The Opportunities Party’s new leaders have firmed up control of the party after a weekend of sweeping organisational reforms. But are the chances of this TOP any better than the last one? Alex Braae heads to the party conference to find out. When the reborn Opportunities Party gathered for a conference on Saturday at the … Read more
A massive cleanup effort has saved the West Coast from total disaster, after flooding broke open an old dump next to the Fox River. But have we actually learned anything from it? This piece was first published on Radio NZ. While the first phase in Operation Tidy Fox draws to a close this Sunday, there are still … Read more
Laura Vincent explores the historic and pop cultural roots of Moira Rose, the narcissist soap actress and breakout character from the offbeat, beloved sitcom Schitt’s Creek. Who could have predicted Schitt’s Creek, that most low-key, questionably named sitcom, would bear such fruit in former daytime soap actress Moira Rose? Iconic is a word too quickly … Read more
On the 250th anniversary of Captain James Cook landing in Aotearoa, Ian Taylor is vowing to tell the story of those who came before Cook: the Polynesian celestial navigators. “My ancestors travelled across a third of the planet to get here,” says Ian Taylor, “they used state-of-the-art craft and the stars and they knew exactly … Read more
An exclusive interview with the principled principal who is leading the resistance to long-haired lads at high school. A 13-year-old boy taking Auckland Grammar School to court over his hair was in the news last week. Some people might say it’s wild that in 2019, when young people are facing a future that’s so damn … Read more
David Eggleton considers the remarkable radiance and Canterbury swamp fog of Tony de Lautour’s paintings, in this mid-career survey at Dunedin Public Art Gallery. Resembling a giant blackboard covered in graffiti, ‘Underworld 2’ (2006) by Tony de Lautour is spectacular. This painting is a phantasmagoria of signs and markings, intended to bring to mind Christchurch … Read more
While the debate around methane continues to stink up the place, we are ignoring countless different ways to protect our food security in the future, writes climate activist Melanie Vautier. Agriculture is a huge and important topic in climate mitigation, in adaptation, in our very survival in terms of food supply. I went along to … Read more
Cameron Slater’s mendacious, bullshit-ridden site has finally been shut down – and yet, somehow, the grift goes on, writes reformed blogger Danyl Mclauchlan I once had a blog on the internet. This was during the golden age of blogging, the late 2000s and early 2010s; a window when blogs were new and interesting and – … 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 Three Women by Lisa Taddeo (Bloomsbury, $35) “I based my selection of these three women on the relatability of their … Read more
New work by Island Bay poet James Brown. Cruelty to Animals We got you so the children could learn about looking after something more vulnerable than themselves – aged 4 and 6 as they were – learn how to feed you and keep your water topped up, and to let you in and out when … Read more
The Real Pod assembles to dissect the week in reality television and real life, with special thanks to Nando’s. A storm is a’brewing on The Real Pod this week… or is it? With Duncan periodically yelping his way through a bad back, Jane showing off a Doritos packet the size of a backpack and Alex silent … Read more
Jonny Potts leaves a message for one of the musicians that mattered to him most: David Berman of the Silver Jews, who died this week. Hi David. I know that’s a bit familiar. Sorry, I guess. So, I’d just got out from seeing the shrink when I checked my phone and saw the Pitchfork tweet. … Read more
RNZ journalist Te Aniwa Hurihanganui was about to catch a plane home from Auckland when an Air New Zealand worker saw her name on her passport and asked, how on earth did you spell that as a kid? It wasn’t the first time. I had just spent three days at Ihumātao, the 32-hectare land-block in … Read more
Chaotic weather and energy in August means it’s a good time to take care of ourselves and our loved ones (and maybe plant some seeds). Kia ora koutou, ngā mihi o te wā o Aponga. Aponga is a month of planting or preparing the garden to lay seedlings in the next moon cycle. It is … Read more
Tensions continue to rise in Gilead, but June’s plan to start the revolution is coming together perfectly. Is this too good to be true? Tara Ward recaps this week’s episode of The Handmaid’s Tale. It’s the pentultimate episode of season three, and life is positively jaunty in Gilead. The Waterfords are in the Canadian slammer, … Read more
It’s the rejection that fuelled a comedy legend: the failed TVNZ pilot from Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement. Paul Horan writes about his hunt for the footage for the NZ comedy documentary Funny As. There have always been people in my line of business that are desperate for credibility. After their years of fretting, lobbying … Read more
A crack team of Spinoff taste testers munched their way through 34 dairy-free cheese alternatives to bring you this definitive list of the good, the bad and the ugly. Just as some people cannot fathom the concept of vegetarian sausages or almond milk, the idea of cheese that isn’t made from dairy provokes outrage in … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Major new IPCC report released, Queenstown’s mayor puts a halt on airport expansion plans, and abortion bill passes first reading. The latest major, global climate change report has given a more complete picture of the damage being done to land itself. The IPCC report details how … Read more
Adrian Orr has brought out the big guns to put a sorely needed bomb under the New Zealand economy and now the government needs to do its bit, a top economist says. The Reserve Bank’s decision to slash interest rates is a good move that shouldn’t come as a surprise, Kiwibank chief economist Jarrod Kerr … Read more
There is a glimmer of positivity, bit I am saddened that to gain it we have had to enact ineffective ‘get tough’ measures instead of being truly transformative, writes Fiona Hutton The Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill has passed its final reading and will come into law in the near future. More than anything, I … Read more
New Zealand’s biggest ISP said it would prefer to see intervention by the censor’s office, but in light of 8chan’s role in terrorism from Christchurch to Texas, access would be blocked should the site resurface. New Zealand’s biggest internet service provider says it will block 8chan after the extremist website was implicated in the white … Read more
Yesterday the NZ parliament passed the Abortion Legislation Bill by 94 to 23 in a conscience vote. Below, a selection of abridged speeches from the first reading Andrew Little (Labour) Around 13,200 abortions are carried out in New Zealand each year under our current law. Under that law, when a woman seeks an abortion, she … 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 Douglas Pharmaceuticals’ Dr Peter Surman and Simone Hollier. Did you know that there is a local pharmaceutical company … Read more
What are all those shows you scroll through on Netflix with stars you don’t recognise and premises that are so out-there you can’t believe they actually got made? Wonder no more. We’ve all done it. We’ve all gone to Netflix for something to watch, scrolled through 102 shows that we’d totally watch if we had the … Read more
The skies are opening up, the car is unbundling, autonomous vehicles are in and fossil fuels are out. We are entering the shared mobility era where each trip you take is available at the touch of a button. So how is your commute set to change? Science fiction has long fantasised about the possibility of … Read more
Laura Southgate’s debut novel is a dive back into flatting and uni and that particular weariness that comes from never having enough money or self-esteem. Also featuring a couple of emotionally absent parents and a gross, abusive boyfriend, the book feels grimy and creepy and hungover a lot of the time – but most of … Read more
An exhibition of Dutch-New Zealand artist Theo Schoon at the City Gallery in Wellington has set off a debate about the place of racially problematic work in public spaces. Lana Lopesi reports on the ongoing protests, and how they connect to the activism at Ihumātao. When Theo Schoon: A Biography by Damian Skinner was released … Read more
Psychiatry always thinks it’s on the verge of understanding and curing mental illness, but its real history is a story of torturers and frauds, a new book shows. Danyl Mclauchlan reviews Mind Fixers by Anne Harrington. If you visit your GP and tell them you have the symptoms of a mental illness – maybe your … Read more
While ageing men are celebrated as sexy silver foxes, their female counterparts tend to slowly disappear from our screens – an example of how prejudices often leave older women sidelined. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Alex Casey talks to two women who are defying the expectations around old age. At 82 years … Read more