How can just a one hour change cause so much havoc in the lives of so many parents? Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes rants against daylight saving and gives tips on surviving this terrible, terrible time. Days are usually 24 hours right? Like commonly. Like most of the time. Except after daylight saving. The days … Read more
Yesterday’s horrific chemical bombing in northern Syria left up to 100 people dead, many of them children. With no end to the brutal six-year war in sight, it’s easy to despair. But don’t give up, says Murdoch Stephens – there are steps you can take right now to help those in desperate need. If you … Read more
All week this week we revisit the life and writing of Greymouth author Peter Hooper (1919-91). Today: an excerpt from Hooper’s 1990 book Shade of the Mugumo Tree, a tender account of his journey to Kenya to visit Julius Kitivi, whom he sponsored through the Save the Children Fund. The two became close friends during … Read more
Melbourne: better public transport than Auckland, better laneways, better bars. But here’s one thing the two cities do have in common: a comedy festival. We enlisted Auckland comedian Donna Brookbanks to report back on her Melbourne festival experience. Dear Diary, Today I woke up. It’s so much fun sleeping in a single bed again! Sometimes … Read more
Bill English made pizza for tea last night, igniting widespread internet debate over the leader of the nation’s culinary abilities. We asked one of the world’s best pizza chefs for his thoughts. An award-winning chef from one of Auckland’s best Italian restaurants has slammed the prime minister’s attempts at making pizza. “You can’t even call … Read more
With the two-part miniseries now available exclusively on Lightbox, Alex Casey tells you why you need to take a trip to the scary island of And Then There Were None. What’s the story? Imagine… if you were invited out to a mysterious island with a bunch of people you didn’t really know, who slowly started … Read more
The Project showed its teeth this week, via Jesse Mulligan’s plea for someone, anyone to fix the Department of Conservation. It launched with a bang and a Bax and a song and a dance in February, but in recent weeks it’s been a little too easy to forget The Project NZ was on. Not because … Read more
Christian Religious Instruction is given in around 40 percent of New Zealand primary schools – not as an optional class, but one which parents must opt out of. Most of us believe in the separation of church and state, writes Tina Carlson, so why do we continue to give Christianity such prominence within our schools? … Read more
Pete Douglas looks at how a litany of amazingly bad fashion choices correlate with the band’s best music. Nothing makes you feel quite as old as a band you’ve grown up with being inducted into the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame. This struck me hard two years ago when I was faced with the sobering … Read more
Look at us Kiwis, a bunch of risk-taking, rule-bending, fresh-thinking suck-it-and-see adventurers, right? Who wouldn’t want to be one? So if we really do think that’s who we are, how come our transport planning isn’t keeping up with the ideas now transforming the cities of the world? Not radical ideas, just orthodox planning ideas. Like: … Read more
Alex Casey tackles the third week of The Bachelor NZ, including blind tasting, onion layers and a scary bedroom clown. This week on The Bachelor NZ we got the first big ol’ proper pash, a huge avalanche of Tim Tam tat-peddling and a very, very, very overdue Shrek reference. Aka, the show is finally starting … Read more
An ode to the humble feijoa, the Che Guevara of the fruit world. New Zealand in the late 1970s was basically a socialist paradise. Healthcare and education were free, oil prices were high enough for the government to introduce an insane rationing policy (Carless Days anyone?), and the advent of One Day cricket played by … Read more
Spinoff Comedy co-editor Sam Brooks had never done stand-up before last night. This is his story of how he told jokes on stage at the Classic’s Raw Comedy night – and lived to tell the tale. To say I’ve always wanted to do stand-up would be a flat-out lie. I’ve never wanted to do stand-up. … Read more
Tasked with reviewing the hotly anticipated new Zelda game, Liam Maguren proves himself to be inadequate; both as a critic and as a functioning human being. It’s been a month since the new Zelda came out and I still can’t review this fucking game. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild came out a … Read more
All week this week we look at the life and writing of Greymouth writer and conservationist Peter Hooper (1919-91). Today: a memoir by Hooper’s longtime friend and editor Brian Turner, taken from his speech at the launch in the weekend of Pat White’s biography. Peter Hooper is a name that is seldom mentioned when NZ … Read more
Jane Yee, Duncan Greive and Alex Casey gather around the oval table and talk about the latest happenings in New Zealand television and real life in New Zealand. This week’s episode is notable for Alex emerging from a flu coma to valiantly attempt to record a podcast. Jane and Duncan are operating on about five hours’ sleep … Read more
The prime minister has said there will not be an independent inquiry into the allegations around Operation Burnham, which according to the Hager-Stephenson account killed six civilians. These are his key justifications, and the author’s reaction There was only one subject covered in Bill English’s post-cabinet press conference this afternoon: the allegations contained in the … Read more
Our regular round-up of new songs and singles, this week featuring SWIDT, Thomas Rhett and Maren Morris, Serge Beynaud and more… SONG OF THE WEEK SWIDT – ‘Alfred & Church’ New raps from Onehunga If SWIDT keep going, future historians will be able to recreate Onehunga from their discography – ‘No More Parties In Stoneyhunga’, the bus-route-repping ‘312’ and … Read more
New Zealand’s midwife shortage has been in the news a lot in the past week – but the working conditions of midwives has been an issue for much, much longer. Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes asked midwives to talk about why they do the vital work that they do. It’s a job few would sign … Read more
There’s no denying it now: autumn is here, and with it shorter days and cooler temperatures. But then again, feijoas! Test your knowledge of all things autumn below. Having trouble viewing the quiz? Take it here.
Comedy co-editor Natasha Hoyland talks to Andi Crown about how she creates some of the most loved marketing images of the festival. You may have flicked through the Comedy Festival programme and spotted an array of beautiful faces and stunning imagery. You may have even spotted some posters starting to pop up around town and … Read more
All week this week we look at the life and writing of Peter Hooper (1919-91), a Greymouth author who won the national book award in 1986 for a profound, exciting novel set on the West Coast after an apocalypse. He’s now a largely forgotten name in New Zealand letters, but a new biography provides a vivid reminder … Read more
Every time celebrity chef Pete Evans talks about his ‘wellness’ beliefs, scientists and doctors line up to counter them with peer-reviewed research and established facts. That’s because Evans’ ‘common sense’ sounds a lot like utter nonsense, writes Dr Siouxsie Wiles. This article was published in April 2017. “What do you need a qualification for to … Read more
New Zealand’s record on child abuse and neglect is a scar on our conscience. A new agency seeks to change that. Expert Emily Keddell explains what it’s intended to, the pitfalls it could face, and that controversial ‘vulnerable children’ label. On Saturday the government launched the Ministry for Vulnerable Children (Oranga Tamariki), replacing Child, Youth … Read more
The first manifesto of the election has been declared and it doesn’t even belong to a political party. ‘Manifesto 2017: What the next New Zealand government should do’ is the work of think tank the New Zealand Initiative. Simon Wilson, worried as ever about Auckland, searches for some goodness within. They’ve got well organised minds … Read more
A range of globally recognised public health concepts could improve our current system, many of which go beyond simply chucking money at the problem, writes Haimona Gray. In my relatively brief 28 years of life I have been a paid defender of the public health system, a paid apologist for the public health system, a paid … Read more
This week’s social media viral video was bleaker than usual – a wasted woman in a garage, looking half dead. It took The Hui to bring her to life – and in so doing lay bare some of the functionless duplication in our contemporary media, says Duncan Greive. All week we’ve seen the footage. A woman, … Read more
Just another Sunday night for the fund manager, philosopher and new political party leader, discussing the issues with the people on social media. Yesterday on Q and A, deputy PM Paula Bennett dismissed the idea of a tourist tax. Gareth Morgan, leader of the nascent Opportunities Party, didn’t like that, particularly given the behaviour of some … Read more
So you’re a one-percenter looking to escape the oncoming global apocalypse by hiding out in a luxury NZ bolthole. Who you gonna call? Peter Newport meets the fixers behind the super-rich influx and looks at how the newcomers are settling in. There’s been a lot of international media attention on the attractions of New Zealand … Read more