Don Rowe

Staff Writer

Don Rowe (Ngāi Tahu) is a staff writer at The Spinoff. He was the 2015 Canon Media Awards student journalist of the year and the 2017 junior long form feature writer of the year. Email him on don@thespinoff.co.nz

Media

Mar 22, 2019

What it was like to be a NZ moderator on Reddit during the Christchurch shootings

The Christchurch Mosque Shootings saw journalists scrambling the country over to cover the unfolding horror. At the same time, so too were the moderators of r/newzealand.

Media

Mar 19, 2019

The online cesspits where hate found a home

Not for the first time, the darker corners of the internet have spawned real world tragedy. What is 4chan, and how does it foment so much hate?

Media

Mar 14, 2019

Facebook, Instagram, and Gmail outages: what the hell is up with the internet?

Facebook: out. Instagram: out. Whatsapp: Notsapp. And yesterday it was Google. What the hell is happening to our internet?

Music

Feb 21, 2019

UPDATED: How shit will the weather be for gigs this weekend?

There's a cyclone sitting off the coast and we're already feeling its tendrils. From Six60 to Splore, which shows will suffer worst this weekend?

Sports

Feb 10, 2019

Adesanya caps off a flawless night for New Zealand MMA

New Zealand goes three for three at UFC Melbourne, culminating in Israel Adesanya's win over Anderson Silva.

Sports

Feb 10, 2019

WTF just happened in the UFC?

Only in a sport as batshit as cagefighting could the main event fall through just 11 hours before the fight. Don Rowe reports from Melbourne.

Sports

Feb 8, 2019

On the edge of superstardom, NZ’s Adesanya fights the greatest ever

New Zealand martial artist Israel Adesanya will cross the threshold into legitimate worldwide superstardom this weekend when he fights the most dominant mixed martial artist in history this Sunday.

Media

Jan 27, 2019

My YouTube Party of Five: Don Rowe

My YouTube Party of Five is a new series in which we invite people to share their five favourite YouTube videos, the ones hold closest in their heart, the ones they’ll play at 2am while drunk at a party. This week: Don Rowe.

Society

Jan 9, 2019

How a pet bearded dragon got abducted by a government vet

Don Rowe reveals a chilling conspiracy that saw one lizard almost lost forever to the power of the state.

Society

Jan 8, 2019

Ambergris, the whale poo worth more than your car

Sought after for thousands of years, and worth upwards of $10,000/kg today, ambergris washes up on beaches across New Zealand all year long. Don Rowe goes looking for it.

Music

Jan 5, 2019

Remembering shuffling, the dance craze of the Bebo era

For a time in the late 2000s, youth of all backgrounds in this country began to dance. Don Rowe remembers the brief flash when techno became a unifying force in New Zealand.

Gaming

Jan 5, 2019

God of War and Kant’s theory of the sublime

Through clever manipulation of scale and mythos, the latest iteration of God of War makes the most of Immanuel Kant's theory of the sublime to deliver a truly beautiful game.

Society

Dec 30, 2018

Summer Reissue: A brief history of Big Foot, New Zealand’s most ridiculous RTD

For a brief moment, New Zealand was home to Big Foot, a mythically potent RTD served in a giant bottle and apparently aimed squarely at teens. Don Rowe talks to the brain behind it.

Society

Dec 20, 2018

It’s two years to the referendum and the weed debate is already insufferable

In a foreshadowing of the excruciating debate to come, FamilyFirst have gone head-to-head with an actual scientist on the issue of marijuana. But there's an agenda on both sides, writes Don Rowe.

Society

Dec 8, 2018

The Spinoff Hot Take Advent Calendar: December 8

Every day in the leadup to Christmas, open the door to reveal a Spinoff writer’s short, sizzling commentary on a weighty subject. Today: Don Rowe on why we should call off this garbage year a few weeks early.

Gaming

Dec 5, 2018

Why Māori were picked for the world’s most popular strategy game

In a new ecology-focused Civ VI expansion, Kupe leads the Māori in an attempt to dominate the globe through kaitiakitanga.

Society

Nov 30, 2018

Spies, sabotage and political donations: why China is dominating the news

From an academic suspecting foul play to the spooks blocking Huawei gear in the new broadband roll-out, China is suddenly in a lot of headlines. Don Rowe rounds it all up.

Ātea

Nov 30, 2018

How whakapapa led to one doctor losing her stomach and gaining her life

In the age of advanced genetics, whakapapa is a powerful tool against hereditary illness. Don Rowe talks to Dr Karyn Paringatai, the stomach-less doctor reconnecting whanau to save lives.

Society

Nov 22, 2018

Remembering Kozmik, the grooviest Kiwi clothes of the 90s

For a brief moment in the late 20th century, New Zealand produced some of the dopest hand-painted clothing on Earth. Don Rowe talks to the founders of Kozmik Klothing.

Society

Nov 19, 2018

Up close with the Testimatic, the man-machine that squeezed my balls

The Testimatic is New Zealand's first medicinal glory hole, providing an eye contact-free testicular examination. Don Rowe gets his balls squeezed in public.

Business

Nov 19, 2018

The nicked FlyBuys points, the .ru account and the Auckland delivery address

Ant Timpson got a fright to discover his FlyBuys had been stolen, cameras purchased and the goods sent to a notorious Auckland address

Politics

Nov 14, 2018

Mike Pence requested Jacinda Ardern for dinner. Here’s what’s on the menu

Tonight in Singapore, it's PM meets Veep. We preview the worst working dinner imaginable.

Society

Nov 11, 2018

Sir Peter Jackson’s haunting WWI masterpiece

100 years from the end of WWI, Sir Peter Jackson has released They Shall Not Grow Old, a groundbreaking restoration of footage from The Great War.

Society

Nov 8, 2018

Why corporate boxing is getting people killed

Yesterday corporate boxer Kain Parsons succumbed to a brain injury sustained in a charity bout on Saturday night. He won't be the last, writes Don Rowe.

Society

Nov 6, 2018

So you’re about to lose money on the Melbourne Cup – where does it go?

Hundreds of millions of dollars are lost by punters at the TAB every year. Where does it go, asks Don Rowe.

Politics

Oct 30, 2018

First homes and fake news

Yesterday saw yet another story of young home owner success splashed across the news. But this time both sides of the political divide kicked off, sledging the government and the new mortgagees alike.

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