Coffee habits. Waiheke ferries. Hair straighteners. The scoops were served up faster than a midsummer beachside dairy when Jacinda Ardern spoke to Gone By Lunchtime’s Toby Manhire to recap the year. The prime minister phoned in to the Spinoff Gone By Lunchtime studio for an end-of-year interview last week that spanned all the essential subjects: … Read more
The ex-military, gay, Lamborghini-driving CEO of Rocketwerkz is one of the highest profile figures in New Zealand gaming. Michael Andrew went to the new Auckland office to meet the man known as “rocket”. “It’s the fastest lift in the country,” said Rocketwerkz’s chief operating officer Stephen Knightly before we shot to the top of the … Read more
Illustrator and creative Evie Kemp on a powerful – and unexpectedly moving – summer swimwear campaign. This story was first published on Ensemble magazine. I didn’t expect an Instagram post of a woman in a bikini to bring me close to tears. Not least one without a long-winded caption about body acceptance, but just a … Read more
Messing too much with summer berries is sacrilege, but this heavenly light sponge provides a fine vehicle for the most luxe of fruits. In this time of misinformation and alternative truths, I’m going to lay some refreshingly stone-cold facts on you. The greatest summer food is a berry. I mean don’t get me wrong, banana … Read more
It’s called ‘dopamine dressing’, and it promises to make you feel happier with just the change of an outfit. The notoriously colour-allergic Emily Writes took the plunge. Many years ago a New Zealand designer told me clothing is like Christmas wrapping: the gift is you. There have have been billions of words talking about fashion, … Read more
For years now, people who should know better have been spreading misinformation about Ihumātao. Now that a deal has been made, it’s time to set the record straight on some of these repeated falsehoods. Didn’t ‘the iwi’ sell the land in the first place? Nope, the block of land named the Ōruarangi block was stolen … Read more
Celebrating a new series of the beloved Reo Pēpi bilingual board books, we have essays from Kitty Brown (Ngāi Tahu) who creates the books with her cousin Kirsten Parkinson, and Helen Steemson, a Pākehā mum determined to share te reo with her Māori son. Kitty Brown Recently, my two-year-old spoke her first words in te … Read more
For many whānau, Christmas can be a difficult time of the year, accentuating the absence of those who have passed away. Nadine Anne Hura reflects on love, loss and regret on this first Christmas without her brother. Jimmy Barnes says that life’s too short for burning bridges, but what I want to know is whether … Read more
In recent years social media has helped give a voice to survivors of abuse, often denied them by the justice system. But group mentalities are fickle, and the best intentions can sometimes perpetuate more harm. Jogai Bhatt looks back at a fraught year of social media justice. Warning: includes images of swastikas and other far … Read more
At the end of the relatively normal year 2019, The Spinoff asked a dozen pundits to give us their wildest prediction for the political year to come. Nobody comes out of this looking good, writes Alex Braae. Punditry is challenging at the best of times. The random nature of events often leaves the most insightful … Read more
The year 2020 is about to burn itself out and we can all put it behind us. Despite its terribleness, José Barbosa argues 2020 will be remembered as the ultimate fork in the road. In the last 12 months we’ve all been witness to some remarkable things. I needn’t go over them all here, but … 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 Troy: The Siege of Troy Retold by Stephen Fry (Michael Joseph, $37) Would read absolutely anything retold by Stephen Fry. 2 Shuggie … Read more
The last Friday Poem for 2020 is by Dunedin poet Michael Hall. End Poem Not everything falls or fails; rocket ships still roar into the next world like a boy after feeding the dog one cool evening twelve years old scaling the sun fading face of an unwalled barn clutching for terse straw, fingers seeking … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s final live updates for 2020. It’s December 18. You can reach me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 3.25pm: Grace Millane’s killer keeps name suppression, for now The identity of the man convicted for the murder of British backpacker Grace Millane will continue to remain a secret, after a last minute appeal request to the … Read more
All this week we’re looking back on some of the best videos published on The Spinoff in 2020. Today, On the Rag dismantles the dreaded imposter syndrome. For some it appears as a constant whisper, for others it’s a screeching megaphone in the face at the most inopportune of moments. Many of you will be … Read more
New Zealand has agreed to buy four Covid-19 vaccines, in volumes that are more than enough for everyone in New Zealand and for some of our Pacific neighbours too. Siouxsie Wiles on what yesterday’s announcement means, and what comes next. First a quick recap. There are lots of different ways to design a vaccine, which … Read more
As part of the Spinoff Aotearoa Time Capsule of 2020 project, Sam Brooks fills up a USB with everything our descendants will need to understand the crapshoot that is life in 2020. Earlier this week, as I was in the midst of reviewing the biggest game of the year, Spinoff editor Toby Manhire assigned me … Read more
Good morning and welcome to the final Bulletin of 2020. In today’s edition: A wrap of some of the issues that will matter in 2021, and a reflection on coming out of this tough year with hope. For the final Bulletin of the year, we’ll once again look ahead to the next one: Some people might … Read more
Last year, there was a lot of swearing deployed to sum up the year. And then came 2020. As it reaches its close, how to describe the world this year in one sentence? Read more from our political year in review here. Is there anything we can do to help? Alex Braae 2020 is … … Read more
Despite the numerous setbacks and unexpected hurdles this tumultuous year brought with it, four pupils at South Auckland’s Māngere College say they’ve developed a resilience they didn’t realise they had. They sat down with Justin Latif. “A year of blessings.” That’s how Liona Vailea, 17, describes 2020. The Māngere College student isn’t deluded or ensconced … Read more
Five years ago a group of local cousins began a campaign to stop a proposed Fletcher Building housing development and restore the whenua into iwi ownership. Yesterday a deal was signed paving the way for its return. Justin Latif speaks to the woman who started it all about how they defied the odds and the … Read more
After a quarter of a century of loyal fandom, Jane Yee took a three-year hiatus from Shortland Street. Tonight she revisited Ferndale for the dramatic annual Christmas cliffhanger. Full disclosure, I’ve been off the Shorty wagon for about three years, save a couple of months during the first lockdown in which I brought myself up … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for December 17. 12.10pm: ‘Beginning of the next phase’ for Ihumātao The Protect Ihumātao campaign Save Our Unique Landscape (SOUL), which led the occupation of the land, has issued a statement responding to the announcement (see 12.00pm). “Today is a very significant day for our tūpuna and whānau of … Read more
The government this morning announced two new vaccine procurements that will provide enough to vaccinate all New Zealanders, will roll out beginning in the second quarter of next year. Below, expert response, via the Science Media Centre. Michael Baker It is very good to see these details about the next major step in New Zealand’s … 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’s joined by Blackbird’s Sam Wong. Last year one of the biggest venture capital operators in Australia moved over and set … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Year closes with government books in reasonable shape, Mallard sets record straight, and government bookings filling up accommodation sector. The half-yearly economic and fiscal update has been released by Treasury, and the numbers are (in context) remarkably good. Politik has a good wrap of that context, and … Read more
It was all set to be the biggest game of the year, but Cyberpunk 2077’s release has been overshadowed by technical hitches and multiple controversies. Sam Brooks reviews. Before you talk about actually playing Cyberpunk 2077, there are a myriad of other things you have to talk about first. More internet ink has been spilled … Read more
As all good Treaty partnerships demand, a significant amount of space in The Spinoff Aotearoa 2020 Time Capsule has been saved for tangata whenua. Like a yuck hāngī filled with bewilderment and Zoom, it’s time to bury this year in the ground. What a year to be of the non-white or Indigenous persuasion. What has … Read more
All this week we’re looking back on some of the best videos published on The Spinoff in 2020. Today, Youth Wings introduces Jay McLaren-Harris, chairman of Young NZ First. Jay McLaren-Harris can pinpoint the precise moment he fell in love with NZ First. It was during the Northland by-election in 2015, and Winston Peters was … Read more