Back when Apple Music launched I went into some detail about what was good about the new service, and what was very bad. ¶ For all my frustrations, I became a paying customer when the three-month free trial of Apple Music…
I have a half-written post on the sentencing of Nikolas Delegat. Since the news of the sentence became public I’ve read the news reports, and responded to comments on twitter and Facebook. ¶ The sentencing seemed utterly unremarkable. I planned to…
As you may be aware, I have the pleasure of hosting An Evening With Ben Goldacre at Auckland's Mercury Theatre on Saturday week. The boffo interview I did wth Dr G a little while ago was very enjoyable and I'm…
¶ This is a house in Russell Square, Timaru. My family lived in the upstairs flat when I was four and five. I am terrified of this house. ¶ I went back to it once, when I was sixteen. I’d been up…
After a smashing session on the state of journalism, ORCON IRL AT THE GOLDEN DAWN is back next Tuesday – and this time we’re taking on democracy!ORCON IRL VOTE AUCKLAND presents:Efeso CollinsChloe SwarbrickCathy CaseyPaula Bold-WilsonBill RalstonChang HungPatrick ReynoldsCO-HOSTS: Russell Brown and…
After getting rebuffed trying to increase class sizes in 2012, Hekia Parata is trying to foist them on parents by stealth in 2016. But I think her plan is doomed to fail. ¶ Parata’s latest foray comes in the form of…
Sergeant Alexander of the 46th Rocket Division buckles me into the commander's chair and wrenches the four-point harness down to the point of discomfort. Two massive blast doors seal the control chamber shut 12 storeys below the Ukraine countryside, protecting…
I have been interested in autism for about 30 years thanks to my son Oscar. Children can lead you in interesting directions. ¶ My cute little boy walked on his toes, flapped his hands, was not interested in playing with other…
The Press Council has released a decision on Hayden Donnell’s article on The Spinoff about racism on Radio Sport. As part of that article, Donnell embedded a tweet of his in which he asserted that sports commentator Miles Davis, “must…
I was fortunate enough last night to see One More Time With Feeling, the unusual documentary created to serve as a once-only interview in advance of the release of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' new album, Skeleton Tree. ¶ The…
In an era where almost everyone has access to the tools to speak to almost everyone inclined to listen, it's easy to forget that not so long ago, the reins of broadcast communication were tightly held by the state. It…
I’m a fan of rugby. I’m a fan of the Chiefs. But not today. ¶ Today they acted like a group of children who know they are going to be told off. Hiding, shuffling their feet, figuring out what the “right”…
As these things always do, the Waterview Connection seemed a long way off when preparatory works began more than five years ago. Suddenly, the giant on the edge of our suburb – the largest roading project in New Zeaand history – will…
Housing NZ sharpens focus on meth reads the headline on a brief news story published by the Bay of Plenty's SunLive yesterday. It declares that Housing New Zealand "has sent the strongest possible message to state housing tenants warning of…
A man went to the supermarket and bought some cheese. It was sliced cheese. After he got home with the sliced cheese, he opened the packet and saw that the cheese had mould on it. The man probably thought about…
The 2016 95bFM Bombathon fundraising week officially kicks off on Monday, but you can already get in a sneaky donation here. And if you've ever been moved, touched, informed, amused or induced to dance by the b, I reckon you…
Wellington On A Plate, the capital’s citywide culinary festival, ended on Sunday. And once again the city’s burger competition far outshined the more refined offerings in terms of popularity. ¶ This year I faced strong domestic advice to avoid last year’s…
This coming Monday evening, I'm chairing the next in this year's season of LATE events at Auckland Museum. As the title, From #Slacktivism to Activism, suggests, it's something of a reprise of the LATE I chaired two years ago, The…
Three years ago, Clinton Logan sold all his possessions, leased out his house in New York state and set out on his motorcyle. The New Zealander, who had spent most of the past 20 years building a software company, decided…
Yet another opinion poll has reflected a public mood for change in our laws around cannabis – and this one has an interesting wrinkle. ¶ The new poll was conducted by UMR for the reform group Start the Conversation between July 29…
Five o'clock on a Sunday is not generally thinking time for me, but yesterday was different. That was the kick-off for Reimagining Journalism, a WORD Christchurch panel discussion I chaired with Cate Brett, Paula Penfold, Duncan Greive, Morgan Godfery and…
I’m big on making sure voters know how to make the best use of their votes at elections, so last week I went along to the Transparency International Mayoral Forum. ¶ After short-opening statements, the candidates were asked about governance, and…
There is a persistent myth among the kind of people I desperately try to avoid that swearing is a sign of low intelligence. Frequent swearing shows a lack of imagination and vocabulary. ¶ Fuck that noise. ¶ Research shows what people I…
This week in Parliament, John Key repeated one of the lines that looks to be central to its election campaign in 2017. As we’ll see, that word “lines” probably has one too many n’s in it. Anyway, here it is:…
My friend Simon Grigg this week announced something I've known for a while – that he's stepping down from his role as creative director at Audioculture. It is, literally, to spend more time with his family: Simon and his wife Brigid…