Alex Casey scours the internet for the top tips to keep your pets cool in this horrendous heatwave. I don’t know about your cats, but mine are pissed off. Zelda in particular. Where her brother Link, cold-blooded Prince of Darkness, spends his blistering summer days lying in the hot water cupboard like the anarchic goth … Read more
An essay in praise of Amazon by Kirsty Wright, a Southland erotic romance author who is ‘killing it’ thanks to sales generated by the online empire. Sarah Forster’s story in The Spinoff, headlined “In Which Amazon Goes to War with NZ Bookstores”, suggested Amazon is the enemy, taking money away from local brick and mortar … Read more
Every night big black rubbish sacks full of plastic are thrown in the bin out the back by bar staff. Alex Braae spoke to those looking to reduce, and reuse the waste from your nights out. In the middle of the Pacific Ocean there’s a dirty great collection of plastic that just sits there, floating. … Read more
The Phoenix Foundation’s Samuel Flynn Scott checks out the food, music and wacky shirts of Laneway Festival 2019 in a review for Radio NZ. I’m pretty sure I used to be the target market for Laneway, but this year I barely know anyone on the lineup. As a joke, my good friend Lukasz sent our … Read more
Councillor Chris Calvi-Freeman has called for an end to tooting in Wellington’s Mt Vic Tunnel. Over the coming days many will discuss this important issue. But what does the Tunnel think? Emily Writes sat down with them to find out. I’ll say it right now, at this point in my life, I’m a huge fan … Read more
The astonishing decision by the West Coast Regional Council to refuse to back major climate change legislation shows there are still major communication hurdles to be overcome, even when the science is settled. One of the first things to understand about the science of climate change is that it’s actually quite simple. The projected effects … Read more
In January 2019, a National Party MP called for summer school holidays to be shortened from six weeks to five or even four. Emily Writes did not agree. Like most parents I have days where I think the school holidays are dragging on and on and on. Some days I want to shoot my children … Read more
Illustrator and writer Toby Morris spends a day in Albert Park for Laneway 2019. Who is that big sweaty bearded guy with his notebook out watching a band? Wait, is he… drawing? Why? (All fair questions.) First impression is always the styles. This year at least 1999 men dressed in prints. Second impression, at … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Serious side of the heatwave in focus, significant concerns about water quality in Wanaka, and NZ won’t join US policy on Venezuela. You may have noticed it’s pretty warm out there. In fact, new temperature records have been set in a few parts of the country, reports Radio … Read more
He’s 23 years old and runs a $9 million video company that interviews successful business leaders and then posts them online. Who is Unfiltered co-founder Jake Millar? And what even is Unfiltered? “Who’s got a couple of thousand dollars to spare?” One hand, two hands, three hands go up – for a Dick Frizzell, a … Read more
As National searches for a support partner, there is fresh talk of a new centrist environmental party. But is it something voters are looking for, asks RNZ’s Chris Bramwell It is no surprise talk of a new environmentally-focussed centrist political party is being welcomed by National, because under MMP it will need a support partner if it … Read more
It’s a truth universally acknowledged that the path to the Idiot Hut is paved with trouble. Will Roger escape? Will Brianna marry Lord John? Will Jamie Fraser ever cry more than single tear? Tara Ward recaps the dramatic season finale of Outlander. Friends, we’ve reached the end of the Outlander highway, and I’m as exhausted as if … Read more
A study showing a link between nitrate levels in drinking water and rates of bowel cancer should concern people living in areas of New Zealand where nitrates are high, write Mike Joy and Michael Baker. Last year, a Danish study reported a link between nitrate in drinking water and the risk of developing colorectal (bowel) … Read more
A few extra zingy ingredients give the traditional corn fritter a real flavour boost. Here in the heart of our wee rural Taranaki village there is a woman who has three acres of land and on it every year she grows the most delicious spray-free sweetcorn. As the summer wears on, I find myself taking … Read more
Henry Oliver spends the night at an island bird sanctuary to experience the dawn chorus. This story originally ran in Barker’s 1972 magazine. It starts early. I’d set my alarm for 4.45am, but by four everyone in the DOC bunkhouse is awake whether or not they want to be. The birds are singing. On Tiritiri Matangi, … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Real contest looms for Auckland mayoralty, meeting between Sir Peter Jackson and PM Ardern revealed, and NZ First holding up climate change bill. A new contender has entered the arena for the mayoralty of Auckland, in the form of John Tamihere. The former Labour MP, talkback host, and … Read more
Five hundred or so days after a grossly unfit 42-year-old man weighing nearly 144kgs decided he wanted to become a pro-wrestler the moment of truth has finally arrived in part three of Mike Kilpatrick’s journey. Read part one here, and part two here. No longer will I be able to hide behind self-deprecatory social-media posts, … Read more
Does the way we approach drug law form fundamentally overlook what addiction is all about, asks Danyl Mclauchlan It’s been a long time since I smoked pot. My friends and I used to smoke it at school. We were bored, I suppose, but in retrospect this was a terrible place to take drugs. My prevailing … Read more
Bringing you the best weekly reading from your friendly local website. Alex Casey: ‘I’m still living it’: a Roast Busters survivor’s story On Monday night, Joseph Parker, one of a group of young men investigated relating to alleged sexual offences, broke his silence, talking to Newshub five years after The Roast Busters scandal exploded. Many of … Read more
In Following Twain, which premiered on TVNZ One last night, Oscar Kightley follows the journey Mark Twain made around the country during his visit here in 1895. Sam Brooks reviews. The appeal of a travelogue show is one that has always eluded me. It’s the travel version of edging – all of the mildly pleasant bits … Read more
My YouTube Party of Five is a new series in which we invite people to share their five favourite YouTube videos, the ones hold closest in their heart, the ones they’ll play at 2am while drunk at a party. This week: Spinoff staff writer Don Rowe. Being forced to sit in front of YouTube videos … Read more
Catherine Woulfe spends a day at the Auckland Blade Show, a celebration of knives of all kinds. This story originally ran in Barker’s 1972 magazine. To make pasta you force a lump of egg and flour flat, fold it back on itself, force it flat, fold. Maybe half a dozen times. Making Damascus steel is the … Read more
Everybody’s got a jam, and his is Suits. He watches it while he’s making dinner, while he’s in the car, maybe even when he’s on ‘the bog’. Who is it? It’s Adrian, New Zealand’s biggest Suits fan. You can watch all eight seasons of Suits on Lightbox right here – and new episodes drop weekly every Thursday.
A psyschic medium has launched a social media broadside against a comedian and NZ’s biggest 7pm show. Alex Casey retraces the gory details. It’s official: Sue Nicholson is mad as hell and not going to take it any more. Best known for her recurring role on TVNZ’s Sensing Murder, where she can frequently be found … Read more
A stream of overseas visitors has shown me how the NZ tourism industry needs to encourage more environmentally friendly behaviour, writes Jai Breitnauer. “If you don’t want them, I guess just chuck them out,” my friend told me, gesturing to the pile of stuff on the deck. “That’s what we would have had to do … Read more
It’s Auckland Anniversary Weekend, and you know that what means? St Jerome’s Laneway Festival, aka Laneway! Sam Brooks shares his guide to how to do your 2019 Laneway Festival right. So what the heck is Laneway? Laneway is a music festival that does the rounds across all of Australasia. It’s like the cooler, more alternative … 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 Wellington-born Jonny McKenzie and Canadian-born Amy Alexander, founders of luxury pre-bottled cocktail company J.M.R. Cocktail & Co. ONE: How did J.M.R. Cocktails start and what was the inspiration behind it? Amy Alexander (AA): … Read more
Following on from inappropriate use of Māori-inspired imagery to promote New Zealand-hopped beers, several British craft breweries appear to think ‘Māori pale ale’ is a beer style. The United Kingdom might be half a world away from New Zealand, but it hasn’t stopped at least three British breweries from using the term ‘Māori’ to describe … Read more
The only best-selling books chart published and available in New Zealand is the weekly top 10 chart recorded at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland and Willis St, Wellington. AUCKLAND UNITY 1 The Fast 800 by Dr Michael Mosley (Simon & Schuster, $35) We look forward to AUT diet researcher George Henderson’s review next week at The Spinoff Review … Read more