An accidental innovation hub has become a $1 billion venture. If New Zealand wants to build a better standard of living for everyone we must replicate that magic, says Vic Crone. An unremarkable building in a leafy Parnell street is these days hi-tech hallowed ground. Level two of 24 Balfour Road is the birthplace of … Read more
Cher is coming to town! Sam Brooks runs through the many facets of Cher’s near-60 year career – and what makes her so special. Cher as pop star Look, Cher has been a pop star longer than most of us have been alive. She’s had more hits than I have had glasses of wine. She … Read more
Needles may be scary. But do you know what’s worse? The flu. Alex Braae got over his fear and got the flu shot, for the greater good. I haven’t had a flu vaccination in a couple of years. In that time I’ve also had the flu a couple of times. When I let this slip … Read more
Once Auckland’s retail centre, K’ Road was forever changed by the Western Motorway, but is on its way back to being a thriving retail centre where more and more people want to live. Henry Oliver went to look at one apartment building’s addition to K’ Road’s continual evolution. The ‘real’ Karangahape Road – like the ‘real’ … Read more
We’re rocketing towards the ending of season two of The Handmaid’s Tale, and Gilead is not letting up one bit. Tara Ward recaps episode 10. Let myself introduce myself: this is me after I watched this week’s episode of The Handmaid’s Tale. I am ruined. I am a bleeding carcass of emotion, stripped of everything that … Read more
To celebrate Wellington on a Plate’s 10th birthday the capital’s party experts have shared their tips on how to nail your next blowout. Throwing a party, whether for four people around the dinner table at home or for 40,000 people at a festival, is a complicated chess game. All the different pieces have to move … Read more
One of the best reasons for lighting the Auckland Harbour Bridge is that it makes diversity impossible to ignore, writes Vector’s Beth Johnson. These days, the words ‘kia ora’ are everywhere: it’s part of our everyday chat throughout New Zealand. It’s how we say hello. In the not-too-distant past greeting customers with a “kia ora” … Read more
From the moment he arrived in Italy to play rugby Sir John Kirwan fell in love with the food and wine. He speaks to Simon Day about bringing a taste of his corner of the country back to New Zealand. In 1985, a 20-year-old (not yet Sir) John Kirwan was living in Mangere earning $150 … Read more
On Lightbox Premium, you can download Lightbox content to your mobile device. We asked our colleagues for their picks to watch on your next commute – no matter the length. Your commute can be the worst part of your day; there’s nothing to do on it except waste time. But what if you could catch … Read more
The typical Kiwi farmer is swapping their roll of Number 8 wire for a smartphone and robotics. At Fieldays 2018 Angela Cuming discovered the technology and science solving many of the challenges facing the industry. It’s 4am on your average Kiwi dairy farm, a time when most farmers are up and out of bed and … Read more
Ash Peters is passing on her love of mountain biking to hundreds of families around the Wellington region. She spoke to Thalia Kehoe Rowden about what draws her to the hills, and how her charity is reaching all sorts of families who haven’t been on the trails before. The WORD youth mountain biking holiday programmes … Read more
Samuel Flynn Scott explores the buzzy flavours of the natural wineries of downtown Wellington. I’m in the Garage Project Taproom with my long term comrade in music Lukasz Buda. We’re entertaining Marlon Williams and his lovely band The Yarra Benders. We find ourselves here because it’s close to the gig, and we’re trying to impress … Read more
Welcome back to Gilead, where last week’s memories of June and Serena eating croissants and listening to Lionel Ritchie records together are but crumbs in the dystopian toaster of our lives. Tara Ward recaps episode 9. This week we begin our journey into the hellfires of patriarchy with June counting her blessings (mostly: a chair) … Read more
Tēnā koutou katoa, haere mai ki Te Bulletin, ko Simon Day tōku ingoa. I’m stepping in for Alex Braae this morning and in today’s edition: Winston Peters jumps Fonterra, Spark gives 1900 people five days to decide on their future, and Mycoplasma Bovis spreads in the North Island. Prime minister proxy in waiting Winston Peters, … Read more
Henry Oliver explores the corridors and changes happening at Auckland Museum, and what they say about Tāmaki Makaurau. Cities change. It’s part of their essential nature. A product of their population, cities are constantly transforming as they attract new people and lose others. While the hills and the water and sky remain, essentially, unchanged, everything … Read more
After years of disappointing wage growth, and income growth more broadly, are the stars aligned for a lift? We all know it. It’s the feeling of busting your gut day-in day-out to finally get to payday, only to feel when you wrest open that little payslip, defeated and a little deflated: I worked all those … Read more
With dozens of domestic animals, a seriously French take on Sex and the City and maybe the most popular NZ show ever, June on Lightbox has your winter sorted. Sam Brooks, Alex Casey and Emily Writes run down what’s coming to Lightbox this month. NEW TO LIGHTBOX TV Madam Secretary (S1-2, arrives June 19) Do you love political drama … Read more
It appears the two biggest pizza nerds in the world are both from Wellington. Samuel Flynn Scott spoke to the capital’s pizza guru, Tommy Millions, about the perfect slice, learning his craft, and his alternative social media style. Tommy Millions started life as a little woodfired pizza trailer that would pop up at farmers’ markets … Read more
Though most Kiwi artists who rack up big numbers on Spotify are chart-topping stars, some remain stubbornly unknown. Gareth Shute investigates the odd paths NZ acts have taken to get to a million Spotify streams. In a small country like New Zealand it’s difficult to get to a million streams on Spotify unless you’re a … Read more
This month legendary Wellington food emporium Moore Wilson’s turned 100. Samuel Flynn Scott meets Julie Moore, the most important and influential person in Wellington food. Sean Clouston, executive chef and co-owner of Logan Brown, was bustling through Moore Wilsons in his cheffy regalia. “Sammy! You come here on Fridays too? Best time mate. All the … Read more
A birth, a betrayal, a flogging. Things continue to get darker on episode 8 of The Handmaid’s Tale, available on Lightbox. Tara Ward recaps. “Gilead eats you from the inside out,” June said during this week’s episode of The Handmaid’s Tale, titled ‘Women’s Work’. It’s true, Gilead is the bleeding ulcer on the stomach lining of … Read more
Māori are in the process of choosing which electoral roll to vote from. Simon Day spoke to Dr Paerau Warbrick about what that decision means. I grew up firmly in te ao Pākehā. I also grew up very aware of my Tainui whakapapa, and the story of grandfather’s family – his father a legendary Māori … Read more
The Spinoff spent a week scaring the shit out of each other. So we made our own horror movie. Giving someone a great fright is an art. It takes preparation, patience, and innovation. It can be as simple as finding someone vulnerable, headphones on, deeply invested in their work and creeping into their blind spot; … Read more
You never realise how good you have it until it’s too late. In the first part of a series on Wellington’s flourishing food scene, former resident Samuel Flynn Scott yearns for the capital’s $7 menu. So long and thanks for all the roti, I don’t miss you at all. When I think of Wellington, until … Read more
Gone are the days of wholesome messages on cakes, we are now living in a rude cake world. Alex Casey visits Tomboy to sample some delicious truths. Baker Kate Marinkovich from Tomboy cakery doesn’t want to tell me the rudest thing she has ever had to ice onto a cake. “It’s just so rude” she winced. … Read more
Today, even large corporations are trying to be agile, experimental and collaborative — an approach that could be termed ‘hacking’. Simon Day talks to the author of a new book about what business can learn from hackers. This story originally ran in Barker’s 1972 magazine. When I think of hacking, I think of the The Net, … Read more
With Jacinda Ardern’s due date just days away, Winston Peters is preparing for the most powerful period of his long, long political life. Toby Manhire surveys an extraordinary, enigmatic career This story originally ran in Barker’s 1972 magazine. For someone who styles himself as a straight-shooter, Winston Peters is one hell of a puzzle. To mangle the words of … Read more
After talking to author and scholar Damon Salesa, Madeleine Chapman wonders why we don’t see more Pacific players in New Zealand cricket. This story originally ran in Barker’s 1972 magazine. It doesn’t make sense. Rugby, league, netball, basketball. All have a large number of Pacific athletes representing New Zealand at the highest level and all have … Read more
You’ve got three days off work – why would you want to spend it outside being cold when you could be cosily binge-watching the best of Lightbox in the comfort of your own home? Some people spend their public holidays in the fresh air, having ‘experiences’ and meeting ‘people’. To them, I say: please stop. … Read more