Allbirds has a brand new product and investor – one from Brazil, the other from Hollywood. First, they came for our sheep. Then they came for our trees (but not before coming for our children). And now, they’ve come for our sweet, sweet sugar. I’m talking about Allbirds here, the San Francisco-based Kiwi footwear company … Read more
The ninth installment from our team film critics swarming the cinemas of Auckland and Wellington for the 2018 NZ International Film Festival. Woman At War If I had one free reviewer’s wish for this festival — “Every person within range of a screening shall attempt to buy tickets to a movie of your choice, and the … Read more
Detachment is a luxury only some enjoy. For women, non-whites or any of the subjects of Stefan Molyneux and Lauren Southern’s rants, looking the other way is rarely possible, writes Morgan Godfery White nationalism is, for the basement dwelling 4chaners, mouth breathing Redditors, and Youtube philosopher kings, nothing more than a desperate search for an … Read more
Sure, cheffing is a male-dominated industry, but shouldn’t food festivals be leading the way in promoting equality? An event at upcoming food festival Visa Wellington on a Plate insists “the future of food is female”, bringing together five woman chefs to chat about the topic with broadcaster Susie Ferguson. Meanwhile, the Auckland equivalent, American Express … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: The PM returns to work, collapsed construction firm contractors can get tools, and better access for NZers to America announced. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is officially back in action, and has a rather full agenda to be getting on with. Top of the list, reports Stuff, will be … Read more
Likability was the catalyst that made new government possible, and it’s hard to sympathise with National’s recently discovered attachment to the importance of substance, writes Danyl Mclauchlan A year ago this week, Andrew Little resigned as leader of the Labour Party. “He’d have been a good prime minister,” one Labour operative said to me at … Read more
Anyone debating the controversy around Shortland Street need to remember those with Downs are not some abstraction but real and important people, writes Sarah Paterson-Hamlin, whose day job involves running a charity for kids with Down Syndrome called the UpsideDowns Education Trust Shortland Street’s latest plotline has it all; pregnancy, medical drama, scandalised tones, hastily googled medical symptoms, unplanned sex, … Read more
Investigative reporter Nicky Hager reviews the new memoir by one of the world’s most renowned investigative journalists, Seymour ‘Sy’ Hersh. There are only a few people I have really looked up to in my life, in the sense of thinking about their life admiringly as I wonder about what I am doing with my own. … Read more
The Phoenix Foundation’s Samuel Flynn Scott on longevity, listening to your old work and the band’s four-date tour with the NZSO to celebrate their 20th anniversary. Tonight, in their hometown of Wellington, the Phoenix Foundation start their four-city tour with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in celebration of the band’s 20th anniversary. Like many things … 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 Simon is joined by Iyia Liu, a master of social media marketing. … Read more
The eighth installment from our team film critics swarming the cinemas of Auckland and Wellington for the 2018 NZ International Film Festival. See also: Birds of Passage, First Reformed, Disobedience, 3 Faces In the Aisles, The Image Book, Apostasy, Brimstone and Glory You Were Never Really Here, Kusama – Infinity, Transit, Yellow is Forbidden, Piercing, Terrified, The … Read more
It seems like everyone is talking about syphilis and that can’t be a good thing – or can it? Emily Writes gives you the lowdown What’s all this then? Mate, we’re in the midst of an outbreak and it’s not good. Syphilis, once almost eradicated in New Zealand, is at epidemic levels. There have been deaths … Read more
On Monday night’s episode, Chris Warner raised the possibility of a woman aborting her child because of potential medical issues. Controversy ensued, which says a lot about Shortland Street‘s place in our culture, writes Sam Brooks. Shortland Street has been a key part of New Zealand culture for 26 years. Whether you watch it or not, … Read more
What’s it like to be a step-parent? And how can you support the step-parents around you? Family therapist (and step-parent) Serafin Dillon writes about parenting as the “other” parent – what it feels like, what to do if you’re a step-parent who’s struggling, and how all parents can support each other. When I was little, I dreamed … Read more
Dunedin-based company Runaway Play has created a new mobile game that lets you dive head first into the cat cafe phenomena. The verdict? Chill, but addictive (and very, very cute). Two decades ago, the first ever cat cafe that we know of opened in Taiwan before quickly spreading in popularity throughout large parts of Japan. … Read more
‘Trust the process’ is more than a tagline for self-love or enlightenment. In her first Spinoff column, Hana Tapiata uses the Māori creation story to reveal a blueprint for living well and realising potential. It’s easy to be grateful when life is good, when everything is going the way you want it to. You often … Read more
Welcome to week four of The Block NZ, where the raw salad of life was chopped up and laid out before our very eyes. Our teams left Hobsonville Point on a one-way ticket to Struggletown, warping into frazzled reno zombies who were one misplaced skylight away from painting their spirit animal onto a piece of … Read more
Steven Price, who argued against Māori Television in their landmark defamation case this week, explains exactly what the new defamation defence actually means, why it’s such a big deal and who really won the case. I had an odd experience the other night. I had just popped the cork on a bottle of bubbly with Felix … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Slight rise in unemployment sparks concern, leading construction firm collapses amid building boom, and calls for more serious kauri measures. Both unemployment and underutilisation have ticked up slightly in the latest Stats NZ quarterly survey. The seasonally adjusted rise is marginal in both categories, but the unemployment rate remains … Read more
If Pauline Kingi has really resigned for poking someone 23 times on professional Facebook, then that’s a real bloody shame, writes social media aficionado Anna Connell Every now and again there are moments in time which make you wonder just what kind of hell-scape episode of Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror we’re now living in. The … Read more
It was always in his interests to keep things stable, and Peters proved to be at his pin-striped best, reckons RNZ political editor Jane Patterson As I arrived at work today I saw a senior New Zealand First staffer with a grin from ear to ear, elated the six weeks with Winston Peters in charge had … Read more
We’ve been waiting for the tipping point, where online really surges against broadcast media. It just arrived, says Duncan Greive, who has read NZ on Air’s epic new audience behaviour survey so you don’t have to. The release of NZ on Air’s audience survey is on its way to becoming the most important event in … Read more
Wyoming Paul is grossed out and engrossed by the new novel by English humourist Caitlin Moran. I love a book that isn’t afraid to make people squirm through sheer grossness. There are so many things that are usually sanitised or hidden away — female masturbation, naked parents, bad sex, apartment filth, inter-species sex fantasies — … Read more
In a world replete with generic knives, Auckland chefs are moving towards something a little more special. Sam Mannering’s favourite knife is the one that cut his finger off. Forged by legendary Kiwi craftsman Peter Lorimer in Omakau, Central Otago, the knife sliced so cleanly through the bone of Mannering’s left index finger, just above … Read more
Home Brew’s needle-shifting Last Week EP was released 10 years ago in October. Sam Wicks talks to the people who brought the unapologetically local project to life. ‘This is our 7 track EP we wrote last week about the shit we did last week. We call it Last Week.’ With those unadorned words, Tom Scott … Read more
The Spinoff’s not at all embittered or deranged reporter Hayden Donnell talks to David Farrier about his Dark Tourist series for Netflix the time David failed to show up to his wedding. The career of New Zealand journalist David Farrier has skyrocketed since the release of his acclaimed documentary Tickled. Last week his new series for Netflix, Dark … Read more
Henry Oliver asked John Tookey, AUT’s deputy head of the School of Engineering, Computer & Mathematical Science, to explain how Ebert Construction is going bust just as New Zealand’s building industry is supposed to be ramping up. This morning, construction company Ebert Construction went into receivership, leaving workers on several major projects across the country … Read more
The topic of gender-neutral school uniforms, diversity and equality never seems to be far from the news. And it’s a topic that seems to rile people up for strange reasons. Rogena Sterling looks at the myths and truths around school uniforms and gender diversity and equality. Last month, UK media reported that skirts had been … Read more
There is simply no way to present this material without misrepresenting the science and undermining the principles and values you are supposedly imparting to your students writes cosmologist and academic Richard Easther Given how often astrophysics shows up in the news, you might think it was one of the biggest branches of science. And yet, … Read more