On YouTube, every conceivable interest is catered to, including the brutal power of top quality, highly engineered swords. David Farrier talks to Lynn Thompson, founder of sword, knife and viral video makers Cold Steel. “The pig is the closest thing to a human, in terms of flesh consistency, arrangement of organs.” Welcome to the violent, … Read more
Josh Wharehinga is a father of six and Gisborne District Councillor, Tairāwhiti Health and Te Wānanga o Aotearoa board member. Last week he wrote about his mother on his blog and, for Mother’s Day, we’re republishing it on The Spinoff Parents. I talk a lot. All the time. I talk about what it was like … Read more
Midway into season three, says Simon Wilson, the Breaking Bad prequel Better Call Saul is cruising in its own greatness. Gus is back. Take a moment to digest. Gustavo Fring, so polite, so self-effacing in the short-sleeved shirt and the beige tie, Gus, the fried chicken guy aka vengeful drug lord. It’s so good to … Read more
Stand-Up For Kids is the only show in the Comedy Festival aimed at one very specific and special audience: children. Sam Brooks talks to performers Tessa Waters and Chris Parker about performing for kids, and why young audiences love comedy. Sam Brooks: So what’s the appeal of doing stand-up for kids, for you as a … Read more
An Azerbaijani goth, a breakdancing Italian gorilla and a charming Australian teenager walk into a bar… Eurovision aficionado Robyn Gallagher picks her favourite entries ahead of Sunday morning’s Grand Final. This week the semi-finals of the Eurovision have been taking place in Kyiv, Ukraine. And this Sunday morning (New Zealand time), 26 acts will compete … Read more
The best-selling books at the two best book stores in Christendom. WELLINGTON UNITY 1 Along for the Ride by Tony Simpson (Blythswood Press, $48) Political memoir by one of the most fascinating back-room figures in New Zealand politics; highly recommended. 2 The New Zealand Project by Max Harris (Bridget Williams Books, $40) In some respects … Read more
Duncan Greive watches Laura Daniel and Joseph Moore weave sketch comedy songs and new material into a choreographed, heavily produced pop powerhouse. The line between perfect pop and its parody is incredibly thin. Joseph Moore, one half of Two Hearts, the fake band currently playing Q Theatre, knows this well enough to argue persuasively in … Read more
Sam Brooks hits the Comedy Fest halfway point with a lovely story from Nic Sampson, a beautiful shambles from Brit Lou Sanders, and James Roque mixing theatre and stand-up while maybe getting his dick out. Nic Sampson: Jewel Heist Nic Sampson’s show last year, Nic Sampson Has Fallen Down A Well, was one of the … Read more
We conclude our week-long series of encounters with guests due to appear at the Auckland Writers Festival as Rachael King interviews the fairly fucken fantastic Ivan Coyote. Last year, Ivan Coyote stood on stage in front of a sell-out crowd at the WORD Christchurch festival and delivered gut-punching stories of love, gender, body scars, family quirks … Read more
The Spinoff Music team review albums from Alice Coltrane, Fazerdaze, BNQT, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Juliana Hatfield and The Comet is Coming. ALBUM OF THE WEEK Alice Coltrane – World Spirituality Classics 1: The Ecstatic Music of Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda A long-awaited reissue of new age devotional music from a jazz great This bowled … Read more
How much parental leave can New Zealanders take? Do dads get paid more than mums? Is the Pope catholic? Take the quiz to find out. Having trouble viewing the quiz? Take it here.
The Nintendo Switch is the latest piece of gaming gear everyone’s got to have. But spare a thought for what the Switch replaces: the underappreciated WiiU. Liam Maguren takes to the pulpit to share some stories and plead for the maligned console’s legacy. How does one kick off a funeral? Is it insensitive to crack … Read more
Every time the radio survey results come out we get the same amazing news: everyone killed it! Duncan Greive reads the press releases and tries to figure out what’s really going on. EVERY NZME STATION INCREASES LISTENERS MEDIAWORKS RADIO REMAINS THE NUMBER ONE RADIO NETWORK IN NEW ZEALAND WITH ITS LARGEST EVER REACH Record Audiences … Read more
Jonathan Cotton hears how technology can help literally save the world at Techweek’17’s Disrupting Climate Change event in Christchurch. Big-brained idealistic-types made up the crowd at Wednesday night’s Disrupting Climate Change event at the EPIC (Enterprise Precinct and Innovation Campus), part of Christchurch’s Techweek’17 offering. There’s was lots to hear and lots to learn. The … Read more
A new work by our leading political poet. When Bill English grasped the reins of power last year, he plunged a concrete post of literature into the tender soils of New Zealand by reading aloud a bit of poetry. This week, courageously, to staunch the bleeding of the national auditory canal brought on by Colin … Read more
When you crunch the numbers, the feebleness of NZ’s intake becomes shamefully clear, argues Murdoch Stephens, head of the campaign to double the quota For the first few days of Trump’s presidency, Bill English fumbled around trying to get the tone right. When Trump instituted his first Muslim ban and cuts to refugee numbers, English … Read more
In the lead-up to Mother’s Day, Aaron Yap collates the best moments of his favourite TV Mum, Norma Bates of Bates Motel. Unless you’re totally fine with showing your mum a modern Gothic soap with Oedipus complex themes, Bates Motel wouldn’t be my first recommendation to binge over tea and cake on Mother’s Day. But … 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. One day a few years back, Australian Holly Cardew was trying to … Read more
The California based devs Giant Sparrow have another hit on their hands. Their new narrative adventure game explores all the great themes, life, death and beauty. Matthew Codd reckons it’s a must play. What Remains of Edith Finch is a game about life, death, and storytelling. What may at first feel like a run-of-the-mill “walking … Read more
Forget the floral hand lotion, the pointless kitchen gadget, the bunch of crappy supermarket flowers. Emily Writes has a few things that would really make her day on Sunday. Mother’s Day! Every store in the land has shop fronts full of shit to buy your mum (and some not shit – like my book, which … Read more
Sam Brooks marks the halfway point of the comedy festival with two slam-dunk shows from Billy T Award winner Guy Montgomery and Snort regular Donna Brookbanks. Guy Montgomery: Let’s All Get In A Room Together It’s hard to sum up why Guy Montgomery is special as a comedian. He mixes the affability of the popular … Read more
In the midst of Techweek’17, Alex Casey talks to The Next Billion’s Priti Ambani about shining a light on the women in tech. We had only been talking for five minutes, but engineer and company co-founder Priti Ambani had already taken me on a journey into exponential technologies, big data and the future of work. … Read more
There’s a perfect playlist out there for every scenario. Chances are the Spinoff staff playlists won’t be among them but we gave it a go anyway. Today: Calum Henderson details his very specific playlist for a rain delay at the cricket. Top 10 Rainy Day Songs I’ve always dreamed of being a DJ at the cricket. My … Read more
Comedy co-editor Natasha Hoyland ended up in hospital as the opening nights of NZ International Comedy Festival’s second week were kicking off. So she asked the comedians to review their own shows in her absence. Hello, Natasha here! Coming to you live from my death bed. This time of the week I usually do my … Read more
Jack Tame reflects on his reaction to a very stupid email on Breakfast – which has now had over one million views on Facebook – and explains why we still need our bubbles burst. I think it’s time to lay off Janice. She cannot have expected this response: Multiple Janice-from-Friends memes, ‘Living Next Door to Alice’ … Read more
Breaking news: All Star Family Feud just proved that romance is not dead. Nay, it is alive and kicking its way through a warm trans-Tasman current of love while wearing a new pair of Orewa Life Saving Club budgie smugglers. Praise be to Eros or whatever TV god decided to throw The Bachelor NZ and Married at … Read more
In our video series Kiwis of Snapchat, comedian Tom Sainsbury sources Snapchat footage of extraordinary Kiwi citizens. Today, Auckland landlord David McNeil shares some of his exciting new rental opportunities with us. Click here to watch Kiwis of Snapchat #1 featuring Jami-Lee Ross Click here to watch Kiwis of Snapchat #2 featuring Kelvin Cruickshank Click … Read more
Finally, some good news about traffic in Auckland. Simon Wilson sings the praises of the new spots in Shortland St. Credit where it’s due. The council has put big beige spots on Shortland St at the intersections with High St and O’Connell St and it’s all kinds of wonderful. Some people are going, what does … Read more
A classical pianist turned singer and producer, Tei has just released one of the best New Zealand mixtapes in ages. She talks to Alaistar Moghan about the making of OMW. It’s a familiar narrative. The self-taught bedroom artist watches a few YouTube tutorials, buys some basic kit, uploads a track to SoundCloud and it blows … Read more