A Stuff column by ‘millennial’ Jackson Thomas pondered why anyone would work in fencing, but it applies to much of manual labour. With her husband’s permission, Emily Writes shares his story of what an honest living really is. “Fencing sounds like a great way to make an honest living, but you don’t have to be a … Read more
Music festivals are slowly making progress towards being accessible to disabled people – but is it happening fast enough? Alice Mander shares her experience at this year’s Laneway and offers some suggestions for improving accessibility. Sometimes I want to scream, “Disabled people like to party too!”. Or, maybe more accurately, “Disabled people want to join the … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Two major threats loom for the tourism industry, fair pay agreement working group comes back, and Shane Jones and Russel Norman go to war over trawling. For two major of reasons, the tourism industry could be about to hit some severe headwinds. It’s an enormous sector of … Read more
Increasingly sophisticated analysis of samples means perpetrators from historic cases can be identified – and the technology is just as important in proving accused people’s innocence, writes ESR’s Sarah Cockerton The ability to use DNA to secure a conviction in an historical crime has made headlines recently with the sentencing of a man in Auckland … Read more
Last week, a survey attempted to measure the impact of more than 30 local social media influencers on Instagram. But Lucy Revill, a Wellington-based blogger and social media influencer, argues that the survey should have zero influence over New Zealand’s content creators and brands. On my blog, I’ve worked with many brands both big and … Read more
AUT diet researcher George Henderson beholds the new weight-loss bible by 5:2 diet superstar Dr Michael Mosley – and declares it a triumph, with its “relaxed, considered, co-operative, mindful, repeatable, and hopefully enjoyable approach.” Disclaimer: This is a review of a book that supplies strong medical advice about diet. If you’re interested in it but … Read more
Nau mai, haere mai ki Kaupapa On The Couch, a webseries from The Spinoff about Māori issues and stuff, hosted by Leonie Hayden. In Māori culture, the head is tapu so therefore hair holds a lot of mana. Our ancestors conveyed meaning and status with their hair, and dressed it with a beautiful array of oils … Read more
The series had a quiet end, but that doesn’t change how impactful Silent Hill was on its debut. Sam Brooks looks back at Silent Hill and its impact on video games today. “The fear of blood tends to creat [sic as all hell] fear for the flesh.” There are two iconic horror franchises in video games. One of these is … Read more
The quest for the perfect gin and tonic is one many of us undertake come summertime, but remember: the quality of the tonic is as – or dare we say even more? – important than that of the gin. Ah, the G&T. Saviour of summer afternoons, mother’s ruin, warder-off of malaria. What would we do … Read more
A popstar reclaims her hype, an indie-darling goes pop, and a trio of locals make good on their early promise. These are the songs of the month – five international, five local – as picked by The Spinoff’s culture editor Sam Brooks. International ‘Don’t Feel Like Crying’ by Sigrid For a while it seemed like … Read more
In the fourth instalment of our Money Talks series, Henry and Alice are inspired to discuss the differences between working full-time and freelancing – and how to switch between the two – after Henry throws a spanner in the works. After three months of confessing their money woes and missteps, Alice and Henry were ready … Read more
On every occasion that the Black Caps have come up against a top quality opponent this home season, they’ve lost badly, and lost the same way every time. Is it time for a change of plan? To win an ODI game of cricket, you need to put some runs on the board. That’s a crushingly … Read more
God may have created all of his children in his image, but the same cannot be said for his hymns. Some church songs are good, some are bad, and some are absolute bangers. Madeleine Chapman ranks the best of them. Some say that in order to experience complete and utter silence, a hearing person must … Read more
Outlander is over for another year, but don’t let #droughtlander get you down. Tara Ward keeps the thirst at bay with a look back on some of season four’s best moments, including baby goats, spotty Lords and a saucy sponge bath. Season four of Outlander has come and gone like an exploding hernia of emotion. We’ve … Read more
The parties founded by Tariana Turia and Gareth Morgan both failed to make parliament at the last election, and now there’s talk of a collaboration to turn that around. Māui Street editor Morgan Godfery asks whether it might bear fruit. Big news via TVNZ: TOP and the Māori Party could be allies in the next … Read more
Back in all their misspelled, verbatim glory, we present 10 more of the most entertaining complaints made to and dismissed by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) from July – December 2018. Read more: No grounds to proceed: this year’s best TV ad complaints rubbished by the ASA How meaty is Meat Week really? (December 2018) What was … Read more
The full list, with mild critique, of the 2019 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards longlist. O’Sullivan is a tough sonofabitch and the favourite to take the crown but he’s up against big hitters. Kidman has experience, stealth, and the popular vote. Jones goes in hard and doesn’t let up. Makereti has to be taken seriously and you can never … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: PM tells MPs it’s time to deliver some results, National launches new tax policy aimed at bracket creep, and Local Government NZ counts cost of climate change. It’s time for the rubber to meet the road, as far as the government’s agenda is concerned. PM Jacinda Ardern … Read more
Environmentalism occupies a place outside the conventional left-right political axis. But for the kind of party envisaged by Vernon Tava to work, it would have to win its place by courting voters from the left, writes Danyl Mclauclan This was the week aspiring centre-green politician Vernon Tava learned a vital but probably terminal lesson in … Read more
Cat Connor of the Writers Plot Bookshop in Upper Hutt backgrounds the birth and development of New Zealand’s only bookstore devoted exclusively to Kiwi authors. One day three years ago I grumbled about the lack of support for Kiwi authors and voiced this discontent at my writing group. We talked about how we’d never see our … Read more
There is a lot of confusion out there at the moment about the right way to take the contraceptive pill. Family Planning doctor Beth Messenger gives us the facts. The Combined Oral Contraceptive Pill has been in the news lately with Britain changing its official pill guidelines to reduce the risks of unplanned pregnancies. The … Read more
What role can technology play in our overburdened, underfunded health system? Jihee Junn spoke to some of the innovators working to ease the pressure on healthcare in New Zealand. Health has become a major focal point for the tech industry in recent years and nowhere has this been more apparent than at CES, the annual … Read more
The exposure of New Zealand banking to the whims of the Australian owners of our four biggest banks are well known. But if one of those NZ banks fails, Australian taxpayers could find themselves cleaning up the mess, write Matthew Greenwood-Nimmo and Timothy Jackson of the University of Melbourne Australian banks have been under enormous scrutiny during the financial … Read more
Keen to choose ethically produced meat, but feeling thoroughly confused by the options in the butchery aisle? Here, Jane Lyons attempts to shine some light on the murky world of meat labelling, and shares some tips for making better choices. This story originally ran in Stone Soup There isn’t really a guide for meat terms … Read more
What started as a simple Disney and Final Fantasy crossover 17 years ago is now a labyrinthine juggernaut. Sam Brooks reviews the one, the only, Kingdom Hearts 3. At Kotaku, Tim Rogers called Kingdom Hearts 3 an unreviewable game. Brian David Gilbert tried to apply the hero’s journey to the series and instead twisted a simple 12-point … Read more
Someone Emily Writes knew, or thought she knew, raped a woman in a horrific attack. She asks why she didn’t see the monster within. Someone I knew from high school killed someone many years back. When I was asked what he’d been like in high school I said there had been something “off” about him. … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Drama erupts over departure of Kiwibuild boss, West Coast Council’s climate change stance in spotlight, and change is coming to insurance sector. There’s some serious drama going down about the suspension and resignation of former Kiwibuild boss Stephen Barclay. He was forced to take leave in November, … Read more
Compared with other democracies, New Zealand has relatively few checks on its parliament, so it would be misjudged to extend the gap between visits to the ballot box, writes Liam Hehir. Nick Smith, National’s spokesman for electoral reform, has suggested a number of reforms to the rules about how and when we elect members of … Read more
As the Australian heatwave spills across the Tasman pushing up temperatures in New Zealand, we take a look at the conditions that caused a similar event last year and the impacts it had. Last summer’s heatwave gave New Zealand its warmest summer and the warmest January on record. It covered an area of four million square … Read more