Sam Brooks explains his decision to cut all men out of his comedy festival diet. Yeah, that’s a clickbaity headline. The fact is, this year I saw a fraction of the comedy festival shows I usually see. Last year, when I was the comedy editor here at The Spinoff, I saw 42 and reviewed almost … Read more
As we entered week five of Survivor we were yet to see a man go home. Would this finally be the week? Yes, yes it would. Luke Harries recaps. We’ve made it to week five of Survivor NZ, and I’m starting to think the men of this year’s Survivor cast might have it out for … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: The government has partly made up its mind on the mega–prison, Māori wards fall short in regional votes, and midwives say the budget boost was too little, too late. The government has made a decision to not expand Wakeria Prison into a so–called mega–prison, but is … Read more
Superstar scientist Brian Cox talks to Alice Webb-Liddall about aliens, wormholes, and whether he’d punch Albert Einstein if he had the chance. He worked on the Hadron Collider, played keyboard for mid-nineties Irish pop band D:Ream, was in People’s sexiest man alive issue in 2009, and has starred on Doctor Who as himself. Professor Brian … Read more
Bringing you the best weekly reading from your friendly local website. Duncan Greive: With $38m on the table, TVNZ suddenly remembers how to do public broadcasting The state-owned broadcaster has long resisted public service. Yet with $38m on the table, and the government’s relationship with RNZ rocky, moving Q+A to primetime could be be seen as a deftly … Read more
It might seem unbelievable to today’s students, but it’s true: once upon a time students regularly drank in bars, lured there by cheap drinks and a crude culture of excess. Chelle Fitzgerald looks back on the student pubs Dunedin has loved and lost, and talks to Marc Ellis, the celebrity sportsman who tried to resuscitate … Read more
Kiwi journalist in London Jono Hutchison took the train to Windsor to join the Royal Wedding crowds. This was his day. Much like Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, my Saturday started early, full of nerves and in famous surroundings. My alarm went off at 4:40am; I rose regally from my bed and put the micro-kettle … Read more
We’re at the bottom of the world, but what would happen to bolt-hole of choice New Zealand after even a ‘limited’ nuclear war? Branko Marcetic talked to scientists about what will happen to the ecology, economy and overall quality of life after a hypothetical nuclear war. A woman’s flesh burns away as she clings to … Read more
David Farrier has slowly been going crazy trying to get an answer about who’s actually behind the odd film festival that might not even play your stupid film anyway. Sometimes when you write something saying something is possibly a little bit bad, people get in touch saying you are bad. “Well, y’know, once it’s published … Read more
As the world fusses endlessly over Ed Sheeran marrying a Suits star, The Spinoff unearths a true royal scandal. The Spinoff has learned that a New Zealander once sold two plastic dog poos to Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1995. This exclusive breaking news arrives on the same day that her youngest son, Prince Harry, … Read more
For The Spinoff Music, the big question of the day isn’t what dress Meghan Markle is going to wear, but what song she’ll be dancing to with Harry. Thanks to Spotify, here’s our best guess. Choosing a song to have your first dance to as a married couple is either super easy or super hard. … Read more
The way we sign up to trade deals must change, and parliament needs to lead the process to prevent flawed agreements like the TPP getting through, write lawyer Oliver Hailes and academic Max Harris. There has been sustained and vocal public opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a treaty that would bind a number of … Read more
The highly anticipated sequel to the 2013’s cult hit State of Decay 2 feels like three steps forward and two steps back. Baz Macdonald reviews. It’s a time-honoured nerd tradition to discuss the ways in which you would survive a zombie apocalypse. Some opt for the assault approach, equipping themselves with an arsenal and holing up … Read more
It’s the second episode of our new comedy Dungeons and Dragons podcast! Welcome back to Waterdeep Mountain High, a below average school in the mystical land of Faerun. “It’s like Hugh Grant vs Colin Firth” In the second episode of Waterdeep Mountain High our heroes Forrest Rivers, Kate Shepherd, Hillardo Morrison, and Peng the Goblin … Read more
The royal wedding is tomorrow, and The Spinoff has a correspondent on the ground for all the late-breaking Meghan and Harry news. Let’s check in with him. Starring Ra Pomare This content, like all television coverage we do at The Spinoff, is brought to you thanks to the excellent folk at Lightbox. Do us and … Read more
Everyone loves a cameo, and JessB has them all for you in her new music video for ‘Set It Off’. Has there ever been a bad cameo? Cameo creme – good. Cameo necklace – a classic. Cameo, singers of hit song ‘Word Up’ – a treasure. Even Anchorman 2, a hugely disappointing movie, had satisfying … Read more
New verse by Wellington writer Harry Ricketts. Grief Limericks i I once had a stepson called Max. As a child, he could rarely relax. The other kids kicked him; he was a natural victim. I once had a stepson called Max. ii I once had a stepson called Max, liked Gunn and … Read more
The week’s best-selling books at the Unity stores in Willis St, Wellington, and High St, Auckland. WELLINGTON UNITY 1 New Ships by Kate Duignan (Victoria University Press, $30) New Zealand novel, praised to the skies this week on National Radio; the Spinoff Review of Books looks forward to the forthcoming review by Claire Mabey. 2 … Read more
Alex Casey dissects episode five of The Handmaid’s Tale, including the march of the child brides and a lovely holiday to the colonies. Contains spoilers, obviously. Finally, we’ve caught somewhat of a break. ‘Seed’ was perhaps the most relaxed episode of the season so far, and when I say relaxed I mean a couple of … 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 speaks to Natalie Robinson of Mum’s Garage about coaching people with … Read more
Today is Pink Shirt Day, an international initiative aimed at ending bullying. Here, Kiri Speirs shares her daughter Zoe’s story. It still haunts me to know that being bullied was a feature of the last few months of my daughter’s life, that in the beginning it wasn’t handled very well and that I failed her … Read more
Kirsty Johnston’s piece recounting an encounter with a creep in a pub has prompted an online response which leaves Morgan Tait happy to conclude that Johnston’s conclusion – that NZ has an issue with toxic masculinity – is 100% irrefutably wrong. Rejoice! A New Zealand journalist wrote about a run-in with a man in a Dunedin pub this … Read more
The Spinoff and Spark proudly present Pod On The Couch, a weekly podcast exploring music and the people that make it. This episode: Henry Oliver talks to Auckland emo band Carb on Carb. Spinoff Music editor Henry Oliver talks to Nicole Gaffney and James Stutely from Carb on Carb, an Auckland-based emo band whose new album For … Read more
Obsessed with the royal wedding and not sure what to do with the few hours that are left in the lead-up? Proud royal(wedding)ist Tara Ward shares her pre-planning schedule. Friends, there is one more sleep until Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in the event of the century, and I am gripped by wedding fever. Gripped, … Read more
A few hours before the budget is announced to the public, journalists and other interested parties get a preview in a secure room deep inside the Beehive. This year, Jess McAllen was among them. The night before the budget is released political journalists stock up on lollies. On the day, plates of lamingtons, in red, … Read more
The big picture of Budget 2018 is that the Labour-led government has missed its chance to help those in the worst poverty, writes Alan Johnson Pre-election budget releases often focus on small budgets and specific programmes which have some public appeal. This focus on small detail often means that we are distracted from the big … Read more
The new finance minister was eager to burnish his fiscal responsibility credentials on his first outing. He has done that. But in doing so he has conjured up something like a neoliberal triumph, writes Guyon Espiner for RNZ It turns out you can’t judge a book by its colour, either. Labour’s first budget in nearly a … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. Today we’ve got all the washing up from yesterday’s budget, plus news about councils, cows and creeps. The first budget of the Labour–led government has been delivered, with few surprises for those who’ve been avidly following developments over the last month. Finally, the exact spending plans the government intends to … Read more
Grant Robertson has completed his first big test as finance minister in publishing the 2018 budget. How did he fare? We asked experts from across a range of sectors to give us their verdict. Read analysis from our business editor, Rebecca Stevenson, here, and from Grant Thornton director Greg Thompson here. Healthcare back on track, … Read more