Hayden Donnell is a staff writer for The Spinoff.
Mt Albert is a town at a crossroads. The pressures of growth are set to radically reshape the area, but so far change has left some of its residents and business owners pining for the past. Hayden Donnell travels to the suburb to talk to locals about the way forward.
Today at midday the first two episodes of Get It to Te Papa, a Lightbox Original made by The Spinoff, are released. Presenter Hayden Donnell has a few words for the infamous subject of episode one.
Two years ago, Spinoff founder Duncan Greive commanded Hayden Donnell to stop pitching things that should be in Te Papa. Today we announce our new show, Get It to Te Papa, starring Hayden Donnell.
Hayden Donnell talks to one of the show’s stars ahead of its seventh season, and tries to convince her to support pro-tenant rental reform.
Auckland has erupted into furious debate over a proposal to adopt a 30km/h speed limit in the city centre. Hayden Donnell comes up with a solution sure to please everyone.
We dive deep into the heaven-sent octoslap viral video.
She set foot in the US and immediately became a media sensation. How did she become a light for our troubled world?
Many of us have suffered the terror of a beetroot poo, but few of us ever talk about our experience. Hayden Donnell says it’s time to bring this important issue into the light.
After reading advice urging him to microwave red wine during the winter, Hayden Donnell angrily takes on New Zealand’s entire wine community.
Facebook is flooded with rabid anti-1080 activism, but the poison is the only barrier between many of New Zealand's native species and extinction.
Anti-1080 activism has exploded in popularity and intensity in the last few months. Hayden Donnell goes down the rabbit hole to find out what’s behind the movement’s rise.
Having nitpicked its way into rejecting two high-density apartment developments near the CBD, does Auckland Council's consents department really believe in the vision of the Unitary Plan?
New Zealanders have woken up to a topsy turvy world this morning, with normally annoying commentators Mark Richardson and Mike Hosking talking a lot of sense, reports Hayden Donnell.
A rogue Auckland Council email footer has sparked a wave of angst and recriminations in Takapuna, providing a glimpse into a broader conspiracy culture in local government.
Facebook streams have been overrun by an army of anti-1080 activists. We go in search of the source of the spam campaign.
The former CEO of the Pike River mine says he doesn’t feel guilty over the explosion that killed 29 of his workers. Here are a few things that should twig his conscience.
Kraft is introducing a new peanut butter to compete with Bega peanut butter, which due to some business stuff is now producing Kraft's original recipe. Hayden Donnell taste-tested it.
Councillors are forever going to public meetings to receive bad advice from angry people who mostly don’t know what they’re talking about. Hayden Donnell asks why.
Sometimes it pays to focus on the dark side of gaming. Hayden Donnell shares the harrowing story of his own crippling addiction to Dark Souls.
Judith Collins called on Jacinda Ardern to condemn France over a story she sourced from yournewswire.com. Turns out it's the tip of the iceberg
Featuring hints of marshmallow, Prince Charles, booze-soaked shoes and being bullied by a large Scottish man named Paul.
Being a tenant in New Zealand is often a difficult and disempowering experience. Hayden Donnell looks into what’s broken in our rental housing market.
The world’s greatest peanut spread underwent some frightening changes recently. Hayden Donnell delves into the animosity and legal wrangling behind the death and rebirth of Kraft Peanut Butter.
Playing onboard the Interislander, one of the most important (and worst) shows in the country.
Just a few times some of the newly formed Free Speech Coalition members have been less than fervent in their defence of free speech.
The National leader has been lambasted over an interview about the Ardern-Clarke baby. But the real problem is he has been possessed.
Auckland’s golf courses are huge tracts of heavily subsidised land lying vacant in the middle of a housing crisis. We need to seize them back