Chloe Blades on the raw, complex and unabashedly feminist new novel by the author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. There’s a plethora of novels hitting shop shelves that retell the ancient epics. Pat Barker’s The Silence of the Girls gives voices to the pillaged slave women of Homer’s Iliad. In … Read more
If you’re a man who isn’t sure that you’re a good partner to the mother of your children, then you’re probably not, says Emily Writes. There’s a thing that happens on Facebook groups and group chats across the country on, or the day after, Mother’s Day. Every year without fail I see it – mothers sharing the … Read more
Much like its subject, The Audience is blandly pleasant and frustratingly naive. Sam Brooks reviews Auckland Theatre Company’s latest production. Every week, Queen Elizabeth II has an hour-long meeting with her prime minister to discuss the matters of the day. This has happened since her coronation in 1953, and will happen until she abdicates, she dies, or … Read more
After efforts to persuade the editor of the Friday poem, Ashleigh Young, to run a new work by poet Ashleigh Young in the series proved unsuccessful, The Spinoff Review of Books is launching ‘The Monday poem’. Here we present Turn Out to Be Something by Ashleigh Young from her brand new collection How I Get … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Every teacher in the country to strike together, concerns over funding-starved Māori sector, and two big stories on the rubbish beat from the weekend. The timing couldn’t be more stark. The day before the government delivers their first ‘wellbeing budget’, every primary and secondary school teacher in … Read more
Yesterday it was announced the largest strike in education history, including primary and secondary school teachers and principals, will be held on 29 May. Teacher Lisa Geraghty explains why she decided to strike. I am a teacher and I love my job. Last week, I voted to strike. Again. I have been asked if it … Read more
This month sees a landmark moment in the economic approach of the Ardern government, with the first ‘wellbeing Budget’ unveiled. How is it different, and what can we expect? Maria Slade sits down with the finance minister, Grant Robertson Grant Robertson isn’t Peter Jackson and the Treasury can’t do Weta-Workshop-level special effects, but the finance … Read more
Votes taken across the two big teachers’ unions, which represent almost 50,000 members, will bring a mass classroom closure across the country on May 29. When is the teachers’ strike and who is affected? Pretty much every school in the state sector will be closed on Wednesday May 29, after primary and secondary school teachers … Read more
A petition to include ‘Aotearoa’ in New Zealand’s name attracted more than 6,000 signatures and has now been presented to parliament. Lewis Holden from Change the NZ Flag explains why he’s backing the idea. Before I go any further, yes it’s me, the change the flag and change the head of state guy, at it … Read more
Sam Brooks swims against the cultural tide in noping out on Game of Thrones. This story originally ran in Barker’s 1972 magazine. It includes no spoilers for the current season of Game of Thrones, you spoilerphobes. I stopped watching Game of Thrones around the time a witch who looked like Tori Amos birthed a shadow-beast … Read more
It’s one of the most tight-knit, well-established and supportive music environments in New Zealand. Ben Lynch pays tribute to the capital’s hard rock and metal scene. When discussing or researching heavy music in New Zealand, one thing quickly becomes apparent: it’s a fairly fruitless task to try and compare scenes from city to city. While … Read more
Professor Leonie Pihama on the unique values and perspective filmmaker Merata Mita brought to the screen, and how it changed how we see ourselves. “The way I see it, if you’re a Māori woman and that’s all you are, that alone will put you on a collision course with, that society and its expectations. And … Read more
For the body hair episode of On the Rag, Alex Casey decided to get waxed for the very first time. This is her story. It was a terrifying ultimatum. Relax, or have my bum cheeks stick together. Would they just cling together for a bit? Or be firmly welded shut for the rest of my … Read more
Aotearoa finally heard the announcement about the Zero Carbon Bill earlier this week. Maulik Thakkar of climate action organisation Generation Zero explains how the time to begin reducing our emissions is now, rather than settling for a slow reduction in emissions over the coming decades. We have repeated it again and again, like a mantra: “The … Read more
Guy and Paul Williams are brothers, comedians, and lifelong ballers; they love basketball so much they’ve dedicated a weekly podcast to it. They spoke to each other about their obsession with basketball. This story originally ran in Barker’s 1972 magazine. Paul: Growing up, Guy and I used to play in the backyard a lot. And because … Read more
Comedian and sometime chat show host Tim Batt runs down his list of the top chat show hosting duos of all time, from Oprah & Gayle to Havoc & Newsboy. Chat shows are a strange mainstay of entertainment. Debuting in caves then later shifting to radio and eventually television, the basics of the format are … Read more
A saddle sore, a teal bridesmaid’s dress and the Ngāruawāhia High School hall: how Marilyn Waring became the National candidate for Raglan. An extract from her new memoir The Political Years. In 1974, it was my habit to go to the library at Victoria University of Wellington, in New Zealand’s capital, to read each morning’s newspaper. On … 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 Collaborate co-founder Poppy Norton who’s helped create an app matching charitable organisations with volunteers. Nominated for a Hi-Tech Award for the second year in a row, Collaborate is the brainchild … Read more
Is there anything better than pasta with meatballs in tomato sauce? The answer is no. Pasta has to be the ultimate comfort food – and if it’s accompanied by meatballs and sauce, then even better. I tend to get stuck in a meatball-making rut, so my family really only ever eats the same version, time … Read more
The printer company has worn sackcloth and ashes since being caught out inflating its New Zealand revenue by $350m. Now it’s in line for lucrative government work again, and boss Peter Thomas tells of lessons learned. Staggering corporate blunders like Kodak failing to spot the rise of digital photography and the gazillion-dollar bailout of General … Read more
It already looked like the housing market could take off again, and then the Reserve Bank went and made that a whole lot more likely. David Hargreaves analyses the forecasts, in this piece originally published on Interest.co.nz. It may seem the height of absurdity to talk about the possibility of the house market taking off … Read more
New verse from poet and playwright Renee Liang. Contents of a mummy Tardis handbag 1 pair sparkly sneakers 1 small bag defrosted peas, rejected by non-health-conscious ducks in the domain re 1 tube sunblock (unused) 2 battery packs for iPad iPad, open at Lego Star Wars game iPhone, open at Pokémon Go wallet packed with … Read more
The new trailer for the much anticipated, oft-delayed Final Fantasy 7 remake is finally here! Optimist and superfan Sam Brooks breaks it down, moment by moment. Final Fantasy 7 is, indisputably, the most popular RPG of all time. It’s one of the biggest selling video games of all time, too. When the remake was announced, Obama was … Read more
Unity and The Spinoff are very proud to announce the arrival of this new monthly feature. Because we love kids, and we love books, and we’re really sick of buying shitty books by mistake and having to read them 87,000 bedtimes in a row. These lists cover April 10 – May 8. AUCKLAND 1 Encyclopedia … Read more
Saraid Cameron interviews poet-musician Jamila Woods upon the release of her sophomore album, the forward-thinking, backward-facing Legacy Legacy! Jamila Woods has had a meteoric rise to success, collaborating with artists like Chance the Rapper and Noname on her debut album Heaven which was named in the top 50 albums of 2016 by Pitchfork. But she’s just as … Read more
The only published and available best-selling 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 Unreliable People by Rosetta Allan (Penguin Random House, $38) First novel: murders in Ōtāhuhu. Slight segue to second novel: the purge … Read more
After repeated obscenities were scrawled on the face of the beloved New Zealander near Brick Lane, the artist added a note saying, ‘This is a portrait of a kiwi film director Taika Waititi NOT Jose Mourinho YOU MUPPET!!!’ And now he’s thinking he’ll paint over it altogether Taika Waititi might be world-famous in New Zealand, … Read more
A movement to boycott this year’s Tuia – Encounters 250 commemorations of the 250th anniversary of Captain James Cook’s landing at Tūranganui-a-Kiwa is gaining strength, writes RNZ’s Leigh-Marama McLachlan. More than $20 million is being spent on events and resources to mark the anniversary of Cook’s landing in Tūranganui-a-Kiwa, later named Gisborne, in 1769. Indigenous … Read more
Do you lose your shit when you can’t get cherries in July? No. So why is everyone grumbling about the so-called avocado shortage? “AVOCADO CRISIS”, the headlines scream. “Soaring prices force cafes to stop selling avocado dishes”. Yes, apparently New Zealand has been brought to its very knees by an unprecedented shortage of the fleshy … Read more