Alex Casey delves into the endless relevance of The Handmaid’s Tale, arriving exclusively on Lightbox today. I first encountered The Handmaid’s Tale during high school English. They were simpler times, when you could buy three full size (!) Moro bars for $2 at the tuck shop, and the world didn’t feel like it was absolutely, 100% … Read more
A new memoir by the great American writer Richard Ford leads Sir Bob Harvey to look back on his friendship with Warwick Roger, the founding editor of Metro magazine, and their shared love of Ford’s books. How does friendship happen? What glue does it take? Does it always finish in death as all stories do, … Read more
Free clothes, entertainment and more: a one-day freestore is coming to west Auckland this Saturday, writes Zaskiya Lesa. The Street Store, initially a South African venture, provides clothes for the homeless and others in need, especially families. It’s already popped up in central and south Auckland and now, hosted by Habitat for Humanity and Taniwha … Read more
Taranaki will tomorrow witness a formal reconciliation and settlement with the Crown. And like so much Māori history, it is about mana surviving, despite the odds, writes historian Danny Keenan. The Parihaka community in Taranaki will tomorrow meet with Crown officials, including the minister of treaty settlements, Chris Finlayson, to hear an apology, and to receive … Read more
Pollwatch: A new Colmar Brunton / One News poll suggests NZ First is tracking to overtake the Greens, but a sweet post-budget result for Bill English leaves open the possibility they’ll be surplus to requirements Bill English can treat himself to a warm bath of tinned spaghetti tonight: the post-budget poll by Colmar Brunton for One News … Read more
How did we ever reach a point where ‘Is it OK to kiss your kids?’ was actually asked multiple times around the world in apparently reputable news outlets? Angela Cuming looks at one of this week’s most infuriating parenting stories. Here are things parents do that I find weird: Smacking their kids Bullying their kids … Read more
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? In this episode José Barbosa and Joseph Harper find themselves playing the monkey mad tower defence … Read more
Alex Casey, Leonie Hayden and Michele A’Court tackle the past month in women, news and popular culture. And, Wonder Woman. Michele’s back from drinking absinthe with Stevie Wonder, Leonie’s swanned in on a wave of Kit Kats from the bustling streets of Tokyo, and Alex hasn’t moved an inch either way. It’s the latest episode … Read more
Adult literature in New Zealand gets most of the press, but kids’ books is a fresh and exciting field, writes Sarah Forster, co-creator of the brilliant website The Sapling. Have you heard of Ruth Paul? How about Bob Darroch? Or Phillip Webb? Jenny Cooper? Fleur Beale? Des Hunt? I’ll help you: each of these author has written … Read more
The fast-growing Southern Lakes district – Queenstown, Wanaka and surrounds – currently faces enormous challenges. But the bigger problem? The body in charge is three hours’ drive away and seems reluctant to spend the money needed to fix them. Peter Newport explains how an upcoming by-election could become a referendum on the future of Otago. … Read more
We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time. Today: Sam Brooks on his favourite bowling-alley-in-a-multiplex-bar, Metrolanes. “Where are the dive bars in Auckland?” A visitor to this fair city asked me that recently. I assumed by dive bar they meant ‘an empty bar with cheap alcohol’ rather than … 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. If you’re like me and like to read and follow the stories … Read more
It beggars belief for a damehood to be bestowed upon a cultural vandal, argues Simon Wilson. I don’t know why I even give a damn about this. Knighthoods and damehoods, who needs ’em, eh? But we do have them, and they’re our official measure of greatness, so we take notice. Actually, they’re not quite the … Read more
It made good sense to develop the port in its current location on the Waitemata Harbour. But, says Urban Auckland’s Julie Stout, it doesn’t make sense to keep the container and mixed-goods operations there now. So what happened to the consensus agreement to find a new location? Read other contributions to this debate here. Ports … Read more
Jane Yee, Duncan Greive and Alex Casey gather around the oval table to talk about the latest happenings in New Zealand television and real life in New Zealand. This week on The Real Pod, the gang travel back to the ancient land of 2017, when knights, dames and maidens roamed the Earth. That’s right, the Queen’s Birthday … Read more
When Julie Christie was announced as recipient of one of our most prestigious honours on Queen’s Birthday, many were shocked and appalled. Duncan Greive, one-time recipient of a defamation letter from Christie, makes the case for her as a worthy Dame. “I pretty much decided that I was going to become a major commercial success … Read more
Crowds in Wellington today were seen raising their middle fingers at the motorcade carrying the American secretary of state. We’d like to take the opportunity to say sorry. Donald Trump’s diplomat-in-chief was in the New Zealand capital today, and it welcomed him with grey skies and blustery rain. We’re sorry about that, Secretary Tillerson. This is … Read more
Food writer Delaney Mes has eaten at, blogged about and worked through Visa Wellington on a Plate since day one. As the countdown to this year’s festival begins, she shares her 10 favourite memories of the country’s greatest food fest. Wellington, New Zealand. Our nation’s capital. Truly terrible weather, but consistently excellent coffee. With its … Read more
Our regular round-up of new songs and singles, this week featuring SoccerPractice, Selena Gomez, Dion (D4) Lunadon, Liam Gallagher, Otoboke Beaver and Arcade Fire. SONG OF THE WEEK SoccerPractise – ‘Amene’ Waiata + electronic music + indie rock From the outset, SoccerPractise vocalist Geneva Alexander-Marsters has made a point of incorporating Te Reo Māori into the group’s music, … Read more
What’s on the tapes? Pure hype or a genuine ‘reaching out’? The Spinoff’s No Man’s Sky correspondent Josh Drummond on what is proving to be a genuine head scratcher. This post will be updated as the story progresses, so check back often. After a launch that might be charitably described as “mixed” and uncharitably as an … Read more
Being called a Supermum is supposed to be a light-hearted compliment, but is it helpful? Clinical psychologist Sarah Bell-Booth isn’t so sure. The definition of a Supermum seems to include a daunting super long-list of super parent powers. You must of course be able to adopt and maintain a happy and calm disposition 24/7, seven … Read more
In the soft, glazed eyes of the Magikarp we see a challenge to love that which is unlovable, or so argues Uther Dean. Magikarp are no one’s favourite Pokémon. Essentially powerless, the limp, flappy fish is famous for its Splash attack that famously, no matter how hard your Magikarp hurls themself into the air, always … Read more
Superfan Joseph Harper tackles the fourth week of Survivor NZ, including Barb’s third death and a French fry feast. Click here for last week. We have a merge! Great stuff. All the sweeter for the nice All Blacks themed buffs. As suspected, the likely lads’ plan of ‘treat everyone who isn’t in our alliance badly’, … Read more
An interview with the super-sharp, furious, funny and startlingly creative Eleanor Bishop, whose acclaimed play about campus rape, Jane Doe, is on for two weeks in Auckland. When she was aged 20, Eleanor Bishop says she was struck by three things. One, she was surrounded by sexual harassment. Two, there was, thank god, feminism. And … Read more
With voting for TVNZ’s New Blood webseries competition underway, panelist Alex Casey rounds up the top 10 finalists. You know how fancy overseas countries have a pilot season, where all the exciting brand new shows battle it out to get picked up by networks? New Zealand has finally put on its grown-up pants with TVNZ’s … Read more
Craig Sisterson of the Ngaio Marsh awards for crime fiction announces a brand new literary award – for Kiwi true-crime books. The Ngaio Marsh Awards have been celebrating the best of New Zealand’s crime and thriller fiction on an annual basis since 2010 – but the long-term plan was always to expand the award categories … Read more
Wait, Jeremy Corbyn could actually become the prime minister? How might the Labour Party in New Zealand copy its British counterpart and lessen the electoral despair, asks Hayden Donnell in a dispatch from somewhere or other in the UK Read more: Grant Robertson, Judith Collins, Jacinda Ardern, Metiria Turei, Jim Anderton and more on what … Read more
We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time. Today: Madeleine Chapman makes a pilgrimage to the frenzy-sparking new Kmart in the Hutt. The staff at the newly opened Kmart in Petone wave green pool noodles in the air to signal an available checkout. It’s funny, it’s genius, and it’s exactly … Read more
In yesterday’s honours list Professor Hamid Ikram was made an Officer of the NZ Order of Merit, for services to cardiology and education. His son, Ali Ikram, cheers on an extraordinary Pakistani Cantabrian. Families are stories. The one my father is most fond of telling concerns a visit to his grandfather’s house when he was a small child … Read more