Want to introduce your small child to the favourite bands of your youth without scaring them with Little Earthquakes or Hounds of Love? Sam Brooks has you covered. Have you ever thought “God, I wish I could listen to Evanescence with my kids but I don’t want to have to explain what happened to the rest of that band?” or … Read more
Dominic Hoey (aka Tourettes) reports from his 17-town tour of New Zealand with singer-songwriter Skyscraper Stan and side-kick Josh Jugum. Day 12 of the tour. I’m pleased to report that Josh didn’t die of seal poisoning, although he has become insufferable, constantly threatening to drive us into oncoming traffic and heckling from the audience. Suffice … Read more
Buddy Mikaere finds bias and misrepresentation in Tears of Rangi: Experiments Across Worlds, an otherwise acclaimed history of early New Zealand by Anne Salmond. Anne Salmond’s new book Tears of Rangi: Experiments Across Worlds is broadly divided into two parts. Part one revisits the already well traversed history of the early contact years between Māori and … Read more
Google sister company and darling of the smart home industry Nest has finally arrived in New Zealand. Jihee Junn tries out its range of safety and security products, concluding that while Nest might not be for everyone, stalking people on camera sure is a hell of a lot of fun. Before companies like Google and … Read more
Xero’s announcement that it will list solely on the ASX has ruffled some feathers. But if publicly listed companies are looking for better access to funds for growth, there’s no reason to write the New Zealand Stock Exchange off just yet says Mark Hattersley. When soccer superstar Wayne Rooney threatened to leave Manchester United in … Read more
Convicted domestic abuser Tony Veitch is returning to television, he has announced. Madeleine Holden wonders why abusers like Veitch continue to be given prominent public platforms. Yesterday, Tony Veitch took to social media to announce that he will be appearing on Sky TV’s new show, New Zealand Press Box. He promised it will be “a … Read more
There’s a lot of trouble in Auckland right now. Homelessness is growing. Many mostly-young or poor people are facing the prospect of never owning a home in the city. But this week the media has highlighted the plight of another group of Aucklanders who are doing it tough: people whose houses are making too much … Read more
Alex Casey watches The Seven Year Switch on TVNZ2, a familiar-sounding social experiment that matches up married people with complete strangers. There are perhaps no sweeter three words to the gnarled ear of a television writer than the phrase “controversial social experiment.” The latest series to return to this increasingly-full arena is the second season … Read more
He was an underemployed journalism graduate who on a whim created a Twitter account for PM Jacinda Ardern’s cat Paddles. Then it went viral. Then Paddles died. I was in the supermarket in Newtown, Wellington when my Radio New Zealand app alerted me that Winston Peters had chosen to form a coalition government with Labour. … Read more
When journalist Angela Cuming was sent a “grossly inappropriate and offensive” “joke” by a Hamilton City Councillor she called the behaviour out online. It sparked a discussion about the everyday sexism women face in the workplace, assembled by Emily Writes. Comments, “jokes”, microaggressions, and out-right hostility by insecure men were common. Here are some of … Read more
Auckland Council has released the city’s new property valuations and some people who should know better have taken the chance to say all sorts of stupid things. Simon Wilson sets them straight. Jo Holmes from the Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance was on RNZ’s Morning Report today saying that Aucklanders will be paying “thousands of dollars” more … Read more
MTV Beats and Eats is an Australian festival which indulges in all the guilty pleasures we never admit and Kate Robertson is here for it. Mates, I need to disclose something to you before I go all play-by-play on the pop music one-dayer that was MTV Beats and Eats: I’m a festival fiend. Like, literally a … Read more
Free from the shackles of Married at First Sight NZ, The Real Pod gang talk mostly about Married at First Sight NZ, with a touch of Bachelor news and the triumphant return of Max Key Corner. We’ve packed up our things and moved back to Lincoln on The Real Pod this week, which means the … Read more
Tara Ward counts down the top ten moments from ‘Heaven and Earth’, the tenth episode of Outlander season three. Contains major spoilers, obviously. Let us bow down at the Outlander altar, because ‘Heaven and Earth’ featured two loves of my life: potpourri and cheese. I never thought the day would come when the King of Men yarns … Read more
Brannavan Gnanalingam writes about the overwhelming whiteness of English literature as taught in New Zealand – and throws down a challenge to the gatekeepers, including the Spinoff. UK newspaper the Daily Telegraph caused a stir in October with a front page story about a black Cambridge student who had “force[d] Cambridge to drop white authors”. The Telegraph‘s … Read more
Last week Labour announced that all online purchases would – finally – incur GST. Then, almost immediately, they backed the hell away. Duncan Greive explains why they were right first time. Last week, Stuart Nash finally told New Zealand retailers what they’ve been wanting to hear for years: that this government would “absolutely” introduce GST … Read more
Stevie Nicks played at Auckland’s Spark Arena last night, with The Pretenders as special guests. Sam Brooks was there. I saw Blondie and Cyndi Lauper early this year, and there’s something special about seeing these vanguards of music do a victory lap. All the things that made them unique, made them famous, made them successes … Read more
Most of my life growing up I was the clean cut Māori boy with the short and tidy haircut, but all of that changed when I started learning about the tikanga of hair, writes Te Miri Rangi. Through my journey of understanding more about how my Māori worldview can shape my hauora, I discovered the … Read more
Wellington and Hurricanes stalwart Brad Shields may be in line to play for England at the next World Cup after allegedly turning down the chance to join the All Blacks on tour. Cue predictable outrage. But spare us the guilt trip, writes Scotty Stevenson. If it is true Brad Shields said ‘no thanks’ to a … Read more
Last month, eight-year-old Nicholas wrote about his mums Katherine and Roanne, and the national referendum asking Australians to vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on the rights of rainbow families. We asked him to write again about the result of the vote, and what’s next for his family. Here’s some of what Nicholas wrote last month, while the vote … Read more
After the disappointments of West Lynn, Simon Wilson proposes some principles to help the council with its suburban town planning. The possibilities for Auckland are no better expressed than on Great North Road: that wide slow slope down the ridge from Karangahape Road to St Joseph’s, the views across to the upper Waitemata and to … Read more
In an unexpected twist, the penultimate episode of My Kitchen Rules NZ pays homage to a classic Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson comedy vehicle. For the first two sudden death cook-offs, MKRNZ production booked out what seemed like popular and high-end wedding venues and invited a pick’n’mix of Kiwi celebrities to help eat and judge … Read more
Trans Am’s Nathan Means talks to Spiral Stairs, who plays in Auckland next month, about his attraction to NZ culture – and NZ cricket “I’m in Merida.” Spiral Stairs’ words are not rushed. “Mexico.” Stairs, AKA Scott Kannberg, a founding member of Pavement and Preston School of Industry, goes on to explain that he and … Read more
Less than half of New Zealanders with disabilities are in paid employment. New research from the Maxim Institute suggests employers are missing out by assuming there will be a cost to accommodating an employee with a disability. Imagine a person who’s a father, a teacher and a musician. He’s also blind. How do you think he’s … Read more
Louisa Woods is a high school teacher and counsellor and a mother of three. She knows teenagers. Here she shares her advice on getting your teenage child to open up. A very wise 15 year old once said ‘We’re just worried about being judged and sometimes don’t know what to say or how to say … Read more
Does your house earn more than you do? For almost every Aucklander the answer is yes. So, asks Don Rowe, what sort of job would you need to do if you wanted to earn as much as the home you live in? With the new property valuation figures released today by Auckland Council, we now … Read more
According to media reports, a slowing of the Earth’s rotation is likely to bring an increase in the number of severe quakes. What do NZ scientists say? The report follows a conference presentation last month by two US researchers who suggest a slowing of Earth’s rotation is correlated with an increase in earthquakes of magnitude 7 or higher. … Read more
The success of Tonga and Fiji in the Rugby League World Cup is a marker of what might happen if clubs gained more power in rugby, writes Jamie Wall. In a week where World Rugby revealed a bit more of its agenda than it probably wanted to, the controversy of the awarding of the 2023 … Read more
Meat substitute company Sunfed Meats is being taken to the Commerce Commission, accused of misleading consumers over its chicken-free chicken. Jihee Junn looks at how such stoushes are becoming increasingly common as the meat and dairy industries begin to fight back. Here’s a puzzle for you: can meat still be meat if it isn’t actually … Read more