Over Easter, Prime aired a piece of slow television gold: Go South. Tara Ward watched the whole thing. First published on 23 April 2019 It was five and a half hours into an epic 12 hour journey through New Zealand when I saw it: a giant cat, randomly standing on the platform of the Christchurch train station. … Read more
Forget Daria, Pepper Ann was the 90s’ greatest cartoon depiction of teenage girlhood, argues Sam Rutledge. Somehow the beloved Pepper Ann, which ran for five seasons is – wait for it – 22 years old. I know, I don’t believe it either, but it turns out we’re all much closer to death than we thought. It … Read more
The author of Fifty Shades of Grey is back, with more unintentionally hilarious catchphrases and “linguistically bankrupt fondling of a clitoris”. The Mister opens with an extremely important piece of translation – the difference between the word “daily” in US vernacular (a newspaper published every day but Sunday) and UK parlance (a woman who is employed to … Read more
Alex Casey plays chaotic cooking game Overcooked 2 and learns some very valuable lessons. Three pots of rice are on fire and one pan of sautéed mushrooms is starting to smoke. I’ve thrown dry pasta all over the floor. The dirty plates are piling up. My colleague is swearing at me from across the kitchen. … Read more
The number of ‘attachment orders’ on benefits has grown dramatically in recent years, locking some of the poorest New Zealanders into ever deeper cycles of debt. Joseph Nunweek writes. When Sharon* first heard the knock at her door and saw the men standing outside, she assumed it was something to do with her ex. Before … Read more
Good morning, and welcome back to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: More revealed on funding cuts disability advocates say are happening by stealth, dire warnings in environment report, and could National go for Māori seat? More light has emerged on a rumoured squeeze on funding for the disability sector.It comes from documents revealed to the NZ Herald, … Read more
Last week Treasury hosted a ‘social lab’ which used decks of cards to explore ideas around wellbeing. Danyl Mclauchlan went along Fiona Ross is a thought leader in the public service; an articulate and engaging public speaker. She stands at the front of the room: a seminar space on the third floor of Treasury. The … Read more
The capital gains tax capitulation is just the latest triumph for the most powerful voting bloc in New Zealand history. Duncan Greive details the Boomers’ most pivotal victories. This post was published in April 2019. Wednesday’s shock announcement around capital gains tax marked the first major government acquiescence to the power of the baby boomer … Read more
‘I swallowed my fear because I’m a teacher. And it’s my job to protect the children in my care and school at all costs,’ writes Margie Askin-Jarden, deputy principal of a school in Ōtautahi Christchurch. I didn’t plan on becoming a teacher. I wanted to be an educational psychologist. I dutifully completed my university degree, … Read more
Sam Brooks power-ranks week two of New Zealand’s premiere celebrity charity shimmying show, Dancing with the Stars. Hello, humans! Happy Easter Monday, the day after the day Jesus came back and his friends were not super excited to see him. How was your Easter? Were you one of those people who, deciding they needed to drink everything on Sunday, … Read more
David Wallace-Wells has written a blinder, a book that could actually prompt people to push through complacency. But it’s not enough to pump us up full of fear and then just leave us there, bumping around like so many useless balloons, writes Catherine Woulfe This article originally ran in Barker’s 1972 magazine. “It is, I … Read more
The first recipient of the Spinoff Review of Books Writer-in-Residence Award, held in association with the Rise Pop-up Apartments in Wellington, was poet Aimee-Jane Anderson-O’Connor. How did she get on in ? Here’s her report. I say that Wellington is my favourite city in the world. I say this with a nod of my head, … Read more
Is it possible to be in a non-monogamous relationship without anyone involved getting hurt? Absolutely, say many New Zealanders practising polyamory, open relationships, swinging, and “relationship anarchy”. For her Bang! podcast series exploring modern sexuality, RNZ’s Melody Thomas spoke to some of them. In the US, it’s estimated that about 4 to 5 percent of … Read more
1000 Words is a new series talking to the photographers behind our most iconic political images. In the first instalment, Don Rowe speaks to Peter Meecham, photographer of the David Cunliffe log pictures. In 2014, David Cunliffe led Labour to their worst election defeat in almost 100 years. It was a brutal affair. Forced up … Read more
At this time of year, an abundance of this old-fashioned fruit is not a bad problem to have – especially if you’ve got the help of Aunt Daisy. All through my childhood, there was a sad quince tree in the orchard. It was old and crooked, its trunk growing up a couple of metres before … Read more
A new miniseries adaptation of Les Misérables starts on TVNZ tonight – and it more than holds up to the novel, says Kate Langdon. We’ve all heard of Les Misérables in one form or another. It began with the historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862 and considered one of the greatest novels of … Read more
Don Rowe on the unsettling boom in his hometown. This story originally ran in Barker’s 1972 magazine. Raglan is changing. You can see it in the streets, where luxury cars slot side by side like so many dominoes. It’s audible in the endless buzz of bikes, jet skis and drones. And it’s palpable, if you’re … Read more
A lesson on why you shouldn’t always believe what you read on the internet A few years back, there was a meme (if you can call it that) telling us that everything we knew about toasters was wrong. It said that the numbers on our toasters – usually on a dial ranging from one to … Read more
The Auckland mayoral campaign features more candidates than just Phil Goff and John Tamihere. Alex Braae sat down with repeat candidate John Palino, who is having another crack at the top job. John Palino is doing it tough right now. He’s facing an extremely strong field in the Auckland mayoral elections. He’s struggling to get … Read more
New Zealand music’s most famous musical comedy duo return to the stage in Flight of the Conchords: Live in London. Calum Henderson reviews. New Zealand television networks have always got a lot of shit for not giving Flight of the Conchords their own series. Fair enough, in hindsight this does seem like a pretty bad call. … Read more
In a polite Herne Bay kind of way, locals are gearing up for a battle royale with retailing millionaire Rod Duke over his plans for a helipad on a neighbourhood beach. Maria Slade went down to hang out. Karen Sims’ dog Lily isn’t the typical Herne Bay resident. The tan bitzer of uncertain provenance wouldn’t … Read more
A treat for a chilly autumn evening. Lusciously smooth and velvety, bittersweet and spiked with orange, this is the perfect drink to sip while curled in your favourite chair by the fire. I’m a fan of dark chocolate so I haven’t added any sugar to this recipe. If you have a sweeter tooth then add … Read more
If Donald Trump believes yesterday’s release of the long-awaited Mueller report is the end of his troubles, he’s in for a rude awakening, writes a former investigator into Reagan’s Iran-contra scandal. The release on April 18 of a redacted version of the Mueller report came after two years of allegations, speculation and insinuation – but … Read more
Bob Marley played his first and only New Zealand concert on Monday, 16 April 1979, at Auckland’s Western Springs. Writing for RNZ, Gareth Shute looks back on that visit and the seismic effect it had on this country’s relationship with reggae music, which continues to resonate forty years later. In the days leading up to … Read more
Sam Brooks digs into his childhood to present his magnum opus: a ranking of all 151 OG Pokémon. You can see the scrollbar at the right side of your screen. Let’s just get into this, shall we? Opinions are, as always, my own and subjectivity is not objectivity. 151. Jynx Look, the worst one is … Read more
Madeleine Chapman on dropping the perfect (dive) bomb – and why it’s worth protecting. This story originally ran in Barker’s 1972 magazine. The key to popping a perfect manu lies in the bum. Before the body has even left the platform, or rock, or bridge, the bum is out. Arms up, back straight, knees bent, … Read more
Despite all the evidence of climate change and environmental degradation, and the clear need to take action, we just aren’t taking action, writes James Renwick The Ministry for the Environment and Stats NZ have released their latest report on New Zealand’s environment: Environment Aotearoa 2019. It’s great that government agencies are informing us so clearly … Read more
Alex Casey talks to Courtney Act, host of Bravo’s The Bi Life, about her brand of political activism in the most unlikely of places – reality television. I don’t know if there is some kind of EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) equivalent for reality television but, if there is, Courtney Act is already making her … 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 Home Fire: A Novel by Kamila Shamsie (Bloomsbury, $22) Do not knock this off at 2am; you’ll be bolt awake the … Read more