Can you sum up five seasons of the bed-hopping, flatmate-loving sitcom New Girl in one minute? Madeleine Chapman thinks she can. Watch five seasons of New Girl on Lightbox right here and right now: This content, like all television coverage we do at The Spinoff, is brought to you thanks to the excellent folk at Lightbox. Do … Read more
When it comes to safety, sometimes looking back on the past can make you glad you’re alive today, writes Vector’s Chief Networks Officer Andre Botha. All of these things were once considered perfectly normal: not wearing seat belts; public DDT-spraying trucks (to end Polio, of course); giving the kids a booster seat so they could … Read more
In the third part of the new podcast series Venus Envy, Zoë Lawton and Hayden Wilson discuss how the culture and corporate structure of law firms created a fertile environment for sexual assault. While #MeToo was born out of the Hollywood film industry in the US, the legal profession has been at the centre of … Read more
The Single Object is a series exploring our material culture, examining the meaning and influence of the objects that surround us in everyday life. In the first of the series, Madeleine Chapman inspects a pen, and learns about the power of privilege. In 1978, young brown men were being arrested. With unemployment rising and the … Read more
Henry Oliver talks to Jon Toogood, best known as the frontman of evergreen rockers Shihad, about the new record of his collaborative project The Adults. Last time I talked with Jon Toogood – Shihad frontman, wild rock’n’roll singer, wirey mass of relentless energy – he had recently got married and was preparing for the album tour … Read more
From broadbeans to home wiring, the Spinoff and the Commerce Commission provide some essential tips on how to enhance your broadband performance. The internet is buzzy as. Think about it for a second. Inexplicable technology has the answer to every question you’ve ever had, held inside magic flying around in the sky, just waiting for … Read more
The performance of Kendrick Lamar’s hip-hop carries special meaning for New Zealand’s minorities, Tamsyn Matchett writes. Kendrick Lamar has been on his DAMN. tour for more than a year. He will finish the 12 month marathon next week in Australia. Such a gruelling, brutal schedule is warranted given the huge mainstream success of DAMN., and its … Read more
In the second part of the new podcast series Venus Envy, Parris Goebel, Karen Walker and Rosanna Raymond discuss beating the boys, the shoulders they stand on, and haircuts. It’s been a constant battle against the perception of what women should be, and what they can achieve in comparison to their male counterparts, for globally recognised … Read more
As winter passes and new life takes hold in New Zealand, indigenous guests from far abroad have arrived to exchange cultural knowledge. It’s more than 12,000 kilometres from Salem, Oregon, to Dunedin, Otago – an epic journey across the Pacific – but for students like Cherokee Miranda Livers, it’s a pilgrimage for a cultural immersion … Read more
To celebrate the release of Chelsea Jade’s long-awaited debut album, Sam Brooks asks her everything about her (and other people’s) music. It’s the rare unambiguously sunny morning in Auckland when Personal Best drops. I’m sitting outside a big building, waiting for an interview, long flowy coat on, big sunglasses on, and I’m listening to the album from … Read more
Whether you’re mining bitcoin or Googling yourself, you’re creating a lot of heat somewhere. A group of New Zealand scientists have found a way to take the heat off data centres. Each time you Google something, a data centre responds. This data centre – a repository for masses of information – is one of many … Read more
Here’s everything you need to know about the very chilled-out, extremely popular tropical house DJ. Hang on a minute – I thought ‘tropical house’ was something they have at the botanical gardens. What is it? You know that Ed Sheeran song that goes “I’m in love with your body / I’m in love with the … Read more
Season eight of Suits starts dropping on Lightbox tomorrow – and Katherine Heigl is coming along with it. Sam Brooks details where the former TV princess has been up to since her heyday. Katherine Heigl has had a strange career, you guys. First up, she had Roswell. You know, that show about aliens starring the guy with … Read more
Auckland has long been NZ’s economic engine, but these days the rest of the country’s doing pretty well too – and maybe even better, says Kiwibank’s chief economist Jarrod Kerr. In Auckland, things are starting to get a little chilly, not just in terms of the weather, but economically too – migration is cooling and … Read more
We’re halfway through the school holidays and you’re probably running out of things to do with the kids. Never fear – Tara Ward to the rescue, with the ideal time-filling shows on Lightbox. Welcome to the school holidays, the magical period when whānau bask in the glow of two weeks of quality time with their … Read more
Singer-songwriter Theia tells her story of self-harm and taking back the power by writing about it. I break out in cold sweats a lot at the moment. I’m hit with major waves of crippling terror every time I think too intently about the fact that I’m releasing a new song. Not just any song, but … Read more
In an interview to launch the new podcast series Venus Envy, the prime minister calls for more ‘conversations around consent and healthy relationships’ in the wake of the global outrage sparked by the Harvey Weinstein revelations. The New Zealand prime minister has called for the energy of the #MeToo movement to be translated into action. … Read more
We’ve come to the end of the dystopian conservative marathon that is the second season of The Handmaid’s Tale – and oh my god what have you done, June! Tara Ward recaps. For the love of all things red and capey, why did you not get in the truck? It was the last few minutes … Read more
Harlots returns to Lightbox tomorrow with a second season full of intrigue, feminism and corset-ripping good times. The show is full of famous faces, but where have you seen them before? Samantha Morton Who is she playing? Margaret Wells! She runs a brothel in 18th century Britain, and her brutal upbringing working in Lydia Quigley’s brothel … Read more
Ever considered making and selling electricity from the comfort of your home or business? While that might sound like some dodgy online scam, it’s not as far-fetched as you might think, writes Vector’s Chief Networks Officer Andre Botha. You’ve read the news stories already: technology is evolving and everyone’s an innovator these days and the … Read more
Australian musician Amy Shark played an intimate set at S @ Spark Arena earlier this week. She spoke to Lydia Burgham about being vulnerable with her songwriting, her Amy Winehouse obsession and working with Jack Antonoff. Releasing a debut album is a momentous occasion in the career of any artist, but for Amy Shark the release also … Read more
Love is patient, love is kind, love is not knowing what beautiful nightmares await us in next week’s season finale. Tara Ward recaps the penultimate episode of the second season of The Handmaid’s Tale. Time flies while you’re having fun in the apocalypse, and several weeks have passed since we left June bleeding on the … Read more
Listen In, a mini-festival featuring A$AP Rocky, Skrillex, Skepta and Lil Skies, was announced this week. To celebrate, Hussein Moses found five of A$AP Rocky’s best (and weirdest) collaborations. A$AP Rocky, rapper, actor and hopeful saviour of Under Armour (remember Curry 2s, anyone?), is on his way to Auckland’s Spark Arena this September for Listen … Read more
Jam and Jerusalem. Bells and Smells. Tea and Cakes. Murder and Intrigue. Four of the classic double acts. And they all come together in the delightful investigation series Father Brown, five glorious seasons of which are available for your leisurely winter viewing on Lightbox. As any Catholic lapsed or otherwise will tell you, the greatest … Read more
Squawk Squad is the social enterprise using modern technology to not only make predator traps more effective but keep its wider community of donors connected with its work. Every year, a massive 25 million native birds are said to be killed by pests, leaving many of our most beloved species – the takahē, kākāpō, and … Read more
At 16 years old, Jackson Owens was handpicked for a pop trio by former Backstreet Boys producer Timothy Coons due to the strength of his musical cover versions on YouTube. Since then he’s left his hometown of Turangi behind to hunt for a break in the US. Gareth Shute catches up with Owens to discuss his … Read more
Martyn Pepperell talks to Dictaphone Blues’s Ed Castelow on Tinder, synths and redefining indie success. Auckland singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and studio tinkerer Ed Castelow has been a regular fixture on stages around New Zealand and Australia since the mid-2000s, playing in bands like degrees.k, The Ruby Suns, The Brunettes, Anthonie Tonnon and The Conjurors, and his own … Read more
A birth, an Oprah, a Serena, a Moira, a denial, a denial, a denial. Tara Ward recaps episode 11 of The Handmaid’s Tale, season 2. This I (do not) know is true, but I do know Oprah was the welcome voice of the resistance in this week’s intense episode of The Handmaid’s Tale. June listened to … Read more
Lightbox Movies has a huge selection of movies to choose from, but film geek Sam Brooks is most excited about the obscure, hard-to-find and objectively best ones. A Fantastic Woman Obviously, the first thing a film nerd should catch up on, if they haven’t seen it already, is the latest winner of the Academy Award for … Read more