Coming Home: Who’s returning to New Zealand, and what did they leave behind?

In part two of Coming Home, hosts Duncan Greive and Jane Yee meet more recently returned New Zealanders and learn what factors drew them abroad and what life looked like in their new home countries. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you usually listen to podcasts. In last week’s episode, we heard about the “brain drain” … Read more

Live updates, November 24: Reserve Bank governor responds to request to tackle house prices

Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for November 24. Reach me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 9.00pm: Resene shop closes, other sites of interest visited by Air NZ crew member revealed Auckland Regional Public Health Service has announced further information about sites visited by the Air NZ crew  member who is under investigation in China for Covid-19 prior … Read more

Live updates, November 23: Ardern discusses Covid-19, climate change in call with Joe Biden

Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for November 23. Reach me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 8pm: The day in sum Two new imported cases of Covid-19 were announced – but the location of origin for one of the two cases is still being determined. An Air New Zealand worker has reportedly tested positive for Covid-19 in Shanghai. … Read more

They wanted to oppose a liquor store at the school gates – but say Council’s process is badly broken

Community leaders and politicians are crying foul over how Auckland Council runs the decision-making body that rules on liquor store licences, with some going as far to describe the process as an example of institutional racism.  “I just hoped we’d get a fair hearing.” That’s what Arihia Stirling was thinking as she went into the … Read more

Live updates, November 20-22: Nine new Covid cases at the border; ‘Look in the mirror’, John Key tells National

Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for November 20-21. Reach us at info@thespinoff.co.nz. 1.00pm: Nine new cases of Covid-19 in managed isolation The Ministry of Health has just released its daily Covid-19 update by email. Here’s what it says: There are 9 new cases of COVID-19 to report in New Zealand today, all in recent … Read more

How police thwarted an armed teen’s plan to shoot up a South Island school

For nearly two years, blanket suppression orders prevented the New Zealand Herald from reporting the troubling case of a New Zealand teenager who planned to shoot teachers and fellow high school students. The teen – armed with a pistol grip shotgun and AR-15 semiautomatic rifle – described themselves as a ‘terrorist’ and a judge believed … Read more

When cuticle picking becomes a compulsion (and how to give it the flick)

We all have bad habits, picking her cuticles till they bleed is Ruby Clavey’s. She went on a mission to get to the roots of her compulsion – and how she can finally be free of it. Nail-biting, hair pulling, nose-picking, scab picking — most of us have bad habits. Some of us have more … Read more

A guide to defending garbage people on Facebook

Another week, another scandal hits a lowly ex-reality TV idiot. But what of those who rush in to defend Pete Evans, and people like him? Emily Writes outlines the tried and true formula. Welcome to the first ever guide to defending D-grade celebrities who share Nazi imagery online. Before we start, you might be wondering … Read more

Three deaths in four days: It’s time to end the cruelty of horse racing

legs and hooves of horses racing

The same week Melbourne Cup favourite Anthony Van Dyck was put down, three horses in New Zealand races suffered similar fates – and their deaths went unnoticed by most of us. It’s a sadly familiar story in a ‘sport’ that doesn’t deserve the name, writes Sandra Kyle. Two weeks ago, viewers watching the Melbourne Cup … Read more

Mystic paranoia: How conspiracy theories infiltrated the NZ new age community

Belief we tend to associate with the fringes of US society have torn a swathe through Aotearoa’s traditionally easy-going if occasionally oddball community of hippies, yoga teachers, and spiritual festival-goers. From the outside, Joe Nunweek finds out if it will ever be the same. Ady* remembers the night she finally tried to intervene with Eve. … Read more

‘Great day for poo in Wellington’: Faecal fans celebrate capital’s shitty success

Today’s central city poonami seals it: Wellington is New Zealand’s capital of crap, reports Emily Writes Wellington city’s shitty problem might be worrying residents but faecal enthusiast Steve Steverson says it couldn’t have come at a better time for those hosting the Annual National Undercarriage Symposium. Steverson said the team behind the poo-fest were thrilled … Read more

The rabbit house of Mt Eden: Auckland neighbours at war over bunny herds

A suburban Auckland property home to hundreds of rabbits is causing a stir with neighbours, who have called in the Auckland Council to take control of the situation.  Dylan Lewis is surrounded by rabbits, all different sizes and colours. The 51-year-old shares his large Mount Eden home with hundreds of the fluffy creatures, and neighbours … Read more

Live updates, November 19: PM pays tribute to Pike River victims, a decade on

Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for November 19. Reach me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 8.00pm: The day in sum Two new cases of Covid-19 were reported in managed isolation. There are now just 37 active cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand. The prime minister was among those marking a decade to the day since the Pike … Read more

Ace of Hearts shows what it really means to identify as asexual

Endless misconceptions exist about people who identify as ‘ace’, and filmmaker Julie Zhu wants to clear some of them up in Frame documentary Ace of Hearts. “Bisexuality used to be ‘the invisible sexuality’, but now I feel like asexuality is. I see people in the LGBT community saying it’s not part of the LGBT spectrum.” … Read more

How ‘blood phosphate’ has made New Zealand complicit in a foreign war

New Zealand is the world’s only major purchaser of phosphate from Western Sahara, where mineral revenues are driving a newly declared war. Amal Samaha explains what you need to know. On Friday morning, leaders of the Polisario Front, a Sahrawi independence group in Western Sahara, declared war on the Kingdom of Morocco over the latter’s … Read more

Australia’s inquiry into its special forces shows up NZ’s pathetic efforts

The current inquiry into allegations of Australian Special Air Service war crimes in Afghanistan highlights the far from admirable culture in our own defence force, writes Nicky Hager. The reports have gradually been coming out for years: repeated killing of civilians and mistreatment of captives by Australian SAS troops, people who believed they were above … Read more

Live updates, November 18: Royal commission completes March 15 inquiry; South Australia goes into lockdown

Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for November 18. Reach me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 7.00pm: The day in sum The state of South Australia was put into a strict lockdown for six days. The royal commission of inquiry into the March 15 terrorist attacks finished. There were three new cases of Covid-19, all detected in managed … Read more

Sorry Quinny, I’m with JK when it comes to what masculinity means

Rugby commentator Keith Quinn’s call for rugby players to ‘harden up’ shows how much New Zealand’s macho culture has changed since the days he ruled the airwaves, writes Trevor McKewen, author of the book Real Men Wear Black. I have a confession to make. I am helplessly addicted to the tearjerking TV documentary series Lost … Read more

The last days of Trump-land: Conversations with Kiwis in America

With violence erupting in Washington DC this weekend and Covid-19 sweeping the nation, you could be forgiven for thinking the United States is descending into utter chaos. Justin Latif got in touch with a few mates to see if this really is the case. Following Joe Biden’s US presidential election victory and then Donald Trump’s … Read more

On the Rag: When your body feels like a hotel room

In the latest episode of On the Rag, we asked three people from the transgender community to share how their relationship with their chests has changed over their lives. Lexie Matheson, academic I would get out of the shower and I would look down at myself in the mirror and there was always a hint … Read more

NZ faces hard ethical and practical choices on a Covid-19 vaccine

Excitement is high following optimistic results from two vaccine developers. There are some big questions that await, however, on logistics, write Barbara Allen and Michael Macaulay. The world was ablaze with hope following the announcement last week that a vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech may be more than 90% effective in preventing Covid-19. New … Read more

Remembering Captain Planet, 30 years on

Three decades since it first emerged on our screens, Captain Planet and the Planeteers will always be remembered as the show that introduced an entire generation to corporate greed and environmental protection.  Children of the late 1980s and early 1990s had a number of iconic cartoons to choose from: Transformers, He-Man, Gummi Bears, My Little … Read more

Farrowing crates for pigs being ruled unlawful is a victory for all animals

Both pigs and humans alike should rejoice over the High Court’s ruling on farrowing crates, writes University of Otago law lecturer Marcelo Rodriguez Ferrere. If you know anything about pigs, it’ll likely be that despite their slovenly and biblically-dubious reputation, actually, they’re quite clever creatures. As smart as dogs! As smart as chimpanzees! At the … Read more

Bridging the poverty gap: Why all poor kids need Working For Families support

Working For Families payments are a lifeline for kids in poverty – but only if they happen to have a parent in paid work. It’s time to end this false dichotomy between the ‘deserving’ and ‘undeserving’ poor, writes Child Poverty Action Group’s Susan St John. As 2020 stumbles to an end and the wage subsidies … Read more

The craft of the deal: The life of a real estate auctioneer

For extreme auctioneers, selling houses isn’t a nightmare – it’s a craft. Josie Adams talks to National Real Estate Auctioneering champ Ned Allison about discovering his talent, and what it takes to be a two-time winner.  Every year real estate agents from around the country are locked in a room. Their phones are taken, and … Read more

Frame: Finding a home on the asexual spectrum

Just as sexuality is a spectrum, so too is asexuality. In Ace of Hearts, members of New Zealand’s asexual community talk about the challenges and misconceptions of identifying as ace. Ace of Hearts is part of Frame, a series of short documentaries produced by Wrestler for The Spinoff. “A lot of people don’t take it seriously,” … Read more

The struggle for South Auckland renters to keep a roof over their heads

An aerial view of Māngere

As South Auckland’s property market heats up, those in poorly managed rentals often face a hard choice – complain and face the consequences, or stay quiet and keep their home. Neo is a half ragdoll, half moggy eight-month-old kitten. For Bronwyn Cann and Aaron Smith, the excitement surrounding Neo’s arrival was palpable – and finding … Read more

Coming Home: A brand new podcast series on the New Zealanders who returned home during the pandemic

Thousands of highly-skilled New Zealanders are returning from overseas as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. But why did they leave in the first place? Listen to episode one of Coming Home now. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you usually listen to podcasts. New episodes arriving weekly, brought to you by The Spinoff and Kiwibank. For … Read more