The SpinoffThe Spinoff

Comedians in Conversation: Alice Snedden and Justine Smith

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In the first of our new series, Comedians in Conversation, Alice Snedden and Justine Smith discuss the shift in comedy over the years, their worst performances and their mutual dislike for late nights. Alice Snedden: So you were saying you were one of four women when you started on the New Zealand comedy scene? Justine Smith: Pretty much. … Read more

Virtue signalling is not for me: Bill English doubles down on rejecting ‘feminist’ label

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In an exclusive interview with the Spinoff, the prime minister invokes the term ‘virtue signalling’ and reveals why he decided to break with predecessor John Key on superannuation Bill English has reiterated that he does not consider himself a feminist, suggesting in an interview with the Spinoff that the term is not applicable to men, … Read more

Kim Dotcom’s lawyer watches the new film about his client at the SXSW premiere

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Annie Goldson’s new NZ Film Commission funded documentary about Kim Dotcom and his legal battle has just premiered at SXSW in Texas. We asked Dotcom’s US-based lawyer, Ira Rothken, to send us a quickfire review from the screening. He’s done just that, and attached Annie Goldson’s introductory remarks from the festival. Kim Dotcom: Caught in … Read more

Normal people (and one NZ television icon) pick their won’t-miss Comedy Fest shows

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You’ve heard our comedy co-editors picks, and no doubt you’ll be hearing what your favourite Bachelor runner-up’s comedy festival picks are in the coming months. But what about the normal people? What do they want to see? We know what it’s like. You see that 50 page Comedy Fest brochure while you’re waiting for your coffee, … Read more

The best of The Spinoff this week

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Compiling the best reading from your friendly local website. Madeleine Chapman: A harrowing report from the Max Key VIP experience “’You paid to be here? That’s crazy.’ The young man laughed as I hurriedly explained that no, I hadn’t paid $59 for a VIP ticket to Max Key’s DJ gig, my work had. It didn’t … Read more

Unity Books best-seller chart for the week ending March 10

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The week’s best-sellers at the two best bookstores in the Western world. UNITY WELLINGTON 1 Rants in the Dark: From One Tired Mama to Another by Emily Writes (Penguin, $35) Oho! 2 Can You Tolerate This? by Ashleigh Young (Victoria University Press, $30) Awesome essays by the world’s most famous New Zealand writer right now. 3 … Read more

Even if Paula Bennett is only a part-time feminist, let’s call it progress of a kind

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New Zealand’s new minister for women has explained why she described herself as a feminist ‘most days’, prompting fresh criticism. But one thing is sure: she is an upgrade on the last effort. Paula Bennett, deputy PM and minister for women, this week spoke out robustly and laudably on pay equality and domestic violence. She … Read more

A 2am Facebook Messenger conversation between comedians Rose Matafeo and Alice Snedden

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We asked comedians and Boners of the Heart co-hosts Rose Matafeo and Alice Snedden to have a conversation about women and comedy to mark International Women’s Day. The following (lightly edited and hyperlinked) Facebook conversation is what we received. Alice: Na, it’s still the same Someone brought them back from America i just realised this is just like … Read more

Wait and see how much Bill English wants you to wait and see

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Spoiler: he wants you to wait and see a lot. In a tweet mysteriously deleted over the weekend, Bill English announced, “We’re not here to shy away from the hard issues.” And that not shying away extended unmistakably across the weekend and Monday-morning interview flurry. He would most definitely be dealing directly with issues around … Read more

The best of The Spinoff this week

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Compiling the best reading from your friendly local website. Sam Brooks and Natasha Hoyland: Mining the comedy gold for you: The Spinoff’s pop-up comedy section is here! “We’re not going to be a bunch of old white guys just writing reviews and spoiling jokes. We care about comedy, and we care about people who care … Read more

Ching! Ching! The great Spinoff millennial house-hunter grant just super-jackpotted to $100,000

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Great news for young people struggling to buy a house while spending up large on window washers, cat whisperers and feng shui consultants. Inspired by big bank economist Tony Alexander, the Spinoff has one hundred thousand dollars for you. A huge couple of days for li’l New Zealand. Lorde has released a superb new record. … Read more

Unity Books best-seller chart for the week ending March 3

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The week’s best-sellers at the two best stores in the Western world. AUCKLAND STORE 1 Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis (HarperCollins, $35) by JD Vance We will almost certainly run a review by former bFM deity Joshua Hetherington next week. 2 Lincoln in the Bardo (Bloomsbury, $33) by George Saunders The year’s … Read more

Holy shit: Jimmy Kimmel and Alec Baldwin just re-enacted ‘Please Tell Me That Is Not Your Penis’

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Hold your hand on your heart and watch Jimmy Kimmel, Alec Baldwin and Guillermo recreate the most meme-able New Zealand television moment of 2017 on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.  It was a mere two weeks ago that we posted the clip of Harry Warner’s synching dick pic nightmare on Shortland Street, chuckling heartily over it on The … Read more

Here are all the definitely real Breaking Bad nods you missed in Better Call Saul

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With the third season of Better Call Saul coming exclusively to Lightbox in April, we looked back at some of the subtle* Breaking Bad nods you might have missed the first time around. You should all know about Better Call Saul by now. Set in the same shonky universe as Breaking Bad, but unfolding in the … Read more

Melodrama in Minnehaha: Exclusive odds on the name of the new Lorde record

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The teaser campaign for the long-awaited Lorde release has entered the troposphere, capturing the imagination of music lovers and crossword buffs alike. What’s it going to be? Yesterday Lorde did the most interesting thing to the 7pm New Zealand television half-hour since Dennis Conner stormed off the Holmes show, by dropping a 15-second teaser for … Read more

The best of The Spinoff this week

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Compiling the best reading from your friendly local website. Hayden Donnell: Finding Rosemary: In search of the unsung hero who invented Kiwi Onion Dip “Our disregard for the dip’s architect has bugged me for years. Every time I’ve bitten down on a dip-drenched chip, I’ve wondered the culinary savant behind the flavour miracle being performed … Read more

Unity Books best-seller list for the week ending February 25

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This week’s best-sellers at the two best bookstores in the Western world.   WELLINGTON UNITY 1 Norse Mythology (Bloomsbury, $30) by Neil Gaiman Kvasir, the god of knowledge and diplomacy, was killed by two dwarves. 2 Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family & Culture in Crisis (HarperCollins, $35) by J D Vance Any minute … Read more

Pride Podcast: The state of this gender-diverse nation

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In this special one-off podcast marking the Auckland Pride Festival and brought to you by AUT, Sam Orchard talks to Emmy Rākete and Dr Pani Farvid about gender noncomformity, trans rights and challenging queer/straight binaries in Aotearoa and beyond. Today’s panelists are Sam Orchard, trans man, comic book artist, designer and activist; Emmy Rākete, Māori … Read more

What do you look like when you’re reading: send in a selfie and win a lot of extremely good books

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Win free things! In this case, books! No cost! Minimal effort! Huge rewards for your intellectual and emotional well-being! The Spinoff Review of Books in association with our favourite arts and culture quango, the New Zealand Book Council and their Aotearoa Summer Reads campaign, wishes to give away two prize packs of 10 extremely good … Read more

Telly, telly on the wall, who has the luckiest charm of all?

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With Stan Lee’s Lucky Man returning to Lightbox at the end of the week, we round up the luckiest charms of the big and small screen. If you haven’t seen it already, Stan Lee’s Lucky Man takes a step away from the explosive Marvel cinematic universe to gloomy Londontown, where James Nesbitt (the bloke from … Read more

The best of The Spinoff this week

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Compiling the best reading from your friendly local website. The Spinoff: We are hiring a comedy editor LMAO!! “The Spinoff needs an editor to run our pop up comedy section during the New Zealand International Comedy Festival. Sound like you? Read on.” James Dann: The Port Hills fire makes it clear: Our Civil Defence is … Read more

The Unity Books best-seller chart for the week ending February 18

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The weekly best-seller chart at the Unity Books stores in Auckland and Wellington. AUCKLAND STORE 1 This Building Likes Me: The Work of John Wardle Architects (Thames & Hudson, $150) by John Wardle Architects & Justine Clark Architects! Ugh. 2 Swing Time (Hamish Hamilton, $37) by Zadie Smith “It covers racism, sexism, inequality, class divides, … Read more