Dominic Hoey (aka Tourettes) reports from his 17-town 16-town tour of New Zealand with singer-songwriter Skyscraper Stan and sidekick Josh Jugum. The tour is over. As I write this I’m back at home smoking weed and watching nature documentaries. I wish I could say the same for Stanley. Who knows why he left, maybe it … Read more
Two more ex-Bachelor NZ contestants are headed to represent New Zealand on the international stage, and Alex Casey is bloody excited. Following the news that Gollum impressionist and second AD Jordan Mauger will be representing New Zealand in The Bachelor Winter Games, The Spinoff has learned that the Kiwi contingent will be bolstered by Lily … Read more
Every week we ask a local business or product to introduce themselves in eight simple takes. This week we talk to Elliot Riley, Jess Smith and James McCann, founders of Rendezvous, a dating app that lets you avoid the awkward online pre-chat and cuts straight to the chase. ONE: How did Rendezvous start and what was your … Read more
Last night the Herald published a story about a six-year-old Russian child described as the ‘most beautiful girl in the world’. Who on earth thought this was a good idea? Once upon a time, my mate’s beloved van was stolen from outside his house. As he was recounting the story, it just got worse and … Read more
Deloitte have released their list of the Top 10 Māori organisations for 2017. Joshua Hitchcock looks at the year’s big hitters. 20 years ago Ngāi Tahu settled their historical grievances with the Crown for $170 million. Over the past 20 years, they have developed an asset base of $1.67 billion through investment in property, primary … Read more
We hear a lot about the gender gap in wages, but what about other kinds of demographic disparities? Taking the median yearly wage of a Pacific Island woman as a baseline, Chris McDowall plots out a year in New Zealand salaries. On November 14, Hilary Barry tweeted, “Dear Women of NZ, I’ve got some bad … Read more
Climate change is arguably the single greatest issue facing society today, but too much focus is being put on the likely challenges and costs. The Sustainable Business Council’s Abbie Reynolds argues that instead of worrying about the negatives, businesses need to understand that New Zealand’s transition to a low emissions economy is an opportunity for … Read more
Have you been thinking about a style overhaul? Need to spruce up your outfits before you see the rellies at Christmas? Never fear! Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes has a fashion-obsessed five-year-old and he has many tips. My son Eddie started choosing his clothes before he could even talk. There was something about clothing he just … Read more
New Zealand literature! What is it, who reads it, and why does it exist? Some or none or all of these questions are about to be answered in the second annual Spinoff Review of Books literary awards!!! Some say 2017 will go down in history as the year between 2016 and 2018, but it’s too early … Read more
Cuphead is one of the most difficult games of the year. In lieu of participating in Movember, Liam Maguren decided to stream the game instead. Misery ensued. I’ve always wanted to participate in Movember without doing the actual mo’ part (the world needn’t be cursed with a mouth resembling a sweaty armpit with teeth). I’ve … Read more
This morning the Spotify-subscribing world woke up to Spotify’s annual ‘your year in review’ package, including a personalised top 100 played songs of the year. Here are music editor Henry Oliver’s top 10 (plus a few more). 1. Aldous Harding – ‘Horizon’ No surprise here. This song cuts deep. For reasons I won’t go into … Read more
The threats over DOC use of the anti-predator poison reveal a crack opening up between urban perception and rural values. We need to grasp its seismic nature, before somebody gets hurt, writes Dave Hansford In October, somebody let a herd of sika deer into north Taranaki forest. Then they sent the Department of Conservation a … Read more
Now in its second year, the annual Bad Taste Food Awards run by Consumer NZ looks past the marketing hoopla to show some foods aren’t quite as harmless as they seem. Jihee Junn looks at this year’s (un)lucky winners. ‘Fat-free’ or ‘sugar-free’? ‘High in protein’ or ‘low in sodium’? Which is better? Which is worse? … Read more
The World Bank estimates New Zealand’s hidden economy at more than $20 billion. Michelle Duff meets the IRD investigators chasing down the cash. This is the first in a series on the heroes and villains of tax. Illustration by Toby Morris. When investigators arrived at the Auckland couple’s expansive property, it was a suburban sort … Read more
After it cleaned up a pile of awards last week, Alex Casey watches TVNZ1’s Jean to see what all the fuss is about. At the New Zealand Television Awards last week, one production, one story and one name ruled the night: Jean. It became something of a running joke as Jean, the TV film that … Read more
The council has voted to close tracks in the Waitakere Ranges Regional Park and spend a lot more money trying to stop the spread of kauri dieback. But, asks Simon Wilson, is it enough? It’s quite good to think of kauri dieback the way you think of Alien, or The Walking Dead, or any other … Read more
This week Jane, Duncan and Alex bask in the glory of their new sponsors at Nando’s and relive an incredible night at the New Zealand TV awards. Call the police, call the midwife, call your parents: The Real Pod has now got a luxury sponsor in Nando’s. And what a week for them to come … Read more
The second annual Spinoff Music survey. Please take a couple of minutes out of your Christmas party schedule to answer these simple eight questions about music in 2017 (what a year huh?) We’ve ‘nominated’ some songs and albums not because we necessarily think that’s what you should vote for, but basically because those are some … Read more
Tessa Duder provides a brief history of children’s literature in New Zealand – and finds multiple reasons to be cheerful about the state of play in 2017. One grey, misty morning in the Auckland suburb of Mt Eden, a 43-year-old teachers college librarian is walking to work. His eyes are drawn up to that shrouded, … Read more
Tara Ward counts down the top ten moments from the twelfth episode of Outlander season three. Contains major spoilers, obviously. Nothing kills a party like a wild prophecy about a kid being 200 years old when it dies. It makes as much sense as Coco the Talking Nut and the Dunbonnet’s hair, yet when Margaret Campbell uttered … Read more
The last National leader buggered off before it was cool. One year ago today then prime minister John Key stunned the living shit out of New Zealand by announcing his retirement from politics. And it turned out he was ahead of the curve, as illustrated by the SpinoffLabs™ infographic below. Party leaders in the NZ … Read more
While AI has gotten very good at things like talking and listening, it’s yet to come close to human levels of intelligence. But as the hype around AI continues to grow, Jamie Peterson argues that it’s giving the public unrealistic expectations about the progress of the industry, cultivating an environment of suspicion and constant disappointment. … Read more
Nearly half of all children born last year were born to parents not married or in a civil union – and splitting up when you have property and children can be very complex. The Law Commission’s Stephen Day explains what the Property (Relationships) Act looks like now, and what it could look like with your input. … Read more
Henry Oliver talks to punk band Downtown Boys, who are at the forefront of a new wave of protest music in the US, ahead of their first New Zealand show. Downtown Boys, a political punk band from Rhode Island, are one the most prominent bands in a growing wave of bands in the US, many … Read more
Scientists hope to help asthma sufferers and others needing oxygen at home by developing ‘molecular sponges’ with nanoscale-sized pores to purify the air. There’s possibly nothing more frightening than struggling to take a breath. Something asthmatics and others with respiratory diseases know all too well. Many of these people depend on portable oxygen concentrators, small … Read more
Yes, Auckland does need more houses. Urban planner Joe Jeffries explains why. A recent article in The Spinoff made the extraordinary claim that increasing housing supply cannot improve affordability and seemed to suggest it could make things worse. That article relied on a strawman version of Economics 101 supply and demand, claiming that model doesn’t … Read more
A massage therapist was convicted in November 2017 of indecent assault against 14 women during massages they purchased through the voucher site GrabOne. Madeleine Chapman reports. Trigger warning: the following story contains descriptions of indecent assault. The only other spectator in courtroom nine at the Auckland District Court had yet to open her eyes. She … Read more
Back by lukewarm demand, On The Reg is The Spinoff’s regular gaming session streamed live every Wednesday at 7pm on Facebook and Twitch. This highlights package sees Sam Brooks and Geordie walk through the uncanny valley of death in collaborative noir crime drama Hidden Agenda. This post, like all our gaming content, comes to your peepers only with … Read more
When you need to go, you need to go – unless you’re the type of person who has a hard time telling. Jihee Junn talks to the team behind wearable bladder sensor Uri-Go, winner of Callaghan Innovation’s C-Prize for 2017. Five and a half years ago, Mike Brown broke his back, leaving him paralysed from … Read more