Five years since they were launched, a proposed overhaul of the Health Star Ratings could see one in five products have their ratings changed. But does it really go far enough? When the Health Star Ratings were launched back in 2014, their intentions were not only noble, but necessary. Packaged foods and processed items were … Read more
Simon Day was at the last night of the tumultuous 20th anniversary tour of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. She was meant to be late. She was supposed to be sick. She’s meant to be a “diva”. Lauryn Hill’s relationship with her live audiences has been complicated for a long time. When you’re the last … Read more
The Bachelor NZ royal couple Art and Matilda are having a baby. Here is Alex Casey’s unsolicited gift to them. I thought my days of crying at the dairy were over, but alas. As the man behind the counter grabbed his scissors, cut off the plastic twine and tore back the wrapping on his stack … Read more
Bringing you the best weekly reading from your friendly local website. Michelle Langstone: I adore NZ cricket. But I won’t watch until the silence on Kuggeleijn is broken “There’s an elephant in the changing rooms and his name is Scott Kuggeleijn. As New Zealand Cricket’s governing body you are well aware of the charge of rape … Read more
First published on RNZ, ethnomusicologist Kirsten Zemke weighs in what fans should do with the music of alleged bad men. American rapper R Kelly has been the subject of sexual abuse allegations for a number of years, for Michael Jackson it’s been decades. Both have remained popular and celebrated artists. Two new documentaries, Surviving R Kelly and Leaving Neverland feature the … Read more
Talented women guitarists are not in short supply, so why aren’t they anywhere to be seen on lists ranking our guitar greats? Who is currently regarded as the greatest guitarist of all time? It’s a hard question to answer but plenty have tried. In the last decade, a plethora of lists have sought to rank … Read more
For once, the Wellington Phoenix are actually cool. Alex Braae was part of a record crowd that went along to see them in Auckland last night. “Have the Phoenix always passed it around this much?” I was asking my mate, who was as bewildered as I was about what was playing out in front of … Read more
A reporter for the Daily Mail interviewed some “interiors therapists” who warned her that her home was repelling men. Emily Writes has some advice on how to make your home welcoming to dudes. I knew I had to click the article as soon as I saw it. How to avoid turning your home into a manrepeller: … Read more
Broken promises, paying more for less… National MP Chris Bishop draws parallels between the doomed Fyre Festival and the Labour government. I’ve just got back from my honeymoon (it was great, thanks for asking). Browsing idly one night on my iPad, I noticed that Netflix had a new documentary called Fyre. I’d vaguely heard the … Read more
Every week on The Primer we ask a local business or product to introduce themselves in eight simple takes. This week we talk to Erin Harrison, founder of The Freelance Village. ONE: How did The Freelance Village start and what was the inspiration behind it? I’ve been a freelance writer on-and-off for over 10 years and what … Read more
Composting plays a huge role in the fight against climate change, but how do we inspire people to actually do it? Dr Niki Harre doesn’t talk about behaviour change when it comes to sustainability. Instead, she talks about cultural transformation, the likes of which we’re seeing play out before our eyes. This transformation is what … Read more
Here are the six designs being considered to memorialise the Erebus plane crash, courtesy of RNZ. Six designs are being considered for a new memorial to mark the Erebus plane crash in Parnell, central Auckland. Ministry for Culture and Heritage chief executive Bernadette Cavanagh said six anonymous design teams were selected in December to submit … Read more
Parents around the world have woken into a new world. A world where YouTube sensation Blippi, their child’s favourite entertainer, has made a video of him shitting on his friend who is wearing a helmet and googles. Emily Writes unpacks the biggest news story of the year for the toddler set. Where were you when … Read more
The only published and available best-selling book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 best-seller list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington – which today was confirmed as one of three bookshops in the world shortlisted for the prestigious The London Book Fair International Excellence … Read more
A poem by the great Fleur Adcock from her book Collected Poems, launched this week. Toads Let’s be clear about this: I love toads. So when I found our old one dying, washed into the drain by flood-water in the night and then – if I can bring myself to say it … Read more
With a new season of the much-loved drama Cold Feet beginning next week on TVNZ on Demand, Tara Ward takes a trip down memory lane to remind us all why it remains such an iconic show. 2003 was a shit year for television heroines. I spent the year in a chronic state of dehydration, first … Read more
We conclude our week-long examination of the poet James K Baxter, and a new book of his letters, with an essay by the poet’s great-grandson Jack McDonald about his Nana, Baxter’s wife, the author and Māori leader Jacquie Sturm. “I was minding a four-year-old great-grandson, and we went down to the beach. We made a … Read more
This week, the government proposed a major shakeup of New Zealand’s polytechnics and industry training organisations (ITOs). Associate professor at MAINZ Dr John Bassett weighs up both the pros and cons of this controversial move. In 2014 I moved from teaching in the Australian university sector to set up a music degree in the polytechnic sector … Read more
This week the Auckland radio station 95bFM celebrates its 50th anniversary. Russell Brown looks back at the station’s history, the hurdles it’s overcome, and why it thrived. To understand what 95bFM is celebrating this week, it’s useful to look at what New Zealand was like in 1969 when a group of University of Auckland students … Read more
The anti-natalism isn’t funny, says Emily Writes. It’s just very sad. Content warning: suicidal thoughts Mumbai businessman Raphael Samuel, 27, should really be a joke right? He’s suing his parents, who are both lawyers, for conceiving him and bringing him into the world. They’re taking it in good humour and there are plenty of easy laughs … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Wild rental inflation hits Wellington, an end to tenure review system has been announced, and confirmation comes of Chinese squeeze on tourism. Wellington is experiencing a wild spell of rent inflation at the moment, reports One News. Average rents in the city are now $45 a week more … Read more
The government recently announced that it would ban smoking in cars when children under 18 are present, making the act a fineable offence. But social scientist Dr Kyro Selket argues the decision isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. On Sunday, I stopped at my local Franklin takeaway for one of their exceptional butter chicken … 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 Romer founder Emily Heazlewood. We’ve all been … Read more
The Real Pod assembles to dissect the second week on Married at First Sight Australia, with special thanks to Nando’s. Your friendly podmates zip up their Australia onesies and dive into the tumultuous second week of Married at First Sight Australia. This week we met the last of our hopeful newlyweds, including a 29-year-old virgin, a … Read more
Protester and performance artist Jazmine Rose Phillips talks to Anke Richter about the assault and police inaction which led to her naked protest on Karangahape Road. NB: The following images contain nudity Last week, performance artists Kyah Dove and Jazmine Rose Phillips stood naked and covered in fake blood in front of St Kevin’s Arcade … Read more
All week this week the Spinoff Review of Books revisits the great poet James K Baxter. Today: John Newton reviews a new book of Baxter’s letters, in which he calmly reveals he raped his wife. For the rival heavyweights of New Zealand poetry, recent years have brought a boxed-set bonanza. James K Baxter’s Complete Prose (VUP, … Read more
Our reality TV experts at The Real Pod are obsessed with Married at First Sight Australia. Let us count the ways. Married at First Sight Australia has been on New Zealand screens for two weeks now, and it’s already difficult to imagine a world without it. Three’s four-night-a-week, 90-minute episode extravaganza has already delivered raging … Read more
The Spinoff’s gaming journalist morbid_angel_69 still can’t tear himself away from RDR2. In this video he goes on a not-at-all stressful fishing trip into the hills to hunt for the Legendary Rock Bass. (NB: This video contains end story SPOILERS) morbid_angel_69 plays Red Dead Redemption 2: Watch more The Red Dead Redemption 2 hat shooting … Read more
Everyone is ripping into the National mansplaining-KiwiBuild-barbecue ad online. But what, wonders Danyl Mclauchlan, if that was exactly what they wanted to happen … Sometimes the New Zealand National Party makes great political ads. Think about the now famous ‘pretty legal’ rowing ad from the 2014 election. Yes, that led to the party being sued … Read more