This Friday marks one week since 50 Muslim New Zealanders were killed at worship. Here are some things you can do to remember the lives lost and support a devastated community. Observe a two-minute silence Prime minister Jacinda Ardern announced yesterday that a two-minute silence will be observed on Friday to remember the lives lost in … Read more
Dozens are dead following racially motivated mosque shootings in Christchurch. The attack was streamed on global social media channels by the offender, who is now in Police custody. Jacinda Ardern said NZ was targeted because ‘we represent diversity’ This article was updated through the course of March 15; the original version, published at 3.25pm, is archived … Read more
A shooting at a mosque in the NZ city, which is reported to have left several people dead, was livestreamed online. Note: this is the original report published at 3.25pm on March 15 2019. It was updated through the day to incorporate developments and responses, including from Facebook. The final updated post from the end … Read more
A global day of action from young people is under way in New Zealand. We’ll be updating throughout the day here – send us your pics and observations for publication: info@thespinoff.co.nz. For everything you need to know about today’s planned events, go here. 2:50pm: The Spinoff has just been sent a photo taken during Nicola Willis’s … Read more
For a desperate and difficult period of at least eight hours, Facebook and Instagram suffered a massive outage. They’ve so far kept a stony silence on the reasons. And wild uninformed speculation loves a vacuum. Here are 10 definitely true theories. 1. Facebook have confirmed on Twitter that they have not gone down because of … Read more
Bringing you the best weekly reading from your friendly local website. Alex Casey: Long blacks for lads, hot chocs for ladies: what’s the deal with that? “Gendering food and drink is all the rage these days, from National’s sausage sizzle innuendo to Whittaker’s new gender reveal chocolate bars. Blue for boys, pink for girls. Sausages for boys, clueless political … Read more
In the lead up to the student-led climate strikes, the Spinoff asked its readers for their own reasons for skipping school. A number of student strikes around climate change will take place all over the country on March 15. Thousands of students have pledged to attend, choosing to voice their thoughts on New Zealand’s climate … Read more
New Zealander Gregory Burke is due to start as Auckland Art Gallery director next month. The new director of Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is under investigation for alleged workplace harassment in Saskatchewan, Canada. The Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission is investigating a complaint filed by a co-worker against Gregory Burke, according to a report by … Read more
The return of television’s most authentic mum, a Dance Moms spinoff, and some fantastic mister beasts – all these and more are New to Lightbox this month. Better Things (weekly from March 1) “Better Things is, indeed, a love letter to families. Through vignettes of Sam’s everyday life, the show captures the joys and frustrations of single-handedly raising three … Read more
Bringing you the best weekly reading from your friendly local website. A landlord: I was a landlord, and I hated the person it made me become “Two weeks ago we sold up our mum and dad investment and went back to just being a mum and dad. We sold it because we could, because we … Read more
It’s one of New Zealand’s most picturesque locations, but what are the best bits? Piha local Mark Mitchinson, who plays rockstar-turned-radio DJ Terry Huffer in the Lightbox series High Road, takes us on a tour of West Auckland’s famous beach suburb. High Road is a Lightbox Original. Season two of High Road is available to … Read more
Bringing you the best weekly reading from your friendly local website. Danyl Mclauchlan: The subtle art of not giving a fuck about Jordan B Peterson “That’s the thing about Jordan Peterson. His name is Legion for He is many. You can watch hours of his videos on YouTube, listening to his insights on religion and psychology … Read more
Bringing you the best weekly reading from your friendly local website. Michelle Langstone: I adore NZ cricket. But I won’t watch until the silence on Kuggeleijn is broken “There’s an elephant in the changing rooms and his name is Scott Kuggeleijn. As New Zealand Cricket’s governing body you are well aware of the charge of rape … Read more
Ever wanted to work for The Spinoff? Now is the hour. The Spinoff is seeking a new member for our commercial team to come and work in our sunny city fringe offices. The focus on the role will be ensuring our existing clients are kept happy and fulfilled, while also bringing in new business to … Read more
Bringing you the best weekly reading from your friendly local website. Madeleine Chapman: There’s something off about the London Waitangi Day Pub Crawl “Drinking on Waitangi Day is fine – it’s a public holiday after all. And performing a haka overseas is cool. But combining all of those things has created a Frankenstein’s Monster of cultural … Read more
Every year there is an expectation of disruption on our national day, with armchair Treaty experts sharing their analysis of the history and value of the day without ever having actually travelled to Waitangi on February 6th. Here are two accounts of a day spent at Waitangi on Waitangi Day 2019 – one from tangata whenua … Read more
It’s nominated for a bunch of Oscars, it’s the most memed film of last year, and you can finally watch it from the comfort of your living room via Lightbox now. Superfans Alex Casey and Sam Brooks discuss why A Star is Born is the best film ever made. A Star is Born is available on … Read more
Bringing you the best weekly reading from your friendly local website. Emily Writes: What does a rapist look like? “I have devoted so much of my life to working to dismantle this culture we live in where we victim blame and apologise for ‘good blokes’ who were just ‘not sure’ whether someone was consenting – and … Read more
This week Air New Zealand announced that they would be pulling their divisive “It’s Kiwi Safety” video from their in-flight safety briefing. The Spinoff asked Kiwis from all walks of life to pay their respects. A former flight attendant: “I was there in the early stages of Air New Zealand trying to be ‘out there’ … Read more
Bringing you the best weekly reading from your friendly local website. Alex Casey: ‘I’m still living it’: a Roast Busters survivor’s story On Monday night, Joseph Parker, one of a group of young men investigated relating to alleged sexual offences, broke his silence, talking to Newshub five years after The Roast Busters scandal exploded. Many of … Read more
Everybody’s got a jam, and his is Suits. He watches it while he’s making dinner, while he’s in the car, maybe even when he’s on ‘the bog’. Who is it? It’s Adrian, New Zealand’s biggest Suits fan. You can watch all eight seasons of Suits on Lightbox right here – and new episodes drop weekly every Thursday.
Bringing you the best weekly reading from your friendly local website. Maria Slade: Transport’s dirty little secret: The truckers breaking the law just to survive “Aside from getting out of the truck to load and unload 100kg pallets of bread the driver did not stop from 10.30pm, when George met him at the truck depot, … Read more
The person who fired an airgun outside Devonport New World yesterday, injuring a woman, is yet to be found. A woman was injured in an airgun incident outside an Auckland supermarket yesterday. Police and an ambulance were called to the New World carpark at Devonport on the North Shore at about 5.15pm after airgun pellets … Read more
In the latest Frame documentary for the Spinoff, produced by Wrestler and funded by NZ on Air, we meet the people who have made drag such a big part of Wellington’s popular culture. Wellington is one of the most accepting parts of the country to do drag, according to 21-year-old Monique Walford. “I feel like … Read more
Bringing you the best weekly reading from your friendly local website. José Barbosa: Red Dead Redemption 2 might be a hit, but Rockstar’s star is waning “Rockstar’s in the business of making games that are EVERYTHING. They’re at once both intense simulation games and quick fire shoot ‘em ups (Grand Theft Auto V), or sprawling Westworld-esque theme parks … Read more
Four Spinoff writers share their New Year financial resolutions and some tips on how to actually make them happen this time. Every January a fountain of hope spews forth a list of commitments to solve all the issues in our lives in the form of the annual New Year resolutions. But usually, the fountain runs … Read more
Will we ever truly reach peak TV? Maybe! And if we do, 2019 might be the year when it happens. Sam Brooks and Alex Casey run down all the things you absolutely cannot miss in 2019. Golden Boy / Mean Mums (TV3) The successful pilots from TV3’s inaugural pilot week are presumably coming this year, both having … Read more
It’s a scandalous journalism drama, the darkest Marvel film yet, the thirstiest show on television and Queen Diva™ Mariah herself – it’s January on Lightbox. Press (binge from January 2) Is your New Year’s resolution to watch more classy TV? If it is, look no further than Press. If it isn’t, you better watch Press anyway. This six-part BBC series … Read more
Finally, the definitive ranking of Aotearoa’s favourite snack – featuring notes of burnt marshmallow, wet undies and duplicitous giraffes. This post was originally published on 14 September 2018 Pastry-bound parcels of deliciousness have been in the news a bit recently. Earlier in the week, the nation’s best pies were lauded at a (presumably) glittering awards ceremony, … Read more