Compiling the best reading of the week from your friendly local website. Madeleine Chapman: John Key suggested we Google TradeMe for homes under $500,000. So we did, and here they are “Of the 6548 properties listed in Auckland, 65 had an asking price below $500,000, 20 of which were over $495k.” Tainui Stephens: Blindness to … Read more
A weekly feature at the Spinoff Review of Books: the best-selling books at the Auckland and Wellington stores of Unity Books. THE BEST–SELLER CHART FOR THE WEEK JUST ENDED: June 3 UNITY BOOKS AUCKLAND 1. A Little Life (Picador, $25) by Hanya Yanagihara Still at number one in its umpteenth week! It’s big, it’s harrowing, it’s good. … Read more
In the latest Ika Table Talk, Jessica Mutch, Grant Robertson and Suzanne Snively join Guy Williams to discuss the impact of the Panama Papers in NZ. Comedian, broadcaster and tall man Guy Williams led a lively discussion at Ika restaurant on Tuesday evening on the subject of Politics, the Press and the Panama Papers. Reporter … Read more
Compiling the best reading of the week from your friendly local website. Sacha McNeil: “My work BFF is leaving” – Sacha McNeil farewells Hilary Barry “A couple of years ago Hilary took me aside and earnestly explained that she wanted a mentor, and wondered if we could be that to each other. She went on to … Read more
A weekly feature at the Spinoff Review of Books: the best-selling books at the Auckland and Wellington stores of Unity Books. THE BEST–SELLER CHART FOR THE WEEK JUST ENDED: May 27 UNITY BOOKS AUCKLAND 1. A Little Life ($25) by Hanya Yanagihara The novel you have to read, apparently; it’s been the number one best-seller … Read more
The Surrey Hotel and The Spinoff join forces to establish a new writer in residence award. Enter now! Auckland’s Surrey Hotel – named the Best Hotel in Auckland in the New Zealand Herald – is pleased to support a new writers residency award in association with The Spinoff. The winner of the Surrey Hotel Steve … Read more
The Spinoff got given $20,000 by Creative New Zealand. Whee! Creative New Zealand announced the recipients of its latest arts grant funding last Thursday. All up, 84 grants totaling $1,811,509 were shelled out. The full list is online; here’s an edited version, because it’s the Monday Extract. The happy pigs with their snout in the … Read more
Compiling the best reading of the week from your friendly local website. Sonia Gray: Where are the Asian faces on our TV screens? “I watched more TV, searching for any sign of that great endangered species, The New Zealand Asian male. But no. From a pool of 150, my survey had just two Asian dudes, both … Read more
A new weekly feature at the Spinoff Review of Books: the best-selling books at the Auckland and Wellington stores of Unity Books. THE BEST–SELLER CHART FOR THE WEEK JUST ENDED: May 20 UNITY BOOKS AUCKLAND 1. A Little Life ($35) by Hanya Yanagihara The best book of 2015; love and a great many characters in a big, … Read more
We didn’t know what to do about the Comedy Festival, so convened a motley trio of know-nothing punters to talk about it. Host Alex Casey is joined by Spinoff editor Duncan Greive and internet sensation Paul Williams to discuss the final week of the New Zealand Comedy Festival. We look at the Billy T nominees we weren’t … Read more
Compiling the best reading of the week from your friendly local website. Delaney Mes: A point-by-point rebuttal of Tony Veitch’s terrible column “It is appalling. It is appalling to many of us who don’t think he should have a prominent platform from which to share his opinion. He should be embarrassed. And yet, it’s so clearly … Read more
BREAKING: a very short New Zealand relationship is over – we convene an emergency podcast to talk about it. The dream is already over! Host Jane Yee is joined in The Fantasy Suite by Alex Casey and Duncan Greive to discuss the shock news of Fleur and Jordan’s breakup. We also talk about Naz’s incredible … Read more
The Fantasy Suite is The Spinoff’s weekly podcast about The Bachelor NZ, hosted by Jane Yee with Alex Casey and Duncan Greive. This week they watched the finale, an episode accurately summed up by Jordan with the immortal words: “that one will do”. Have a listen below, or download here on iTunes, or here on Stitcher. Join … Read more
We didn’t know what to do about the Comedy Festival, so convened a motley trio of know-nothing punters to talk about it. Host Alex Casey is joined by The Spinoff editor Duncan Greive and internet sensation Paul Williams to discuss the second week of the New Zealand Comedy Festival. Acts assessed include James Acaster, … Read more
Compiling the best reading of the week from your friendly local website. Hayden Donnell and Duncan Greive: Coup on at MediaWorks “There is a threat of mass resignations across TV and Radio, not just news,” said a senior Mediaworks source. “If there are no actions by the Board in the next 48 hours then resignations at … Read more
A MediaWorks source has supplied company Chair Rod McGeoch’s full statement announcing the resignation of CEO Mark Weldon (Click here to read The Spinoff’s report on the ultimately successful plot to oust him): THIS IS A MESSAGE FROM ROD MCGEOCH Dear all, Today we are announcing that Mark Weldon has resigned from his position as … Read more
Is the tide turning in NZ and globally on drug laws? Alison Mau hosts an expert panel discussion with Russell Brown, Kevin Hague, Hirini Kaa and Chris Wilkins. Drugs, drugs, drugs, drugs, drugs. Marijuana, marijuana. The timeless musings of MC OJ and the Rhythm Slave might well describe the array of news headlines in recent … Read more
Compiling the best reading of the week from your friendly local website. Tim Murphy: What happens when you appear before a judge you called a c*** on Facebook? “A man named Troy LaRue found the story on social media, and made an uncomplimentary remark about Roberts’ appearance. Unluckily, he was summonsed to the court for unpaid traffic fines a few … Read more
Want to binge-watch an entire series without signing away the next four months of your life? We’ve assembled a selection of the best shows on Lightbox that you can knock out in one sitting. Firefly Like Guardians of the Galaxy but without the talking tree and Bradley Raccoon Cooper, Firefly takes place 500 years in … Read more
Going off like a frog in a sock, the third edition of the Spinoff politics pod, featuring Annabelle Lee and Ben Thomas with Toby Manhire A brand new Gone By Lunchtime is here – unless you’re reading this some time in the future, in which case it will no longer be brand new. On the … Read more
Compiling the best reading of the week from your friendly local website. Alex Casey and Duncan Greive: ‘I will come forward’ “At 11pm, in her inner city Auckland flat, a 26-year-old product manager named Bridget read Allison’s Facebook post. They’d known one another for 14 years, but she had been unaware of Allison’s history with Tidball. It … Read more
The Spinoff is shocked and awed to have received 11 nominations across nine categories in the 2016 Canon Awards. Finalists for the annual awards were announced yesterday afternoon, with The Spinoff vastly improving on its previous record of zero nominations. It received a nod in the prestigious “Website of the Year” category. Judges have to … Read more
Compiling the best reading of the week from your friendly local website. Gareth Morgan: Why is a Right-to-Life campaigner leading the inquiry in the right to assisted death? “To have the Chair of our Health Select Committee not open to evidence and reasoning is a travesty of natural justice, indefensible anywhere apart from a theological state … Read more
In which Steve Braunias selects the winner of the great Spinoff ‘colouring in thing’. “Very exciting” and “FFS” were among the remarks made by judges of the first ever Spinoff Review of Books colouring-in contest held yesterday on Twitter. Readers were asked to colour in a drawing I made based on various New Zealand books. … Read more
Inside the Lightbox is a sponsored feature where we mine the extensive Lightbox category for shows you might want to watch. This week, we queue up some of the most romantic episodes of television for you to enjoy this Valentine’s Day (no matter what your relationship status is). Warning: contains very sappy spoilers. Outlander – … Read more
Inside the Lightbox is a sponsored feature where we mine the extensive Lightbox category for shows you might want to watch. This week we present the new offerings in February, including the exclusive return of Better Call Saul and Suits. Suits (S5 arrives express every Thursday) Returning from last year’s hiatus, season five of legal … Read more
Inside the Lightbox is a sponsored post where we mine their extensive catalogue for shows that you might want to watch. This week we plate up some cooking shows full of tips and tricks to have you cooking like a celebrity chef in just one long weekend. How to Cook like Heston What’s the vibe? Heston … Read more
We write about MediaWorks’ new style guide in the style of the Herald. MediaWorks spent last year unpacking a Russian doll of disaster. The company dealt with public backlash over show cancellations, flagging ratings, and its gossip site Scout’s transformation into an internet version of an elephant graveyard. It should have been breathing a sigh … Read more
