Behind the Story

The prime minister got a shock when he saw the media coverage of his breakfast meeting with Rotorua businesspeople – it talked of him scolding them about a “parent-child mentality” in government-business relations, urging “adult” behaviour and recounting his own attitude in Chicago corporate life. So his office issued a transcript of the exchange, which didn’t much help. Duncan Greive, founder of...

Nigel Farage faces a stern challenge in a Clacton byelection from an alien space warrior with a bin on his head and a manifesto packed with nonsense. New Zealand has its own history of joke political parties (most famously the McGillicuddy Serious Party) but the satirical larder looks bare today. Ben Uffindell, who led the Civilian Party to admirable failure in 2014, joins Toby to talk about the r...

At the last election, you could enrol on election day. This time the deadline is 13 days before. University of Otago professor Andrew Geddis joins Toby to talk through the changes, who is most affected, and whether the justifications stack up. Plus: In How Good, medals at the Commonwealth Games are good, but a mascot with a cone on its bonce is better, says Madeleine Chapman. At Large with Toby Ma...

Some say the case for moving to Australia is dimming – Shamubeel Eaqub works through the data with Toby Manhire to assess the arguments for and against. Plus: In How Good, Tara Ward on scaling the Wuthering Heights in Dunedin and the world. At Large with Toby Manhire is produced by Te Aihe Butler, Jin Fellet and The Spinoff. Read more at ⁠thespinoff.co.nz⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

The Māori electorates are always fascinating, but this time there’s an extra edge-of-the-seat quality. Lara Greaves, associate professor at Victoria University of Wellington, joins Toby to talk through the parties competing, the overhang potential, and why voters choose one roll ahead of the other. Plus: In How Good, Hayden Donnell is besotted by Maurice Williamson’s luscious beard. At Large with...

As Christopher Luxon declares he’ll “die trying” to get something done in banning social media for New Zealand children under 16, it’s a good time to ask: how is the pioneering Australian prohibition going? Hal Crawford, editorial director at Mumbrella and former boss of Newshub NZ, joins Toby to explain, seven months in, what is working, what isn’t, and what he’d say to the NZ PM if he was called...

Since 1990 the Reserve Bank has been tasked with taming inflation independently from the government of the day. But is the tool it uses today, the official cash rate, with its focus on hitting an inflation rate of 1%-3%, causing more pain that it’s alleviating? Bernard Hickey joins Toby to make the case. Plus, in How Good, Liam Rātana on NZ Wars: Stories of Waerenga-a-Hika. At Large with Toby Manh...

A giant of the pictures, paddocks and protests, Sam Neill has died at 78. A glittering cast share their memories of an extraordinary New Zealander. Tributes from Robyn Malcolm, Oscar Kightley, Gaylene Preston, Ian Taylor, Kate Rodger, Rachel House, Lucy Lawless, Jennifer Ward-Lealand, Gregory O’Brien, Peter Mullan and Paul Goldsmith. Many thanks to all who contributed. At Large with Toby Manhire i...

Blockades in the Strait of Hormuz have laid bare our reliance on global energy supply. Climate change keeps bursting river banks. And Young New Zealanders are drifting away. Does anyone have a big vision to take all this on? Pattrick Smellie does and he’s urging our politicians to jump on board. The BusinessDesk founder and columnist talks to Toby. Plus: In How Good, Alex Casey joins Kristen Stewa...

From the press gallery to spin doctor for Helen Clark and chief of staff to Jacinda Ardern, Mike Munro has seen plenty of the kaleidoscope in New Zealand politics and media. He joins Toby to talk about those roles and how it all has changed through the decades. Plus: In How Good, Liam Rātana on Matariki with a bonus beat from Te Aihe on Bryn & Ku’s Singles Club, season two. At Large with Toby Manh...

When the People’s Liberation Army launched a nuclear-capable long-range missile into the Pacific Ocean, it was testing its capability, but it was also flexing its muscles. Anna Fifield joins Toby to explain who was the message for, and what it means for New Zealand. Plus: In How Good, Alex Casey heroically joins the dots from Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding to the brave and never embarrass...

Emergency housing numbers have been slashed, helped by strict directives to MSD staff. But where they going to? Helen Robinson, Auckland City Missioner, says rough sleeping is worse than she’s seen in her 13 years at the organisation. She joins Toby Manhire to talk about the problem with the move-on orders around the corner, and the personal and political reality of homeless in New Zealand. Plus:...

With a new outlook putting an 80% chance on a super El Niño forming, we face a version of the phenomenon that could be as intense as anything on record. Jon Tunster from Earth Sciences NZ joins Toby to explain what this With a new outlook putting an 80% chance on a super El Nino forming, we face a version of the phenomenon that could be as intense as anything on record. Jon Tunster from Earth Scie...

Boom time for balloons, battle cries and bitter zingers as New Zealand’s political parties stage their jamborees with added election-year energy. Fresh from the National, Labour and Act bashes, Lyric Waiwiri-Smith and Joel MacManus join Toby to recount their experiences, and deliver the critical mark on the mojo-meter. Plus: In How Good, Tara Ward on a killer scene in the new TV drama Head Girl. A...

In Auckland, as in many places around the country, you can hardly walk down the street or open the internet without meeting grim news of another much-loved bar, restaurant, record store or live venue closing its doors. Is it really as bad as it feels? Emma Gleason had dug into the numbers and talked to people affected for The Spinoff. She tells us what she’s learned. Plus: Alex Casey explains just...

The GDP numbers look good. The Strait of Hormuz is (maybe) open. To find out whether that means the green shoots will bloom into great bountiful gardens, we called in economist Shamubeel Eaqub to ask: Is this cause for optimism? Will the fruits of recovery be shared fairly? How does National’s new KiwiSaver policy look to you? And just how close to the bulls**t is the Reserve Bank sailing on inter...

Keir Starmer has walked out from Downing Street and said it’s all over, meaning Andy Burnham is almost certain to be the next UK PM, the seventh since 2016. Why did Starmer fail, who is Burnham, and is this all really about Nigel Farage and Reform? Toby talks to UK-based NZ journalist Richard Adams about the latest drama, and asks whether Christopher Luxon could learn anything. Plus: In How Good,...

Michael just became the highest-grossing music biopic of all time. Gens Z and Alpha have him on high-rotate. And a man who looks just like him is drawing hordes of adoring fans across the streets of Christchurch. Alex Casey, fresh from hanging with the impersonator of the moment, joins Toby to explore the Jackson revival, and ask: how did he shake off the shadows of such serious allegations? Plus:...

Staff writer Tara Ward has been writing about local TV on The Spinoff for over a decade. Today we published her Cover Story looking back at how Outrageous Fortune came to be, 20 years after the first episode aired on New Zealand TVs. Tara spoke to the creators, writers, directors and stars of one of New Zealand’s most beloved shows, and tells the behind the scenes tales of its journey to our scree...

Five years on from the Zoom Boom and in the middle of a cost of living crisis, Alex Casey investigates what is motivating women to get Botox. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Senior writer Alex Casey has always been fascinated by the multi-billion-dollar appearance industry, both as a consumer and a journalist. Today The Spinoff published a Cover from Alex, headlined “Is everyone getting Botox without me?” Alex is 33 and looks 23, or so a Botox specialist said. But she’s been thinking about injectables and how they seem to be everywhere she turns. So she spoke to dozen...

Ātea editor Liam Rātana has reported two stories recently on the same topic, a topic that is so often ignored by both media and everyday New Zealanders: veterans. Our returned or retired army personnel are at the sticky end of almost every social measure: unemployment, mental health, suicide. But without even a national register of how many veterans we have, it’s even harder to tell the stories of...

Alex Casey is a pop culture writer and expert and also an incredible investigative journalist. This week she combined the two to investigate why popular global shows in New Zealand are just a little bit shorter than overseas in ‘Mystery of the missing minutes: Why are TV shows shorter in New Zealand?’ And what happens when the answer to a question is a little bit boring but you still want to write...

On Sunday 23rd March, hundreds marched to parliament in support of gender-affirming care for youth. Meanwhile, Winston Peters declared a “war on woke” in his state of the nation address. Lyric Waiwiri-Smith wrapped the two together in a story we published earlier this week, calling the dichotomy “two visions of New Zealand”. She joins Gabi Lardies to talk about all the attention on trans healthcar...

A five-strong line-up of guests began with avid reader Courtney Johnston who discussed her passion for reading and the books she loves most; writers Carl Shuker and Duncan Sarkies joined to chat about their latest novels and how they came to be; to round off the group Unity Books manager Susanna Andrew and Unity's Aotearoa book buyer Melissa Oliver (Ngāti Porou) joined the stage to give insights o...