must-see moments of NZ television aired at 10am on a quiet Sunday morning and almost everybody missed it. It’s not often that New Zealand television presents debate as you’d imagine it: critical, emotional, and at risk of derailing at any moment. The last election debates between party leaders, though pitched as … Read more
In which a current MVP is made to play against a former benchwarmer. There’s a lazy confidence in watching sports on TV. Intellectually, we know we’re watching people do something better than we ever could. But emotionally we struggle to comprehend just how much better. There’s a tiny part of every Olympics spectator that whispers this … Read more
Air New Zealand has been lambasted for serving Business Class passengers a burger without meat in it, which is obviously an assault on the NZ economy. Here The Spinoff’s leading New Zealander, Madeleine Chapman, recounts the day in the life of a true patriot Every night, before I slide beneath my All Blacks™ duvet cover, … Read more
How does one report on something that’s happening behind closed doors? New Zealand media did their best last week as Jacinda Ardern gave birth, but was it enough? Or too much? We all waited in the rain for the baby to arrive. Not to arrive in the world – Neve Te Aroha Ardern Gayford was … Read more
After the release of an Auckland Transport survey claiming two thirds of Aucklanders support more cycleways, Mike Hosking stepped into the ring to fight Statistics. Madeleine Chapman reports. David v Goliath. Roe v Wade. And now, Mike Hosking v Statistics. These will be the battles oft referenced in classrooms, bars, living rooms, and courtrooms for … Read more
Has there ever been a good pretend Kiwi accent on screen? Like, ever? Madeleine Chapman searches far and wide for one, just one, decent New Zealand accent. What’s in a name? Not a lot of vowels if the name is New Zealand and spoken with a New Zealand accent. The near absence of vowel sounds … Read more
Mould is one of the biggest health risks associated with New Zealand’s substandard housing stock. But since landlords seem averse to doing anything about the problem, Madeleine Chapman came up with an easy workaround. This story was published in June 2018. Earlier this week, nine students reached a confidential settlement agreement with their landlord following … Read more
An ESPN writer caused an uproar when he suggested America would be the best at rugby if they tried. Madeleine Chapman agrees. He may have been ambitious in his timeline, but ESPN writer Kevin Van Valkerburg was right on the money when he tweeted earlier this week that football players would dominate if they played … Read more
After talking to author and scholar Damon Salesa, Madeleine Chapman wonders why we don’t see more Pacific players in New Zealand cricket. This story originally ran in Barker’s 1972 magazine. It doesn’t make sense. Rugby, league, netball, basketball. All have a large number of Pacific athletes representing New Zealand at the highest level and all have … Read more