Natasha Hoyland sat down with Brynley Stent (Funny Girls, Snort Comedy) over some delicious pie at Federal Deli to discuss Gloriavale, cults, and Stent’s new NZ International Comedy Festival show. Natasha Hoyland: Can you tell us a bit about your comedy festival show? Brynley Stent: It’s called Escape From Gloriavale and it’s about a young girl … Read more
To kick off Rent Week, The Spinoff writers and friends share some of the worst renting conditions they’ve had to live with. Please feel free to share your own on our Facebook page, or send to info@thespinoff.co.nz to be added to this anthology of atrocious landlords and homes across in New Zealand. Don Rowe: Just … Read more
A National Party chair has called for the return of corporal punishment, which seems sure to return the issue, including the smacking debate, to the agenda under NZ’s new social conservative PM. You’d be forgiven for thinking that New Zealand had by and large concluded the debate about whether beating up children is a good … Read more
Game of Bros is back, sans the free Bachelor marketing, and browner than ever. Before the season two premiere, Madeleine Chapman sat down with Game of Bros superfan* Aunty Henga to judge the contestants based solely on their calendar photo and quote. By the time we got to the Game of Bros season finale last year, my Aunty Henga was about … Read more
In the two weeks since its release, the latest open world tactical shooter from Ubisoft has won reasonably positive reviews. This won’t be one. Matthew Codd explains why Ghost Recon Wildlands is culturally insensitive, socially irresponsible and a chilling celebration of violent American imperialism. And the gameplay sucks too. This is Bolivia Like most of South … Read more
Renting in New Zealand is now the way most of us live. Unfortunately, in many ways, it sucks. Spinoff editor Duncan Greive explains why we’re dedicating a week to the issue. A couple of weeks ago Arthur Grimes, the former chair of the Reserve Bank, was interviewed on Nine to Noon by Kathryn Ryan. The … Read more
He painted his body with blue paint to perform naked with The Plague, wrote “There is no Depression in New Zealand”, and is now a tender memoirist: an excerpt from the new book by the legendary Richard Von Sturmer. My earliest memories of my father have to do with water: My father and I are … Read more
A sequel to Dirty Politics? A blistering John Key exposé? An homage to soup? Ahead of tomorrow’s big launch, we play bookmaker. A famous New Zealander has revealed the release date for a long-awaited new work, igniting a frenzy of speculation, the likes of which we haven’t seen since at least the other week. Nicky … Read more
Alex Casey breaks down the first episode of The Bachelor NZ season three by way of very accurate statistical analysis. The Bachelor NZ roared back into our screens tonight like a burnt orange Suzuki Ignis driven at about 7km an hour by none other than Zac Franich himself. Before I put my stake in the ground … Read more
Sacha Judd finds Justin Bieber’s Purpose World Tour concert at Mt Smart Stadium lacking in fun, energy and, um, purpose. I was pretty excited when my friend gave me a free ticket to Justin Bieber’s Auckland concert on Saturday. I wouldn’t describe myself as a dedicated fan, but the Biebs won me over with his … Read more
Compiling the best reading from your friendly local website. Duncan Greive: The incremental radical: Bill English meets the Spinoff “Despite his having been marked as a future prime minister since at least university, he seemed to have found a happy and natural ceiling. Yet, thanks to that shocking announcement in November, here he is – … Read more
News broke overnight that David D’Amato, the antagonist of David Farrier and Dylan Reeve’s Tickled documentary, has died. The film-makers have issued a plea for respect over his passing The star of Tickled is David Farrier, the dogged and dazed New Zealand journalist who started pulling a thread online and found it attached to an array of characters, … Read more
We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time. Today: Calum Henderson plugs into the All Blacks’ new official podcast. Some All Blacks news: the all-powerful New Zealand men’s rugby team now has its own podcast. Something about this is extremely funny to me, but I can’t quite put … Read more
Stevie Kaye talks to the editors of Sonic Comic, a multi-media compilation of music, sounds and events, opening this weekend in Auckland. This weekend sees the launch in Auckland of an intriguing new multi-media compilation that bridges the visual and aural, the physical and the digital, art and noise: “Sonic Comic is a collection of … Read more
The Spinoff and Spark proudly present Pod On The Couch, a weekly podcast exploring music and the people that make it. This episode: Jordan Reyne joins host Henry Oliver to talk about singing on horror video games. Spinoff Music editor Henry Oliver talks to London-based New Zealander Jordan Reyne about singing on the theme song forResident Evil … Read more
Author Chaz Harris on growing up without positive gay role models in a homophobic world – and how he’s created Promised Land, a fairytale so that our children don’t go through the same. I was at the last Out in the Park with my golden tutu-d and pink gumbooted little boy. We had marched in the parade as … Read more
New albums from Human Resource, Bush, The Shins and Charli XCX. ALBUM OF THE WEEK Human Resource – Human Resource Auckland political industrial post-hardcore debut. Over the past five years or so, there’s been a rich seam of music from … well, nobody likes or consents to be called a ‘scene’, so let’s say an inchoate … Read more
Longtime Kim Possible fan Pete Douglas blows the cover on his favourite spy television shows of all time. Back in the mid-2000’s my wife and I went on our OE, and had the bizarre idea of living in Cork, Ireland for a year rather than the usual London jaunt. We were cool, we were different, we were … Read more
Charlotte Fielding wants another child. In a four-part series she writes about her journey trying to use Tinder to complete her family. Read part one and part two if you haven’t already. When a woman decides to have a baby on her own, it’s not usually an easy or casual decision. Although it’s a choice, it’s … Read more
The week’s best-sellers at the two best bookstores in the Western World. AUCKLAND STORE 1 Can You Tolerate This? by Ashleigh Young (Victoria University Press, $30) Tweet on Monday from Fergus Barrowman, publisher at Victoria University Press: “I’m told the next thousand Can You Tolerate This? have just hit the warehouse and are more than … Read more
To celebrate Pi Week (Pi Day was 3/14 of course), here’s a quiz all about numbers. Having trouble viewing the quiz? Take it here.
The coincidences have mounted to the point where it must be asked – has Pitbull come back to the future to warn us about our impending ecological demise? On the release day of his new album Climate Change, Carys Goodwin dares to investigate. It’s 3:05am and I’m staring at a Zumba choreography video set to … Read more
New verse by Auckland writer Carin Smeaton. Rēkohu, he got his eye on you he’s from the chathams you dont meet many people from there do u he says he keeping his name top secret cos it’s a small world out there all he’ll say is she’s opening up to the point of … Read more
Through tears, Jono Pryor used the final minutes of Jono and Ben last night to shine a light on mental health following the recent suicide of a friend. Jess McAllen discusses the impact of such a raw television moment. The following article contains discussion around mental health and suicide. I’ll let you in on a secret: a … 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. You might have heard of the PayPal mafia, a term given to … Read more
Please enjoy the second episode of our new online series Repressed Memories, wherein James Mustapic revisits weird local shows from his childhood (click here to watch episode one on Sensing Murder and episode two on Sticky TV) When the first season of New Zealand Idol started, I was eight years old and I wasn’t very interested … Read more
Mum Michelle Coursey knows you have to look on the bright side when you’re getting no sleep. She shares the benefits she’s found from getting a solid two hours a night. So, you’re about to become a parent and all people seem to say to you these days is ‘get that sleep while you still … Read more
Alex Casey interviews No Activity’s Darren Gilshenan about wearing wet church pants, missing out on Margot Robbie and making something out of nothing. No Activity is a difficult show to describe, and one even harder to recommend. So I’ll just say this: it’s really fucking funny. A low-budget Australian comedy first commissioned by the online … Read more
National and Labour might deny it, but they have a surprising amount in common on housing. But they also have some big differences, and neither of them seems to really understand what to do about state housing. Why not? Both parties pledge to build more affordable homes, expand the social housing stock and shelter more … Read more