Migos performed in New Zealand for the first time at Spark Arena last night. Old soul Madeleine Chapman went along to see what the youths have been raving about. Walking towards Spark Arena for the Migos concert, my cousin Shanee and I ducked into a dimly lit doorway to prepare for the security checks that … Read more
Tara Ward counts down the top ten moments from ‘Freedom & Whiskey’, the fifth episode of Outlander season three. Contains major spoilers, obviously. Sing me a song of a lass that is gone and then rocks on up again, totes out of the blue, wearing a strange coat and humming the Batman theme song. Everyone join in, … Read more
The Social Enterprise World Forum (SEWF) was hosted in Christchurch in the last week of September. Ākina Foundation CEO Alex Hannant looks back at the event and into the future of the social enterprise sector. Somewhere in the region of 1600 people attended the SEWF in Christchurch. It reached a further 3000 people through the … Read more
Alex Casey rounds up all the characters on Lightbox who are glamorous writers and examines just how accurate their portrayals of the profession are. Like many, I was led to believe that being a writer would mostly consist of calmly sitting down at my desk next to an ornate antique lamp, cranking open my laptop and tapping … Read more
The Social Enterprise World Forum in Christchurch may be over, but the conversation continues on The Spinoff, with a list of the coolest Kiwi social enterprises selected by those in the know. Alex Hannant (Ākina Foundation) – Pomegranate Kitchen My favourite social enterprise…? Tough question – there are so many enterprises that I admire and … Read more
For the first ever World Investor Week, the Financial Markets Authority wants Kiwis to learn some home truths about investment. Richard Meadows gives consumers some advice on how to take the power back. The thick and seemingly impenetrable fog that swirls around KiwiSaver is one of the great frustrations of being a financial journalist in New Zealand. … Read more
One Direction fan Sacha Judd on fandom, group chats, and how difficult it is to get Harry Styles tickets in New York City. Tickets to Harry Styles’ first solo tour go on sale on a Friday in May. He’s playing small venues – iconic theatres like the Greek in Los Angeles and the Ryman in … Read more
According to a new report, the design sector contributed over $10 billion to the New Zealand economy in 2016. Henry Oliver asks Thomas Mical, the head of AUT’s School of Art and Design, what that means for New Zealand design. Designers know that their work creates value, but a recent report from DesignCo – commissioned … Read more
What is art and what is it good for? Artweek, starting this weekend and running to the end of next, turns the central city into a showcase with a thousand answers: events, exhibitions, gallery tours, talks, open spectacles, hidden surprises and untold delights. I saw a video of a man dancing to Samuel Barber’s Adagio … Read more
When it comes to solar panels, the future is flexible. Vanessa Young discovers how a MacDiarmid project is unlocking the possibilities of a new generation of solar cell technology. When we imagine solar panels, we think of hard rectangle frames, sitting upright on roofs, or spread out across expanses of deserts. But imagine flexible, bendy … Read more
Kate Robertson chats on the phone with Macklemore for exactly nine minutes and thirty seconds, just enough time to ask him about his new album GEMINI, why he ditched the other dude, and making music in Trump’s America. It’s hard not to bop along to Macklemore. Some rap purists will say they thought he was … Read more
Tara Ward counts down the top ten moments from ‘Of Lost Things’, the fourth episode of Outlander season three. Contains major spoilers, obviously. Spare a thought for Jamie Fraser, the man who cannot escape his own animal magnetism. This season, no matter where he travels or how bad his hair is, Jamie’s golden charms have proved irresistible … Read more
Eat My Lunch (EML) has changed the way New Zealanders think about where they buy their lunch and the power of their purchase. Rebecca Stevenson talks to founder Lisa King about the EML model, making a profit, and the company’s growth. When The Spinoff visited the Eat My Lunch kitchen early one Friday morning, … Read more
London Grammar played live in Auckland for the first time on Saturday. Madeleine Chapman was at Spark Arena to see it unfold. There were technical issues at the London Grammar concert. I know this because the wait between the opener James Vincent McMorrow and the main act was 45 minutes. I also know this because … Read more
The Financial Markets Authority wants Kiwis to learn some home truths about investment. For the first ever World Investor Week, FMA’s Paul Gregory shares some tips on being a smart investor. As New Zealand’s financial markets regulator, the FMA is both guard dog and guide dog. The guard dog is how we regulate and investigate … Read more
He’s made songs that are etched into the memories of generations of New Zealanders, but still fears the possibility of failure every time he sits down with a guitar or at his piano to write. Henry Oliver sits down for a few beers with New Zealand music icon, the ubiquitous yet mysterious Dave Dobbyn. Photography by Joel Thomas. For … Read more
As part of the The Spinoff’s social enterprise series, Madeleine Chapman attempted to use only the most woke businesses for a week’s worth of consumption. It wasn’t easy but she was left uplifted. A week of living entirely from the fruits of social enterprises would be fun, is what I said aloud at work … Read more
Everybody wants to rule the world, but who else, asks Simon Wilson in this “partner content” feature, sets out to do it with as much wham-bam glam as the 80s dancefloor revivalist musical Pleasuredome? Just before the intermission, Lucy Lawless gets up close and personal with the woman she’s seducing and slides into ‘Hey little girl … Read more
Social enterprise is changing the way we consume. In a discussion with some of the most prominent players in the sector, The Spinoff asks: can we consume our way to a better society? The rise of social enterprise has become an important signal for the direction of our economy. As the sector continues its rapid … Read more
Is Vikings fake news or did they really have those exuberant ponytails? Before the new season comes to Lightbox in December, Tara Ward tides herself over with some learning in Real Vikings. After a marathon session of the TV series Vikings, I’m left with as many questions as Rollo has hair combs. Who were the … Read more
In the fourth episode of our week-long series exploring the possibilities, challenges, and potential of social enterprise in New Zealand, our panel looks at what to expect in the next 10 years. Watch the rest of the series here. What is the vision? Slowly but steadily, social enterprise principles are becoming more mainstream. Nick Wells from Chapman … Read more
In the third episode of our week-long series exploring the possibilities, challenges, and potential of social enterprise in New Zealand, our panel looks at the political risks social enterprises face. Watch the rest of the series here. What are the political risks of operating in the social enterprise sphere? Lisa King from Eat My Lunch talks about … Read more
In the second episode of our week-long series exploring the possibilities, challenges, and potential of social enterprise in New Zealand, our panel asks: is consumerism the new politics? Watch the rest of the series here. Consumers making ethical choices are changing the market and the way companies operate in it. This has become a method … Read more
Superfan Tara Ward counts down the top ten moments from ‘All Debts Paid’, the third episode of Outlander season three. Contains major spoilers, obviously. [Editor’s note: Before we go any further, if you haven’t watched the third episode of Outlander and don’t want a major plot point spoiled then YOU SHALL NOT PASS. Otherwise, please enjoy.] I’m … Read more
Last summer, before the release of his amazing album Big Fish Theory, Henry Oliver tried to go deep with Los Angeles rapper Vince Staples and failed, so asked him about basketball and cartoons instead. Vince Staples is young, very skilled and very, very chill. He raps fast, but talks slow. His records are loud, but … Read more
Today we launch a week-long series of videos and articles which explore the possibilities, challenges and potential of social enterprise in New Zealand. The first episode asks: is a charity also a social enterprise? The rise of social enterprise in recent years can be seen as an attempt by capitalism to self-medicate – fixing some … Read more
The experiences of migrants and refugees are addressed in an annual summit hosted by AUT’s Immigration and Inclusion Research Group. This year a range of speakers will be tackling the workplace. “We are in a woven universe, so how do we create a weave that doesn’t fray?” This is the question at the core of … Read more
With the release of a new album and a NZ show coming up, Madeleine Chapman spoke to London Grammar’s Dot Major to find out just what’s been happening for the past four years. Scroll to the bottom if you’re just here for the free tickets. I never would have thought there was a place for … Read more
Superfan Tara Ward counts down the top ten moments from episode two of Outlander season three. Contains spoilers, obviously. If you thought last week’s episode of Outlander was heartbreaking, then you need to prepare yourselves. I have bad, bad news. Something terrible has happened to Jamie Fraser, and it looks like this: Jamie has 99 problems and … Read more