Summer reissue: Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to Scottie Chapman from Spring Sheep Milk Co. First published July 16, 2020. Independent journalism depends on … Read more
Summer reissue: After last weekend’s Bledisloe Cup match, Justin Latif asks why we’ve fallen out of love with drop kicking. First published October 17, 2020. October 6, 2007 was truly one of the darkest days of my life. To many New Zealand sports fans, just hearing the words “two thousand and seven” elicits cold sweats … Read more
Summer reissue: Alex Casey delivers her last power rankings for The Bachelorette NZ, where Lily and Lesina make their final decisions. Click here for previous instalments. Well me homies, we have reached the end of our journey together. At times it was slow, like a food tech teacher dragging his brogues through the black sands … Read more
Summer reissue: From the highs (Ralph Hotere’s turtleneck), to the lows (Bain), the jersey is as much a part of this place as the jandal or the Swanndri, but it resists such easy nostalgia, writes John Summers. First published May 31, 2020. Whenever it comes time to lure tourists back to our shores again, we … Read more
Summer reissue: The president of Young Act loves the freedom his party’s youth wing has to speak out and advocate for radical policy ideas. But are there certain lines that need to be drawn within the youth wing itself? First published August 20, 2020. Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. … Read more
Summer reissue: Last December, Side Eye cartoonist Toby Morris joined The Beths in the studio while they recorded ‘Just Shy of Sure’ off their 2020 album Jump Rope Gazers. First published July 10, 2020. Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by its members – click … Read more
Summer reissue: Buying secondhand clothing is one of the best ways to refresh a wardrobe without spending wads of money or contributing to the wasteful fast fashion industry. But there’s a fine art to finding pieces that are worth your time. First published August 2, 2020 I’ve never been hunting but I imagine, in a … Read more
Summer reissue: In the last year, Benee has taken the world – or at least TikTok – by storm with her viral hit singles ‘Glitter’ and ‘Supalonely’. Ahead of her debut album release, the young star spoke to Elle Hunt about going international from her Auckland home. First published November 13, 2020. This time last … Read more
Summer reissue: Right from day one, the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand has been a party led by co-leaders. That philosophy extends to the party’s youth wing, where co-convenors Danielle Marks (Te Arawa) and Matariki Roche (Ngāti Raukawa) represent the party’s next generation. First published August 19, 2020. Independent journalism depends on you. Help … Read more
Summer reissue: poet essa may ranapiri says this review is one of the hardest things they’ve written. First published 10 February 2020. Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by its members – click here to learn more about how you can support us from as … Read more
Summer reissue: We should be unanimously outraged that in seven short years the number of Māori women on remand has doubled, in part thanks to a pernicious reform. What will you do about it, asks Awatea Mita. First published 3 July, 2020. In December this year, it will be six years since I was released … Read more
Summer reissue: The Overstory, the winner of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, is an engulfing, worldview-shifting novel about climate catastrophe and hope, writes Susan Wardell. (Photographs are from a photo essay on kauri dieback by Michelle Hyslop; captions by Andrea Ewing). First published 9 April 2020. The year before last, I spent the month … Read more
Summer reissue: The story of how a leisurely bike ride around Hawke’s Bay turned into a one-man rampage against perceived corporate privilege. First published October 24 2020 In the early hours of October 10, in a motel in Napier South, Ian Swney, 62, was struggling to sleep. A semi-retired kindergarten teacher, he’d travelled to Napier … Read more
Summer reissue: As the American media giant comes under fire for its treatment of POC contributors, it’s time to talk about the whiteness of food media in Aotearoa, say Jean Teng and Charlotte Muru-Lanning. First published June 13 2020 A wave of consciousness around racism is sweeping the globe at the moment. Protests that started … Read more
Summer reissue: He was born into a family of die-hard Labour supporters and raised on tales of the party’s greatest achievements. Now the chair of Princes Street Young Labour wants to help write the next chapter. First published August 18, 2020. Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism … Read more
Summer reissue: In May, Simon Bridges was rolled as the leader of the opposition. Two months later he opened up about his tenure, the state of politics in New Zealand and, of course, the baby yaks. First published July 31, 2020. Simon Bridges did not hide his disappointment when the National Party caucus turfed him … Read more
Summer reissue: Last night New Zealand witnessed one of the most exhilarating, confronting political stories to air on national television. Hayden Donnell has watched it several hundred times. First published May 27, 2020 Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by its members – click here … Read more
Summer reissue: In October, New Zealand voted against legalising cannabis in a non-binding referendum. Law expert Khylee Quince explains how racism plays a big part in the way current cannabis laws are applied – and why it’s time for reform. First published 9 September, 2020. Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in … Read more
Summer reissue: Spinoff cartoonist Toby Morris travels to Waitomo to see first hand the impact of Covid-19 on one of New Zealand’s oldest tourist destinations. First published 8 June, 2020. Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by its members – click here to learn more … Read more
Kawakawa adds subtle peppery notes to a refreshing summer sorbet. Make it while strawbs are cheap and plentiful! There are some crops that thrive in my garden, and others, strawberries being one of them, that don’t. I’ve tried my best and I haven’t given up yet, however. Perhaps next year will be the year! And … Read more
Summer reissue: The Young NZ First chairman always dreamed of meeting Winston Peters. Then one day on the main street of Dargaville, his dream came true. He tells his story in the first episode of Youth Wings. First published August 17, 2020. Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s … Read more
Summer reissue: a prayer for a woman with dementia, this fictional piece by Cambridge writer Tracey Slaughter features in the new edition of Landfall. First published 7 November 2020. Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by its members – click here to learn more about … Read more
Summer reissue: There are many lessons climate scientists can learn from mātauranga Māori. Lesson one is: don’t panic. This story was made with support from the Science Journalism Fund and was first published 29 December, 2019. Hank Dunn (Te Uri o Tai, Te Rarawa) has survived five shipwrecks in his lifetime. He told me this … Read more
Summer reissue: If you’ve listened to New Zealand music from the last decade-and-a-half, chances are you’ve heard the influences of Josh Fountain. He has collaborated with Benee on a string of hits. He’s just collected the Aotearoa Music Award for producer of the year for the second year running. And he’s achieved it all with … Read more
Summer reissue: The price of gold hit record highs in August, and New Zealanders are lusting for it. Josie Adams investigates the age-old attraction of this precious metal – and where we’re getting it from. First published September 10, 2020. Gold is real money. You can’t print it from a machine or birth it from … Read more
Summer reissue: a review of Rat King Landlord, the new novel by activist and satirist Murdoch Stephens, by Josie Adams, who lives with a rat. First published 16 August 2020. Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by its members – click here to learn more … Read more
Summer reissue: In the 2020 election, first term MP Chlöe Swarbrick will be one of just two Greens explicitly running to win an electorate. She spoke to Alex Braae about how she rates her chances of taking down National’s deputy leader. First published June 20, 2020 Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious … Read more
Summer reissue: We fought when she ranked the chips. We bickered when she ranked the lollies. And now, Madeleine Chapman returns to bring the nation together as one, with this, her longest list yet, an unimpeachable ranking of the biscuits. First published April 26 2020 In a world without restaurants, cafes and bakeries, all that remains … Read more
Summer reissue: Summer holidays got you dreaming of a happier, easier, gentler life in the provinces? Amanda Thompson actually made the move, and has some real talk on what to expect. First published January 29, 2020. Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by its members … Read more