The Real Pod assembles to dissect the week in reality television and real life, with special thanks to Nando’s. The team is back to give it a good old Kiwi try across the seas this week, perhaps one of the biggest reality TV weeks of the year. Dancing With the Stars NZ had one explosive finale, … Read more
After 15 seasons, pretty much every doctor on Grey’s Anatomy should be fired or in jail. Sam Brooks revisits all the wild fireable offences that have happened in television’s longest-running medical drama. Fourteen years ago, a little show called Grey’s Anatomy descended upon our screens and captured the hearts of millions. It made stars of its unknown … Read more
To celebrate the eighth season of this local institution, Hussein Moses goes behind the scenes of the series putting New Zealand rappers to the test. David Dallas is waiting. It’s mid-morning on a weekday in May and as he sits in the control room of Red Bull Music Studio Auckland, a camera crew sets up … Read more
Sam Rutledge dives into Arthur, the 90s animated classic making headlines for a recent gay rat wedding, because of course it is. Remember that absolutely delightful kids TV show Arthur? Chances are, if you’ve spent any time on the internet in recent weeks, you have. The 90s classic has jumped back into the cultural conversation due to … Read more
Sound the alarm, evacuate the building and douse the entire city of Auckland in flame-proof retardant, because The Block NZ is back, and this season is: Firehouse! The Block NZ returns tonight for its eighth glorious season, which Mark Richardson promises will be “the most challenging season of The Block, EVER”. Exsqueeze me, Mark Richardson, I sat through two episodes last … Read more
Our three month celebrity charity journey is over! Sam Brooks power-ranks the finale of Dancing with The Stars. Can I just say what an honestly strange event the last episode of this kind of reality show is? It’s one hour and 59 minutes of edging, with as much padding and promotion for the network’s upcoming big … Read more
There ain’t no party like a Gilead party, as June enjoys a dedication, a mobility scooter and some poolside plotting in this week’s episode of The Handmaid’s Tale. Tara Ward recaps. Say what you will about Gilead, but they bloody love a straight line. This week’s episode was a masterpiece of order and symmetry, as … Read more
On the eve of Soaked Oats’ new release, an EP entitled Sludge Pop, lyricist and singer Oscar Mein speaks with one of his songwriting heroes, Kevin Morby. Indie folk rock icon Kevin Morby recently released his fifth solo album, Oh My God to global critical acclaim – four stars from the Guardian and NME, that kind of acclaim. When he … Read more
The Real Pod assembles to dissect the week in reality television and real life, with special thanks to Nando’s. This week the pod has been cursed with an almighty stench, but that won’t stop us recording our first full-length international podcast. It was an explosive semi-final week on Dancing With the Stars NZ, containing everything from … Read more
Ten years after Bazooka Kid, one of the most singular New Zealand albums, Duncan Greive sits down with PNC to talk about its genesis, and why rappers still don’t get their due in this country. 2009 was a year of transition for hip hop. Lil Wayne was at his commercial peak, winning four Grammys; Kanye … Read more
Tom Rodwell interviews the musician and artist Lonnie Holley, who this week brings to New Zealand his unbowed truths from an ethereal and gritty underground. There is a creative archaeology, that tells a story gathered from society’s discarded debris. Lonnie Holley’s remarkable art and music embody this technique. With just the right kind of sleight … Read more
Stan Walker just made Postie (nee Plus) cool again, but he’s not the first celeb brand ambassador to raise our collective eyebrows. Tara Ward takes a trip down New Zealand’s weird and wonderful celebrity endorsement highway. It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, and Postie (nee Plus) wants to thank us for buying a … Read more
“It’s the semi-final of Dancing with the Stars! And so soon!” said nobody. Sam Brooks power-ranks the penultimate episodes of Dancing with the Stars. Everybody danced twice tonight! The theme for the first dance was ‘a tribute to a musical icon’ and with the 2019 definition of ‘iconic’ that could be extended to include the … Read more
Alex Casey pays tribute to one of the only good things left in this cold, hard world. There’s been a lot to love about this season of Dancing With the Stars NZ. If you like runaway ponytails, this is the show for you. If you like completely hectic judges being unpredictable and also changing their … Read more
Director Slavko Martinov brings his eye for social critique to Christchurch’s Poultry, Bantam, and Pigeon Club in the dramatic, uplifting flockumentary Pecking Order. “There’s a big difference between backyard poultry and exhibiting,” says Beth Inwood, the treasurer of Christchurch’s Poultry, Bantam, and Pigeon Club. I have no idea what “backyard poultry” is, but over the … Read more
British reality TV sensation Love Island is back on NZ screens, this season at the extremely questionable time of 5pm. But what is it? And why are people so obsessed? Shave a heart amongst the wild thickets of my hairy back, for I am ready for love. I am ready for some steamy summer loving, … Read more
The Real Pod assembles to dissect the week in reality television and real life, with special thanks to Nando’s. This week on The Real Pod, we’ve absolutely Real Pod-ed it. It was throuple week on Dancing With the Stars NZ, but we were struck with a nightmare trio of our own: technical difficulties, geographical changes and a … Read more
Television doesn’t make your eyes square, but it can make them leak. Alex Casey explains the phenomenon. Hear ye, hear ye, I am the town crier of Sobsonville Point, and I hereby decree that there are too many things on television that maketh me weep. As if the horrors of our melting planet and the … Read more
In the words of wise old owl Aunt Lydia, good things come to those who wait. Tara Ward recaps the first three episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale season three. Just as tinned tomatoes arrived in the supermarkets of Gilead, our own personal apocalypse was today blessed with three episodes of a brand new season of The … Read more
With three episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale arriving express to Lightbox tonight, Alex Casey prepares you to return to life in Gilead. Starch your bonnets, straighten your Scrabble tiles and plot to overthrow the oppressive patriarchal system because The Handmaid’s Tale returns to Lightbox tonight with three whopper episodes for you to devour like your … Read more
The latest season of British reality show Love Island is set to hit TV screens at the unconventional tea-time hour of 5pm. Jihee Junn explains why the decision is troubling. Update, 1 October 2019: The Broadcasting Standards Authority has ruled that the edited version of Love Island that ran at 5pm on Three earlier this … Read more
Sam Brooks talks to internationally acclaimed opera singer Sandy Piques Eddy about the ins and outs of maintaining her voice, and how having a baby changed her career – in a way you wouldn’t expect. Singing opera is like getting to the Olympics. Only the best of the best can do it professionally, once you … Read more
Nine years ago, John Key introduced the number one song of The Rock 1000 countdown: Rage Against The Machine’s ‘Killing in the Name Of’. Johnny Crawford writes about this bizarre moment in NZ musical history. While some of those that work forces are the same that burn crosses, some of them just want to rock … Read more
Charlotte Red talks to Sharon Van Etten ahead of her (sold-out) Auckland show tonight about her critically acclaimed album Remind Me Tomorrow and the shift from folk multi-instrumentalist to pop-rock frontwoman. There’s something about considering the passing of time in Sharon Van Etten’s latest album Remind Me Tomorrow that keeps you present. Only when you’re standing … Read more
Alex Casey meets Julz Tocker, the Dancing With the Stars NZ judge who refuses to sit down. If you’ve ever seen Dancing With the Stars NZ, you’ll know that judge Julz Tocker doesn’t do anything by halves. If anything, he does things by doubles. He meditates twice a day for 20 minutes. He has two … Read more
She’s only 28, but Bailey Wiley already feels like an industry veteran. She’s been grinding away in Dunedin, Berlin, the US, and Auckland for years, and her latest EP is a smooth, personal reflection of these experiences. She sat down to discuss her new EP, the catharsis of Berlin, and the difference between her generation … Read more
It’s week eight of Dancing with the Stars, and (some of) our favourite celebs from past seasons return! Sam Brooks power-ranks the contestants. Credit where credit is due: This is a much better gambit than pairing people up with each other for devastatingly unbalanced triple dances. Who doesn’t want to see human lightbulb Barbara Kendall … Read more
Wellington’s music scene is diverse, vibrant, and full of community spirit – but it doesn’t come easy. Ben Lynch looks into the reality of being a music venue owner in the capital. Whether you subscribe to Wellington’s widely used moniker of ‘coolest little capital’ or not, there’s no denying that the city has a depth … Read more
Cartoon characters can be almost anything – people, animals, figments of your imagination. And they can also be hot as hell. In the last few weeks I’ve watched a lot of kids’ TV as my little ones have struggled through a seemingly endless string of viruses. It’s little wonder that your mind wanders when you’re … Read more