Shipping delays mean bookstores are placing massive one-off orders rather than sitting back to see what sells. They’ve gone huge on Barack Obama’s memoir A Promised Land – there are probably enough copies in the country to dam Cook Strait. Luckily, Danyl Mclauchlan writes, it is in fact good. I somehow forgot that Obama could … Read more
Linda Burgess reviews Curtis Sittenfeld’s much-anticipated novel, Rodham. I read Rodham a while ago now but I put off writing about it. I was waiting. Waiting for what exactly? Well, waiting to see if they do what Trump kept insisting they do, back then, when the world seemed what we nostalgically think of as normal. … Read more
There was no sign of the promise she’d ‘let her guard down’, and flashes of Sarcastic Wine Mom aside, Hillary Clinton offered little more than platitudes at Spark Arena, writes Charlotte Graham-McLay. The song ‘Roar’ by Katy Perry blared from the loudspeakers, a universal indicator that we, the audience at An Evening with Hillary Clinton, were about … Read more
Danyl McLauchlan reviews the new election memoir by baffled sore loser Hillary Clinton. What did Hillary Clinton do after losing the election to Donald Trump? Pretty much what you’d expect: she cried; she prayed; she read books and poems (inevitably by Maya Angelou); she watched movies with her husband; did yoga with her personal instructor; … Read more
Helen Clark’s ill-fated bid for the top job at the UN is documented with extraordinary proximity and passion in My Year with Helen. Alex Casey sits down with the former NZ prime minister and director Gaylene Preston, in an empty foyer at the movies, to discuss the shit that happens. Of all the firm handshakes … Read more
9.00pm (NZ time): Donald Trump has just appeared on stage in New York, saying he has received a call from Hillary Clinton conceding the contest. The Spinoff’s unrivalled team of experts have gobbled up all the available data and pooped them out like coffee beans from an Asian palm civet, to produce a live hazard … Read more
We’ve heard from nearly every celebrity and their dog about which presidential candidate to vote for. But which box would some of our favourite TV characters be ticking tomorrow? Ron Swanson from Parks and Recreation “Ron would not like Hillary either. She is a career politician. Ron has no love of career politicians… he would certainly … Read more
Every month host Alex Casey is joined by comedian/writer Michele A’Court and Mana magazine editor Leonie Hayden to discuss what happened in the world of women over the preceding four weeks. Better late than never, they return with help from brand spanking new sponsor BON tampons and dressed by the costume wizards at First Scene. This month, our three raggers reflect … Read more
With the Presidential election just days away, America is on the verge of making history regardless of who wins. Tara Ward watched as Michael Moore made a desperate, and perhaps successful, attempt to talk sense with potential Trump voters. “I think Hilary Clinton will have dead people vote.” It’s indisputable logic like this that makes Wilmington, … Read more
Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have met for the third and final debate of a face-melting US presidential race. Toby Manhire distills the exchanges into a vile tongue burning hooch. Moderating the 90-minute debate at the University of Nevada is Chris Wallace of Fox News. It is being broadcast on all the world’s channels, streaming … Read more
Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump meet again for the second of three debates in the most bonkers and disturbing campaign in the history of the universe. Toby Manhire watches and boils it down into a sticky raspberry jam. Read the five-minute version of the first debate here. Co-moderator Martha Raddatz of ABC: I’m Martha Raddatz. … Read more
For the second presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, the American people of the internet have been asked to submit their own ideas for questions. Toby Manhire goes in search of some of the best America is all about its ‘of the people, by the people, for the people’ ethos, and when Abraham … Read more
The big debate might have been broadcast, streamed and live-blogged by pretty much every person alive, but only the Spinoff (probably not only the Spinoff) has digested it into a five-minute read. NBC Moderator Lester Holt: I’m Lester. That’s Donald. That’s Hillary. That’s the audience. They’re going to stay quiet. Let’s talk about income. Democrat … Read more
Alex Casey talks to Debbie Stoller, editor-in-chief of feminist magazine BUST, on the power of nail polish, reclaiming knitting and what pop culture can tell us about society. I remember the first time that I saw a copy of BUST magazine in the central Auckland library, presented to me as a teenager by dear friend … Read more
NZ writer and election tourist Jessy Edwards travelled to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, where she spent a day soaking up the highs and lows of a healthy democracy, smoking weed with Bernie Sanders supporters, walking in a Black Lives Matter march and pissing off a Fox News reporter – and left wondering if … Read more