The best of pals can fall out, never to speak again – and some friendships are only meant for a season. But if you find yourself haunted years later by the loss of a broken friendship, it’s worth trying to fix, writes Karyn Henger. I was 14 years old when I met Catherine. It was … Read more
Speed is of the essence when breaking any chains of transmission, and that’s where contact tracing apps come in. The Spinoff’s coverage of Covid-19 is funded by Spinoff Members. To support this work, join Spinoff Members here. As Aotearoa New Zealand celebrated another day with no new cases of Covid-19 on Thursday, the Johns Hopkins global … Read more
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level two – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this work, join The Spinoff Members … Read more
In the middle of a pandemic, Dr Vanessa Beavis has just taken charge of one of Australasia’s largest medical colleges. She talks to The Spinoff about life as an anaesthetist over the past few months. In between scheduling surgeries just a week before we moved to level two, Dr Vanessa Beavis recorded a speech accepting … Read more
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level two – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this work, join The Spinoff Members … Read more
As the sharp, lockdown-induced reduction in peak-hour congestion starts to dissipate, let’s not lose this chance to improve Auckland’s legendarily terrible traffic, writes transportation researcher Paul Minett. The first image below is from 9 March 2020, the second from 20 May, both at about 7:45am during the morning peak travel period. On a typical pre-pandemic … Read more
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level two – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this work, join The Spinoff Members … Read more
Here’s The Spinoff’s weekly round-up of data tracking the effects and response of Covid-19 around the world – and how New Zealand stacks up. Last week we began a weekly summary of data and visualisations drawn from Our World in Data’s work on the Covid-19 pandemic, which is freely available for re-use. Not all data … Read more
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level two – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this work, join The Spinoff Members … Read more
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level two – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this work, join The Spinoff Members … Read more
David Farrier looks at the way two conspiracy theories have merged into something very nasty online and into real world violence. Over the weekend we saw another suspicious fire at a cellphone tower, this time in South Auckland. This comes off the back of a string of arson attacks over the last six weeks: 10 … Read more
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level two – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this work, join The Spinoff Members … Read more
As New Zealand has confronted the challenges of this unprecedented crisis, Indian sub-continental community organisations extended their hands to society at large, writes Gaurav Sharma, editor of the Multicultural Times. This weekend New Zealand is returning to normalcy – sort of – this week, after seven weeks of Covid-19 caused lockdown. Across those weeks, Indian … Read more
Call it unity, or solidarity, or kotahitanga, Covid-19 made us realise something we’ve known all along: we are all responsible for one another. There is a chance we can now act with common purpose to address intergenerational inequality. For older people, this means curtailing some of our choices, writes public health expert Charlotte Paul. As an … Read more
These text conversations (warning: explicit content) with clients prove sex workers are surely New Zealand’s most under-acknowledged public health educators. Imagine you’re a physiotherapist. Hell, you might actually be one, in which case this will be easy for you. In this scenario, we’re still in level four. You can do phone consultations but that’s it. … Read more
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level two – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this work, join The Spinoff Members … Read more
New Zealand moved into level two on Thursday, bringing on unexpected, overwhelming feelings for many of us. Kate Hicks has lived through this before. As we’ve navigated Aotearoa’s wild and unexpected lockdown, I, like others, have enlisted a few coping strategies: Skyping with friends, watching crap TV, consuming copious amounts of coffee and chocolate (though, … Read more
Amid the budget hype on Thursday, the New Zealand Teaching Council announced it would be increasing teacher registration fees twofold. Teachers and teaching groups say the decision shows their opinions aren’t valued. The Teaching Council’s move to more than double registration fees is “unacceptable” and amplifies teachers’ mistrust in their professional body, Post Primary Teachers’ … Read more
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level two – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this work, join The Spinoff Members … Read more
When it comes to tackling online extremism, part of the answer rests with us – those who use the internet every day. New York Times tech columnist Kevin Roose talks about his new podcast Rabbit Hole. The Christchurch terror attack shocked New Zealand, and the world. But there are many things about the way the … Read more
Budget 2020: No increase to benefits or wages, but investment in vocational training could future-proof New Zealand’s workers. The first major Covid-19 stimulus package, equivalent to $12.1 billion, was announced two months ago. It introduced the wage subsidy, a $25 per week increase to benefits, and financial support for leave taken due to Covid-19. At … Read more
In celebration of both level two day and budget day, Emily Writes puts on her business reporting hat to take a look at the winners (and one potential loser) of the post-lockdown economy. As New Zealand begins to reopen from today, a number of industries and businesses will rise. In the past seven weeks many … Read more
Budget 2020: From supermarket workers to machine operators to cleaners, the people at the bottom of the socioeconomic pile deserve to be be part of the post-pandemic conversation – and to be allowed to speak for themselves, writes Stacey Shortall. While there is an audible sigh of relief in New Zealand that we are now … Read more
Siouxsie explains the state of Covid-19 in New Zealand, the risks we face in alert level two, and some simple ways we can keep safe. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 crisis is made possible thanks to the support of members. If you can, please consider joining Spinoff Members here (and score a Toby Morris … Read more
Fear and vulnerability, plus plenty of spare time to head down internet rabbitholes, means fake conspiracy theories are seeing the light more than ever. Here are some simple steps you can take to combat them. Right now, in Aotearoa and the world, we’re seeing an increase in conspiracy theories, and sometimes, real-world damage because some people … Read more
Beginning today, The Spinoff kicks off a weekly round-up of data tracking the effects and response of Covid-19 around the world – and how New Zealand stacks up. This data and the visualisations of it are both drawn from Our World in Data’s work on the Covid-19 pandemic, which is freely available for re-use. Not … Read more
In alert level two, a slew of hospital and GP services become available again. That presents a challenge to get back to normal, and ‘normal’ should not be what we are seeking in any case, write Richard Hamblin and Carl Shuker of the Health Quality & Safety Commission. Surgeries have been halted. Hip and knee … Read more
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level three – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this work, join The Spinoff Members … Read more
Dr Alex Kazemi, an ICU specialist, writes here in his personal capacity on the opportunity Covid-19 provides to rebuild our healthcare system. The tooth fairy never showed. My daughter had written a note – “You are invited to a tea party on Saturday at 10.30. If you cannot come please leave this note behind” – … Read more