Welcome to Top of the Pile, a gaming series in which the participants are forced to play a game at the top of the ‘just released’ list. Will they get a shitter? Will they be pleasantly surprised? Will they be amped? This week José and guest Joseph Harper take on the miseries of Vidar, a … Read more
Last week, after seeing her first four singles rack up a combined 9 million plays on Spotify, Christchurch’s Theia released her first EP. She spoke to Henry Oliver on the eve of her first New Zealand tour. New Zealand pop acts just seem to appear out of nowhere these days. It’s not uncommon for someone … Read more
Getting Your Shit Together is a monthly column on everyday mental health from Auckland mindfulness educator Kristina Cavit. This month she’s talking about the life-changing magic of getting enough sleep. When I don’t get a good night’s sleep, I can turn into a monster. Or at least the worst version of myself – a short … Read more
Around the world the War on Drugs has failed; in New Zealand our aging drug law punishes and imprisons drug users. This week the New Zealand Drug Foundation has brought drug reformers to speak at Parliament to guide our laws into the 21st century. Simon Day asks if our politicians will finally listen. Tuari Potiki, chair of … Read more
We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time. Today, Don Rowe surveys the chaos at the 66th Annual All Breeds Cat Show. You know what they say: nothing fixes a hangover like the hair of the cat, and so I took my hangover to a cat show at … Read more
It’s just been a very bad start to the week from the government when it comes to statements on transport and housing, weeps Hayden Donnell. National has a long and proud tradition of being wrong about everything when it comes to Auckland. Its ministers have consistently had to be dragged screaming out of the 18th … Read more
Happy birthday today, Sam Hunt! To mark the occasion we present a poem by Selina Tusitala Marsh. Orange Crayon Stick Figure Man (on the occasion of reading “with’”Sam Hunt at the Parnell Rose Gardens, only to discover that “with” was employed euphemistically to describe sharing the same venue, but performing at different times) … Read more
Comedy megastar Chris Rock performed to a packed Spark Arena on Saturday. Like being yelled at by a rich man about controlling, manipulative, money-grabbing women? This was the show for you, writes Leonie Hayden. It’s a strange feeling to sit among a crowd of 10,000 guffawing people and not get the joke. When you’re as … Read more
An Australian ‘study’ is whipping up fears over the safety of baby formula, but are reports on what it means actually backed up by facts? The Spinoff Parents’ science writer Dr Jess Berentson-Shaw explains why this latest scare story is bad science, plain and simple. In the last few days there has been a bit … Read more
Beloved breakfast radio host Simon Barnett has announced his departure from More FM, in only 545 days. But that number will almost certainly become smaller with the passing of every day. Please bookmark this page for the very latest. The news arrived by media release. There is no getting around it: Si is off. He is leaving More … Read more
New Zealand career diplomat Gerald McGhie witnessed the fall of Gorbachev and the rise of Yeltsin when he served as our ambassador to Russia – but seems to have seen nuzzink, writes reviewer Tony Simpson. I have encountered quite a number of New Zealand foreign service staff, some at quite senior levels in my own … Read more
The 7 Days Twitter account posted a table ranking the most successful regular panellists yesterday. But they also revealed something else… Since its launch in 2009, there’s no denying that weekly panel show 7 Days is still by far New Zealand’s most successful comedy vehicle. Friday nights on Three has long seen a revolving rota of panellists including … Read more
The Tiger Who Came To Tea was first published in 1968. Written and illustrated by Judith Kerr, the classic picture book has long been ripe for a satirical re-write. Thanks to Thalia Kehoe Rowden, we have just that. Once there was a little girl called Sophie, and she was having tea with her mummy in the … Read more
By plunging into negotiations with Latin American countries in the Pacific Alliance, New Zealand maintains its shameful record of failing to hold partners to account on labour abuses, argues Laila Harré. New Zealand has launched into formal trade negotiations with four Latin American countries, becoming first in line to join the Pacific Alliance as an … Read more
An extract from the extraordinary Woman in the Wilderness, a memoir by Miriam Lancewood about her decision to leave civilisation to live – and hunt – in the New Zealand bush. We lit a fire, toasted some bread on hot coals and, after two cups of tea, I stood up and took my bow. “I … Read more
Dr Siouxsie Wiles writes an open letter to the people of Whakatāne (and the rest of Aotearoa New Zealand*), where vaccination rates are dismal and an anti-vaxxer propaganda film is screening tonight. As a parent, I know what it’s like to worry about whether you are doing the right thing for your child. When my daughter … Read more
Each winter, cold houses in New Zealand cause the death of almost 1600 people, and hundreds of thousands more have their health and wellbeing severely curtailed. It’s a national emergency, but the government agency tasked with addressing it has had its budget slashed to the bone. Cold comfort for freezing New Zealanders, writes Peter Newport. … Read more
To commemorate 20 years since Fugazi’s tour of New Zealand, Henry Oliver presents an excerpt from his 1997 interview with Ian MacKaye and some never before seen photos of the tour by Amber Easby. Twenty years ago today, Fugazi played the last show of what would be their final New Zealand tour at Caledonian Hall … Read more
Miriama Aoake reacts to the male-dominated lineup announcement for dance music festival Northern Bass. It’s hardly surprising that last week’s first lineup announcement for Northern Bass hardly set Aotearoa alight. The festival’s lineup has remained relatively unchanged for perhaps the past 10 to 15 years, with the exception of two or three international headliners. One … Read more
Compiling the best reading from your friendly local website. Tara Ward: What the hell has happened to Lily from the Big Save Furniture ads? You’ll need to sit down on your corner lounge suite for this one, because Lily’s legendary Big Save Furniture ads are no more. Gone is the wide-eyed glee, the over-enthusiastic shouting, … Read more
Three months ago, Ian Griffin led passengers on the world’s first commercial flight to view the Southern Lights. Here he tells the story of the journey, and why he wants to do it again. The departure board at Dunedin airport on the evening of March 23 included Flight NZ1980. The destination? Dunedin. Just after 9pm we … Read more
As the weather closes in on Wellington and the vultures circle the conceptual carcass of the British and Irish Lions, the second test against the All Blacks shapes as perhaps one of the most important in the history of this great touring party. The Lions need to win, and their chances of that will not … Read more
It’s been 10 years since Bret and Jemaine first appeared on the small screen in their HBO series Flight of the Conchords. By way of celebration, The Spinoff writers enter a fierce debate to complete one gargantuan task: ranking every song that featured on the show. 44) “Stay Cool” I mean, I went to the … Read more
On Thursday Mark Dawson, the editor of the Wanganui Chronicle, published an editorial suggesting that ‘the growing empowerment of women’ is partly to blame for New Zealand’s high rate of male suicide. The Mental Health Foundation’s Sophia Graham responds. Dear Mr Dawson, I read your editorial ‘Tough topic we need to talk about’ with dismay. … Read more
With modern computing grunt it’s now possible to create whole worlds within one’s humble home PC. Using the Ultimate Epic Battle Simulator, a core crew of Spinoff writers construct their best imaginary wars and let the sim do its thing! Don Rowe: WW2 Germans Vs WW2 Americans Vs 300 Spartans Millions of men died in the … Read more
The America’s Cup is going to sharpen up the city’s thinking about the waterfront, right? Like, why are there cars parked on Te Wero Island when there’s a perfectly good council car park building just over the road? Here’s a proposal from architect David Mitchell and pressure group Urban Auckland. There’s a car park in … Read more
On Thursday the Dominion Post published a story critical of the fees the Wellington City Council charged Lions fans to park camper vans in the city. A few hours later the Council gave back double. Duncan Greive reports on a brawl in the capital. Variations on the phrase “never argue with anyone who buys ink by … Read more
We reproduce in full and with permission the email Fairfax’s central region editor Bernadette Courtney sent to the Wellington City Council’s Kevin Lavery yesterday, in response to the WCC’s disputing the Dominion Post’s coverage of a campervan story. Dear Kevin, I am disappointed that I have to write to you to voice my concerns about … Read more
Labour MP for Wellington Central Grant Robertson recalls the day he stalked the Carisbrook touchline in an oilskin parka. Thirty-four years ago this weekend, I reached my sporting peak. Given that I was 11 years old, you’ll realise this was not exactly Everest, but for me, it was just about everything. I got to be … Read more