In an unassuming spot just outside of our biggest city, exacting standards and secret methods are producing some of the smoothest spirits you’ll ever try. Alex Kirichuk makes the world’s best booze, he says. It’s a bold claim for a tiny distillery in Puhoi, a historic village just north of Auckland, but the Ukrainian master … Read more
Spinoff editor Toby Manhire is back to hand out the bouquets and brickbats from the week in New Zealand news.
The week’s best-selling books at the Unity stores in High St, Auckland (which is opening a new children’s bookstore right next door, this weekend, with prizes and balloons and saveloys*; get along, take the kids!) and Willis St, Wellington. *no saveloys AUCKLAND UNITY 1 Warlight by Michael Ondaatje (Jonathan Cape, $35) Popular novel. 2 Exactly: How Precision … Read more
Entrepreneur Derek Handley looks set to be appointed as New Zealand’s first chief technology officer. Whoever gets the job, the mission needs to be clear, and the T in CTO can’t stand for talk, writes Nat Torkington Looks like NZ will get a CTO real soon now. It’s hard to avoid the word “debacle” in … Read more
What, a paella made with pasta?! We know, but wait, it gets better – Freedom Farms’ delicious new smoked pork chorizo features too. Much of the deli meat − cured products such as salami, chorizo and the like − sold in New Zealand is made from imported ingredients, and under current laws, there’s no requirement … Read more
All eight glorious horsey seasons of McLeod’s Daughters comes to TVNZ on Demand today. Sam Rutledge ranks the daughters – by order of McLeodiest (just go with it). “Farm soap” isn’t as a ubiquitous term as I’d like it to be. All the drama of a regular soap, but plunked into the rural wild where there … 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 Human Interface Jewellery founder Amelia Diggle who’s melding fashion and technology together to create a new form of ‘wearable tech’. ONE: How did Human Interface Jewellery (HIJ) start and what was the inspiration behind it? HIJ … Read more
It’s Father’s Day in Aotearoa on Sunday. We asked some of the dads we know to share their thoughts about fatherhood. On Sunday, it’s Father’s Day, a day to celebrate all the good dads. Here at The Spinoff Parents we know it’s not a great day for everyone so we have a post on getting … Read more
China is home to more than half a billion gamers – and Auckland game developer Allan Xia wants to help New Zealand’s gaming industry tap into the opportunities the market offers. China has 575 million game users, is home to the world’s largest gaming company, and has a gaming market that has doubled in revenue … Read more
A landlords’ spokesman’s claim that renters like paying letting fees shows how disgracefully lopsided our rental market has become, argues Madeleine Holden – and how desperately we need tenancy reform. Earlier this week, Stuff ran a story with a headline perfectly crafted to make millennials choke on their avocado toast: “Renters ‘like letting fees’, property … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Government loses another minister within a week, plans to override the Auckland Unitary Plan, and methane in focus for new climate change report. Another minister has stood down from PM Jacinda Ardern’s government, just a week after she had to sack a minister from Cabinet. Customs minister Meka … Read more
The Side Eye is a monthly non-fiction comic by Toby Morris, supported by NZ On Air. Read the rest of the series here.
Steve Braunias reviews a memoir by his all-time favourite hatchet journalist. Robin Green! The Robin Green. “Robin Green!”, said the great music author Greil Marcus, when he met her at a Rolling Stone reunion in 2007. “I’ve always wanted to meet you!” Same, and now we all can. I near jumped out of my skin when … Read more
Father’s Day can sometimes feel like the worst day of the year. So we’ve crowdsourced advice from people who struggle through the day and want to share ways to make it better. There are lots of reasons why Father’s Day can be a really tough day. Maybe you’ve lost your dad and you’re facing what … Read more
The Real Pod assembles to dissect the week in New Zealand pop culture and real life, with special thanks to Nando’s. The reality TV gods are smiling down on us this week, as The Block NZ delivers the exceptional talent competition and The Bachelor Australia gets extremely raunchy. Duncan doesn’t know how to pronounce Agni, Jane … Read more
Plus6Four Productions’ non-linear who-dun-it web-series Alibi is something entirely new for New Zealand television – and it largely nails the landing. Sam Brooks reviews. The location: a small rural town. The scenario: a girl’s body found in a bathtub. The suspects? Six suspicious people in the town: the local pastor, the slightly foreign teacher, one of … Read more
Has our nation’s capital been hijacked by an obsession with buns and patties? Samuel Flynn Scott investigates. Visa Wellington On A Plate (WOAP) erupted into controversy this week as some chefs spoke out about the audacity of hamburgers being more popular than fine dining. It’s true that this year’s event, the biggest in its 10-year … Read more
Blocked drains, borked stormwater and an ankle-deep swamp under the house, yet the family renting the property in south Auckland feel powerless. The housing minister says it’s an ‘absolute disgrace’ and underscores the need for reform of tenancy rules. Zac Fleming reports for RNZ’s Checkpoint programme. The Housing Minister has described a Papakura “swamp house” … Read more
Hans. made his name in the Soundcloud rap scene, but last year made the leap with his one-and-only track on Spotify which racked up 1.5 million streams. More recently, he’s been working with another standout from the local scene – beat producer, SWRLY. Gareth Shute catches up with Hans. to discuss this collab and his … Read more
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week, he talks to Georgia McGillivray about harnessing the power of social media influencers. Influencer … Read more
Māori students studying medicine at the University of Otago say they’re fed up with the ignorance they face over the way they’re selected into their second year of study, writes Te Aniwa Hurihanganui for RNZ. There are limited spaces in the second-year program and everyone in their first year has to reach a grade threshold. … Read more
Nine seasons, two hundred and eight episodes, and a list of cameos longer than the list of women Barney’s slept with. Madeleine Chapman selects the five best, weirdest and most notable. You can watch all nine seasons of How I Met Your Mother on Lightbox right here: Don’t forget! All existing customers can choose to … Read more
Father’s Day is this Sunday and we will be sharing stories from dads in the days to come. In this piece first published on her blog, Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes writes about how hard the day can be for some. Later today we’ll have a post with crowdsourced ways to get through the day … Read more
A rogue Auckland Council email footer has sparked a wave of angst and recriminations in the sleepy North Shore suburb Takapuna. Hayden Donnell explains footergate – and how it fits into the broader conspiracy culture in local government. These are the facts we know about the email the lobby group Generation Zero sent out to its … Read more
The objections of a few wealthy Mt Eden residents have succeeded in killing a much-needed central Auckland housing development. How does this keep happening? Dominion Road has been marked for major transformation with over a billion dollars to be invested in high capacity light rail that will traverse the length of Auckland’s most famous street. … Read more
A glaring lack of representation in Hollywood means Crazy Rich Asians still feels quietly revolutionary in a #woke 2018, writes Keren Sim. The year was 2000 and the movie was Charlie’s Angels. Watching Lucy Liu kicking ass alongside Cameron Diaz and Drew Barrymore, I sat up a little straighter, feeling a jolt of recognition that … Read more
Welcome to Week 8 of The Block NZ, in which Jason Gunn and Tom Sainsbury blesses us with their presence, Mark literally blows his own trumpet, and Chlo and Em choose their paint based on the colour of their mother’s nipples. Life on The Block took its toll on our beloved teams this week. They … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Regulator flame grills fast food company over minimum wage breaches, swampy rental property exposed, and dodgy door to door sales tactics revealed. Burger King has been banned from hiring migrant workers for a year after being found to have breached minimum wage laws. Newshub reports that a salaried … Read more
The acclaimed Hunt for the Wilderpeople is the main attraction on a new line of Instant Kiwi scratchie cards, raising concerns among actors, artists and anti-gambling activists. A line of Instant Kiwi scratchie cards featuring popular New Zealand movies has left those involved in the films upset their work is being used to promote gambling. The … Read more