Simon Day has a meal with a criminal narcissist. This post was originally published July 10 2018 Somewhere between the sweet-and-sour tripe and the dramatic dissection of the five-spiced suckling pig, we discover that our entrancing new acquaintance named Alex is actually called Wayne, and is one of New Zealand’s most prolific conmen. Over the … Read more
In 2018, Ladi6 played her first tour since she lost her voice a year before, an event that led to the cancellation of two tours and which required two surgeries and weeks of silence to recover. Here, for the first time, she tells her story. This post was first published 12 April 2018. In order … Read more
Spinoff writer Madeleine Chapman co-wrote basketball star Steven Adams’ autobiography. She tells how she wrote the book alongside an athlete she’s known since they were both teenagers. Warning: contains a lot of food. This post was originally published 24 July 2018. I knew of Steven Adams before I met him. A common situation now but … Read more
The groping of a topless woman at a music festival last year highlights just how retrograde our attitudes to public nudity remain. But, writes Kristin Hall, there is a better way – just look at any European beach. This post was originally published 8 January 2018. It was a lazy day on a white hot … Read more
Whether it’s one glass while making dinner or a few at kids’ birthday parties, it’s often hard to separate motherhood from drinking. Mother of three Nadine Anne Hura writes about why she finally decided to quit for good. First published 4 April, 2018 I never hit rock bottom. There wasn’t any great reckoning or moment … Read more
Our experts cast their minds ahead to the sweeping politiscapes of 2019. What, we asked, are the three issues on which 2019 could hinge? Alex Braae Climate change politics, specifically how they relate to farming. So, uh, where exactly do we stand when it comes to China and the USA? We haven’t seen the last … Read more
The sons of pioneering immigrant vintner Nikola Nobilo are embroiled in legal action over the family inheritance, with one accusing the other of losing it all. This post was originally published 23 October 2018 A bitter battle over money has caused a deep rift in one of west Auckland’s original Croatian wine-making families, leaving two … Read more
When you’re hot and thirsty after a long day of doing not a hell of a lot because it’s the holidays, you’ll praise last week’s you for having the foresight to make these bad boys. These ice blocks are the perfect balance between sweet and tart. The classic combination of lemon and ginger is made … Read more
Finally, the definitive ranking of Aotearoa’s favourite snack – featuring notes of burnt marshmallow, wet undies and duplicitous giraffes. This post was originally published on 14 September 2018 Pastry-bound parcels of deliciousness have been in the news a bit recently. Earlier in the week, the nation’s best pies were lauded at a (presumably) glittering awards ceremony, … Read more
Outlander fans around the world rejoice, because this week’s episode delivered the Fraser family reunion we’ve waited 200 years for. Tara Ward recaps episode nine of season four. Imagine you’re Jamie Fraser, taking a humble pee in an alleyway, watching the steam rise off the bricks one cold morning in 1769 and thinking of nothing more … Read more
An artificial intelligence bot called Zach is creating a stir in the medical community. A doctor in Christchurch is teaching it to write patient notes. An Otago professor has it interpreting ECG results. But AI experts are not convinced. David Farrier goes in search of Zach. This post was originally published 6 March 2018 Last … Read more
Jesse Mulligan reviews the new cookbook by Jamie Oliver. His calm and measured verdict: It stinks. This post was originally published 1 November 2018. I made three dishes from this cookbook and they all stank. One of them was the pot-roasted cauliflower, a recipe pushed hard in the Jamie Cooks Italy publicity materials, and one … Read more
The leader of the National Party was heavily criticised for delivering a tone-deaf interview on the prime ministerial baby. Hayden Donnell resolved to help him beat his demons and redefine his personal brand. This post was first published 26 June 2018 The worst thing was he thought it was going well. Simon Bridges was revelling … Read more
Albert Cho, the 21-year-old student whose sweary Instagram stoush with an Auckland cafe ended in racist abuse and thousands of new followers, opens up to Samuel Flynn Scott over some of Dominion Road’s finest. This post was originally published 25 September 2018 A few months ago, Albert Cho was just a regular Auckland student, albeit … Read more
Amid the millions upon millions of views you gave to us – your friends – here are the stories you read most. 10. Leonie Hayden: Grateful horis and model minorities: why don’t we know we’re racist? “Lately a lot of people have objected to the observation that cis-gendered, heterosexual, white, able-bodied men are over represented nearly everywhere that power … Read more
This year was monumental for The Spinoff’s video department, producing all manner of documentaries, exposés and real crackup shit – plus two bloody telly shows! We select 10 of our favourite videos, in no real order, as decided by fierce internal debate. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Art Green’s company Riot Foods (parent company of CleanPaleo and Poppy & Olive) hit headlines this year for all the wrong reasons when it was revealed it needed $1 million in the next two weeks or risk being sold. Green and co-founder Ryan Kamins sat down exclusively with The Spinoff to reveal exactly what went … Read more
Susan St John of the Child Poverty Action Group assesses the government’s impact on the lives of the most deprived children after its first full year. For children’s advocates the end of 2018 saw much cause for gratitude and celebration. Grant Robertson affirmed that Budget 2019 will have a wellbeing focus. For the first time … Read more
To mark the 50th Ockham book awards earlier in the year, we asked 50 experts – authors, publishers, academics, booksellers – to name the very best local books published since 1968. Originally published on May 14, 2018 And the winner is Plumb. Maurice Gee’s 1979 novel was almost immediately regarded as The Great New Zealand … Read more
The bombshell story about a story that wasn’t a story sent shockwaves through the New Zealand reckons machine. This post was first published on May 3 2018 At least four news organisations have over recent months been following up on the malevolent bullshit being peddled about Jacinda Ardern’s boyfriend Clarke Gayford by anonymous cretins on … Read more
The Spinoff Food whānau and friends reveal the best things they put in their gobs this year. CLAIRE ADAMSON Earlier this year, before she had told anyone outside of the family she was pregnant, my sister gamely came along to a wine tasting I was holding and inhaled the aroma of each wine deeply from … Read more
The very best of New Zealand’s smartest, funniest parenting writer. 1. Why Dwayne The Rock Johnson should be your doula “Dwayne The Rock Johnson would tell you how powerful and majestic you are. Dwayne The Rock Johnson would tell you that you come from a great line of powerful wāhine and there’s nothing that you can’t do. Dwayne … Read more
He founded an ethical dairying company that would allow calves to stay with their mothers. But Happy Cow founder Glen Herud admits that his enterprise had failed. This post was originally published 21 April 2018 I’m a third generation dairy farmer. The milk business is the only business I know. Four years ago I decided … Read more
Alex Casey goes on a speed dating mission to get to know the beautiful brains behind the beautiful bodies of Heartbreak Island. This post was originally published 11 June 2018. They were hottest people I had ever seen in my life, all skin tight dresses and sharp suits, hair coiffed and curled for the gods. … Read more
What did some of our contributors realise about their much-beloved artform – the vaunted video game – this year? Sam Brooks, gaming editor: You don’t have to do it. There’s always a ‘you gotta do it’ aspect to any form of media – be it a film, a television series, an album, a book, a … Read more
For a brief moment, New Zealand was home to Big Foot, a mythically potent RTD served in a giant bottle and apparently aimed squarely at teens. Don Rowe talks to the brain behind it. This post was originally published 5 January 2018. Gather round children, I’m going to speak to you of the days before … Read more
Jacinda Ardern’s full speech to the United Nations General Assembly. This post, first published September 28 2018, was viewed in tens of thousands. The NZ prime minister’s speech called for kindness over fear, accountability, and collectivism on inequality and climate change. E ngā mana nui o ngā whenua o te ao Tēnā koutou katoa Nei rā … Read more
Livestreams posted on Facebook by our major news organisations have been overrun by an army of anti-1080 activists. Hayden Donnell goes in search of the source of the spam campaign. This post was originally published August 23, 2018 Yesterday the government announced new wheel clamping regulations. As it often does, the Herald posted live video … Read more
We asked a bunch of smart people in NZ science and technology to tell us their revelation of 2018. Whether in the field of science or something else altogether, what blew them away? See also, Nicola Gaston on science, optimism and cynicism Richard Easther: The climate change brain-trap The biggest revelation to me this year? … Read more