Simon Day celebrates the arrival of summer by ranking the five flavours of New Zealand’s most beloved frozen treat. The Fruju is the perfect accompaniment to the New Zealand summer. While I fully endorse the role of the scooped ice cream in the Kiwi culinary cultural canon, when the asphalt starts to shimmer and the … Read more
With venues slow to pick up Spark Sport, New Zealand cricket fans might have trouble finding places showing the games. Alex Braae reports. For decades, any sports bar worth the name will have had a Sky Sports subscription. Long hazy days at the pub could be spent watching a test match slowly unfold, punctuated by … Read more
Saia Latu has experienced enough ups and downs for several lifetimes. The man behind one of New Zealand’s most successful recycling companies – and the recently named Pacific business entrepreneur of the year – tells Justin Latif how he made it to the top. Saia Latu’s life reads like a movie script. Aged eight, his … Read more
After discovering he’s been living a Sagittarian lie, Eli Matthewson learns to embrace life under his strange new sign. Sagittarius season and for me, a once proud Sagi, it started badly. I was pointed to the direction of an announcement from Nasa – yes, that Nasa – which described how incremental changes in the Earth’s … Read more
We’re selling original art from some of New Zealand’s top artists and illustrators to raise money for a great cause. Browse the artwork and other merch at The Spinoff Shop now. Two artists. Two drawings. One good long conversation. It was a simple idea, and one we were lucky enough to get to make into … Read more
David Fincher marks his feature film Netflix debut with Mank, a biopic about the man who co-wrote Citizen Kane. It’s more interesting than it sounds, and his loosest effort yet, writes Christopher Smol. Can one word explain a whole life? Citizen Kane is structured around that question, and the answer is “not really”. Lives are … Read more
Today’s official unveiling of the tunnel boring machine (TBM), named after one of New Zealand’s most iconic civil rights leaders, wasn’t just for ceremonial purposes, but a sign of the genuine relationship City Rail Link (CRL) wants to forge with Māori. It would be easy to become bogged down by the plethora of “boring” puns … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for December 4. Get in touch at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 3.10pm: Pakistan cricket team’s MIQ training hopes dashed Ashley Bloomfield has chosen not to grant an exemption to the Pakistan cricket team that would allow them to leave their hotel to train in groups, while in managed isolation. “I have very … Read more
A new poem from Auckland poet Fardowsa Mohamed. Leftovers I burned the bariis on the bottom of the pot my mother shakes her head, and we joke that I am a failed girl At lunchtime the next day I don’t remove the lid fully but they still said I smell burnt and brown. The … 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 Hiakai: New Māori Cuisine by Monique Fiso (Godwit, $65) Meri kirihimete! 2 A Promised Land by Barack Obama (Penguin Random House, … Read more
The gathering at the Grey Lynn Library Hall promises to take on a ‘corrupted election’, 5G, Covid-19 and ‘Satanic ritual abuse’. A new online group has formed to combat conspiracy and disinformation, and their first project is challenging an event scheduled for a council-run venue in the Auckland suburb of Grey Lynn tomorrow. Hosted by … Read more
Boris Johnson has announced that the Pfizer vaccine will be distributed from next week. How did that happen, and are they cutting corners? Siouxsie Wiles explains. The UK has become the first country in the world to approve a Covid-19 vaccine. It’s an emergency approval but means they’re likely to start vaccinating people in a … Read more
Young adult novel These Violent Delights was released in the US three weeks ago and is already a massive hit. Sherry Zhang introduces a star. Chloe Gong wrote These Violent Delights in her childhood home in Auckland in May 2018. As in: that month she started writing it, and also finished. She was 19. Seven … Read more
The outgoing director of grassroots community campaigning organisation ActionStation joins Duncan Greive to talk about a busy, and effective, few years in the job. ActionStation was formed in 2014, but it feels like it’s been around much longer than that. The independent, crowdfunded community organisation has led a number of highly visible and successful campaigns … Read more
A new series of videos uses comedy to debunk misinformation that’s proved to be particularly visible in South Auckland. Justin Latif spoke with local community leaders about why these theories find South Auckland such fertile ground, and what can be done to curtail their spread. “I have family who believes in all sorts of conspiracies … Read more
Do your childhood memories include being randomly attacked by your classmates? Josie Adams and Duncan Greive look back at the strangely violent schoolyard culture of dead arms, noogies, tabletops and more. Illustrated by Toby Morris. They say your school years are the best of your life. Remember being nine, playing marbles, and swapping your fruit … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Early focus put on health select committee, international day for persons with disabilities marked, and appliance delays holding up new builds. The select committees are in the process of being selected. One of the processes of making a law is that it goes through a small group … Read more
Following the raging success of the 2018 and 2019 non-goat ethical Christmas gift guides, we present – done up in reusable gift wrap – the 2020 list of ethical, sustainable, socially conscious and charitable gift ideas to satisfy all kinds of family members and budgets. By some miracle, this absolute arsehat of a year is … Read more
Half a million New Zealanders are predicted to return home in the wake of Covid-19, but our family won’t be on that list until New Zealand sorts out its approach to special needs and disability education. In August 2019 we left our beloved New Zealand, the country my husband and kids are natural citizens of, … Read more
Once plentiful, Kauri and Tohorā now face the threat of extinction. To save them we need to listen to the message of Tiwaiwaka, writes Donna Kerridge. We’ve heard it all before: New Zealand was a nation dependent upon whaling and logging for its economic survival and today we depend on farming, fishing, gas and oil … 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 Foodprint founder and CEO Michal Garvey. Food waste is such a massive problem that it’s hard to fully … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for December 3. Get in touch at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 7.00pm: The day in sum There were nine new cases of Covid-19 in managed isolation, four active and five historical. The UK became the first Western nation to authorise a Covid-19 vaccine, with the rollout set to begin next week. The … Read more
The inquiry is of real value, but predetermined terms of reference, a lack of transparency and an inherent conflict of interest limits its potential to deliver the scrutiny and change Aotearoa needs, writes Anjum Rahman, a member of the Commission’s Muslim Community Reference Group. The Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Terrorist Attacks on Christchurch … Read more
Beams is Anna Coddington’s fourth solo outing, and her first since the acclaimed Luck/Time dropped in 2016. We asked her to explain what’s changed since then, and what inspired this new batch of songs. 1. Motherhood (Part 1: Sleep Deprivation) Before I became a parent, I thought I’d be okay with being tired. I’m a … Read more
We’ve all bought or received gifts we know are never going to be used, which is why The Good Registry has created a way to channel those wasted funds into making a difference. Three years ago, Christine Langdon decided to give up a lucrative career in corporate communications to do something a little bit different. … Read more
Tāmaki Makaurau is a city under construction, but are Māori and Pasifika architects and designers being given the opportunities they deserve? It seems everywhere you go in Auckland right now, there’s a new development of some sort. Whether it’s a new bridge, playground, some public housing or a refreshed streetscape, almost all these projects include … Read more
New technology could transform the lives of thousands of New Zealanders with type 1 diabetes, but the lack of government funding leaves much to be desired, writes Nicholas Agar. I’m a type 1 diabetic writing this with a sense of excitement about a breakthrough in the treatment of my disease. When I was diagnosed in … Read more
The pandemic has shown us how we can do things differently. When we come out the other side, let’s ensure the 1 billion disabled people worldwide aren’t left behind, writes disability rights commissioner Paula Tesoriero. Worldwide, the response by governments to Covid-19 has emphasised that we are all in this together. It got me thinking … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: What comes next after climate emergency declaration, petition against parole for cop-killers delivered, and well-known fashion company under fire. The climate emergency has been declared, and has come with a set of new targets to boot. Yesterday after Question Time, parliament voted in favour of passing a … Read more