Great news! NZ’s best political drama of 2018 has been renewed

Last year, everyone loved getting home, flicking on the telly and seeing beloved household names like Jami-Lee Ross and Simon Bridges night after night. Fans of this cult classic political drama rejoice: it’s been picked up for another season. Here we are, 2019, and it’s all go on the sequel to the smash political hit … Read more

Is the elusive target in Hitman 2 actually Judith Collins? A Spinoff investigation

Hitman 2 has plundered from our shores before, but this time, has it taken the story and likeness of our most notorious South Auckland MP, Judith ‘Crusher’ Collins? Adam Goodall goes down the rabbit hole. I’m a Hitman fan. A Hitfan, if you will. But more than that, I’m a fan of New Zealand. I’m a … Read more

Spice Up Your Solo Career: Ranking the solo careers of the Spice Girls

There’s no doubt that the Spice Girls are one of the biggest bands of all time. But how have they fared in the 20 odd years since? Sam Brooks ruthlessly ranks their solo careers. The footsteps and cackle at the start of ‘Wannabe’ are as era-defining as pop music gets. Hell, that entire song is … Read more

The animals who live a better life in the zoo than the wild

Auckland Zoo director Kevin Buley believes the majority of zoos around the world should be closed. However, he says Auckland Zoo is one of the few good ones. He showed Alex Braae around the zoo and explained why he believes the animals here live better lives than they would in the wild. A spider monkey … Read more

Remembering the cute, podcast-less Joe Rogan

Before The Joe Rogan Experience, before even Fear Factor, Joe Rogan was an actor on a much-loved show called NewsRadio. Laura Vincent reminisces over the hunk before the era of podcasting. I’m an expert on Joe Rogan. You know the guy, right? If not from yelling enthusiastically at UFC cards you’ve surely heard of his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, … Read more

The problem with false balance reporting on vaccination

A measles outbreak in Canterbury has prompted a rush for vaccinations and airtime for anti-science perspectives. Jess Berentson-Shaw explains how the media can report responsibly on the issue It is no secret, I love an effective vaccine. I love that all children can have a healthy childhood through the actions of both their own parents and … Read more

Out-of-packaging experience: The rise of the plastic-free retailer

Refilleries such as GoodFor and Be Free Grocer say their time has come, with consumers from Ponsonby to Palmerston North seeking a zero-waste option. Horror stories such as sea turtles being found with hundred of pieces of plastic in their gut are shocking people into realising the planet will slowly strangle if we don’t stop … Read more

Students should strike on Friday (and they should be punished for it)

An Auckland secondary school teacher posted some thoughts on the climate strike. They were smart and pithy thoughts, so with permission, we’re republishing below. Here’s why you’re all wrong about the student “strike” about climate change that may or may not be happening. Firstly, they should all be encouraged to go on the protest. Secondly, … Read more

A message of solidarity from Pussy Riot to the people of Ihumātao

Pussy Riot’s Masha Alyokhina has been travelling from Auckland to Wellington overnight to join SOUL (Save Our Unique Landscape) in presenting a petition to MP Marama Davidson on the steps of parliament this morning. She speaks here about why she supports the campaign. It’s a real honour that Pussy Riot can be a part of this campaign. Today … Read more

The Bulletin: Measles cases surge in Canterbury outbreak

Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Measles cases surge in Canterbury, Vodafone reportedly outsourcing jobs to India, and Shane Jones says Kupe facility funding story is a beat up. Measles cases are surging in Canterbury, and there are warnings that the highly infectious disease is now “circulating widely in our community.” The local DHB said late … Read more

Huge tax risks for SkyCity with offshore online gambling venture

SkyCity’s moves to set up an offshore online gambling subsidiary throw up a huge range of questions about just how tax should work in the digital age, writes tax consultant Terry Baucher. The news that SkyCity is voluntarily paying perhaps as much as $40 million in “tax” sounds like someone actually took seriously the remark … Read more

Contemplating the end of the world with Extinction Rebellion

Take urgent action on climate change or face mass, worldwide death – that’s the stark message of a new global protest movement that calls itself Extinction Rebellion, who have recently become active in New Zealand. Alex Braae reports on a demonstration the Auckland chapter undertook, and the increasing alarm being caused by climate inaction.  What … Read more

It took Michael Jackson’s victims 20 years. It took me 20 years, too

Long term abuse and grooming happened to me and I waited two decades to take it to court. I can talk about this now when others can’t, because I was lucky, writes Amanda Thompson The Leaving Neverland documentary is out and I can’t watch it. Good luck to you amateur sleuths who will be glued … Read more

Why do the men on MAFS Australia wear boardies to bed?

Alex Casey rips open the velcro on Married at First Sight Australia‘s biggest scandal yet.  There’s a lot to be said about the latest sordid season of Married at First Sight Australia. For a start, there’s the slimy cheating scandals, the violent outbursts of rage and the relentlessly sexist gaslighting. And then there’s the very … Read more

How children’s connection with animals is helping them understand climate change

Asking eight-year-olds the hard questions about climate change wasn’t really the plan for John Daniell and Noelle McCarthy when Auckland Zoo asked them to do a podcast. But it turns out that kids are readier to look at our environmental reality in the eye than most. Listen to Good Ancestors, a four-part podcast that examines … Read more

Ihumātao: a field of stones and flags

Activist group SOUL Solidarity Pōneke will march through Wellington to parliament tomorrow to protest development at Ihumātao in Auckland. Catherine Delahunty takes a stroll on the whenua to remind us why Ihumātao’s supporters can’t give up yet. On a quiet Tuesday morning, I went out to Ihumātao and went for a short walk with Pania … Read more

Toker-Cola, anyone? Food and drink companies eye up ‘cannabiz’ opportunities

With 2020’s ‘reeferendum’ on the horizon, all kinds of businesses – from the small and local to the massive and multinational – have their sights set on lucrative new opportunities. This story was originally published on RNZ alongside this Insight documentary On a suburban street in Auckland’s Grey Lynn, Karma Cola’s road-marking-yellow, corrugated-iron-clad headquarters, encloses whirring … Read more

Remembering my time volunteering at Auckland City Mission, 20 years on

The Auckland City Mission is in the midst of a $90 million redevelopment. Gareth Shute, once a volunteer at the Mission, talks with long-serving staff member Wilf Holt about how the Mission has developed over the past two decades and what lies ahead for this nearly 100-year old institution. Back in 1999, I was a … Read more

How do we reckon with Michael Jackson in the wake of Leaving Neverland?

Last night, the first part of the Michael Jackson documentary Leaving Neverland aired on TVNZ. Katie Meadows looks at what it means for the popstar’s legacy. This piece involves descriptions of child abuse, sexual assault and grooming. Since Leaving Neverland first aired, one of the first questions to be asked in a world where Michael Jackson is an abuser … Read more

The Bulletin: SkyCity charges on with controversial online gambling plan

Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: SkyCity charges ahead with controversial online gambling plan, Defence Force releases review into Afghanistan allegations, and coal use to continue for decades in Canterbury. SkyCity has come up with a novel way of mollifying the government’s concerns over a planned offshore-based online casino. The NZ Herald reports the company … Read more

The trauma of news journalism is finally being acknowledged

A landmark court ruling in Australia reexamines journalism’s weight on its practitioners, writes former AUT professor Lyn Barnes. At last, it’s finally being acknowledged – secondary trauma encountered on the job as a journalist can do psychological damage. The $180,000 awarded to the Australian woman in a Melbourne court case last month may not be … Read more

Accessibility is key: Blanc de Blanc and The Magic Flute at the Auckland Arts Festival

How important is accessibility when it comes to enjoying and appreciating our art? Sam Brooks reviews Blanc de Blanc and The Magic Flute, both part of the Auckland Arts Festival. Accessibility means a range of different things when it comes to art. The first thing that might come to mind is the physical accessibility; how accessible is … Read more

The revival of an NZ menswear icon

Barkers CEO Jamie Whiting writes about turning around an iconic NZ business – and a new mission to make it sustainable. This story originally ran in Barker’s 1972 magazine under the title The New Barkers In 2008 it’s fair to say I was burnt out. I had started working at Hallensteins straight out of high … Read more

The best of The Spinoff this week

Bringing you the best weekly reading from your friendly local website. Alex Casey: Long blacks for lads, hot chocs for ladies: what’s the deal with that? “Gendering food and drink is all the rage these days, from National’s sausage sizzle innuendo to Whittaker’s new gender reveal chocolate bars. Blue for boys, pink for girls. Sausages for boys, clueless political … Read more

What Cook missed when he landed

The current New Zealand innovator of the year, Ian Taylor, is on a mission to sear the real story of New Zealand’s discovery into the minds of a generation of New Zealanders.  In 1990 a team from the University of Otago’s small computer science department entered the world’s foremost test of computational skill: the ACM … Read more

Dietary Requirements podcast: The Gilmour girls on hospo life, hot cross buns and 80s excess

Dietary Requirements is The Spinoff’s monthly podcast in which we eat, drink and talk about it too, with special thanks to Freedom Farms. We back! It was a real family affair on the latest Dietary Requirements, with Sophie’s most excellent mum and sister, Emerald and Mimi Gilmour, joining us in the studio. The Gilmours are a … Read more