Get your hands on some sourdough starter and get crack(er)ing on this recipe. There is something magic about a sourdough starter – the life it contains, the life it gives and the potential held within it. I have been making sourdough bread for myself and my family for almost two years now and we are … Read more
Acclaimed experimental musician Julia Holter, whose latest album Aviary appeared on multiple year-end lists, is playing in Auckland next week. Her opening act, Ryan McPhun, interviews her ahead of her show. * Ryan McPhun: I saw you at Jazzhouse in Copenhagen in 2013 and I believe you were a 4 piece then. Will you have similar setup … Read more
Alex Casey breaks down some of the most popular nicknames for vulvas in New Zealand. For the longest time, I thought naming your genitals was something only reserved for horny, sad men in early 2000s sex comedies. Mr Ed. Flesh Rocket. Spike. The Octagon. Through my teenage years, it seemed to be all about the … Read more
Steve Braunias reviews the latest cookbook by Nadia Lim, and declares it a plate of two halves – half-dumb, half-divine. Bizarre cookbook. A large portion of Fresh Start, Feel Good! by Nadia Lim and her Fresh Start team appears to be the work of a first-class moron. You can lead a horse to water, but you … Read more
When cricketer Scott Kuggeleijn took to the pitch for the Black Caps last Friday there was no mention of his two trials for raping a woman in 2016, for which he was ultimately found not guilty. Asks Jessie Dennis, is silence really the best NZ Cricket can do? Content warning: details of sexual violence. On … Read more
New Zealanders have been filling their homes (and hearts) with cool, trendy houseplants in recent years. But why are we all so obsessed? And why are some plants so expensive? More than 50 but less than a hundred – that’s how many houseplants Ron Goh reckons he currently has in his central city apartment. The … Read more
The Real Pod assembles to dissect the last few weeks in New Zealand pop culture and real life, with special thanks to Nando’s. With Duncan still basking somewhere on a desert island, Alex and Jane reconvene in The Spinoff studio to pick apart the past week in local weird news, pop culture and reality TV. We … Read more
A proposed 10km/h speed limit on footpaths won’t just be slowing e-scooters down, writes Madeleine Chapman. Sometimes we idiots need to be saved from ourselves. We get given a nice thing and we ruin it. The nice thing (not even that nice, if I’m honest) was Lime scooters. The ruining was everyone crashing them immediately. … Read more
Last year, Marvel’s Venom came out and was a huge hit, and you can watch it on Lightbox right now. But the real killer? Eminem’s rap over the credits. Sam Brooks performs an in-depth lyrical analysis of ‘Venom’, the song. First off: I have to declare my love for Venom, the film. It’s a bonkers good time. In … Read more
The person who fired an airgun outside Devonport New World yesterday, injuring a woman, is yet to be found. A woman was injured in an airgun incident outside an Auckland supermarket yesterday. Police and an ambulance were called to the New World carpark at Devonport on the North Shore at about 5.15pm after airgun pellets … Read more
Alex Casey guides you through the M. Night Shyamalan universe, and shares some tips on how you can live in it. Movie fans will know that this is a big week for the M. Night Shyamalan universe. His latest film Glass, opening today (January 17), marks his most ambitious project yet – even more ambitious … Read more
People have flocked to the Just Cause series drawn by its OTT action mayhem. But how long can mindless fun keep people engaged? The new instalment answers that question, says José Barbosa – and it’s not good. The last spurt of 2018 saw the market slammed with a phalanx of voluminous open world games: Red Dead … Read more
President Trump has been compared with Shakespeare’s autocratic Richard III. New Zealanders watching their diminishing KiwiSaver balances should take note. The first thing you’ll notice is this is the business editor writing about Shakespeare. It may be a summer rush of blood to the head; I prefer to think of it as a perk of … Read more
With this detailed guided tour, it’s easy to follow in the footsteps of the unruly visitors whose shocking antics have gripped the nation. Mere weeks into 2019, we already have a strong contender for the year’s most compelling news story. From the farthest reaches of the North Shore to the light-industrial outskirts of the Tron, … Read more
The revelation in 2009 that Green MP Keith Locke had been spied on since age 11 caused an uproar and prompted an inquiry into SIS surveillance. Now, he writes, the SIS has been forced to apologise for calling him ‘a threat’ in internal documents. Last April I received a letter from Rebecca Kitteridge, the director … Read more
In only a few decades, the depiction of LGBTQ characters on television has gone from chaste ambiguity to frank explorations of queer identities of all kinds. But how far have we come, really, asks RNZ’s Melody Thomas. In 1991, a show called LA Law aired the first same-sex pash on primetime US television. The kiss between … Read more
Henry Oliver reminds himself of eight songs from the Now That’s What I Call Music collection that hit once and never again. The very term ‘one hit wonder’ is contentious. Excluding straight-up novelty songs, call any song a one hit wonder and you’ll have that artist’s superfans chasing you down the street with pitchforks. So, … Read more
Toilet spray product VIPoo has haunted our televisions and pre-roll ads for over a year now. Alex Casey dissects one of the most challenging art pieces of the decade. You know what I was casually thinking, just the other day? Even Hollywood’s sweethearts need to punish the porcelain. If that’s a normal thing to say … Read more
The Passage comes with a best-selling novel pedigree – but will the show last long enough to make good on it? Sam Brooks reviews the new show which premiered on TVNZ last night. “I’m the girl from nowhere. The one no one will miss. I’m Amy Bellafonte. This is how the world ends.” Everything good and … Read more
As we slide into 2019 it’s time to start thinking about the pun-based activities and festivities you’ll be giving up, giving into, marking and celebrating this year. Emily Writes is here to help. Let’s start with the year itself. We all know that 2018 was in fact 20GayTeen but did you know 2019 is 20Bi-Teen? … Read more
Drivers peeing into a bottle because they can’t afford toilet stops and migrant workers sleeping in depots: The trucking industry is in a race to the bottom, a new study says. It took AUT researcher Dr Clare Tedestedt George several days to recover from her 15-hour interview with a truck driver. The conversation lasted that … Read more
George Henderson reviews a rock memoir by Wayne Kramer, leader of the MC5, a 60s band who advocated “Dope, rock and roll, and fucking in the street.” “We have developed organic high-energy guerrilla bands who are infiltrating the popular culture and destroying millions of minds in the process” – John Sinclair, White Panther Party Programme, … Read more
It’s the most popular sitcom on television, and it’s full of supposedly lovable, always male, assholes. Catherine Hart explains why she’s not watching The Big Bang Theory or its ilk anymore. I’m sick of watching male ‘lovable’ assholes on our screens. They’re everywhere and I’m over it. These lovable assholes treat those around them with constant disrespect, … Read more
The Swedish retail monster is coming to New Zealand, but amid all the excitement, its greatest asset has been left in the shadows. No longer: here we celebrate the unique culinary experience that is eating at IKEA. Even though globalisation has had its slimy tentacles tightly gripped around Aotearoa for some years now, we still … Read more
A group of tourists have been travelling the country (Auckland) leaving litter and unpaid restaurant bills in their wake. Government-appointed negotiator Madeleine Chapman tries to reason with them. Kia ora Sir, My name is Madeleine Chapman and I’m here to negotiate on behalf of the New Zealand government and its citizens. You can tell me … Read more
It’s sold over 25 million copies across the world – but damned if anybody can make sense of it. Sam Brooks brings you the exhaustive, definitive guide to the world of Kingdom Hearts. History was made one day in the late 90s when Shinji Hashimoto and Hironobu Sakaguchi decided they wanted to make a game … Read more
For a very long time the electricity market has been dominated by providers. The Spinoff spoke to a company shifting the balance towards the consumer. Imagine sitting at the pub having a beer on a cold winter’s night and your phone vibrates in your pocket alerting you to a sharp drop in the spot price … Read more
It’s a grim week in Outlander as Jamie and Claire go on the camping trip from hell, Brianna reads minds, and Roger pretends to travel through time. Tara Ward recaps episode 11 of season four. This week’s episode of Outlander was a riverboat of misery floating aimlessly on an ocean of misfortune. Our beloved Frasers scrambled to … Read more
An intrepid band of Spinoff employees tries what may or may not be (OK, most likely not) the world’s hottest chocolate, and find it pretty freakin’ hot. You know how it is: the first week back at work after the summer break and you’re feeling a little… lost. What is it we do now? Content … Read more