The Bulletin: Resurgence plan triggered by Covid-19 community transmission

Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Resurgence plan triggered by Covid-19 community transmission, questions about what it will mean for the election, and Christchurch rest home lockdown appears to be unrelated. The first new cases of Covid-19 outside of managed isolation have been announced, triggering a resurgence plan from the government. There … Read more

‘The worst thing I’ve ever watched’: Jimmy Neesham on life, loss and the 51st over

Black Caps Cricket World Cup hero Jimmy Neesham reveals what happened on that ill-fated day at Lord’s and how to move on. Jimmy Neesham is doing OK now. But it’s taken a while.  For those still suffering from the lead-weight despair of seeing the Black Caps losing the World Cup final in the closest possible … Read more

The Bulletin: Delicate dances on the world stage

Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Both PM and deputy PM in action on foreign relationships, major climate report being released today, and DOC staff facing escalating threats.  Both the PM and deputy PM are in action on foreign relationships this week, with plenty of challenges to navigate. Later this week, PM … Read more

How to juice your brain for joy after watching the Black Caps lose

The Black Caps’ World Cup loss at Lord’s this morning has much of the country feeling pretty shit. From massage to mindfulness, here are five ways to feel just a tiny bit better. There’s a lot of weepy people out there today folks, a lot of real sad individuals. When you draw twice and still … Read more

The Offspin: Grasping at straws after the greatest ever cricket game

The Offspin podcast tries to make sense of the greatest cricket game of all time, at the same time as not seeing the Black Caps win it. Perhaps our guest Sam Flynn Scott has the right approach to this one – immediately upon arrival at the studio he decided to focus on how the Black … Read more

Recipe: A Cricket World Cup final bacon and egg pie

Why Simon Day hopes baking a bacon and egg pie will guide the Black Caps to glory tonight.  For a sport dominated by statistics, logic and precision, cricket is strangely superstitious. Every Tweet has a consequence, every movement away from the television affects the game thousands of kilometres away. Certain scores have magical properties. Nelson … Read more

The Offspin podcast: previewing our big night at Lord’s, with Sonia Gray

It’s final time. The Offspin team are joined by actor, Lotto host and passionate cricket fan Sonia Gray – do we dare to believe in a Black Caps World Cup victory? It’s still hard to fathom, but we’re in the final again. And it’s against the English, who overcame the sandpaper canaries. Ahead of that … Read more

The Bulletin: Vandalised Captain Cook statue shows depth of wounds

Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Deep wounds shown by Captain Cook vandalism, expert fact checks claims around electric cars, and police deployed to fight non-existent crime wave. A Gisborne Captain Cook statue has been vandalised, and the message painted on it shows the depth of tensions that will surround the 250th … Read more

The Offspin: Savour it, because we’re going to Lord’s

In today’s episode of The Offspin podcast, Simon Day and Alex Braae go absolutely berserk over the semi-final win that put the Black Caps into the Cricket World Cup final. It took 29 hours and two nights, but the Black Caps have somehow managed to beat the mighty India to advance to the Cricket World … Read more

The Bulletin: Patient advocates question medicinal cannabis proposals

Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Government releases proposals around medicinal cannabis, oxycontin takes hold in NZ despite US epidemic, and vaping pushed at Māori women. Just quickly, apologies if today’s Bulletin has a few errors, I haven’t slept because of the cricket. The Black Caps are heading to the World Cup … Read more

The Black Caps are going to the final after a night of crazed, cathartic dreams

Incredibly, the Black Caps have made the Cricket World Cup final. In a sleep-deprived daze, Alex Braae reflects on the mountain of pain that went into seeing them get there. We don’t watch cricket because we want to. We watch it because we must.  Cricket is a sport with pain built into it. Not the … Read more

The Offspin: Mixing sport and politics with Peter McGlashan

In the latest episode of The Offspin, cricketer, commentator, activist and aspiring local board rep Peter McGlashan joins the show to mix sport and politics. The game was utterly frustrating. It was slow, things went wrong at key moments, it made people at home angry and now requires confusing calculations to figure out who will … Read more

The Bulletin: Fresh footage revelations around Operation Burnham

Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: More revealed about aftermath of Hit and Run raid, police delete social posts glorifying tactics to catch kids, and regional airports may be bailed out. Politicians were shown edited footage of the Hit and Run raid which throws into question the NZDF version of events, reports … Read more

Punjab or Te Puke? Who to support when you’re a NZ-Indian cricket reporter

Radio NZ journalist Ravinder Hunia has a dilemma over who to support at the Cricket World Cup tonight. Will it be the birthplace of her father in Punjab, or the birthplace of her mother in Te Puke?  My father Surjit Singh was born in an Indian village, Daroli Khurd, in Punjab 60 years ago while … Read more

The Bulletin: Pressure on government over poverty

Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Pressure on government over poverty, major concerns for forestry at both ends of growing cycle, and feebate scheme for car emissions finally unveiled.  The government is under immense pressure over their efforts against entrenched poverty, and the system that manages it. It’s not just the services … Read more

How did our Cricket World Cup predictions measure up against reality?

Many moons ago, when the Cricket World Cup was just about to start, one of our resident cricket fanatics made a series of predictions. Have any of them come to pass? It took five weeks, more than 40 completed matches, and what seems like a thousand takes about who should open the batting for the … Read more

The Offspin podcast: Back to the 90s with Dion Nash

On this episode of The Offspin, legendary all-rounder Dion Nash joins the show after a Black Caps performance that felt like a throwback to New Zealand cricket’s dark days of teal. Once upon a time, the stereotype of New Zealand cricket was of freezing in the big games, fragile batting and despair, while still finding … Read more

The Bulletin: Where’s the economic confidence?

Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Complicated picture from economic confidence surveys, justice minister hammers Google over name suppression, and drinking water falling below standards. Business confidence, which has been low throughout this government’s term, has plunged to fresh depths. In fact, as Stuff reports, the headline figure is the lowest it has been … Read more

The Bulletin: Raft of new laws taking effect today

Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Raft of new laws taking effect today, a messy story of inner city homelessness unfolds in Auckland, and secondary school teachers accept offer. Some news you can use today: we’re going to start with a roundup of some of the bigger July 1 law changes. It’s … Read more

The 1992 World Cup grabbed me, and it still won’t let me go

In 1992 the New Zealand cricket team had an unlikely and romantic run at the World Cup. Simon Day retraces the tournament that changed his life forever. I went to the opening game with my grandma and fell in love with Martin Crowe. After every game I watched on TV I’d call her to debrief. … Read more

The Offspin Podcast: Deja Vu of ’92

In this episode of The Offspin podcast, we’re joined by writer and broadcaster Ali Ikram, and his dad Hamid Ikram, to discuss their role in Pakistan’s success at the 1992 Cricket World Cup and their team’s potential in 2019. The parallels are becoming harder and harder to ignore. A round-robin World Cup, with Pakistan needing … Read more

The Bulletin: End of Life choice bill survives for now

Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Challenges ahead for End of Life Choice bill, councillors question if Invercargill mayor is still up to it, and principals vow to fight on. The End of Life Choice bill has passed a second reading, meaning a limited form of euthanasia is now closer to … Read more

The Offspin podcast: A walk on hallowed turf with Grant Elliott

In this bonus episode of The Offspin podcast, Simon Day takes a walk around Eden Park with one of the most unlikely legends of New Zealand sporting history. He probably shouldn’t have even been there. In the year before the 2015 Cricket World Cup, South African born Grant Elliott was a relatively obscure figure, in … Read more

The Offspin Podcast: the MPs heading off to their own Cricket World Cup

In this bonus episode of The Offspin podcast, Labour’s Kieran McAnulty and National’s Chris Bishop join the show to talk about the Parliamentary World Cup, and attempt to prove their cricket fanatic credentials.  To coincide with the business end of the Cricket World Cup, MPs from all over the world will be flying to England … Read more

The Offspin Podcast: On the cruelty of cricket, with guest Mark Craig

In episode nine of The Offspin, we’re joined by Black Caps test spinner Mark Craig to explore the crueller side of cricket in the wake of the Black Caps victory over the West Indies in both thrilling and devastating circumstances. There are few things in life more cruel than being blessed with spin bowling talent, … Read more

The Bulletin: What could change for voting in 2020 election

Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Changes proposed for the process of voting in 2020, govt approves coal exploration despite climate change rhetoric, and Hager responds to new Hit and Run news. The way people vote in 2020 could be very different to previous elections, after the proposals of a range … Read more

The Offspin Podcast: Can you even call South Africa’s loss a choke?

In episode eight of The Offspin, we break down the best game of the tournament so far, and talk about the shattered dreams of South African cricket.  Writer and journalist James Borrowdale grew up with dreams of South African cricket running through his brain, but they’re long gone now, traded in for a Black Caps … Read more

The Bulletin: Bleak task ahead for Oranga Tamariki inquiries

Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Third Oranga Tamariki inquiry announced, Herald highlights iniquities in health sector, and significant new claims around Operation Burnham. A third inquiry into Oranga Tamariki has been announced, and this one looks like being the most significant. It is being launched by chief ombudsman Peter Boshier, and Radio NZ reports … Read more