Russell Brown

The cancer-fighting, wildlife-protecting, life-saving power of artificial intelligence

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In the fifth episode of Actually Interesting, The Spinoff’s monthly podcast exploring the effect Artificial Intelligence has on our lives, Russell Brown speaks to Ben Reid, executive director of the AI Forum, about the role of government in embracing and regulating AI. Subscribe to Actually Interesting via iTunes or listen on the player below. To download this episode right click … Read more

Paddy Gower’s weed documentary was fun but severely flawed

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Writer and cannabis legalisation expert Russell Brown watched episode two of Patrick Gower on Weed, and found it highly entertaining but dangerously light on facts.  Patrick Gower is good value when he’s high. In the second part of his documentary Patrick Gower on Weed, he does what you’d expect in a modern weed documentary and … Read more

Artificial indigenous intelligence: putting te ao Māori at the centre of tech

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In the third episode of Actually Interesting, The Spinoff’s monthly podcast exploring the effect AI has on our lives, Te Aroha Grace talks to host Russell Brown about the Iwi Algorithm. Subscribe to Actually Interesting via iTunes or listen on the player below. To download this episode right click and save.  At this year’s AI … Read more

Rip It Up memories: An oral history of our greatest music mag

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The first 101 issues of Rip It Up have been added to the free online archive Papers Past. Gareth Shute tracked down some of the people behind this legendary publication to get a sense of how it started and why it was so essential to the local music scene. Rip It Up magazine was a … Read more

National’s medicinal cannabis bill is far better than Labour’s

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The medicinal cannabis bill filed today in the name of National’s Whangarei MP Shane Reti is vastly better-conceived than the government bill it seeks to supplant. But it’s not perfect, writes Russell Brown.  It’s no secret that members of the Health select committee were moved by many of the oral submissions they heard while considering … Read more

Pod on the Couch: RIP Grant Fell, cultural connector and Headless Chicken

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The Spinoff and Spark proudly present Pod On The Couch, a weekly podcast exploring music and the people that make it. This episode: Henry Oliver talks to Russell Brown about Grant Fell. Spinoff Music editor Henry Oliver talks to Russell Brown about his late friend Grant Fell: artist, filmmaker, magazine publisher, promoter and member of Headless … Read more