A decade after ‘Young Blood’ was released, The Naked and Famous are still making hits. Thom Powers and Alisa Xayalith talk about their early years in Auckland, their present in locked-down LA, and how their new album was forged in between it all. A decade ago, there was a script musicians in New Zealand could … Read more
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level one – read about what that means here. For official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is made possible thanks to donations from Spinoff Members. To support this work, join The Spinoff … Read more
Michèle A’Court, Alex Casey and Leonie Hayden are back for a second season of On the Rag, and where better to start than with the mysterious, exhausting world of wellness? Dust off your jade eggs and crank the salt lamp, On the Rag is back for another season to talk all things wellness and self … Read more
The anti-scrum camp is strong, but consigning this misunderstood mass of bodies to history will have unintended consequences for the All Blacks once international rugby resumes, reckons Scotty Stevenson. When New Zealand Rugby’s officials decided to mark the breakdown with renewed vigour in the opening rounds of Super Rugby Aotearoa, the intention was clear: get … Read more
When the iPhone owns less than half the market, what are the best Android alternatives at every budget? Getting a new phone can be one of life’s little pleasures. Many of us hang onto our handsets for two years or more, so when that magic upgrade day finally rolls around, no one should be begrudged … Read more
Anxiety is totally understandable, and there have been a few own goals. But what we’re seeing is no great surprise, and it’s no time to panic, writes Siouxsie Wiles. After weeks of no new cases of Covid-19, in the last week we’ve recorded nine. That’s sounds pretty scary, but here’s why there’s no reason to … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Auckland drought leads to fears of severe water restrictions, exclusive new poll results on government’s Covid-19 response, and is a resolution coming at Ihumātao? The Auckland water crisis isn’t getting any better, and the city’s leaders are getting extremely nervous about the coming months. That is … Read more
A new survey by Stickybeak for The Spinoff shows the popular assessment of the government response to the Covid-19 crisis at its lowest level yet. A week that saw the government on the back foot in its Covid-19 response, with the prime minister acknowledging failures in the self-isolation and quarantining system and calling in the … Read more
The Floor is Lava is a new Netflix series based on, you guessed it, the children’s game known as The Floor is Lava. Who better to review it than a seven-year-old home champion? The Floor is Lava is cool. But at first you don’t think it’s cool because they actually die in the real lava. … Read more
The chair of a watchdog group on why she’s determined to stop a new mine waste dump near Waihi on the Coromandel peninsula. Just outside the town of Waihi there are two enormous artificial mountains of toxic waste from gold mining. Now the multinational mining company wants to buy more land and build another one, leaving … Read more
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level one – read about what that means here. For official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is made possible thanks to donations from Spinoff Members. To support this work, join The Spinoff … Read more
The Maritime Museum’s volunteers share what the ocean means to them, and why sailing is more than an elite boy’s club. “This one would have been home built,” James Clarke says, pointing to a wooden sailboat on display at New Zealand Maritime Museum Hui Te Ananui A Tangaroa. This particular wing houses the museum’s collection … Read more
On the back of co-authoring a white paper on the subject, Steven Moe explores how artists and poets can bring colour and creativity onto boards. The Covid-19 crisis has shown us that we need new paradigms of thinking. We have all been impacted by the pandemic which has challenged us to think and act more … Read more
From metal-spiked muffin splits and toxic fish to potentially fatal peanut traces, recalls have increased nearly four-fold in recent years. It’s a sign the system is working, but when it comes to transparency around what’s in our food, critics say New Zealand lags behind. Before putting an item in her shopping basket, Simone Antcliff reads … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: New case amid capacity concerns at isolation facilities, police mourn colleague who was killed, and vibrant weekend of party politics as election nears. Quarantine and managed isolation facilities are continuing to dominate the news, after a weekend of new developments. The news broke last night on Radio … Read more
Communication issues and policy changes exacerbated students’ uncertainty during the lockdown period, reports Ellen Sinclair. The level four announcement on March 24 signalled the start of a period of upheaval for all New Zealanders, but few groups faced more challenges over lockdown than university students. From the rush to get home at short notice, to … Read more
While the announcement that nobody in managed isolation will be allowed out early on compassionate grounds might sound reassuring, its legal basis appears extremely shaky, writes law professor Andrew Geddis. As recounted by The Spinoff’s own Justin Giovannetti, there’s no doubt that last week’s Covid-19 traipsing travellers omnishambles caught the government unawares. Indeed, I think … Read more
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level one – read about what that means here. For official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is made possible thanks to donations from Spinoff Members. To support this work, join The Spinoff … Read more
Who had the clown cake? Who had the terrible duck with chips for a beak? Who had that bloody train cake? In celebration of Jacinda Ardern’s laudable attempt at the piano cake for two-year-old Neve, we revisit the book that defined the birthday parties of your childhood. A version of this article was first published … Read more
Taking up skiing when you’re nearly 50? It ain’t pretty, but it’s possible. For someone who spent their 20s and 30s drinking booze and smoking fags, my 40s have proven positively restorative. I’ve gotten fitter and stronger – and probably more boring – by kicking almost all my vices to the kerb and in favour … Read more
How come New Zealand’s transport planning isn’t keeping up with the ideas now transforming the cities of the world? Not radical ideas, just orthodox planning ideas. Like: banning cars from the middle of town. This article was originally published in April 2017. Here’s a pretty good list of cities. Madrid, Paris, Vancouver, New York, Oslo, … Read more
The duo behind Parnell eatery Simon & Lee talk Gochu, their latest venture in Auckland’s Commercial Bay, and the emerging mainstream popularity of Korean cuisine. Three months ago, before alert levels were even a thing, a small group of guests was invited to have their first taste of Gochu’s menu. With everything from fresh Kaipara … Read more
Following its birth in the 1960s, ‘self care’ has transmuted from a mental health concept into an amorphous, social media-spruiked brand. Now a back-to-basics version is being touted as an aid to building resilience in the face of Covid-19. We’ve all seen the ads online, tempting us into some “me” time. Over 28.6 million “self … Read more
Seven days ago New Zealand was basking in a Covid-free glow. But over the week, holes sprung in the managed isolation system, with a scramble to assert authority seeing the military called into an oversight role. Spinoff political editor Justin Giovannetti recounts an extraordinary few days in NZ’s Covid-19 response story. A sense of victory … Read more
The journey fleeing home in search of safety and settling in Christchurch has led former refugee Masood Chakari to be an advocate for New Zealanders in need. While most New Zealanders stayed at home during the level four lockdown, a few essential people were allowed to carry on with their front-facing work to ensure the … Read more
A collective of four wāhine Māori artists, Mata Aho Collective transforms human-scale Māori weaving practices into atua-scale contemporary artworks that recently earned them a nomination for the 2020 Walters Art Prize. For writer Cassandra Barnett, their work provides some much-needed solace during a painful time. Today, I am a grieving and angry mother. As I … Read more
Cycling is an unusually controversial topic. The NZIER public good team explains why the government invests in cycle lanes, and why they make some people so mad. Under lockdown, we saw nature healing. The air was fresh and clean, native birdsong filled our ears, and bikes returned to the roads. It’s not surprising that bike … Read more
Over six years, Ben Sarten filmed Adam Rohe (who was assigned female at birth) on his journey into manhood, forming a friendship that to them has become as important as the documentary itself. Most documentary-makers put in hours, days, or years before a subject trusts them enough to do a film like Man Lessons. But … Read more
On World Refugee Day, New Zealanders of forced-migrant backgrounds share their memories of persecution and displacement, and their journeys to New Zealand. At Aotearoa Resettled Community Coalition we engage with forced-migrant-background communities, acting as the bridge between those communities and government and non-governmental service providers. For us, World Refugee Day means remembering those who did … Read more