Three American prison experts were in NZ when Judith Collins announced a $1bn boost to the corrections department and 1,800 more jail beds. Expansion of an approach that even Bill English calls a ‘moral and fiscal failure’ is a huge mistake, write Erica Meiners, Isaac Ontiveros and Rachel Herzing. And, below, a statement from the … Read more
Tara Ward brings you her rankings for Shortland Street last week, including undercover superheroes, fishy dilemmas, and Esther’s messy love life. 1) Rajiv is a superhero in a plastic apron Whipping off his jacket and throwing it aside like he was Patrick Swayze about to pull Baby from the corner, Rajiv revealed that he wasn’t just a … Read more
Is there any such thing as privacy in the age of social media and smart phones? Exciting new YA thriller novelist LJ Ritchie talks to author Nicky Hager about the realities – and unjustified fears – of state surveillance. LJ Ritchie: One question that often comes up in discussions on surveillance is, “If I’m not doing anything wrong, why … Read more
Experts agree: improving the welfare of our children – especially the most vulnerable – would bring huge social benefits, not least among them a drastic decrease in crime. So what are the fixes? And what’s stopping us? Thalia Kehoe Rowden has some suggestions. What can you say about Thalia Kehoe Rowden? She is a lightening … Read more
Kim Hill fans have been in heaven across the last fortnight. Pete Douglas spends a week waking up to the doyenne of RNZ as she supplements her regular Saturday gig with a super-sub role on Morning Report. My corner of the internet exploded with excitement when it was announced that Kim Hill would join Susie … Read more
Hang on, the poster in the gym that claims ‘first you feel like dying then you feel reborn’ isn’t about getting your child to sleep? That’s news to Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes. Saturdays begin with gymnastics class. One of the perks of my baby turning four (what the hell? He was just born) is … Read more
Compiling the best reading of the week from your friendly local website. Kristina Hard: In defence of Warriena Wright: an open letter to a slut-shaming newspaper columnist “‘He had made his intentions clear before she set foot in his apartment. She was a willing accomplice‘ She was a willing accomplice in her plan for consensual … Read more
This week, a teenage special: Ms. X dishes out advice to a uni student with a crush on an older guy, and to a teen girl sick of hearing her sister have loud sex. Hello Ms. X, I am a 17 year old girl and I have two problems. So I have a twin sister … Read more
After reading the story of stay-at-home dad Cameron Leckey’s epic journey to get a vasectomy, you’ll never look at the be-skivvied quartet the same way again. We promise. I love the Wiggles. Whether it’s the original Wiggly quartet with their big red car and their ‘middle aged white man’ choreography, or Wiggles 2.0 and their … Read more
Phil Goff just completed the first important act of his mayoralty: picking his leadership team. Did he screw it up? And how long must Penny Hulse pay for Len Brown’s doodle? Hayden Donnell investigates. Forget Donald Trump. He’s already sliding down the sewer drain to Loserville. It’s time to refocus your attention on the only … Read more
Before you switch your brain off for the long weekend and the All Blacks once again embarrass the Wallabies, test your knowledge of our favourite frenemies from across the ditch. Having trouble viewing the quiz? Take it here.
It’s Labour Weekend this weekend to commemorate the 8-hour work day by not going to work for any hours. It makes sense. To celebrate, Madeleine Chapman and Calum Henderson combined brains to find the best and worst places to work on Lightbox. THE BEST 1) Pawnee Parks Department (Parks & Recreation) With Leslie Knope being … Read more
This Labour Weekend, Christchurch welcomes back the Festival of Transitional Architecture, a biennial examination and celebration of the post-earthquake rebuild. Summer Hess talks city-making with the FESTA team. Most people wouldn’t plan an event in central city Christchurch while the army still controlled the Red Zone. But Jessica Halliday, an architectural historian and the co-founder … Read more
The weekly best-seller chart at Unity stores in Auckland and Wellington, for the week just ended: October 21 AUCKLAND STORE 1 Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow (Harvill Secker, $40) by Yuval Noah Harari “The epic, widely celebrated Sapiens gets the sequel it demanded – a breathless, compulsive inquiry into humanity’s apocalyptic, tech-driven future”: … Read more
You may not have heard of Minute To Win It and now it’s finished. But there’s still time to catch a few episodes online, as Tara Ward relives TV3’s final episode of the greatest talent show for the uncoordinated. As TV3’s long run of Minute To Win It came to a sad end, I wanted to understand how 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. Since arriving in the Hawke’s Bay in 1993 with everything he owned … Read more
The Spinoff presents TGI Funny Girls, an exclusive look at a brand new Funny Girls sketch every Friday. Ever woken up after a big night out and been scared to assess your surroundings? In most instances it’s a humbling experience, but sometimes your intoxicated self looks out for your hungover self and what a beautiful … Read more
What’s it like to want to start a family but not be able to? Introducing Kat McKenzie, the author of a new Spinoff Parents column on the hopes, fears and medical practicalities of trying to be a mother. For years I used to read anything I could about parenting. I was so desperate to have … Read more
While the golden age of television continues to blossom overseas, New Zealand’s TV drama output remains stubbornly mediocre. But it didn’t have to be that way, says Duncan Greive – and he has the show to prove it. A couple of years ago, about the same time that the big budget dramas Filthy Rich and … Read more
Talia Marshall reviews what is likely the year’s most entertaining, readable, and popular New Zealand novel, Daylight Second by Kelly Ana Morey. I remember the Phar Lap skeleton at the old Dominion Museum off Buckle St in Wellington. He was in a glass case just after the Victorian settlers listless in their life-sized dioramas, and … Read more
The ’90s and early 2000s brought with them an influx of young TV idols. But who has stood the test of time? Claire Adamson investigates. I’m not sure if the late 90s truly was a golden age for teen drama, or if it just seems that way because that’s when I was a teen. At … Read more
With the DVD special feature all but a distant memory in this cloud-based hoverboard age, Alex Casey remembers her favourite bonus feature from BBC’s Extras. I’ve already written about how much I love Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s underrated behind-the-curtain series Extras. As a teenager who cradled her DVD boxset of The Office like a … Read more
There’s a revolution underway. Deep within the Auckland Viaduct lurks the beginnings of our own tiny Silicon Valley. At GridAKL, more than 50 startups, in industries as diverse as medicine, robotics and augmented reality, are running the entrepreneurial gauntlet looking to build a high-growth business – or at least a get a second funding round. In On … Read more
Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have met for the third and final debate of a face-melting US presidential race. Toby Manhire distills the exchanges into a vile tongue burning hooch. Moderating the 90-minute debate at the University of Nevada is Chris Wallace of Fox News. It is being broadcast on all the world’s channels, streaming … Read more
In association with our mates Bigpipe we’re livestreaming a different video game every Wednesday at 7pm on Facebook Live. Join José Barbosa and a cast of roped in innocents for a journey into utter mayhem. Let’s travel back in time to the late 60s and to the southern United States for some open world FPS … Read more
Music critic Simon Sweetman is famous for his often brutal reviews, and those on the receiving end usually take it on the chin. But not Robbie Williams. A year on, Sweetman looks back at his brief scrap with the pop star – and asks: since when are kids fair game? When Simon Sweetman came on … Read more
Its ostensible subject was rugby’s recent sex scandals, but yesterday’s op-ed by Northland Age editor Peter Jackson seemed more concerned with criticising the sexual behaviour of Warriena Wright, the New Zealander whose death led to Gable Tostee facing murder charges in a Brisbane court. An appalled Kristina Hard responds. Yesterday nzherald.co.nz republished a vitriolic screed … Read more
The King of Clevedon, the Franklin guvnor: Bill Cashmore is to be Phil Goff’s No 2 at Auckland Council. The National-Party-supporting councillor popped in to Spinoff HQ a few weeks back. Here’s what he told us. The New Zealand Herald‘s Bernard Orsman has the scoop: the newly elected Mayor of Auckland, Phil Goff, has chosen … Read more
After barely surviving a week of upsets in the second round of worlds, Eugenia Woo regains her composure and sorts the gold from the silt in the chaotic quarterfinals of the 2016 League of Legends Worlds. I was pretty fragile coming into the Quarterfinals after trying and failing to recover from the Darkest Timeline of last week. … Read more