Benjamin Kingsbury is the author of The Dark Island, an account of New Zealand’s experience with leprosy in the early 1900s. Here he writes about what quarantine was like for those suffering from the disease. Early in 1906, Christchurch Hospital admitted a man whose face and arms had become a mass of angry sores. Hospital … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Ardern to zoom in to Australian cabinet meeting today, concerning situation arises at Waitākere Hospital, and a Zero Day finally achieved. Jacinda Ardern will make a rare appearance by a New Zealand PM at the Australian government’s cabinet meeting this morning. It’s a big moment as … Read more
Today, on International Day of the Midwife (May 5), midwives share what it’s like working through a pandemic. As you read this new lives will be delivered into the world. Not just new babies, but new parents too. For those women birthing, this might be the most powerful and strong, scared and overwhelmed, vulnerable and … Read more
The six-month trial of police armed response teams, introduced in the wake of the Christchurch attacks, ended on Sunday. An evaluation is expected in June, but we don’t need to wait until then to know that routinely arming police isn’t the solution, says Anjum Rahman. On dark winter nights last year, I went to the … Read more
Midway through lockdown, Kiwibank received Rainbow Tick accreditation. Sam Brooks talks to Kiwibank’s chief risk officer Liz Knight about what the Rainbow Tick means for the company. Acceptance isn’t a state of being, it’s an action. It’s not a casual nod to a stranger on your walk, it’s a handshake. You know, back when we … Read more
We’ve all been dealing with Covid-19 confinement in different ways, but Devoney Scarfe’s preferred medium is pies. Expletive-laden, delicious pies. Devoney Scarfe had had enough. She was locked down in suburban Auckland, with a husband, two kids and the dog. “Nobody was at their finest. There was a tantrum thrown because PlayStation didn’t work. Everyone … Read more
The latest in our series of charts, graphics and data visualisations by Chris McDowall. David Garcia worked with Chris to create today’s charts. This work is entirely funded by the generosity of The Spinoff Members, with support from the Science Media Centre. These posts collate the most recent statistics and present them as charts and maps. … Read more
New Zealand just recorded zero new cases of Covid-19 for the first time since the middle of March. In a new 60 Seconds with Siouxsie, Dr Wiles says we should give ourselves a big pat on the back. But it’s not over yet. This work is made possible thanks to the support of Spinoff members. … Read more
Hopes of success for ‘elimination strategy’ grow as for the first day since mid-March no new cases are announced. ‘We cannot afford to squander all the hard work’, warns Bloomfield. The Spinoff’s coverage of Covid-19 is made possible thanks to donations from Members. Please join to support our work. For the latest developments see here. … Read more
The 48-hour film festival is back, self-isolation style. While the judging panel is deciding the winners, The Spinoff is showcasing seven films from the competition. We’re sharing one a day in the lead up to the one-hour awards special, airing on TVNZ2. Today, Ice Cold Killer from team Proto Primate. It is a still and … Read more
Covid-19 could erase the next generation of New Zealand research leaders, write a group of academics who’ve been looking into the issue. In the wake of Covid-19, the research sector is bracing for contraction. Around the world, there are already indications that universities and other public research organisations are considering shedding jobs and freezing new appointments. … Read more
Jenée Tibshraeny can forgive a genuine, if rather extraordinary, mistake, but the government’s lack of transparency around decision-making creates confusion at a time when we need confidence, she writes in a piece originally published on interest.co.nz. The creator of Veep, The Death of Stalin and In the Loop, Armando Iannucci, could’ve filmed a political satire … Read more
In a small community on a remote stretch of the West Coast, tourism operators contemplate a town without tourists. Halfway between Westport and Greymouth, Punakaiki usually heaves with rental cars, campers and buses during the summer. More than 400,000 people visit the unique geological formations known as the pancake rocks every year, according to a … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Government unveils fast-tracking of RMA for infrastructure, shape of cannabis law reform announced, and Fish and Game in disarray. In what seems like one of the most unlikely headlines of the year, the government has made RMA changes that are broadly palatable to the other … Read more
It is incredible that it even needs saying, but whatever you do, don’t for a moment entertain the noxious lies of the so-called Genesis II Church of Health and Healing. It seems astonishing that during this pandemic there was a need to ask any health professional or scientist whether disinfectants could be used to treat … Read more
Even in the wake of Covid-19 an outwards focus remains the only sustainable path – especially for a small country – to a much greater of material prosperity, writes Michael Reddell, in the first of a series of new papers for the SSANSE Commission for a Post-Covid Future at the University of Canterbury. Covid-19, and … Read more
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level three – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this work, join The Spinoff Members … Read more
Reality TV star Harry Jowsey has been taken to task on YouTube by a British teenager over a $600 online business accelerator scheme. He was the charming Aussie with the Ledger-esque smile who graced our screens last year in New Zealand reality show Heartbreak Island, and more recently made his international telly debut on Netflix’s … Read more
The cult 90s classic Sakura Wars is back after 15 years in hibernation, but has gaming left this dating sim granddaddy behind? Sam Brooks reviews. Sakura Wars, a series which debuted in the 90s, revolves around an army captain who is assigned to a secret unit in the Japanese military, comprised entirely of women who … Read more
The latest in our series of charts, graphics and data visualisations by Chris McDowall. David Garcia worked with Chris to create today’s charts. This work is entirely funded by the generosity of The Spinoff Members, with support from the Science Media Centre. These posts collate the most recent statistics and present them as charts and maps. … Read more
The 48-hour film festival is back, self-isolation style. While the judging panel is deciding the winners, The Spinoff is showcasing seven films from the competition. We’re sharing one a day in the lead-up to the one-hour awards special, airing on TVNZ2. Today we’ve got It Was Sol from team Piwaiwaka. A family heirloom is broken, but … Read more
TL;DR: you probably will read a book again. Maybe even write one. How’s your brain been? Quite shite? Same. Anyway, after many fits and starts and much staring out the window and also rewatching Twilight, here is a Q&A with very patient and busy clinical psychologist Dr Kimberly Falconer. (Falconer, in lockdown with her husband … Read more
PR consultant Ben Thomas has been spending time in te rohe pōtae o Te Urewera. Here he reports back from Te Uru Taumatua, the Nāi Tūhoe tribal authority, on how the iwi is utilising resources, and its community networks, to respond to the Covid-19 crisis. I was lucky enough to spend the months between September … Read more
Holding Facebook and Google to account might be a great idea in theory, but the proposed code is based on false assumptions, writes Australian ex-MediaWorks news boss Hal Crawford. A couple of weeks ago, the Australian government announced that it was going make Facebook and Google pay news companies for the news content they “used … Read more
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level three – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this work, join The Spinoff Members … Read more
Welcome back to Papercuts, our monthly books podcast hosted by Louisa Kasza, Jenna Todd and Kiran Dass. Book news Women’s Prize for Fiction shortlist – the prize’s 25th year. The shortlist was announced on the Women’s Prize for Fiction social channels: Dominicana by Angie Cruz Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo A Thousand Ships by … Read more
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level three – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this work, join The Spinoff Members … Read more
The latest in our series of charts, graphics and data visualisations by Chris McDowall. David Garcia worked with Chris to create today’s charts. This work is entirely funded by the generosity of The Spinoff Members, with support from the Science Media Centre. These posts collate the most recent statistics and present them as charts and maps. … Read more
What makes Zoom so exhausting? And where to for art? For Auckland artist Cushla Donaldson it’s about work that embraces the social and physical in new ways. Increasingly in Zoom meetings, rather than staring stoically at me from the other side of the screen, my opposite zoomer is asking if it’s OK if they do … Read more