Tara Ward checks in with The Cafe and finds a hidden gem in Advertorial Holly, the woman who can talk turkey necks like no other. Some people hate advertorials with a passion usually reserved for pineapple on pizza or Mike Hosking’s ripped jeans. Breaking news, you miserable bastards: advertorials are television gold. Which would you … Read more
Old McDonald had a farm and wants you to know exactly how many animals are on it. Take the quiz below. Having trouble viewing the quiz? Take it here.
A small storm in Queenstown over some sewerage pipes on a new bridge points to how little we know about the vastly expensive infrastructure we pay for, writes Peter Newport. We are all guilty of not knowing the actual cost of things. The tax on petrol. What a plumber should charge to fix a dripping … Read more
New Zealand has had legally-mandated equal pay for women since 1972 but, as the new Treat Her Right campaign makes clear, we still have far to go to reach true pay equality. Dr Jess Berentson-Shaw explains why the economic imbalance between genders is about a lot more than just equal pay for equal work. Last … Read more
‘Best Songs Ever’ features various contributors to The Spinoff Music assessing recent songs and singles. SONG OF THE WEEK Thundercat – ‘Show You the Way (ft. Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins)’ Not many things in life are more electrifying than seeing the names Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins in brackets after a song title. As … Read more
So farewell then, TV3. New Zealand’s third channel is now the 100% numeral-free Three, complete with a new visual identity that attempts the rare feat of being both “vibrant, playful and inspiring” and wholly mathematics themed. Madeleine Chapman, José Barbosa and Calum Henderson weigh in on the changes. Exclusive: The TV3 Pinterest board Following a convoluted … Read more
Do we have our priorities right when it comes to the emphasis on economic ‘usefulness’ of education? In a companion piece to her article Why scientists need to go to the barricades against Trump – and for the humanities, Nicola Gaston asks if NZ is in danger of plunging into a culture war of its … Read more
Hungry for a gripping new spy series? Try The Honourable Woman, says Aaron Yap – a spy drama worthy of John le Carré with a breathtaking central performance by Maggie Gyllenhaal. For spy junkies who’re feeling empty after motoring through all available episodes of Homeland and The Americans, Hugo Blick’s eight-part miniseries The Honourable Woman … Read more
A new edition of George Orwell’s 1984 appears just as a new ruler of doublespeak and fake news casts his shadow over the world. Philip Matthews re-examines the novel that serves as a prophecy. Winston Smith works in a fake news factory. If you had read that sentence a year ago, you might have had … Read more
People’s ability to make choices is sometimes impaired, but murder of disabled people is still murder. The systemic forces that underlie such shocking events have never been adequately addressed, argues Robyn Hunt. The case of Donella Knox, convicted of murdering her daughter Ruby, represents the dark side of disability. It is the flip side of … Read more
The prime minister spent his first Waitangi Day in office not at the treaty grounds, but at Bastion Point, where Simon Wilson watched him give two of the most surprising Waitangi speeches in living memory. Did you know Bill English used Waitangi Day to praise the great protest struggle of Bastion Point? He made two … Read more
What do you do when your child is being graded poorly in a system that doesn’t feel set up for kids like them? Emmaline Matagi writes of her hopes and dreams for a child who is smart, gentle, and ‘below standard’ in literacy. Albert Einstein once said: “Everybody is a genius, but if you judge … Read more
To celebrate Guns N’ Roses‘ two massive shows in New Zealand over Waitangi weekend, Alex and Joseph dive deep into GNR’s ‘Estranged’ music video – the sixth most expensive music video of all time. Welcome to the latest episode of our bi-weekly pop music chat for umusic. It involves two pop rookies – Alex Casey and … Read more
With Seven Sharp sighing back onto New Zealand TV last night, Alex Casey and Duncan Greive round up 10 key moments from Hosking’s turf war to the return of Boston buns. 1) First of all, this was the lead story 2) The Weeknd played as they came back from an ad. It got Mike started. … Read more
Grace Stratton is the 17 year old editor and founder of the youth website Letters to Corey. She’s also a wheelchair user. She explains how she always felt that defined her – until one day, it didn’t. My name is Grace Stratton and I am supposed to be here to talk about my disability. However … Read more
We give reviews and literary things like that a rest today and play a meme instead. Norman Ohler’s new book Blitzed: Drugs in Nazi Germany, an investigation into widespread drug abuse in Hitler’s Third Reich, has been an international best-seller – including New Zealand, where the book shot to the number one spot on the … Read more
Independent for almost 20 years, Fat Freddy’s Drop have racked up close to a thousand shows across Europe, returning home as prodigal sons each summer to play for the people of New Zealand. Superfan Don Rowe talks to trumpeter Toby Laing, aka Tony Chang, ahead of the group’s third appearance at Splore. First published 8 February … Read more
Māori youth suicide rates are among the highest in the world. Some of the most affected rangatahi and their families talk to Jessica McAllen, while those at the grassroots striving to tackle the problem explain what they’re up to, and the obstacles they confront. It’s summer in Raumanga and the pool is empty. Drained, awaiting … Read more
Mum of three Juliet Speedy writes of the worry and eventual acceptance of having babies who move in their own time. My third child was one year and one week old when he started crawling. I rang my Mum. “Mum! I have an early mover. A baby that moves! What do I do with him?!” … Read more
First discovered in atomic bomb testing, nanodiamonds could prove crucial to a range of technologies that change, if not save, lives. Charles Anderson talks to nanoscientist Amanda Barnard, a guest at the AMN8 conference in Queenstown The Soviet scientists were blowing things up. It was 1963, at the height of the Cold War, and nuclear … Read more
Max Key has come under very mild fire for photoshopping a shark into an image of himself on holiday. Madeleine Chapman looked into the shark’s history and found that it’s been in a lot more iconic photos than you’d think. On Waitangi Day, at peak social media time, Max Key posted an image of himself … Read more
The 16th entry in the venerable Tales series of JRPGS has fans salivating. Eugenia Woo finally got her hands on a copy and found a beautifully designed game let down by stilted plotting. Ever since Tales of Phantasia in 1995, Bandi Namco (formerly Namco Tales Studio, formerly Wolf Team) have basically been operating an assembly line … Read more
This media era is characterised as one of disastrous clickbait and diminishing journalistic standards. But Kirsty Johnston and the Herald’s new project Under the Bridge shows that passionate, paradigm-shifting investigative journalism is alive and well in New Zealand. Duncan Greive spoke to Johnston about creating journalism that matters. “I’m pretty much your classic young female … Read more
Sam Brooks relives his pre-teen years at a live grab-bag of reunited late-’90s/early-aughts pop. On Saturday night, Auckland was full of people raring to see a band that had nurtured them through the rough times, to cheer musicians who were long past their prime but didn’t care, to hear songs they loved performed live for … Read more
Charlotte Grimshaw reviews a new study which claims methamphetamine abuse in the Nazi regime. In the 90s, when the Berlin Wall had just come down, German novelist Norman Ohler began experimenting with ecstasy and LSD. After learning that drugs were widespread in the Nazi era, he got the idea to write a novel on … Read more
Inside the Lightbox is a sponsored segment where we peruse the extensive Lightbox catalogue for shows you might like to watch. This time, we round up the sizzling new content coming this February. LIVE ON LIGHTBOX NOW Pushing Daisies (S1-2) Pushing Daises knew about everything cute before it was cute. Bushy eyebrows. Zooey Deschanel dresses. … Read more
The Gone By Lunchtime trio talk out a whiplash start to 2017 in politics. With a hiss and a roar and an ear-splitting primal scream, the political year is under way. Annabelle Lee and Ben Thomas join Toby Manhire to chew over the prime minister’s Waitangi decision, the $10k Te Tii charge to media and … Read more
Alex Casey chats to Lisa Fa’alafi and Busty Beatz from the theatrical experience Hot Brown Honey, an extravaganza of stereotype-smashing, hip hop politics and costumes that would make Beyoncé jealous. Coming to New Zealand from Australia as a part of the Auckland PRIDE festival, Hot Brown Honey is a sizzling celebration of loud, proud women … Read more
Politician and proud Westie Paula Bennett was at Saturday night’s Guns N’ Roses concert at Western Springs in Auckland. So we invited her to file a review. If my inner bogan had an outing on Saturday night at the Guns N’ Roses concert then my bloke’s outer bogan was in heaven. As we joined half … Read more