Thom Adams explains why he posted more than 200 intriguing and false facts on the internet, and how he learned that he too has an idiot brain. As a science educator, my stock and trade is in truth. My job involves taking complicated or broad concepts and making them accessible to a range of different … Read more
Eager to outrun the tide of media irrelevance creeping at its doorstep, TVNZ has finally come round to the new world order by going ‘big on local, big on audiences, and bigger OnDemand’. Jihee Junn sits down with some of the company’s biggest execs to hear about their plan for the future. Ever the quick-witted … Read more
Will Bill English’s new caucus adopt a scorched earth, US-style approach, or a more traditional style of opposition, asks former National Party minister Wayne Mapp Over the next few months National has a choice that will shape both the perception of itself, and of the new government. It has to decide what kind of opposition … Read more
Co-author of the children’s book Promised Land, Chaz Harris is ‘resisting with love’ by creating fairytales for all children. He shares a personal essay about why he writes the world he wishes we lived in. If you’re anything like me, the past year or so has felt like living in a terrible alternate timeline. It … Read more
Brought to you by Inflatable World, Breeder’s Digest is your monthly coffee group in a podcast. Hosted by mum of three Jane Yee and virgin mum Nicola Winslade, Breeder’s Digest is a casual chat with your mates about all the rubbish bits of parenting and all the really good bits as well. Have your say using … Read more
Rongoā Māori medicine is about more than lotions and potions, explains Donna Kerridge – it’s also about connection. Traditional Māori medicine (rongoā Māori) requires a special understanding of the world that acknowledges the interconnectedness of all things and that everything we think, say or do has a corresponding effect on the world around us. It … Read more
Max Key vowed to avenge the National Party after they lost their recent court case against Eminem’s Eight Mile Style. In a Spinoff exclusive, Max Key* releases his diss track. * Comedian Paul Williams The National Party lost a lot this year. An election, a fiscal hole, a Winston Peters, and now a healthy sum … Read more
With season four arriving to Lightbox tomorrow, Sam Brooks previews the return of excellent family dramedy Transparent. I dilly-dallied on watching the third season of Transparent, which I am ashamed about now. Season two ended with one of the strongest images I’ve seen on TV – the image of a baby being born many decades ago, screaming … Read more
With much of New Zealand’s water infrastructure particularly vulnerable to the growing dangers of climate change, Iain White and Alexandra Keeble argue that investing in new systems and flexible solutions are key to future-proofing for an uncertain future. It’s not something you expect to see on the streets of New Zealand: raw sewage bubbling up … Read more
New verse by Wellington writer James Brown End For five fucking years and fuck knows how many fucks he was fucking my friend and she was fucking my husband. Angry? Do I sound angry? These things happen. That’s what he said. Marriage is a journey and sometimes you reach the end. … Read more
The best-selling books at the two best bookstores on shore. WELLINGTON UNITY 1 Leaders Like You: New Zealand Leaders Share Stories of Courage by Nick Sceats & Andrea Thompson (Catapult Publishing, $40) Inspirational ra-ra PR. 2 La Belle Sauvage: The Book of Dust by Philip Pullman (David Fickling Books, $35) Pullman! The master returns with … Read more
She’s perhaps New Zealand’s most prominent actress of this moment, but when she gets a big part, she’s still reluctant to share the news for fears of being cut down. She’s a sudden film star, a theatre legend, and a chill-as-shit lady. Sam Brooks sits down in a park for a few beers with Rachel House. Photography by Joel Thomas. There’s the … Read more
Humans susceptibility to group pressure extends to pressure from a group consisting solely of robots, according to new research conducted by Dr Christoph Bartneck. Robots are changing the way we talk, and so the way we think. Don Rowe talks to Dr Bartneck and asks the question on everyone’s lips: is it time to freak … Read more
Professor Michael Milford and his colleague Juxi Leitner assess the scientific plausibilities of Thor: Ragnarok and finds them difficult but not always impossible. Thor: Ragnarok is the latest Marvel movie out today that sees Chris Hemsworth back as Thor, but he’s not on friendly home turf. Instead he finds himself imprisoned on the opposite side of the universe … Read more
The kea has emerged triumphant as New Zealand’s Bird of the Year. Sam Brooks is proud to introduce The Spinoff’s alternative contest: New Zealand’s Dirtbag Bird of the Year. The kea is apparently our favourite bird of 2017. This is, depending on who you follow on Twitter, either a travesty, absolutely deserved, or a waste … Read more
New plans for transport and housing, sure, but the government’s coalition and support deals promise much more for Auckland than that. As Simon Wilson reports, there’s even a big win for Metiria Turei. Arise the other Phil: we have a new Mr Auckland Rumours the new government is going to change the name of Auckland … Read more
Radio New Zealand has released a 30-minute documentary on the battle at Ruapekapeka, an incredibly sophisticated pā in the far north where 400 Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Hine warriors stood against a combined British force of 1600. Don Rowe attends the premiere, and considers what it means for New Zealand’s self-image. There are good guys in this … Read more
Joris de Bres shares the story of a family who almost had their child, who suffers from osteogenesis imperfecta, taken away due to a bruise caused by the brittle bone disease. Sheryl is tearful as she recalls “the worst day of our lives” at Wellington Hospital, when she and her partner Stuart feared their baby … Read more
In our video series Kiwis of Snapchat, comedian Tom Sainsbury sources exclusive Snapchat footage of Kiwi citizens and luminaries making the news. Today, a peak behind the screens of real internet commenters with strong opinions about the new PM. Click here for all our Kiwis of Snapchat videos
Avid Chainsmokers defender Joseph Moore went to see the Chainsmokers play Auckland’s Spark Arena on Tuesday night and survived the drop to tell us all about it. I paid my own money to see The Chainsmokers. The Spinoff offered me free ones to review it but I had already paid seventy actual New Zealand Dollars … Read more
Lara Strongman declares that Fiona Farrell’s novel about post-quake Christchurch is a work of art. When everything collapses, some people behave with dignity and kindness, while others steal the gates. Fiona Farrell has an elderly Italian woman say this, or at least think it to herself, one night in bed in a sleepout crammed with … Read more
Despite 30 years of relentless sales, the Briscoes Lady remains as energetic and positive as ever. Tara Ward tries to figure out why. New Zealanders can always be certain of three things – the prime minister cursing the All Blacks, Mike Hosking wearing ripped jeans and Briscoes having a sale. As we know, a Briscoes sale … Read more
The Stories of Ruapekapeka is a special online project by RNZ and Mihingarangi Forbes about Northland’s most infamous armed conflict. Historian Vincent O’Malley writes about the importance of acknowledging the darker episodes of New Zealand’s past. The battle of Ruapekapeka, fought in January 1846, was the final engagement in the war that Britain lost, as James … Read more
To craft its new campaign, New Caledonia Tourism sent Australian electronic group Crooked Colours to its islands to record everything the country had to offer and turn it into a track that would combine the group’s summery aesthetic with both the country’s musical heritage and the sounds of their experiences on the islands. We asked … Read more
After a long hiatus, Sam Brooks took himself back to the Armageddon pop culture expo in Auckland. What he found was meaning in the things we love enough to dress up in public for. I haven’t been to Armageddon in ages. I think the last time I went was when they gave out demo discs … Read more
As it adjusts to life in opposition, National needs to focus on defending capitalism against a coalition of socialists and populists, writes former National ministerial adviser Zach Castles. It’s less than a week ago that Winston Peters appointed a Labour government. I’m still gutted. And while I don’t need a lecture on the dangers of … Read more
Last week on The Spinoff economic lawyer Chris Gillies called for Labour to rethink its opposition to investor-state dispute settlements, a key part of trade deals like the TPP. Quite the contrary, argues solicitor and TPP scholar Oliver Hailes: New Zealand is far better off without them. Buckle up, because the election result has reignited … Read more
House prices are how high now? Maria Slade takes a look behind an alarming graph and finds NZ’s housing ‘bubble’ may be overblown. Canadian commentator and investment adviser Hilliard McBeth alarmed the Twittersphere this week when he posted a graph showing New Zealand house prices 65 times higher than they were in 1970. This compares … Read more
