Controversy erupted over The Project host Kanoa Lloyd’s decision to wear an ‘it’s OK to be white’ t-shirt this week. Newshub’s Sophie Bateman looks into the co-option of a seemingly innocuous slogan. The Rorschach test is a famous psychological tool in which patients are shown a series of random inkblots and asked what they see. … Read more
Bringing you the best weekly reading from your friendly local website. Patrick Reynolds: The story of a revolution: How public transport transformed Auckland “There’s a quiet revolution underway in Auckland, slowly but relentlessly transforming the city. It began early in the century – a big change of direction taken in small steps – and has been continued … Read more
Zoe Mills is a 17 year old high school student and one of thousands who joined the global climate strikes. She explains why her generation feel this moment so acutely. It’s an eerie sight. A sea of bodies lay across the worn concrete of the Queen Street intersection. A faint murmuring grows in an impassioned roar: “Wake up! … Read more
Men need to put aside their discomfort and support New Zealand women in the wake of Alabama’s abortion ban, writes Zoe Deans. Kiwi bloke stoicism hasn’t really equipped anyone to deal with outpourings of pain. And right now, it’s all around. Your friends, your wife, your workmates, your sister – we’re shocked, scared, furious, hurt … Read more
In our Q&A series, The Lightbulb, we ask innovators and entrepreneurs to tell us about how they turned their ideas into reality. This week we talk to Mathew Jury, founder of award-winning company Taska Prosthetics which makes state-of-the-art prosthetic hands. First of all, give us your elevator pitch for Taska Prosthetics. The Taska product is a … Read more
A one-pot energy boost that’s as good for breakfast as it is afternoon tea. I find packing lunches a challenge so am always on the hunt for inspiration to keep the kids’ lunchboxes both interesting and nourishing. What I love about this recipe is that it’s all made in one pot – fewer dishes once … Read more
David Farrier dives deep into the Hotel Bed Jumping Community on Instagram and is quickly told: ‘Should you pursue with your article and publish it we will be taking action’. He chose to pursue the article. I’m a big fan of Instagram, and an even bigger fan of what Instagram influencers are getting up to. And recently … Read more
A play teaching teens about consent and sexual harassment opens in Wellington this week, followed by Auckland next month. Co-creator Karin McCracken talks about why the show was necessary, and the generationally unique struggles kids face today. The current model of health education in New Zealand allows parents to opt their kids out of sex … Read more
RNZ’s Guyon Espiner investigates New Zealand’s central drug buyer Pharmac – how it works and whether its model is costing lives. In part one, he reveals how lung cancer patients are buying cut-price drugs from India, as other New Zealanders fundraise, petition and apply for clinical trials to access medications Pharmac won’t fund. Baden Ngan Kee … Read more
After a decade feeling alienated from sport, Hannah Spyksma returned to the netball courts and found it just as good as when she left. It’s winter sport time and this year I’ve decided to break an almost 14-year drought. A Saturday netball playing drought. These are sentences I never imagined I’d write because in all … Read more
Yesterday, Destiny Church rebranded their political arm as The Coalition Party, and Tim Batt bought their domains before anybody else could. He writes on the value of online trolling as political protest. Brian Tamaki is the burned soft tissue on the roof of New Zealand’s mouth. If we could only bring ourselves to completely ignore … Read more
This year’s International Comedy Festival was a roaring success, but some comedians have turned the spotlight on audiences. Are they too timid? Do our hecklers suck? Josie Adams sizes things up. When Netflix star James Acaster closed his last show of the Auckland International Comedy Festival, he ended with a confession: “This is only the … Read more
In this bonus edition of Gone By Lunchtime, the prime minister talks to Toby Manhire at the Auckland Writers Festival Last weekend at the Auckland Writers Festival, Jacinda Ardern spoke with Spinoff editor Toby Manhire about the extraordinary election campaign of 2017, and the book it inspired, Stardust and Substance, edited by Stephen Levine for … Read more
New Zealand’s binge drinking culture is notoriously bad, but could change be on the horizon for this little country of boozers? Booze, booze, everywhere, but what does it mean to drink? Alcohol consumption around the world is awash with stereotypes. In France, we might imagine, it’s allowing your stylish young child a glass of wine … Read more
The Real Pod assembles to dissect the week in reality television and real life, with special thanks to Nando’s. It’s Jane’s second to last podcast in New Zealand and we have pulled out all the stops: a fire hazard, a cheesy bread cake from Nando’s and some incredibly interesting analysis of everyone’s favourite dancing show. There’s … Read more
Oppose the gender pay gap? You should be appalled by the wage exemption for disabled workers too, argues Michael Pulman. Disabled people, and others in marginalised communities, have long been exploited for cheap, even free labour. According to a NZ Herald report, a woman who is blind is being paid a grand total of $2.30 … Read more
Mum was right: heavy exposure to pocket monsters fundamentally rewires your brain. But researchers from Stanford say it’s an exciting opportunity to study how we learn to see. There’s an old folk myth that when James Cook and the Endeavour sailed up the coast of Australia, “discovering” that great desert continent, indigenous fishermen spotted on … Read more
The only published and available bestselling 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 Toll by Luke Wright (Penned in the Margins, $32) “Part Essex wide boy, part dandy fop, he writes from the sidelines … Read more
A well-preserved fruitcake that sat in an Antarctic hut for over a century has gone on display at Canterbury Museum. Here, a fan of ancient foodstuffs pens an open letter to the controllers of the cake. Please, Antarctic Heritage Trust, I beseech thee: let me eat the 106-year-old fruitcake. Now is the time for me … Read more
New verse from Sydney-based poet Catherine Vidler. The weirdness of trees I love the weirdness of trees, but that’s not an opinion. In my opinion, shapes take the shape of things other than my opinion but inseparably from my opinion about the shapes themselves. Does that make sense? What is your opinion on the way … Read more
The US banned Huawei and now Google is breaking up with the Chinese smartphone maker. How did all go so wrong? I’ve been hiding under a rock for the last few days. What happened? Earlier this week, Google announced plans to restrict access to its apps and services on Huawei products. That means no more … Read more
‘Milkshaking’ is on the rise in Brexit-divided Britain. But is throwing milky treats the best form of political protest? Hayden Donnell investigates. With just hours to go until polls opened in the European elections, Nigel Farage cowered in his campaign’s Brexit bus, surrounded on all sides by gangs of milkshake-throwing youths. Just weeks earlier, his … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Dramatic video released in logging truck company case, tiny bit more room to move on govt debt, and primary teachers have residency rejected over low pay. A court released a dramatic video in an ongoing drama that goes to the heart of power relations in the … Read more
First the Francis Review revealed the scale of harassment and bullying within parliament. Then the Speaker, Trevor Mallard, said he believed a repeat rapist remained working there. If there’s to be culture change, writes former MP Catherine Delahunty, perhaps it should be driven by those with meaningful experience After reading about the bullying and harassment … Read more
If you’re put off by the concept of protests, you’re not alone. Josh Drummond explains why you should bite the bullet and go along to today’s climate protests anyway. Argh, protests! They make me cringe. Here’s the big secret: protests make nearly everyone cringe. Most people feel a bit goofy going along to a protest, especially … Read more
On March 15, New Zealand school students led a global day of strike action on climate change. Grace Wilkie and Libby Morrison explained then why they were taking the day off school. They’re doing it again today, and this is why. Today students all around New Zealand will be striking for the climate again. As … 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, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week he talks to Amber Taylor from Ara Journeys and Callaghan … Read more
The launch of a party fronted by Destiny Church leaders was a media event to remember. Alex Braae was there. Somewhere along their journey through the public eye, Hannah and Brian Tamaki got the idea that the media hates them and their church. They have never been more wrong about anything. From the moment Destiny … Read more
All four seasons of Laura Linney’s cancer comedy The Big C drops on Lightbox today. Sam Brooks writes about the series’ surprisingly uplifting journey through a woman’s nightmare. There’s a moment late in the first season of The Big C that hits you right in the gut. After finding out his mother Cathy (Laura Linney) has terminal cancer, her … Read more