The Spinoff and Spark proudly present Pod On The Couch, a weekly podcast exploring music and the people that make it. This episode: Kate Robertson and Matthew McAuley join host Henry Oliver to talk about their favourite music of the year 2016. Spinoff Music editor Henry Oliver talks to contributing critics Kate Robertson and Matthew McAuley … Read more
At last night’s NZ Rugby Awards, ASB chief executive Barbara Chapman electrified the room with a speech challenging the sport to reflect on the scandals of 2016 and do more to address diversity. Her speech is published below, following a note of introduction from Scotty Stevenson Last night New Zealand Rugby honoured its best and … Read more
After a political year in which New Zealand saved its most surprising moment till the very end, the Spinoff assembles a pantheon of 21 wise owls to pick out their winners and losers Following the surprise John Key resignation and ahead of Bill English’s first cabinet reshuffle, we asked: Who would you rank as the … Read more
Powerhouse feminist music legend Peaches is returning to the country this week on a cloud made of plush boobs and Rapunzel-length pubic hair. Alex Casey chatted to her about dick suits, Westworld, and why her music matters now more than ever before. If there is one person out there who can pull off saying ‘titties’ … Read more
The Spinoff assembled this week to test run the CSI drinking game. This is their story. We are in the throes of the silly season, where the alcohol flows like water and the work functions are awkward enough to make you want to lock yourself away in a manger. But fret not, for there is a … Read more
Christmas is a time for togetherness and giving, with one golden rule: don’t be a dickhead. Emily Writes shares her guide to not being a dickhead, making Christmas Day fun for kids, and being kind at Christmas time. Whether you have wee ones or not, Christmas can be a stressful time. Or a magical time. … Read more
Coco Solid and The Spinoff wants to have an actual conversation about gender equality in New Zealand music. That’s why we’ve teamed up to launch a new project focusing on sexism and sexual assault in the music community – and we’re inviting you to get involved. Writing was always the more traditional interest of mine, … Read more
We wanted to better understand the changing New Zealand economy, and who better to explain it than superstar economist Shamubeel Eaqub. This is the fifth of six short videos featuring Shamubeel giving it to us straight while sitting comfortably in a classic Kiwi chair. In this video Shamubeel explains how tax has changed and why … Read more
The most popular books this Xmas at the Unity Books stores in Wellington and Auckland. WELLINGTON STORE 1 Fucking Apostrophes (Icon Books, $19) by Simon Griffin Number one in both the Wellington and Auckland store’s! 2 At The Beach (New Holland, $35) by Margaret Brooker Summer recipes. 3 The Sympathizer (Piatkus, $28) by Viet Thanh … Read more
Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes exchanges emails with a paediatrician and asks all of your hard questions – and some inappropriate ones. Being a paediatrician is serious business. And as such they’re not really interested in answering questions a hypothetical editor of a hypothetical parenting section might ask about Hot Paediatricians being lusted after by thirsty mums. … Read more
There ain’t no Friday Poem today. Instead, the Spinoff’s team of experts have chosen their favourite five books of poetry published in 2016, and guarantee that each book would make a really good Xmas gift. Hera Lindsay Bird (Victoria University Press, $25) by Hera Lindsay Bird There are 17 people in New Zealand yet to buy … Read more
Taxes: every politician’s favourite buzz word. But just how much tax are we paying? Take the quiz below. Having trouble viewing the quiz? Take it here.
What do you see when you look at the Canterbury logo? If you’re one of the estimated 50% of New Zealanders who are oblivious to its true meaning, sit down, take a deep breath, and prepare to have your world turned upside down. Hayden Donnell reports. You’ve probably looked at the Canterbury logo thousands of … Read more
Who was Prime Minister John Key? A lovably uncool dad, goofing off on the breakfast TV couch? A proudly vicious parliamentarian, sticking the knife in at Question Time? A political genius with an uncanny knack for understanding voters better than they did themselves? Or a cautious conservative who avoided the real issues? Danyl Mclauchlan picks … Read more
We’ve all been there – just replace glitter with flour or eggs or dirt or cursed nappy cream. There are days that you just want to forget, but they are also days that will always make you laugh…or at least make others laugh. Eliza Jane tells us about her day. Once upon a time there … Read more
James Mustapic of genius Youtube channel Shorty Street Scandal is coming out of retirement to do a live show at The Basement this weekend. He explains why. After almost two years of watching every episode of Shortland Street at least twice a night, and recapping them on Youtube, I took a break. This Saturday 17th … Read more
A special message for Spinoff Parents readers from editor Emily Writes. The Spinoff Parents is an almost three-month-old bundle of joy and so it’s time to remind you that this precious baby only exists because of Flick Electric. They’re the parents of Spinoff Parents. Without them we wouldn’t exist. I truly believe we need this … Read more
Things might be very bleak internationally, but as we close out 2016 there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about our own economic future, as Sam Stubbs explains. In spite of recent earthquakes, real and political, I’m as bullish on New Zealand’s economic future as I’ve ever been. Setting aside the deeply troubling social … Read more
Sarah Forster – a judge at next year’s children’s book awards – chooses the best 20 local and international books of the year. PICTURE BOOKS That’s Not a Hippopotamus (Gecko Press, $19.99) by Juliette MacIver and Sarah Davis A hilarious take on the plight of the quiet boy who is the only person who can … Read more
Trans people remain one of New Zealand most discriminated-against groups – and nowhere more so than in the provision of healthcare. Why are people in desperate need continuing to wait decades for potentially life-saving surgery, asks Madeleine Holden. If 2015 was the year of trans visibility, then the protection of trans rights has became an … Read more
More than 13,000 abortions were performed in New Zealand last year, yet the reasons why women have one remain largely shrouded in secrecy. If we’re to have a more open discussion on the subject, we could start with the fact that most women who have an abortion already have children. Here, Auckland woman Emmaline Matagi … Read more
This month on our parenting podcast: a brutally honest and funny discussion of the repercussions – both physical and mental – of pregnancy, birth and parenting. This is The Spinoff Parents podcast, Dear Mamas, a straight-talking parenting podcast with Holly Walker and Emily Writes. Our brilliant and talented sponsors are Little Big Crate. Little Big … Read more
The directors of videos for Lorde, Shihad, Ladi 6, Lawrence Arabia and more choose their favourite music vids of 2016. Joel Kefali Joel Kefali is the director of music videos for Lorde, Katy Perry and Leisure. When I look back at the music videos of 2016, I found it difficult to make an objective top … Read more
An old year, a new prime minister and a very tired world. Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee and Ben Thomas bedeck themselves with boughs of holly and size up the winners and losers of the year 2016, and what to expect in the next one. Ho, ho, ho, really, when you think about it. Ben and … Read more
For good or ill, the first three years of a child’s existence have an outsized impact on the rest of their life, according to findings taken from the world renowned Dunedin Study. The study’s director talks to Toby Manhire about what it all means. Give me a child at seven, and I will show you … Read more
Critics are seizing on a new report that says the Ultra Fast Broadband rollout has had no direct impact on business productivity. But those who dismiss the scheme as corporate welfare are missing the big picture, says telecoms commentator Paul Brislen. I’ve had more arguments about broadband than just about anything else including (but not … Read more
You’ve seen all the other best-of books lists and as the saying goes: they’re shit! Yeah nah this is the only one you need, as the Spinoff’s team of democratic experts bring together memoir, history, survivor’s stories, boxing, shops and other subjects from real life. Les Parisiennes: How the Women of Paris Lived, Loved & … Read more
Eugenia Woo has a date with evil in a RPG that drops moral decisions on the player like a tonne of bricks. And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you. That’s Nietzsche. I remember someone trying to explain that to me ages ago using the tired example of … Read more
New Auckland mayor Phil Goff wants everyone to know he’s in charge. He’s been laying down the law for council officers, getting offside with some of the councillors, turning himself into the star of his own show. This week, as the new mayor and his council meet for the last time in 2016, Simon Wilson … Read more