John Key was first elected Prime Minister in 2008. What was New Zealand like when the era of radio banter, ponytail pulling, and bad singing was just beginning? Having trouble viewing the quiz? Take it here.
In the face of everything from anecdote posing as evidence to bias peddlers to outright quackery, the best riposte is to champion good science. But how? Dr Jessica Berentson-Shaw offers seven tips. Science and evidence gets a pretty bad rap these days. Some of this bad rap is the science community’s responsibility to fix – … Read more
All week this week Spinoff Review of Books editor Steve Braunias recommends the very best, A-grade quality, guaranteed good books for Christmas. Today: The Shops, by Spinoff Review of Books editor Steve Braunias, in collaboration with photographer Peter Black. Here to promote it by way of a contentious essay is Spinoff Review of Books editor … Read more
An in-depth Spinoff investigation reveals exactly who invented What Now gunge and unravels the mystery of the secret recipe. Calum Henderson reports. “I was gunged while wearing a huge chicken suit in 1999.” “I was gunged in the presence of Lana Coc-Kroft.” “I was gunged on completion of the High Flyers course during a Shrek … Read more
Should David Shearer’s South Sudan appointment be confirmed, a byelection is likely in Mt Albert, signalling the departure of the last ex-Labour leader and leaving the question hanging: did the party err in knifing him? “Former leaders” are a mixed blessing for a political party – they can be weathered, wise old owls, or they … Read more
Eloise Gibson talks to child development specialist and mum of two Claire Lerner about flying with kids. What should we, and others, expect from children on long flights? And what can we do to make a trip easier? I’m going to be honest. I’m a parent, and I still fear sitting next to babies and … Read more
Russell Baillie investigates The Features, the short-lived Auckland post-punk band whose 1979-1980 output has just been re-released. When it came to nailing the ‘post-‘ to punk, there was no shortage of New Zealand groups swinging the hammer. But among those banging that hyphen into place hardest and earliest were The Features. The Auckland band lasted … Read more
John Key was a lot of things to different people. For some, a hero. For others, a villain. And for illustrator Lucy Zee, a nude model. Unless you’ve got John Key muted on your feed from that time every white man online was savagely trying to out do one another with who could make the … Read more
As the country counts down to the Joseph Parker vs Andy Ruiz WBO world heavyweight championship fight, The Spinoff presents FIGHT WEEK, an inside look at the life and career of Joseph Parker, culminating in the Barkers 1972 magazine cover story Inside Team Parker on Friday. Today, Don Rowe follows Team Parker as they prepare … Read more
Journalist Jessica McAllen looks back at the two years since Max Key broke into the nation’s consciousness and wonders: where to now for the fledgling DJ/popstar/internet celebrity? I first laid eyes on Max Key across the dancefloor at Auckland’s 1885 club in 2014. He was 19, I was 22. His friend Joshua Troskie gave me … Read more
Last week plans for a new news-based site, run by Mark Jennings and Tim Murphy, thudded prematurely into public view. What are the former mainstream news chiefs’ plans for the venture, could they have done more to stop the crisis they now hope to remedy, and can they sign up John Campbell to cover the … Read more
Dan Taipua and his friend Chris met at a Presbyterian college, and have never been to church since. Last week though, they set out on a pilgrim’s quest for gaming relics – travelling to 10 different Cash Converters stores in a single Saturday. When Chaucer wrote of pilgrimage he brought tales from a miller, a friar, … Read more
The Australian cricketer’s refusal to sign an R.M. Williams boot during last night’s One Day International forced me to reconsider his character, writes Calum Henderson in a stunning flip-flop. https://twitter.com/rustyjacko/status/806059078724108288 Like most New Zealand cricket fans I have spent the last seven years thinking the Australian cricketer David Warner was bad. Since his international debut … Read more
Over the past month, buried in the finance and markets pages of the Herald and elsewhere, there’s been a war brewing over KiwiSaver. The cause is the arrival and quick success of Simplicity, a not-for-profit Kiwisaver scheme. Simplicity’s Sam Stubbs responds to the latest, most aggressive attack from the sector. Something strange is happening to … Read more
All week this week we recommend the very best, A-grade quality, guaranteed good books for Christmas. Today: Elizabeth Smither reviews the medical memoir by Middlemore sawbones Dr David Galler, Things That Matter. I have a weakness for books written by doctors – medical books, autobiographies, reminiscences that combine medical information and terminologies with the humanity of the … Read more
John Key’s shock resignation has spawned a cottage industry for pundits convinced they alone know the hidden reason for his decision. Hayden Donnell ranks their theories. Even in his final speech, John Key was relatable. At the press conference following his resignation yesterday, he explained to media that he simply had “nothing left in the … Read more
Single mama Nichole Brown writes about her beloved daughter Emmy’s birthdays and the celebrations she created for them in the chaos of change. Before she was even born I had started planning Emmy’s first birthday. I knew it would be pink, princess, delicate, and sweet. I knew there would be tulle of some kind, ribbon … Read more
Alex Casey looks at the best of the worst of John Key on the commercial radio circuit. Caution: contains entirely too much information. It’s hard to know at this point in time what we will miss the most about John Key. Will it be the time he said that gender quotas in Cabinet were stupid? … Read more
Alex Casey rejoices in the return of a humble New Zealand television icon to Mozart in the Jungle, of all places. The other day my beloved colleague Madeleine Chapman regaled me with her joy at seeing the return of fruity fizzy drink ‘Mirinda’ to the shelves of her local Pak ‘n Save. I have to agree. … Read more
Kate Robertson’s seven reasons why Little Mix are the best Top 40 act right now. I could spend a solid eight hours collating a list of reasons why Little Mix are brilliant. I could rate the choreography from each of their music videos, compile track-by-track analyses of their albums, and discuss at length how they’ve managed … Read more
This time next week John Key will be jetting to Hawaii, while a replacement measures the drapes on the Beehive ninth floor. But who are the likely contenders to succeed him? A thumbnail introduction, by Toby Manhire Amy Adams: Selwyn, 45 Pros: Unblemished by scandal, First on the alphabetical roll. New generation, signalling renewal. Cons: … Read more
Henry Oliver listens to every song ever recorded about John Key to come up with the definitive listicle on the matter. For all his popularity, political skill and steady, centrist economics, John Key was disliked by many, including, apparently, a few musicians who were inspired to write songs about him. So, with his resignation, he’s … Read more
As the country counts down to the Joseph Parker vs Andy Ruiz WBO world heavyweight championship fight, The Spinoff presents FIGHT WEEK, an inside look at the life and career of Joseph Parker, culminating in the Barkers 1972 magazine cover story Inside Team Parker on Friday. First, a chronicle of Parker’s amateur experience and transition to … Read more
Nick Leggett, the former Porirua mayor and unsuccessful Wellington mayoralty candidate, has left the Labour party and says he intends to stand for National in the Mana seat next election. Josie Pagani explains why she thinks he could live to regret his decision. Nick Leggett’s decision to go to National is an embarrassment for those … Read more
Every night the television news happens at 6pm and current affairs shows happen at 7pm. Normally nothing much has happened. Yesterday though, John Key resigned, so Duncan Greive watched our nation’s finest broadcasters try and figure out what it all meant. Yesterday – you may have heard – our prime minister resigned after eight fun-filled … Read more
All week this week we recommend the very best, A-grade quality, guaranteed good books for Christmas. Today: Melinda Johnston reviews the Sarah Laing book/comic, Mansfield and Me. Sarah Laing is a novelist, comics artist, blogger and poet with a large and devoted following. From what I’d seen of Laing’s other comics, such as Let Me … Read more
In The Great War for New Zealand, historian Vincent O’Malley tells the story of the Waikato War of the 1860s – how it set back Māori-Pākehā relations by generations and changed the course of New Zealand history for good. Here, in an original essay for The Spinoff, he explains how the war helped create modern … Read more
After nine years in development hell, The Last Guardian has finally been released. Don Rowe enters a mysterious and melancholy world and finds the masterpiece of director Fumito Ueda’s career. The first time I calmed Trico the bird-dragon with a gentle pat I felt certain he was going to die. Nothing in the plot would … Read more
Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes sits down with a General Practitioner and asks all of the hard questions, from colic to reflux to tongue ties to bloody amber beads. This is the second in a series of posts in which I ask health professionals questions about child health, crowd-sourced from you. Today’s interviewee is a lovely … Read more