Get a team together and prepare to spend the weekend of March 5-7 extremely under the pump – registrations for this year’s Vista Foundation 48Hours film competition are open now. The Vista Foundation 48Hours filmmaking competition is built around a simple mantra, “restriction breeds creativity”. The main thing being restricted in this case just happens … Read more
If you’re across the ditch, you can no longer access our content via Facebook. Here’s how to ensure you don’t miss anything. In light of the news that Facebook has blocked news content for its users in Australia, here’s a reminder to our readers there – in fact anyone with an interest in news from … Read more
Three new cases of Covid-19 detected in the community has prompted a move up the alert ladder, to level three in Auckland and level two across the rest of the country. Below, the critical questions about Covid-19 alert level three, answered. For the latest official advice see here. What happened? On a helter-skelter Valentine’s Day … Read more
A selection of highlights from the upcoming Garden Party Festival, presented by Verb Wellington and The Spinoff. What are you doing next weekend? Want to come to a party? If you’re in Wellington February 20-21, consider yourself invited to The Garden Party, a brand new summer festival presented by Verb Wellington and The Spinoff. Held … Read more
Click here to see interactive data visualisations and watch all five episodes of 100 Year Forecast on our special interactive website. Climate change is big and it can feel overwhelming. It may seem like New Zealand does not have a big part to play in any solutions to the global problem. Yet despite our low total emissions, our … Read more
Click here to see interactive data visualisations and watch all five episodes of 100 Year Forecast on our special interactive website. Aotearoa’s ecosystems are already under strain from habitat loss and introduced pest species. A warmer climate, more extreme weather and rising sea levels will intensify these stresses. This episode explores which plants and animals are under threat … Read more
Click here to see interactive data visualisations and watch all five episodes of 100 Year Forecast on our special interactive website. Aotearoa is a steep and rugged country. Our settlements are concentrated in pockets of fertile floodplains, around river mouths or along coastlines. During the last few decades, these places have experienced increased river and coastal flooding. As … Read more
Click here to see interactive data visualisations and watch all five episodes of 100 Year Forecast on our special interactive website. The future of rainfall in Aotearoa is complicated. As the country warms up, some places will get drier, while others will become far wetter. These changes will not be spread evenly through the year. … Read more
What are you going to be watching in February? The Spinoff rounds up everything that’s coming to streaming services this month, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, Neon, Acorn and TVNZ OnDemand. The biggies Men in Kilts (docu-series on Neon from February 15) Outlander fans, rejoice. Two stars from the popular time-travelling drama – … Read more
CLICK HERE to see interactive data visualisations and watch all five episodes of 100 Year Forecast on our special interactive website. Aotearoa is getting warmer. How do we know this, and what will happen over the next 100 years? Watch episode one here: 100 Year Forecast explores what Aotearoa might look like in the next … Read more
Inez is a funny, kind, smart 11-year-old kid. But life for her has been very difficult in a way that will resonate with a lot of families. First published December 8, 2020. Inez is part of Frame, a series of short documentaries produced by Wrestler for The Spinoff. Inez wakes up at 6:30am every day, but some … Read more
Visitors travel from far and wide to Northland’s Waipoua Forest, home of Tāne Mahuta, one of the largest trees in the world. But with the forest under threat from the spread of kauri dieback, are they putting Tāne Mahuta and his brothers and sisters at risk? First published December 1, 2020. Into Darkness is part … Read more
After Covid devastated its 2020, Basement Theatre comes roaring into 2021 with its Summer Season. Here’s the rundown of shows in-store, with some comments from programmer Nisha Madhan. Pre-Fringe Lust Island When’s it on: February 2-6, 8pm Who’s involved: The women of improv troupe Hearthrobs (McKenzie’s Daughters, Salem Bitch Trials), including Brynley Stent, Alice Canton, … Read more
Michelle Kidd defines her role at Auckland’s specialist family violence court as te kaiwhakatere – the navigator. It’s a one-of-a-kind job, helping guide defendants through the court system. And there’s no one better suited to it than Whaea Michelle. First published November 24, 2020. Whaea Michelle is part of Frame, a series of short documentaries produced by … Read more
Just as sexuality is a spectrum, so too is asexuality. In Ace of Hearts, members of New Zealand’s asexual community talk about the challenges and misconceptions of identifying as ace. First published November 17, 2020. Ace of Hearts is part of Frame, a series of short documentaries produced by Wrestler for The Spinoff. “A lot of … Read more
Few people outside of her campaign team gave Chlöe Swarbrick any chance of winning in Auckland Central this year – but the Green Party MP was too busy to listen. Here’s how they turned the electorate green. First published November 12, 2020. Three Ticks Chlöe is part of Frame, a series of short documentaries produced by … Read more
On the edge of the Mataura River, a disused paper mill is filled with thousands of bags of toxic waste. Locals want to find out who’s responsible for it – and they want it gone before disaster strikes. First published November 10, 2020. The Paper Mill is part of Frame, a series of short documentaries … Read more
What are you going to be watching in January? The Spinoff rounds up everything that’s coming to streaming services this month, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, Neon and TVNZ OnDemand. The biggies Good Lord Bird (on Neon from January 20) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-Tm63y-S4s “Anti-slavery campaigner” doesn’t even begin to capture the extreme reality of John … Read more
It may surprise you to learn that not every article we publish is read by hundreds of thousands of discerning punters. Here are 10 reads from this year that we think warranted more click-love. Tomorrow we publish the top 10 most-read posts of 2020. Today, as a curtain-raiser, we turn our attention to the stories … Read more
Pour yourself some eggnog and join the hosts of The Spinoff’s podcast network for our annual Superpod. Once a year delegates from Gone By Lunchtime, Dietary Requirements, The Real Pod, Papercuts, The Fold and On The Rag gather around some microphones to discuss the key events, issues, heroes and villains of the previous 12 months. … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for December 17. 12.10pm: ‘Beginning of the next phase’ for Ihumātao The Protect Ihumātao campaign Save Our Unique Landscape (SOUL), which led the occupation of the land, has issued a statement responding to the announcement (see 12.00pm). “Today is a very significant day for our tūpuna and whānau of … Read more
All this week we’re looking back on some of the best videos published on The Spinoff in 2020. Today, 100 Year Forecast looks at the future of flooding in New Zealand. Watch all five episodes of 100 Year Forecast on our special interactive website HERE. Aotearoa is a steep and rugged country. Our settlements are … Read more
In the final part of Coming Home, hosts Duncan Greive and Jane Yee ask what can be done to keep returning New Zealanders on our shores post-pandemic. Over the first four episodes of Coming Home we’ve heard about what’s been pushing New Zealanders to live and work overseas for decades, and what pulled so many … Read more
If you love The Spinoff and are an experienced developer, we want to hear from you. The Spinoff is looking for an intermediate developer to join us in our Morningside, Auckland office to take ownership and responsibility for the development of the full Spinoff site. This includes writing extensible and robust full stack code in … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for December 12-13. 6pm: The weekend in sum An Air New Zealand crew member has tested positive for Covid-19 after arriving in New Zealand on a flight from the United States on December 9. Early results from genome sequencing suggest they were infected in the US, not New Zealand. … Read more
Inez is a funny, kind, smart 11-year-old kid. But life for her has been very difficult in a way that will resonate with a lot of families. Inez is part of Frame, a series of short documentaries produced by Wrestler for The Spinoff. Inez wakes up at 6:30am every day, but some mornings she’s still late to … Read more
In part four of Coming Home, hosts Duncan Greive and Jane Yee find out what returning to New Zealand this year was like – and why it didn’t always go as smoothly as anticipated. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you usually listen to podcasts. Everyone we spoke to for this episode had a … Read more
Do your childhood memories include being randomly attacked by your classmates? Josie Adams and Duncan Greive look back at the strangely violent schoolyard culture of dead arms, noogies, tabletops and more. Illustrated by Toby Morris. They say your school years are the best of your life. Remember being nine, playing marbles, and swapping your fruit … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for December 2. Get in touch at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 7.00pm: The day in sum Parliament formally declared a climate emergency, and the government announced it would be going carbon neutral. The auditor general issued a damning assessment of the University of Auckland purchase of a Parnell home for its vice … Read more