African swine fever is seriously scary: here’s why you should care

Welcome to the Cheat Sheet, a clickable, shareable, bite-sized FAQ on the news of the moment. Today, it’s all about African swine fever and the pending aporkalypse. TL;DR: It’s “the biggest animal disease outbreak the planet the planet has ever faced”, and Kiwi pork lovers need to do their bit to protect our local pigs. African … Read more

Why is everyone talking about syphilis?

It seems like everyone is talking about syphilis and that can’t be a good thing – or can it? Emily Writes gives you the lowdown What’s all this then? Mate, we’re in the midst of an outbreak and it’s not good. Syphilis, once almost eradicated in New Zealand, is at epidemic levels. There have been deaths … Read more

RNZ’s content chief resigns over meeting with broadcasting minister

Spinoff cheat sheet: Carol Hirschfeld has left the public broadcaster after misleading her boss over the nature of a meeting with Clare Curran. What’s going on, and what does it mean for the minister? What just happened? Great question. Carol Hirschfeld, a journalist with a formidable career including senior roles at Three, Māori TV and … Read more

Cheat Sheet: How safe is it to swim at Auckland’s beaches?

Welcome to the Cheat Sheet, a clickable, shareable, bite-sized FAQ on the news of the moment. Today, we explain why swimming at some of Auckland’s best beaches might just be a terrible idea. So why can’t I swim at the beach? It’s contaminated. By what? Poop. Excrement. Fecal matter. And a few other nasty rogue … Read more

Cheat Sheet: The Humanity Star aka the great disco ball in space          

Welcome to the Cheat Sheet, a clickable, shareable, bite-sized FAQ on the news of the moment. Today, the geodesic sphere deposited into space from the east coast of the North Island. What’s going on? The Humanity Star is the spinny, shimmering sphere that was zapped the other day into orbit from the Mahia Peninsula, New … Read more

Cheat Sheet: is there really a bumper cannabis crop coming?

Welcome to the Cheat Sheet, a clickable, shareable, bite-sized FAQ about the news of the moment – all the info you need to hold your own in a two-minute watercooler chat. Today, Don Rowe outlines the latest from NZ’s marijuana farming scene.  What’s going on? The New Zealand Herald is reporting that a “bumper growing … Read more