Branko Marcetic is an editorial assistant at Jacobin magazine and a freelance journalist who wiles away the hours writing about New Zealand and US politics
The advent of Jacindamania has prompted hopeful comparisons between Ardern and other photogenic, likeable liberal leaders, including Canada's Justin Trudeau and France's Emmanuel Macron. If that turns out to be true, the NZ left is going to be sorely disappointed, writes Branko Marcetic.
In a followup to his report as an embedded NZ First member at the party's conference, Branko Marcetic looks at how the Winston Peters bus is going through the gears.
The headlines don’t quite capture the core message of Winston Peters’ party, finds Branko Marcetic when he attends their pre-election conference.
The Todd Barclay affair has prompted many memory lapses, but perhaps none as powerful as Prime Minister Bill English's now-forgotten objections to cover-ups and deceit. Branko Marcetic looks back to 2002, when Helen Clark's Paintergate and Corngate scandals were making the news – and Bill English was making hay.
On Megyn Kelly's new show Keith Morrison delivers a glossy paean to New Zealand, where US citizens are apparently flocking following the demise of the American dream.
Emails between the New Zealand branch of the US Chamber of Commerce and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade offer a fascinating window into the way trade lobbying happens in NZ, writes Branko Marcetic.
A range of viewpoints is a good thing. But giving a platform to noxious, hateful, racially inflammatory propaganda is quite another. So why is Newstalk ZB so keen on Katie Hopkins, asks Branko Marcetic.
'Beggars pretending to look homeless by bringing props to streets' blared a recent One News report, citing as evidence a survey of the homeless population by Hamilton police. Just one problem: the survey doesn't appear to exist.
Last week The Legends Academy's Ben Alexander was back in Auckland to hold one of his regular workshops on 'modern dating skills' for men. The Academy claims to reject the blatant misogyny of the old-style PUA culture, but what does it offer men instead? Branko Marcetic joined the audience to find out.
