Russell Brown goes off the grid on Great Barrier Island to see out what it takes to get the local community online and connected. In the lead-up to Christmas on Aotea Great Barrier Island, locals were bracing for the deluge. Every holiday season, the island’s permanent population of around 900 multiplies and this summer, with … Read more
Experts on employment predict how Covid-19 will change the way we work and impact jobs in the future. The isolating impact of Covid-19 forced us to change the way we work. It recast the relationship between employer and employee and it brought the role of technology in our workplaces forward by years. This shift was … Read more
Two Outlander stars want to take you on the road trip of your Scottish dreams. If you’re a fan of Outlander, Neon’s popular time-travelling drama about a woman who accidentally finds herself in 1745 Scotland, you might feel like you already know everything about Scotland. You’ve soaked up the beautiful scenery and had a taste … Read more
The Climate Change Commission’s progressive recommendations to reduce transport emissions are realistic and achievable – and they could be revolutionary, writes Z Energy’s Sheena Thomas. I recently read about a Californian startup developing a diamond-encased battery powered by nuclear waste that would last a lifetime and solve the world’s energy and climate change problems. It … Read more
How do productive people use their phones to their advantage? In the first part of a new series, The Spinoff asks Vodafone NZ’s head of platforms Sharina Nisha how she makes her phone work for her, and the apps she considers crucial. Sharina Nisha is the head of platforms at Vodafone NZ, a short title … Read more
From pop-punk frontman to big-name producer, Joel Little’s musical career has followed a rare trajectory. A new Audioculture feature traces his path – here are a few of the highlights. The early years Joel Little’s introduction to the New Zealand music industry came as the frontperson of pop-punk band Goodnight Nurse in the early 2000s. … Read more
The relationship between dog and owner often feels like a bond as deep and strong as blood. Emily Writes met five families whose dogs have a special role in their lives. On Gaia Bellini’s first birthday she had a photoshoot with her 90-year-old great-grandmother. It was a gift from her mum Olivia. Gaia’s hair was … Read more
Ben Fahy talks to The Mind Lab’s Saskia Verraes about teaching humans how to use technological disruption to do good – and how to evaluate what ‘doing good’ really means. If there was a statement that summed up humanity, you could do worse than “just because you can, doesn’t mean you should”. Religion, colonisation, guns, … Read more
When it works, wifi feels like magic; when it doesn’t, it feels like the world has stalled. The Spinoff spoke to Vodafone wifi expert Mark Beaton about how its rapid evolution is changing the way we live and creating better connections. In the early years of the internet, it was all about plugging in. Surfing … Read more
What’s the difference between a human and a tree? A tree will never leave you. Take our quiz to find your dream native. Valentines come and go, but a tree lasts forever – or at least several decades. If you’re tired of barking up the wrong tree when it comes to romance, it might be … Read more
After Covid devastated its 2020, Basement Theatre comes roaring into 2021 with its Summer Season. Here’s the rundown of shows in-store, with some comments from programmer Nisha Madhan. Pre-Fringe Lust Island When’s it on: February 2-6, 8pm Who’s involved: The women of improv troupe Hearthrobs (McKenzie’s Daughters, Salem Bitch Trials), including Brynley Stent, Alice Canton, … Read more
Get wild, get cultured, get fed and then get to bed: the essential guide to a perfect few days in the southern city. There’s one thing that preoccupies the staff of The Spinoff almost as much as arranging popular food items into arbitrary lists, and that’s Dunedin. A quite remarkable number of us were either … Read more
For a long time, weighted blankets were considered a specialist device. Now they’re popular with even the most normal sleepers. Growing up, Temple Grandin spent time on her aunt’s cattle ranch in America, watching cow after stressed cow enter a squeeze chute and come out calm as the dead sea. She wondered if the same … Read more
At the Chorus Fibre Lab, José Barbosa peeked behind the curtain of the internet and found something beautiful and very, very fast. The human mind is a daily swarm of notions, speculations, ruminations, thoughts and otherwise base-level brain puffs. Just to get through the grind of survival, we’ve evolved to mentally plop into plain view … Read more
Zendaya has been around for a decade, but she’s gone from Disney prodigy to pop star to acclaimed actress. Here are the highlights of the 24-year-old’s already impressive career. Shaking it up: Zendaya on Disney The world’s first encounter with Zendaya was a little Disney show called Shake It Up, a series where two high … Read more
In a historic corner of Dunedin, startup culture is thriving. Catherine McGregor visited the city’s Warehouse Precinct to meet the people driving the movement. When Jason and Kate Lindsey bought the four storey building now known as Petridish, it was an absolute wreck. Once home to a thriving hat and textiles factory – a 1919 … Read more
Care is at the centre of Auckland Zoo’s mandate, and it’s clear to see when you witness the staff doing their day-to-day jobs up close. Leonie Hayden went behind the scenes to talk to two people who would do anything for the animals they look after. “We were having this big discussion at morning … Read more
A distinctly colonial institution, banking has long ignored te ao Māori. Teaho Pihama believes investment in tikanga Māori at Kiwibank can have significant, positive outcomes for Māori. In early 90s Tāmaki Makaurau, when Teahooterangi (Teaho) Pihama was growing up riding his bike around the streets of Kingsland until the streetlights came on, the inner city … Read more
It’s as true now as it ever has been: nowhere else offers an education experience like that of Dunedin. But rather than resting on their laurels, the University of Otago and Otago Polytechnic have plans to make the city an even more inspiring place for students. From high in the summit beyond Pine Hill on … Read more
Summer reissue: After hitting a career-low in recent years, New Zealand’s most successful rally driver ever is ready to once again take on the world. He talks to George Driver from his Cromwell garage about reaching WRC success against all odds, the trauma and disappointment of the last few years, and his plans to build … Read more
The Ones to Watch programme has landed in New Zealand, providing up and coming musicians with a platform for their work and an opportunity to showcase their music to a wide range of audiences. The Spinoff talks to emerging artists RIIKI and Park Rd about where they’ve come from, and where 2020 has taken them. … Read more
The Spinoff and Jucy sent Alex Braae on a long odyssey around the country during the election campaign. Here are his picks for the local radio stations that were most surprising and impressive. A road trip is all about seeing the bits in the middle that you miss when you travel airport to airport. Visiting … Read more
Simon Day spoke to Charlotte Ward, chief people officer at Kiwibank, about what it was like to return to Aotearoa in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic. Charlotte Ward has constantly been on the move. Now, she’s found her way home and doesn’t plan on going anywhere any time soon. The newly appointed chief people … Read more
Emily Writes lists the essential items you need for your family holiday. Packing to go on summer holiday is an art and a scientific problem. It involves using both sides of the brain. An emotional and intellectual operation that can make or break your summer. If you’re going on a summer holiday don’t let the … Read more
Technology is helping New Zealand’s small businesses focus on the important stuff and freeing up their valuable time, while dealing with the challenges and opportunities of a pandemic. As a nation of five million, we love to hold up our shiny success stories of Kiwi businesses that have made it big on the world stage. … Read more
In which James Borrowdale visits Sylvia Park, meets Santa Claus, and decides that Christmas might not be so bad after all. I should admit, at the outset of this piece, that, as an adult, I have always been largely agnostic to the Christmas spirit – that intangible embodiment of a season that, to this mind, … Read more
The global pandemic forced millions inside and online, changing the way the world interacts and does business, and accelerating technology adoption. George Driver discovers how this year, New Zealand brought the future a little closer. March 22, 2020: I am standing at the door of my tent in a deserted campground on a Northland beach, … Read more
In the final part of Coming Home, hosts Duncan Greive and Jane Yee ask what can be done to keep returning New Zealanders on our shores post-pandemic. Over the first four episodes of Coming Home we’ve heard about what’s been pushing New Zealanders to live and work overseas for decades, and what pulled so many … Read more
It’s the new national pastime and New Zealand’s fastest-growing tech industry. Jonathan Cotton finds out how New Zealand is staying connected to this billion-dollar global opportunity. Gus, my 11-year-old son, will talk to you about gaming. He’ll talk to himself about gaming. Under the right circumstances, he’ll talk to a potted plant about gaming. And … Read more