Bringing you the best weekly reading from your friendly local website. David Farrier: The mystery of Zach, New Zealand’s all-too-miraculous medical AI An artificial intelligence bot called Zach is creating a stir in the medical community. A doctor in Christchurch is teaching it to write patient notes. An Otago professor has it interpreting ECG results. … Read more
Turns out, we’re still TWO HUNDRED YEARS from fully closing the economic gender gap. So we asked some of our Spinoff colleagues to cast their minds into the future. Each year The World Economic Forum produces a gender gap report which measures gender equality. The report looks at gender gaps across four thematic dimensions: Economic Participation … Read more
It’s the day of everybody’s favourite celebrity GIF generator: The Oscars. We’ll be here from 2PM to discuss this year’s Academy Awards as they happen in real time. This content, like all television coverage we do at The Spinoff, is brought to you thanks to the excellent folk at Lightbox. Do us and yourself a … Read more
Bringing you the best weekly reading from your friendly local website. Linda Clark: How the legal profession has excused and minimised the Russell McVeagh scandal “This shouldn’t need to be said, but young women drinking free alcohol is not the problem here. Yet that view has some powerful supporters. On Wednesday, the former solicitor general Mike … Read more
In our video series Kiwis of Snapchat, comedian Tom Sainsbury sources exclusive Snapchat footage of Kiwi citizens and luminaries making the news. Today, new National Party leader Simon Bridges takes a victory lap. Click here for all our Kiwis of Snapchat videos This section is made possible by Simplicity, the online nonprofit KiwiSaver plan that only … Read more
Bringing you the best weekly reading from your friendly local website. Daniel Couch: Why aspiring National leader Mark Mitchell’s war-for-profit past matters “In several countries, such as the United States of America, it is commonplace for former soldiers to serve in the highest positions of elected office. In most of these instances that armed service has … Read more
It was the surprise hit of March 2017, and now Rent Week is back, baby. And we want your stories. Many of us live in homes that we could never afford. And yet they’re not even nice to live in. What a conundrum. But the Rent Life doesn’t have to be a greasy carousel, carrying … Read more
Bringing you the best weekly reading from your friendly local website. Rebecca Stevenson: The rise and fall of CricHQ, the star-backed ‘Facebook for cricket’ With Stephen Fleming and Brendon McCullum among its founders, CricHQ capitalised on global interest in both cricket and cloud-based internet startups. It attracted a star-studded lineup of investors and seemed hugely successful, … Read more
In our video series Kiwis of Snapchat, comedian Tom Sainsbury sources exclusive Snapchat footage of Kiwi citizens and luminaries making the news. Today, Bill English looks to the future. Click here for all our Kiwis of Snapchat videos This section is made possible by Simplicity, the online nonprofit Kiwisaver plan that only charges members what it … Read more
Bringing you the best weekly reading from your friendly local website. Jacinda Ardern: ‘I want to be able to tell my child I have earned the right to stand here “And if we value that about ourselves as a nation 364 days of the year, why would we not value it here at Waitangi. I will … Read more
Alex Casey and Sam Brooks round up the new content coming to Lightbox this month, including UnREAL tackling… The Bachelorette?! The Good Doctor (available now) Look, it’s the number one network series in the States, Canada and Australia right now, so if you aren’t watching The Good Doctor then I’m sorry but everyone is secretly … Read more
‘I shan’t bother writing any more for NBR,’ says Sir Bob Jones after his piece calling for Māori gratitude is deleted from the paper’s website. Toby Manhire and Duncan Greive report. Bob Jones will be filing no more for the National Business Review after the deletion of his most recent contribution, which included a call … Read more
Bringing you the best weekly reading from your friendly local website. Leigh Hart: An open letter from Screaming Reels to our confused Australian neighbours “Many Australian viewers are suggesting that the broadcaster 7 Mate has mistakenly scheduled the programme at the wrong time, a time normally reserved for serious educational documentary programming. As far as … Read more
In our video series Kiwis of Snapchat, comedian Tom Sainsbury sources exclusive Snapchat footage of Kiwi citizens and luminaries making the news. Today, Bill English and Paula Bennett are getting just a little nervous…. Click here for all our Kiwis of Snapchat videos This section is made possible by Simplicity, the online nonprofit Kiwisaver plan that … Read more
Bringing you the best weekly reading from your friendly local website. Annabelle Lee: Why Jacinda Ardern’s decision to spend five days at Waitangi is a really big deal “Every Waitangi it’s the same. The lack of gratitude shown by Māori at being among the poorest, sickest, most unemployed and incarcerated people in Aotearoa is an ongoing … Read more
Just living and breathing seems to cost money now. But don’t worry, we got you. We asked around the office and compiled the Spinoff’s tips for living a premium economy lifestyle on a discount economy income. DO Shop at Reduced To Clear. Make sure to ask them what day their cans arrive and get there … Read more
The Spinoff has learned who is set to replace Hosking on the TVNZ Show, and it turns out he’s a bit like Mike. Seven Sharp launches into 2018 at the start of February with an all-new line-up, after the tearful farewell of Toni Street and Mike Hosking last year. Hilary Barry was swiftly announced as … Read more
If you can write a snappier job ad than this, please consider the vacant situation at your friendly local website. The Spinoff is hiring a general reporter/editor for a new role across our news and media coverage. The successful applicant will be an avid consumer of New Zealand journalism, and willing to work weird hours … Read more
Bringing you the best weekly reading from your friendly local website. James Roque: Think the racist menu is OK? Fine! Just know you’re making others feel like shit “Now, before I smash my head into my keyboard out of sheer frustration and exhaustion at having to deal with stuff like this, let’s get one thing … Read more
In our video series Kiwis of Snapchat, comedian Tom Sainsbury sources exclusive Snapchat footage of Kiwi citizens and luminaries making the news. Today, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern isn’t feeling too great. Click here for all our Kiwis of Snapchat videos This section is made possible by Simplicity, the online nonprofit Kiwisaver plan that only charges members … Read more
The Spinoff Labs has deployed advanced machine learning and AI to come up with these images which accurately answer the critical question: what will the prime ministerial child look like? Prime minister Jacinda Ardern today announced her pregnancy via cute Instagram of two big fish hooks and a small fish hook. The reaction seems to have … Read more
Jacinda Ardern has announced via social media that she is hapu, and will be become a parent wwith partner Clarke Gayford in five months. “Clarke and I are really excited that in June our team will expand from two to three,” the prime minister has announced on social media. The announcement comes three months to … Read more
Our piece on the struggle to get paid resonated widely with small business owners. Here are their stories, and some tips, covering the endless fight to get invoices paid. A customer who had hired goods from me failed to return them, and ultimately I had to go and collect them. Not all of the goods were returned, … Read more
In the third part of a four piece series exploring places around Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, Beck Eleven finds hidden treasures and clear water, and Simon Day falls in love with Banks Peninsula. Read part one, on the great Auckland summer road trip, here. Read part two, on the where to go on a good … Read more
Bringing you the best weekly reading from your friendly local website. Louisa Woods: How to talk to your children about Logan Paul’s suicide video “I’m not going to debate whether or not the video should have been posted. It should not. Apart from the utter disrespect shown to the man and his family, the lack … Read more
In our video series Kiwis of Snapchat, comedian Tom Sainsbury sources exclusive Snapchat footage of Kiwi citizens and luminaries making the news. In the third episode of our summer series, maize farmer Paul Dinkelman shows off his new crop. Click here for all our Kiwis of Snapchat videos
Does the return of Limp Bizkit to our shores in 2018 mean the nu-metal revival is happening? All signs point to… maybe. For a brief moment in music history, Limp Bizkit’s star shone bright. They were the angry princes of a new genre that fused rap and rock. Some called it rap-rock, while others preferred … Read more
We’ll be here from 12 pm to cover the highs and lows of the 2018 Golden Globe awards, for all of those who are stuck in the office pretending to work. This television content is brought to you by Lightbox, home of Golden Globe-nominated shows such as The Handmaid’s Tale, Outlander, Mr Robot and Better … Read more
In our video series Kiwis of Snapchat, comedian Tom Sainsbury sources exclusive Snapchat footage of Kiwi citizens and luminaries making the news. In the second episode of our summer series, Cynthya Richardson explores the hidden meaning of NZ’s favourite works of art.