Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Dangers faced by nurses explodes into focus, teachers look to the Middle East for better money, and new research backs benefits of cycleways. A couple of high profile examples have put the threats faced by health workers into focus. It’s a deeply serious issue that has been … Read more
The man who must not be named dominates all discussion, but there is cause for some optimism springing from the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, writes Beatrice Fihn of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons Will we survive? That’s really the big question, right? Day-to-day, month-to-month, year-to-year. Will we make it? Will our … Read more
Every day in the leadup to Christmas, open the door to reveal a Spinoff writer’s short, sizzling commentary on a weighty subject. Our arbitrary and strictly enforced word limit: 365. Today: Alex Casey on dreams. If nobody talked about their dreams, we wouldn’t have The Terminator. We wouldn’t have Google. We wouldn’t have Einstein’s theory … Read more
Healthcare workers experience more violence than any other job in New Zealand. A nurse writes about her experiences in ED wards around the country, and what needs to change. I don’t work as an ED nurse to be assaulted. I go to work to help people. Unfortunately, the two currently seem inseparable. Violence and aggression towards … Read more
In the tenth episode of Project Runway New Zealand, the designers had to make a suit. Henry Oliver ranks the results. There are three acts to a competition reality TV show. The first act is when they cut the people who can maybe do the thing in real life but can’t under the constraints of a … Read more
The Monday Extract: “Stevie”, who works in the sex industry as a self-described “trans boy”, talks to social historian Caren Wilton. Photographs by Madeleine Slavick. I was born in a housebus in the early 1980s. On Dad’s side I’m Ngāpuhi, and on Mum’s side Ngāti Maniapoto, in the King Country. We travelled around lots when I was … Read more
Infrequent flyer Joseph Nunweek gruellingly attempts to rank them all. “Toneless.” “Trivialising safety” “A juvenile mish-mash.” The real surprise last week when The Hon. Shane Jones MP criticised the latest Air New Zealand safety video wasn’t that the Minister for Verbiage would stick his neck out and create a political football – it was that … Read more
Mike Hosking’s Newstalk ZB breakfast show rates highly in every city and region in the country except Rotorua. Madeleine Chapman investigates. At 5:59am every weekday morning, as Kate Hawkesby is saying her goodbyes and Mike Hosking prepares to start his popular breakfast radio show, the city of Rotorua changes the channel. The ratings monster of … Read more
Before American Horror Story, before Glee, before Pose, Ryan Murphy was television’s biggest peddler of schlock. The biggest heap of it? Nip/Tuck, all available on TVNZ on Demand. Before the age of streaming television, you couldn’t pick when you watched something. If you wanted to watch a show that was, quite rightly for many reasons, on at 10:30 PM at … Read more
Tired of the procrastination and timidity of government-led change, climate rage is now ripe for rebellion. Cordelia Lockett explains why. All mouth and no trousers. That pretty much sums up New Zealand’s response to climate change. A lot of words but little demonstrable action. Remember Alister Barry and Abi King-Jones’ excellent documentary on the history … Read more
We are entering the fourth phase of summer and the teoteo are calling out to let you know their chicks have hatched. Read on to find out what else Hakihea (December) holds. Welcome to the maramataka for Hakihea (December). Heading into the beautiful sunny season you can expect to see new tohu depending on whether … Read more
You’ve already met the new Freeview On Demand – now it’s time to get acquainted with the documentaries on it. Tara Ward has you sorted. Don’t listen to what your parents told you, because watching television definitely makes you smarter. It’s especially true for a good documentary, which can enrich your life, challenge your thinking … Read more
Elliot’s family invite us into their homes again to see how she’s doing one year on from chemotherapy. Photos by Danny Rood. Words by Emily Writes. This is the second part in a series on Elliot. Read part one here. Caroline, Lina to her friends, heard a scream first. It was pouring with rain and … Read more
Alex Casey talks to a Rose Young, a Wellington artist who sculpts teeny-tiny meals. It began with a tiny hot dog, inspired by a life-sized hot dog, made by a man named Klauss who operates out of the Wellington dump. “He’s just this old German guy who owns a hot dog truck at the dump … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Fallout begins immediately from review into parliamentary bullying, a phenomenal piece of mental health journalism featured, and National’s polling bounces back. Has Trevor Mallard opened the door on something that will get out of control? We talked a bit about this last week, but things have moved … Read more
Every day in the leadup to Christmas, open the door to reveal a Spinoff writer’s short, sizzling commentary on a weighty subject. Our arbitrary and strictly enforced word limit: 365. Today: Emily Writes on the Freakshake. 2017 might have been the year the “Freakshake” was born. But 2018 was truly the year this abomination became … Read more
The job’s got harder, the pay’s got worse. Toby Morris spends a day with two primary teachers and finds out what the teaching crisis is all about. The Side Eye is a monthly non-fiction comic by Toby Morris, supported by NZ On Air. Read more comics here The Bulletin is The Spinoff’s acclaimed, free … Read more
Commercial water bottling continues to spark controversy. But is it really such a big deal, or a proxy for something else, asks environmental scientist Tim Muller Many Cantabrians are up in arms about water bottling company Cloud Ocean Water, the latest chapter in a story that’s played out across the country. There’s been a petition, … Read more
Bringing you the best weekly reading from your friendly local website. Alex Braae: Who wore it stupider? Comparing Hosking and Hawkesby on cycling “There’s a rumour about Newstalk ZB’s ratings that perhaps explains a lot about their hosts’ opinions. The station first really boomed in the early 90s, coinciding with the mass importation of Japanese cars. … Read more
In part two of Mike Kilpatrick’s journey of losing weight through becoming a pro wrestler, he writes about the rage that a simple visit to the doctor can conjure. Read part 1 here . Perhaps the only thing more inexplicable than a 44-year-old massively unfit man trying to become a wrestler is the love that most … 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 Haman Shahpari, co-founder of vegan, low calorie, halal certified ice cream brand WāHiki Creamery, which has recently signed a deal to enter the Chinese market. ONE: How did WāHiki start and what was … Read more
Every day in the leadup to Christmas, open the door to reveal a Spinoff writer’s short, sizzling commentary on a weighty subject. Our arbitrary and strictly enforced word limit: 365. Today: Jihee Junn rains on your parade. Parades are awful, ban all parades. Santa Parade, Pride Parade – there’s no such thing as a good parade. Ever watched … Read more
While multiple New Zealand Christmas parades are maintaining the Dutch ‘black Pete’ character, one of the most famous has decided to end it. Willem van der Velde tells Alex Casey why. A Dutch restaurant owner has told The Spinoff that blackface has no place in Christmas parades as it is hurtful to people. His comments … Read more
Forget the barbie – with these slow-cooker ideas, all the work’s done ahead of time, leaving you to swan around and mingle. I know that a bunch of yobbos in tasteless Hawaiian shirts huddled around the barbecue pretending to know what they are doing is a quintessential part of any Kiwi summer, but my faith … Read more
Self-described sneakerhead Dylan Moran on what drives collectors like him – and how stop-at-nothing resellers are distorting the market. You may have seen them – huddled masses of young people, perched on camping chairs with sleeping bags up to their ears, snaking along High Street or Queen Street in Auckland, or Dixon Street or Victoria … Read more
In many ways, getting ready to die has been the most fulfilling project of my life. Everything after has seemed ordinary, unimportant, except for love, writes Michael Stevens Today is World AIDS Day. It used to mean a lot more to me than it does now, but it’s still worth remembering. I’ve had HIV for … Read more
Earlier this week, Jihee Junn was invited to a special lunch at Smales Farm dining precinct Goodside to get a taste of what the place had to offer ahead of its public opening today. So, what’s Goodside like? And what does it mean for an area with ambitions to become “the Googleplex of New Zealand”? … Read more
Every day in the leadup to Christmas, open the door to reveal a Spinoff writer’s short, sizzling commentary on a weighty subject. Our arbitrary and strictly enforced word limit: 365. Today: Sam Brooks with a hot tip for a hot meal on Christmas Day. It was the morning of Christmas 2016, and being New Zealand, … Read more
The Spinoff’s gaming journalist morbid_angel_69 returns with an in depth investigation into a true red dead mystery! What is that guy doing in the Valentine hotel behind closed doors?