Don Rowe (Ngāi Tahu) is a former 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.
Don Rowe meets the post-graduate students putting tikanga and kaupapa Māori at the centre of learning how to lead.
Israel Adesanya has fought his way to the top of his sport, and into the hearts and minds of New Zealanders – whether they want him there or not. What’s at stake when he fights this weekend in Abu Dhabi?
Dragon tears, meteorites, or just plain shit – ambergris is an olfactory miracle of the deep. Sought after for thousands of years, and worth upwards of $10,000/kg today, ambergris washes up on our beaches all year long.
The School Strike 4 Climate has been widened to a general nationwide strike. Thousands of New Zealanders are expected to skip work and classes tomorrow. What’s going on, and where?
We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time. Today, Don Rowe eats a Fergburger.
An investigation has been launched after an epileptic inmate was left in a soiled cell following a seizure over the weekend.
In our latest local elections 2019 race briefing (read the rest here), Don Rowe looks at the two horse race to control the tourism capital of New Zealand.
Freedom camping, public transport and affordable housing are challenges Queenstown's Mayor Jim Boult says he’s uniquely poised to solve – if only people would do what they’re told.
Finally, New Zealand history will become a compulsory school subject. So what's so good about that?
The myth that Māori wiped out the Moriori people is the punchline of a new Jim Gaffigan joke.
In these days of alienation, singletons need all the help they can get. But who is doing love right? Only the hottest couple in Fountain Lakes.
After more than 40 years the war on drugs has had brutal consequences for justice in New Zealand. The movement to end the war is gathering momentum.
Former prime minister Helen Clark has called for New Zealanders to vote yes when they hit the booth in next year’s cannabis referendum.
Sixty years ago Volvo invented the modern seatbelt then gave it away free to the world. Now, to celebrate that anniversary, they’re doing it again – this time with millions of dollars of hardwon safety research.
TaiTokerau Rugby League is a breakaway competition aiming to bring power back to the people in the Far North. But under the lead of CEO Hone Harawira, it's not without its critics. Don Rowe reports.
New Zealand has lost herd immunity to the measles disease. What is it, and why does that matter?
1000 Words is a Spinoff series talking to the photographers behind our most iconic political images. In this instalment, photographer Chris McKeen describes shooting Pania Newton at Ihumātao.
Research shows young New Zealanders are stubbing out cannabis – and Māori more than most.
A 'health based' approach to drug enforcement has been written into law after the passage of the Misuse of Drugs Act Amendment Bill.
The terrorist who killed 20 people in El Paso over the weekend claimed direct inspiration from the Christchurch mosque shootings. Don Rowe explores how our darkest day became an aspirational target for the far right.
Peter Ellis will finally have his appeal against decades-old child sex abuse convictions heard in the Supreme Court.
Otago scientists say the lobby group has misrepresented the research.
After months of protest, the last occupants were moved off Ihumātao in south Auckland by police this afternoon. Don Rowe reports.
Every fish on the iconic New Zealand Commercial Fish Species poster, ranked.
Landlords are finding themselves without management after property managers began dropping clients who won't insulate, reports Don Rowe.
The Black Caps' World Cup loss at Lord's this morning has much of the country feeling pretty shit. From massage to mindfulness, here are five ways to feel just a tiny bit better.
