I was on the phone this morning with one of the women who has told her story for the Sir Rod Drury/Xero investigation when a media release arrived in my inbox, taking me straight back to 1986..

Gang, where should I take my parents to dinner in Tāmaki Makaurau? We went to Cazador last time, which is like our favourite place. Any similar recommendations?

Drug harm, drug support, drug reform #nzpol @thespinoff.bsky.social @robbienicol.bsky.social youtube.com/shorts/UAhbs...

Enroll! Vote! @thespinoff.bsky.social @robbienicol.bsky.social #nzpol #2026Elections youtube.com/shorts/2c5BS...

Don’t know if anyone else on here plays Minute Cryptic, but shit this is a good clue!

After our rising concern about the plans for services and timetables when City Rail Link opens, it's great to see things are starting to get back on track. In today's post, a new map and other detailed updates from our meeting with Auckland Transport: www.greaterauckland.org.nz/2026/04/30/c...

This game sucks! Wargames: the only way to win is not to play 😪 #nzpol @thespinoff.bsky.social @robbienicol.bsky.social youtube.com/shorts/j1Pkl...

I'm really enjoying @thespinoff.bsky.social videos and this is a case in point. Good, useful information, delivered well and in an engaging way. Kapai, @robbienicol.bsky.social Full credit.

Can this please be the norm in video games now? I didn't grow up with video games. I don't instinctively know that the A button is the one to the right. But I do if you show me the layout.

A story in three parts.

It is time for us, as a nation, to come together and standardise our pints. It is OK if we decide that when you order a "pint" you get 425mL, but we must have consistency.

Holy shit.

@thespinoff.bsky.social @robbienicol.bsky.social #nzpol #cancer #health youtube.com/shorts/MqQTS...

The fares on the bus go up and up… @thespinoff.bsky.social @robbienicol.bsky.social #nzpol youtube.com/shorts/1jP_l...

Gold @thespinoff.bsky.social @robbienicol.bsky.social youtube.com/shorts/ai5aR...

Flu vaccines are available from today, 1 April. Free for 65+, anyone who is pregnant and those with certain health conditions. Learn more, plus eligibility: www.healthnz.govt.nz/health-topics/immunisations/vaccines-aotearoa/flu-vaccine Book online 👉 bookmyvaccine.health.nz

oh man, sucks for korea, good thing we get our fuel from... squints

Did Mark Zuckerberg see the (financially) successful worlds of Fortnite and Roblox and think he could replicate that for adults, without considering that 1) kids might play more games than adults and 2) no part of his Metaverse looked like it even involved fun games?

Watching Theroux's new doc and surprised by how *clearly* vulnerable these guys are. I just thought the bravado would be stronger.

Catching up with the Oscars and really proud that the first muted swear is from the New Zealander.

This is the best video about Covid that has ever been made www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqWx...

Spinoff doesn't seem to post these gems from @robbienicol.bsky.social? @thespinoff.bsky.social youtube.com/shorts/JqWx2...

If you're a powerful creative person, a moment will always arrive when you can do something a little brave that will help people, or refuse to. The book I'm working on right now is in part a history of who did what. All I'll say about this is, it never gets forgotten. deadline.com/2026/03/pixa...

i often think about this review

Just found out that Liam Dann and Corin Dann are brothers. Holy smokes, they're like the Barretts of business journalism.

I remember looking up battery costs and capabilities 20+ years ago. Even the wildest forecasts for 2026 wouldn’t have been as optimistic as the present state turned out to be.

Look at me, pontificating in my lane: www.nzherald.co.nz/business/cor...

Censorship claims, technical problems and a report of a surge in app deletions are just some of the challenges TikTok is facing this week as it adjusts to a new ownership structure in the U.S.

lol @robbienicol.bsky.social and Toby Manhire correctly predicted the election date

Wild to think that Al Gore wanted to save the world, but everyone thought he was too dull. And a real lesson for boring smart people to effectively kidnap any charismatic person that they know to be their representative.

I think @jetlagthegame.bsky.social might be the only show in the world I'm always in the mood for. It's just great telly.

A lot of the time, when people say, “I don’t like that celebrity.” I translate that to, “That celebrity’s PR team aren’t doing a very good job.”

Neon, you actually can't advertise to me because I'm paying. You have to pick one.

Turned the oven on while the pav was cooling. Perhaps the greatest crime a person can commit on Christmas day. Will be calling the police on myself and accepting the consequences.

I really enjoy the amount that people now say "pre-prepared", because prepared was insufficient.

Shout out to the person who helped me find the last copy of The Book of Guilt at Unity, even though they wanted it themselves. 😭 The Christmas spirit is powerful in Tāmaki.

Ferry terminals have now arrived! Our latest update is out now on all platforms! 🏙️ Can you help get Hong Kong’s residents to where they need to go? ⛴️

Analysis: Finance Minister Nicola Willis effectively confirmed Tuesday that New Zealand will not meet its 2030 climate target under the Paris Agreement under the current Government’s policies. newsroom.co.nz/2025/12/03/g...

getting the onion newspaper is worth it alone for the ads

Good to see some reporting on this. Spread it far and wide, folks. www.rnz.co.nz/news/on-the-...

I'm a proud subscriber to @theonion.com newspaper and I love it all, but I think the thing that feels the most exciting about it is the ads? I feel like you wouldn't be allowed to do this in New Zealand?

Why does Neon not have the latest John Oliver anymore? Or Smiling Friends, even though the Adult Swim website says that it does?

Israeli soldiers speak out on killings of Gaza civilians

this essay is just as good as everyone says it is, and imo is a good piece of blanket advice lithub.com/maybe-dont-t...

Panera’s moderately caffeinated lemonade was loosely associated with 2 deaths before it was taken off market. This article alone has 4 examples of ChatGPT encouraging young people to commit suicide, and OpenAI’s own public stats estimate over a million users discuss suicide with ChatGPT each week.

Watts told farmers in the Waikato that there was no requirement to meet the Paris target. “You have to have the intent to meet it and if you don’t meet it, no one sends you an invoice – and that’s why it’s not a liability on the government’s books,” he said. 🤯 newsroom.co.nz/2025/11/06/g...

The Govt quietly announced a loosening of climate rules at 8pm last night: - Decoupling the ETS from Paris - Shifting ETS resets to every 2 years - Delaying the public sector target by 25 years - Removing CCC advice from *before* emission reductions plans: www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...