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Ahead of the show’s third season on Neon, The Spinoff writers round up their favourite moments from TV’s best show about bad people, Succession.Kendall fires the Vaulter staff (season two, episode two)What I adore about Succession is the deeply felt belief that there are no heroes in the media. That’s not my worldview, but it’s […]

Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for October 18, by Stewart Sowman-Lund. Auckland is now at step one of the alert level three pathway, Northland and parts of Waikato are in regular level three. Reach me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 8.00am: Another alert level decision looms after Vaxathon boostAuckland, Northland and parts of Waikato will be hoping […]

With vaccination rates up sharply across the country, states are now going ahead with plans to reopen to each other and the world, Justin Giovannetti writes in The Bulletin.Melbourne’s long lockdown is coming to an end. Australia’s two most populous states have begun lifting their Covid-19 restrictions in recent days as vaccination levels rise sharply. Victoria […]

We need to heed the lessons of the resounding success that came from government inviting everyone to pitch in on a big project, argues Duncan Greive.Super Saturday sounded forlorn and deeply lame when it was first announced. Chris Hipkins told us about “a national day for vaccination” just 10 days before the event kicked off. […]

We need to talk about the thing you’re staring at right now.A few mornings back, just moments after waking up, I rolled over and picked up my phone. It’s not a good habit. I know this. Everyone knows this. Yet, I couldn’t help myself. So I checked the weather forecast. I scrolled through some unnecessary […]

The final term of the year begins today, with children in Tāmaki Makaurau resuming remote learning. Paediatrician Dr Jin Russell outlines a gold standard plan for safely reopening.In Auckland, a date for reopening schools is expected to be announced soon. Everyone wants reopening schools to be as safe as possible, both for students and for […]

With more than 22,000 parents acting as volunteer teachers, the vaccine mandate is a big deal for Playcentre.Early childhood organisation Playcentre Aotearoa has raised concerns about the government’s mandatory vaccination requirement for ECE teachers, according to a newsletter sent to members. Sent on Thursday, October 14, the newsletter said the organisation was working closely with […]

Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for October 17, by Alice Neville. Auckland is now at step one of the alert level three pathway, Northland and parts of Waikato are in regular level three. Reach me on aliceneville@thespinoff.co.nzOur coverage of Covid-19 depends on support from members. Join us here. 4.10pm: It’s one year since the […]

If you’ve been experiencing stressful early morning wakings recently, you’re not alone. When I wake at 3am or so, I’m prone to picking on myself. And I know I’m not the only one who does this. A friend of mine calls 3am thoughts “barbed-wire thinking”, because you can get caught in it.The thoughts are often […]

When you can’t face cooking but you need more than toast, make this.Not everyone likes to cook, and let’s face it, even those who do (myself included) sometimes find it a real chore! You might be sick of cooking the same old things on rotation, tired at the end of a long day, lacking inspiration, […]

Patrick McKendry on boxing, writing, and an unlikely friendship with Joseph Parker.This essay was first published in Dylan Cleaver’s newsletter The Bounce. Subscribe here.One of the best books I’ve read was written by José Torres, a light heavyweight born in Puerto Rico who won silver at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and went on to become a world […]

We will be updating you all day with every memorable moment from the country’s first (and hopefully last) live televised Vaxathon extravaganza. 7.45pm Pio Terei attempts to make himself a real fruit ice creamHopes and dreams collapsed before our very eyes when Pio Terei poured himself the finest ice cream any vaxathon has ever seen, only […]