At 2pm every day this week, The Spinoff will be counting down 100 local television moments of the decade. Today, moments 60-41. Previously: The 100 NZ TV moments of the decade, #100 – #81 The 100 NZ TV moments of the decade, #80 – #61 60) John Oliver is obsessed with us, 2015-2019 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmoe0tgpxaM “How to … Read more
1980s corporate raider Sir Ron Brierley has been charged over alleged possession of child sexual abuse images, according to Australian media reports. The 82-year-old multi-millionaire is one of New Zealand’s most successful business people. Who is he? How did Brierley make his name? Ron Brierley set up Brierley Investments in 1961, a company which became … Read more
With the arrival of season three of the Emmy award-winning Amazon show The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, Tara Ward explains her topsy-turvy love affair with the show’s infuriating heroine. When season one of The Marvelous Mrs Maisel burst onto our screens in 2017, it was love at first sight. After years of watching nightmarish shows about … Read more
Madeleine Chapman looks back at ten years of global migration from the real world to the online world. Nothing has changed humanity and how we navigate it more than the internet in the 2010s. In 2010, the world had the internet. In 2019, the world is Online. The internet at the start of the decade … Read more
A landmark study has shown the true value of tikanga Māori-based early-intervention childcare using research from a parenting programme in West Auckland. Corrine grew up in a wonderful household; her parents never so much as swore in front of her. In her own words, they were “amazing role models,” but when she became a teenager … Read more
Nina Tonga searches for the hidden history of the Dawn Raids at an Auckland high school. I hold Tip Top bread close to my heart. Not because it’s my preferred loaf (not by far) but because it reminds me of my Uncle Neini, one of the first from my family to move to New Zealand … Read more
A book interview turns into a business and life lesson for Madeleine Chapman. Sir Michael Hill (first name Michael, last name Jeweller) gently held my hand on his superyacht. His hands were insultingly softer than mine, and he was selling me an imaginary engagement ring. “You slide the ring on the finger, straighten it up. … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: OMV cleared by EPA for offshore well, charity raising alarm over state house sensors, and panel of climate commissioners appointed. In a controversial decision, OMV have been cleared by the Environmental Protection Agency to drill a well off the coast of Otago. A comprehensive report on … Read more
As the sun sets on 2019, The Spinoff bounds into the political ocean for one final dip, in our traditional survey of the year (and nervous peer at the year to come). First up, our experts name and acclaim the champs and flops of 2019. Alex Braae Champs David Seymour In pure horse-race terms, his … Read more
In politics the worst ideas and most deceitful statements are often the most amplified, and therefore the most successful, writes Danyl Mclauchlan. Back in early 2016, as the UK hurtled towards the Brexit referendum, Dominic Cummings, the director of the Vote Leave campaign – now special adviser to Boris Johnson and one of the architects … Read more
Alex Casey looks back at 10 years of reality television in New Zealand, a genre which reflected both our viewing habits and the good, bad and ugly sides of our national character. I don’t think I’m alone in feeling like watching television in 2019 has become kind of a stressful chore. What used to be … Read more
Right now the country’s booksellers are gasping, frantic, knackered – and still dealing politely with the rest of us at our worst. We at the Spinoff thank them for their service and invite booksellers and book-buyers alike to please enjoy this nostalgic hug of an essay by Catherine Robertson. From late 1985 to early 1987, … Read more
What is a managed fund and how does it work? We’re here to answer all your questions and more. Let’s start with the basics: what even is a managed fund? As the name suggests, a managed fund is an investment fund that’s taken care of by a team of experts. When you put money into … Read more
At 2pm every day this week, The Spinoff will be counting down 100 local television moments of the decade. Today, moments 80-81. Previously: The 100 NZ TV moments of the decade, #100 – #81 80) Behind Jeff’s Eyes, 2018 The first season of the Great Kiwi Bake Off was notable for many charming things (the hosts, … Read more
The loss of innocence, the revitalisation of te reo, the rising up of women and of LGBTQ rights – the decade has been a ride. Here are our pick of the books Aotearoa wrote along the way. All Blacks Don’t Cry by John Kirwan, 2010 The book that launched JK’s second career: mental health campaigner … Read more
Another British drama, another moody small town with more murders than actual people – but what makes a truly great one? Drama masterchef Tara Ward has the recipe down. Nothing beats a good crime drama for a binge watch, and nobody does it better than the British. Whether it’s award-winning shows like Broadchurch, Luther and … Read more
Ada is a dog with a very unusual, life-saving skill: warning her diabetic owner that her blood glucose levels are getting dangerously low or high. All dogs are good dogs, but Ada is a very special dog. The seven-year-old husky is New Zealand’s first Diabetic Response Dog. Ada’s owner Vicki Parry was diagnosed with type 1 … Read more
Despite it being proven that women with dense breasts have an increased risk of developing breast cancer, there is currently no requirement for Breastscreen Aotearoa to inform women of their own density after a mammogram. Shoshana Maasland talks to the women advocating for that to change. This story first appeared on Te Waha Nui Fay … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: National closes year with policy blitz, fund announced for small businesses affected by tourism disasters, and a record worker exploitation fine handed down. Perhaps it’s meant to be a counterpoint to the government’s year of delivery. The National party promised eight policy discussion documents this year, and … Read more
At the end of the decade, Ātea editor Leonie Hayden tries to eke some positivity out of a garbage year. The 2010s weren’t as volatile for Māori as say the 70s and 80s, but neither were Māori unprovoked during this decade. There’s been so much to be hurt by – Treaty breaches surround us and … Read more
A big win for the Conservative Party ushers in another five years of the same environmental policy for Britain, and England especially, which conceives of the natural world as a collection of resources to incorporate into the economy. Aotearoa is brave enough to go another way, writes Carys Goodwin In a deafening election, a handful … Read more
Dietary Requirements is The Spinoff’s monthly podcast in which we eat, drink and talk about it too, with special thanks to Freedom Farms. This month, we’re joined by Hilary Pearson, general manager of Freedom Farms, for our Christmas episode. To listen, use the player below or download this episode (right click and save). Make sure to subscribe via iTunes, or via … Read more
At 2pm every day this week, The Spinoff will be counting down 100 local television moments of the decade. Today, moments 100-81. 100) Kiwi Steve makes it through to Conan, 2017 Not strictly local television, but this moment had about a one in a bajillion chance of ever happening, and yet somehow… it did. In … Read more
In the second instalment of our new pop-up podcast, The Spinoff Book Out Loud, Alex Braae reads his unexpectedly personal post about the rise of climate protest movement Extinction Rebellion. Listen to episode one, Madeleine Chapman on life after those chip rankings, here. How far would you go to save your future – and those … Read more
The medical professionals at Family Planning New Zealand are uniquely qualified on the subject of things that go in and out of vaginas, so please listen to them when they tell you to stop putting these things up there. It’s 2019, friends, and we wish we didn’t have to say this, but as an organisation … Read more
Government ministers will have to start turning their attention to what could have prevented the tragedy, and what official inquiries may be necessary, writes Jo Moir for RNZ. With a myriad of government agencies and regulators involved, who is responsible for what? Health and safety regulator WorkSafe has general oversight of tourism on Whakaari – … Read more
Richard MacManus finds out how 5G will help Auckland smarten up by building better relationships with its citizens. In its latest Smart Cities Index, Swedish company EasyPark ranked Auckland 58th out of 100 worldwide cities. Decidedly average. But it gets worse, I’m afraid. In the same list, Auckland was ranked 85th out of 100 cities … Read more
Presenting: the third installment in our best-of-the-year series, put together by the Spinoff and various benevolent elves. This time it’s fiction. These are the books that moved us, that we walk around with in our heads, and that we are giving for Christmas, smug with the certainty that they’re absolutely kick-ass. See also: The 10 … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Strong public support for midwife petition, Waipareira Trust defends massive Tamihere campaign donation, and most of the bodies on Whakaari now found. A petition for community midwives to get better funding and pay has absolutely taken off. Radio NZ reports the petition, which is hosted on the … Read more