Bringing you the best weekly reading from your friendly local website. Alex Casey: ‘Would you like me to also be a different skin colour and male?’ – Anika Moa claps back at tattoo criticism on Seven Sharp “I’ll just cover up a little bit” Moa whispered, frantically pulling her sleeves over her hands and attempting … Read more
Grey Lynn arts lovers just don’t get it. The debate over plans to close libraries at the University of Auckland lays bare a battle for the middle classes, writes design historian Peter Gilderdale. If one were to look for a watershed moment in New Zealand cultural history, Auckland University’s decision to axe specialist libraries in Art, Architecture, … Read more
Australian and New Zealand volunteers fought together in the Waikato War, yet still its place in the Anzac tradition is unacknowledged by our defence forces or Returned Services Association. When I was a boy cub I attended Anzac Day services in the South Auckland suburb of Drury. A crowd would gather around a cenotaph that … Read more
Twenty thousand women experience a miscarriage every year in New Zealand, a country failing to provide adequate medical and emotional care, writes Kathryn Van Beek. Pregnancy loss and infertility counsellor Megan Downer is gearing up for Mother’s Day. The days before and after Sunday 13 May will be some of the busiest of her year. … Read more
An epic tale of Scandinavian myths and the father-son duo that fight them, God of War is a defining AAA game that pushes the boundaries graphically and thematically. Don Rowe reviews. I wrote last month about German philosopher Immanuel Kant’s theory of the sublime, and how a select few games have transcended the medium by embodying it’s … Read more
He founded an ethical dairying company that would allow calves to stay with their mothers. Last week, Glen Herud had to admit that his enterprise had failed. I’m a third generation dairy farmer. The milk business is the only business I know. Four years ago I decided to find a way to do dairy in … Read more
All seven seasons of Prime Suspect drop on Lightbox today, and Sam Brooks is here to tell you why its central character Jane Tennison (Helen Mirren) is one of television’s most significant characters – ever. Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison doesn’t show up until five minutes into the first episode of Prime Suspect, which came out way back … Read more
Welcome to the Cheat Sheet, a clickable, shareable, bite-sized FAQ on the news of the moment. Today we dissect the stats showing growth in New Zealand music revenue. I’ve been hearing about the decline in the music industry for as long as I can remember. Is it still that bad? Nah, that’s old news! Well, … Read more
Voluntourism – volunteering while abroad – would seem to be a way of making your OE that little less self-indulgent, leaving the communities you visit better than you found them. But what is intended as an act of charity can leave long-term damage, writes Hannah Reid. If you are thinking about volunteering abroad, we need to … Read more
Taranaki are expected to host next year’s national commemoration of the New Zealand Wars and yet the Waitara land-grab that sparked the Taranaki Wars has still yet to be fully resolved. The first national commemoration of the New Zealand Wars (Te Pūtake o te Riri) was held last month in Northland. The gathering took over the … Read more
Classic verse from 1980 by John Cooper Clarke, ahead of his show at the Crystal Palace in Mt Eden on Saturday night. Evidently Chickentown The fucking cops are fucking keen To fucking keep it fucking clean The fucking chief’s a fucking swine Who fucking draws a fucking line At fucking fun and fucking games … Read more
Yet another blistering AM Show attack as cricketer-turned-broadcaster condemns cricketer-turned-broadcaster Earlier this week high-profile broadcaster and host of the AM Show Duncan Garner launched a blistering attack on high-profile broadcaster and host of the AM Show Duncan Garner over his role as Chief Constable in the Speech Police. Not to be outdone, his co-host, Mark … Read more
The name of a beer from a Waiheke brewing company has come under fire for its links to a prominent Ngāpuhi chief, writes RNZ‘s Te Aniwa Hurihanganui. Heke Beer was launched last year in an attempt to showcase a local lager from Waiheke Island. But a descendant of the Ngāpuhi chief Hone Heke, David Rankin, … Read more
Last night, Halsey played an intimate performance to a hundred or so people before her Spark Arena show. The Spinoff was there. Last night, to celebrate the opening of S @ Spark Arena – a new bar and performance space in Spark Arena where Spark customers can hang out and have a drink or two … Read more
The third annual Play By Play International Games Festival is spilling out across Wellington this week. Adam Goodall played all 16 contenders for awards at the festival… for 16 minutes each. If you’re a gamer who lives in Wellington it’s been hard to miss this week’s Play By Play events – a full-day conference of … 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 James MacAvoy, co-founder of Goodnest, which is a lot like Uber, but for getting your house cleaned. ONE: How did Goodnest start and what was the inspiration behind it? Goodnest started out … Read more
The week’s best-sellers at the Unity Books stores in Willis St, Wellington and High St, Auckland. WELLINGTON UNITY 1 Plundering Beauty: A History of Art Crime During War by Arthur Tompkins (Lund Humphries UK, $70) “There is a surprising amount of art crime in New Zealand,” Tompkins recently said in an interview in Lawtalk, the … Read more
The thought of their teenage kids watching porn is an uncomfortable one for many parents. But as teenager expert Louisa Woods explains, it’s probably not a cause for alarm. If you think your teen has never or is never going to access porn, you must be living under a rock and keeping them captive with … Read more
Paris, Berlin, London. The New Zealand prime minister has been shuttling the major European capitals this week, and the snappers have been out in force to document the appearances of New Zealand’s ‘pregnant leftie PM’ (© Sun newspaper). Here, a selection of those photographs, and Sam Brooks’ scientific analysis reveals precisely what Jacinda Ardern was … Read more
Alex Casey looks back at two glorious weeks of Anika Moa guest hosting on Seven Sharp alongside Hilary Barry. It began with Anika Moa sitting in Jeremy Wells’ chair, proclaiming live on air that she was so nervous she felt like vomiting and reaching over to touch Hilary Barry to make sure she was real. … Read more
Shaggy and Sting together on the same album? Sure! Why not? Pete Douglas reviews. Were we living in the year 2006, the random chucking together of Jamaican dancehall cross-over king Shaggy and tantric sex master Sting might seem like something two high A&R reps cooked up at an industry conference. During a bygone era of … Read more
Grief is tough to navigate, wherever you come from. An incident involving the public sprinkling of ashes started a conversation this week on cultural belief versus the freedom to mourn however you need to. Spinoff Ātea editor Leonie Hayden talks to funeral director Francis Tipene about the tikanga around ashes and cremation. On Tuesday night … Read more
BizDojo was founded on the premise of building and supporting a coworking community for startups. But with the collapse of its Auckland branch last year, former staff have accused the company of bullying, evasiveness and unpaid redundancy, forcing one employee to take BizDojo to court. This is the story of how one worker fought back … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: New Zealand’s land is in bad shape, medicinal cannabis submitters warned, and a symbolic day for Pike River families. New Zealand is losing 192 million tonnes of soil every year, according to a new environmental report. Radio NZ reports a bit under half of that soil loss is … Read more
Alex Casey watches the charming, awkward return of First Dates NZ, including a famous radio host and a Lannister situation for the ages. First Dates NZ feels like home, and not just because the greatest night of my life (X Factor NZ launch party where I was photographed with ½ of Brendon Thomas and the … Read more
All week this week the Spinoff Review of Books celebrates the rich, fascinating history of New Zealand literature. Today: Scott Hamilton Hamilton notices something missing in the long, feverish construction of New Zealand literature – the rest of the Pacific. Near the end of his life, Jorge Luis Borges wrote a story about the reappearance of the … 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 talks to Matt Weavers about bringing e-bikes to the masses. … Read more
Welcome to the Cheat Sheet, a clickable, shareable, bite-sized FAQ on the news of the moment. Today: what is this Fortnite: Battle Royale thing that your kids keep talking about? Gaming editor Sam Brooks has you covered. So what… is it? Fortnite: Battle Royale is a video game developed and released by Epic Games! Think Pong, … Read more
When a supermarket in Marton announced it would offer special shopping sessions for adults and children with autism or sensory processing issues, families around New Zealand rejoiced. Alexandra Saunders shares why it means so much. News came today that Marton Countdown is offering an hour of quiet, every week from 3-4pm on Wednesdays. Designed to … Read more