Tara Ward reviews Goodnight Kiwi, a new series that features well-known New Zealanders reading bedtime stories to kids. It’s strange to think that New Zealand television wasn’t always the 24-hour, infomercial-tastic extravangza that it is today. Back in the ‘70s and ‘80s, our televisions used to go dark every night at about eleven o’clock, a … Read more
13 moments that prove the music awards are so much > than all other award shows BENEE cleaned up, every performance was somewhere between an eight and a ten, there was an unfeasible quantity of award presenter awkwardness and many nights ended very late. The music awards are over 50 and still absolutely rule. Here’s … Read more
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington. AUCKLAND 1 Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout (Viking Penguin $35) “Olive struggles to figure herself out, and has an urgent need for … Read more
Māori food systems are rich with potential, and whānau-based food producers across the country are looking to traditional ways to ensure their communities thrive in the future. Alice Neville reports from the Eat New Zealand Food Hui. In recent years there has been much talk – in food business, hospitality, tourism and food media circles … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Farmers square off with Shane Jones at parliament, tax rebates for Chinese propaganda film criticised, and ructions over future shape of public media. Now first of all, I just want to make it clear rednecks isn’t the term I’d use. But it was certainly the term used … Read more
Yesterday, Stuff reported that the 2017 Chinese-made propaganda blockbuster Wolf Warrior 2 was partially made in New Zealand. Sam Brooks watched it and – spoiler alert – found it weird as hell. About halfway through Wolf Warrior 2 on Netflix, the unnamed leader of a revolution in an unnamed African country marches up to the American leader … Read more
Rather than get distracted by the stadium debate, we need to urgently acknowledge that unlocking this land now for future integration into the CBD is critical for Auckland’s future, argues Paul Winstanley. Don’t be fooled. This is not just another story about the waterfront stadium. Well, not really. Like the mayor has said, there are … Read more
The Real Pod assembles to dissect the week in reality television and real life, with special thanks to Nando’s. This week on the Great Kiwi Bake Off, it’s all about weird biscuits. Savoury biscuits. Mushroomy biscuits. Biscuits about cross fit. Who had the best biscuit art of them all? Why is Trev so good? And how … Read more
This is a rare public edition of The Bulletin World Weekly, an exclusive newsletter for The Spinoff Members that gets delivered every Thursday afternoon. Today’s edition focuses on the aftermath of Bolivian president Evo Morales being forced from office. Earlier in the week, the Bolivian president, Evo Morales, was forced out after a wave of … Read more
Alex Casey goes on a journey to find out all there is to know about what a “normal” vulva looks like. Spoiler alert: there are many, many versions of normal. The funniest and most embarrassing thing anyone has ever said to me in my whole life happened during my very first smear test. I was … Read more
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 Jade Tang-Taylor and Anna Guenther from Cheese Cartel. Cheese Cartel was the outcome of a bunch of friends … Read more
An untimely leak to RNZ brought some clarity to the government’s plans for its media assets – yet left many questions unanswered. Duncan Greive analyses the latest revelations. RNZ’s flagship Morning Report programme today led its prime 7.10am slot with a bombshell about Radio New Zealand itself. Political editor Jane Patterson had the scoop on … Read more
The 2019 Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards are just a few hours away and, believe it, we have reckons. Who will win? Who should win? Sam Brooks is ready for some prognosticating. It’s the biggest night in New Zealand music – the one that’s televised, the one that got (fake) Paula Bennett onstage with Jacinda … Read more
Tomorrow the Australian minister for agriculture is in Christchurch to lobby for a ban on words like “milk” and “meat” from the labels of meat and dairy alternatives. Shama Sukul Lee, the founder of alternative meat startup Sunfed, says the campaign is not about the consumer: it’s driven by a powerful industry trying to curb … Read more
In the second part of our parenting series What They Don’t Tell You, Catherine Woulfe welcomes the daughter she fought for. The extremely strange thing about a planned c-section is that you get a text from the hospital booking in the birth, like it’s a dentist appointment. Text YES to confirm. Then you sit in … Read more
After Massey University in Wellington cancelled Feminism 2020 last month, the controversial event has found a new home in the parliament banquet hall. UPDATE 2.30pm: David Seymour has confirmed that he is hosting Feminism 2020 in parliament. “After Massey University prevented Feminism 2020 from taking place on its Wellington campus, I agreed to host the … Read more
For Amy Russell, ceasing deforestation of her lower limbs was a declaration of independence. When I wrote on The Spinoff recently about going barefoot everywhere, and then about being a fat runner, I got a lot more positive feedback than I expected, and a lot less criticism. So I thought clearly I need to push … Read more
Dr Susan Wardell, a His Dark Materials fan who grew up to be a social anthropologist, reviews the much-anticipated sort-of sequel, The Secret Commonwealth. Is the world fundamentally dead, or alive? Philip Pullman asks in this new book, a thinly-veiled philosophical interrogation of “progressive thinking”. The book is rich in both human and political intrigue, … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Another unexpected OCR move, NZ First Foundation donations under scrutiny, and End of Life Choice bill passes pending referendum. Reserve Bank governor Adrian Orr seems intent on giving as many surprises as possible with the OCR. After slashing it in August when it was expected to be lowered … Read more
It’s setting up a high school and John Key is an investor, but leaked documents show the $380m education startup locks parents into tough contracts worth tens of thousands of dollars. A tutoring company with former prime minister John Key on its board is charging parents as much as $60,000 to chase the dream of … Read more
Early on Thursday NZ time, the Trump impeachment inquiry kicks into high gear, as the previously closed-door proceedings are replaced with televised public hearings. Here’s the lowdown. What’s about to happen? Just over seven weeks since Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced an impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump’s dealings with Ukraine, televised hearings are … Read more
Yesterday the government announced their reform of 1989’s Tomorrow’s Schools legislation. Claire Amos, a school principal in Auckland, reflects on what it all means. When the first draft of the Tomorrow’s School Report landed back in December 2018, I reflected that “the only real concern is that we are not brave enough nor selfless enough to … Read more
Newly launched carbon offsetting company CarbonClick want to make it easier for businesses and consumers to save the planet. CEO Dave Rouse and CPO Jan Czaplicki explain that while carbon offsetting isn’t the solution to global warming, it’s necessary. We have pumped our skies full of greenhouse gases for over 200 years, resulting in an … Read more
Premiering tonight on TVNZ DUKE, Tara Ward explores the salty depths of Spiky Gold Hunters. Spiky Gold Hunter is Country Calendar for hard arses. DUKE’s new documentary series follows six Kiwis as they search the Foveaux Strait for kina, a job with great financial reward but huge risk. These divers work in some of the … Read more
Artist Lema Shamamba highlights the threads that connect cellphone use to violence and exploitation in the Democratic Republic of Congo in her first solo exhibition at Auckland’s Objectspace. Embroidered into a purple and yellow dress, a woman has one baby slung on her front and another on her back. Looking at her bright colours, you … Read more
Gloria Steinem speaks to On the Rag about what she has learned from over 50 years of feminist activism. In this very special episode of On the Rag, we are joined by journalist, author, activist and feminist hero Gloria Steinem ahead of the launch of her new book The Truth Will Set You Free, But … Read more
A law change that would allow assisted dying in certain select cases is coming up to a final reading in parliament tonight. Here are some of the many views on the matter we’ve published. As the End of Life Choice bill has made its way through parliament, it has become clear that the issue of … Read more
In this chapter from journalist Frances Cook’s guide to getting your finances sorted, she finally comes to terms with her attitudes and behaviour around money. They say the first step is accepting you have a problem. One of the first things I had to accept was that I was guilty of ‘lifestyle creep’. With each of … Read more
One journalist’s quest for a silly answer leads to a desperate search for the truth behind the most bizarre news story. A woman was reading a book, her husband was driving, and their son was asleep in the back seat when an axe flew through the windscreen. The short-handled axe – otherwise known as a … Read more