In the lead up to the election, comedians Melanie Bracewell and Angella Dravid take a journey through the voting process in Make Me Tick, The Spinoff’s new four part video series with the Electoral Commission. Today, Melanie gets hyped for the history of democracy. When Angella and I were told that the first topic we were … Read more
Climate change is the defining challenge of our times. The Spinoff is devoting a week of coverage to the issue, its advocates, complexities, and solutions. Today Don Rowe talks to departing Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Dr Jan Wright. Around the same time Al Gore released his first call to arms in the battle against climate … Read more
Climate change is the defining challenge of our times. The Spinoff is devoting a week of coverage to the issue, its advocates, complexities, and solutions. Climate Change Week at The Spinoff is brought to you by An Inconvenient Sequel, Al Gore’s new movie and, says Simon Wilson, it’s not entirely what you might expect. Al … Read more
Sam Brooks watches Search Party, the indie-inspired comedy that contains as many mysteries as it does 90s stars. If you were to make a webseries in the 90s, somehow having the same crazy technology as of today, you would probably make Search Party. You’d also immediately burned for being a witch, because that’s what they … Read more
‘My mind exploded. No joke, the feeling was like I had a crush!’ Three rangatahi talk about discovering their passion for science at MacDiarmid DiscoveryCamp. DiscoveryCamp is a fun, hands-on programme designed for year 12 or 13 Māori and Pasifika secondary pupils with an interest in science. Students are chosen from all around the country … Read more
New Zealand’s shameful rates of family violence place us at the bottom of the heap when it comes to intimate partner violence and child abuse in the OECD. Māori are among the greatest offenders and victims alike. Simon Day spoke to Denise Wilson about the history of family violence in this country and her solution … Read more
Got a thirst for chilling mysteries in even colder places? Tara Ward rounds up the best in Nordic Noir on Lightbox. To celebrate the arrival of mystery-thriller Jordskott to Lightbox, we’ve gathered together an extensive list of the best Scandi-noir dramas around. Stop drawing sad faces into your window condensation, because what better way to … Read more
It’s Restaurant Month in Auckland and the theme is Eat Odd. Simon Wilson, a more than occasional odd eater himself, identifies a favourite top ten food experiences you might not have tried. Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Korean, Turkish, Cajun. High-end dining: Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Lebanese, Spanish, Maori. Unusual fish. Truffles. The best of the best: that … Read more
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. Today’s guest is a trailblazer in law, business and leadership. Mai Chen, … Read more
With Jerry Seinfeld performing one show only in Auckland this month, The Spinoff writers celebrate their favourite Seinfeld episodes to get you hyped. The Contest (S04E11) ‘The Contest’ is a fan favourite owing to the fact that they managed to make an entire half hour show about masturbating without ever saying the word. The titular contest is between … Read more
The Good Wife is one of those show that has always seemed to be around, but you’ve probably never seen. Sam Brooks tells you why you haven’t watched it yet, and why you should fix that immediately. At some point in 2016 I decided I was going to watch all of The Good Wife, just as … Read more
Neil Finn talks to Henry Oliver about his forthcoming album Out of Silence, likely the first studio album ever to be recorded live in front of a livestreaming audience. Last week I spent an afternoon watching Neil Finn, the cool dad of New Zealand music, and twelve singers rehearse two songs from the album he … Read more
2016 saw the end of a 23 year career at TV3 for Hilary Barry, with her resignation also triggering the end of ex-Mediaworks CEO Mark Weldon’s reign of terror. A year on she’s happily ensconsed at TVNZ’s Breakfast, and sat down for a few beers with Duncan Greive to look back on her glittering career, that chaotic era and … Read more
Alison Holcomb is known as the architect of marijuana legalisation in Washington state and was labelled ‘pot momma’ by the press. She spoke to Simon Day about leading Washington state to legalising cannabis. Because the government wasn’t going to do it, lawyer Alison Holcomb had to convince the public of Washington state to legalise cannabis themselves. … Read more
After watching an episode of the slightly weird teen-oriented show while on painkillers (legitimate medical reasons), Sam Brooks goes on an internet investigation to find out what the cast are doing now. Being Eve was a strange beast of a show, one of the rare New Zealand TV series aimed specifically at teens and preteens, … Read more
Chainsmokers superfan Kate Robertson has campaigned for the bros to come to New Zealand for years. In celebration of today’s news of an Auckland show, she shares her top 10 bangers. Everyone has an opinion on the Chainsmokers. At the height of their Top 40 reign we couldn’t get our hot takes out fast enough, … Read more
Your aunty’s favourite show, Outlander, is returning exclusively to Lightbox September 11. Tara Ward watched the brand new trailer and had some thoughts. I was as happy as a tiny donkey trotting through the Scottish countryside when the official Outlander Season 3 trailer landed last week. It was Outlander D-Day, the beginning of the end: only … Read more
Māori are the greatest victims of New Zealand’s war on drugs, but many Māori leaders are opposed to ideas of decriminalisation or legalisation. Professor Khylee Quince spoke to Simon Day about why tikanga Māori needs to be at the heart of drug reform. It’s a stat the needs to be repeated: although making up … Read more
Raiza Biza’s first full length album since 2012 is on the horizon. He talks to Simon Day about the local hip hop community, growing up black in New Zealand, and his upcoming all-ages gig – which we’re giving away tickets to. It’s been a complicated journey for Raiza Biza. His family left Rwanda when his … Read more
In July 2018 Canada will become the second country in the world to universally legalise cannabis (Uruguay took the plunge earlier this year). Former Canadian deputy prime minister Anne McLellan, who led the task force advising the government on what a regulated marijuana market should look like, was in Wellington earlier this month to talk … Read more
Aaron Yap watches the new Scandi-crime drama Midnight Sun and finds it gross yet engrossing. Midnight Sun is as slick, engrossing and assured a cop procedural as I’ve seen since the dawn of the Nordic Noir boom. Its top-flight craft shouldn’t come as a surprise, given the creative force behind the show is the writing/directing duo of … Read more
The Southern gothic comic book fable Preacher is back and exclusive to Lightbox. Dominic Corry sat down with Joseph Gilgun (Cassidy) to talk about acting anxieties, American money, and living the ganja dream. Instantly recognisable to fans of Emmerdale, This Is England and the beloved cult series Misfits, English character actor Joseph Gilgun had been kicking … Read more
With the new season of Suits coming express to Lightbox, we found an unlikely fan in the Right Honourable Bill English, Prime Minister of New Zealand. Earlier this year when Spinoff editor Duncan Greive interviewed Prime Minister Bill English, there was one question that didn’t make the final cut. Today, The Spinoff can finally reveal … Read more
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. One of the common kind of bleats from this podcast is that … Read more
Former Canadian deputy prime minister Anne McLellan was in New Zealand last week to present at the NZ Drug Foundation symposium about her role in guiding Canada’s drug reform. She spoke to Simon Day about the road to legalisation, growing Canada’s ‘worst pot ever’, and the potential Baby Boomer weed market. In July 2018 Canada … Read more
Alex Casey talks to Sarah Aldridge, costume designer on Westside, about dressing the early-80s West family. Look, I love a spot of opshopping as much as the next person. Give me a giant, musty Sallies out in the wops any day, just as long as it contains at least three dog-eared copies of The World … Read more
Sherlock fan Jean Sergeant reflects on the place of Holmes and Watson in her own life, through grieving and pad thai nights. I remember when the Christmas special of Sherlock, ‘The Abominable Bride’, came out at the beginning of 2016. I nagged my best dead friend Michael to watch it. I’m not sure if he … Read more
Tara Ward watches the time travel literary hybrid Lost in Austen and drums up some more classic TV tales that could do with a bit of tinkering. It’s not every day one of the much-loved characters from English literature turns up in your bathroom. All I have in my bathroom are five scratchy towels and some dead … Read more
New Zealand’s drug law is causing more harm than good. The New Zealand Drug Foundation has proposed a replacement that would decriminalise all drugs, and create a regulated cannabis market. Executive director Ross Bell outlines the foundation’s model drug law. New Zealand once led the world in social change, but we’ve really slipped behind when … Read more