Share Story×Share StoryFacebookTwitterBlueskyRedditEmailLinkedinWhatsappMessengerPoetry for the soul Chum Likes, friends, the more chum we spread the more our pond fills up with eager, hungry fish. More Reading
Bic Runga doesn’t care what you think anymore'I've always got a bee in my bonnet about something, and now it's about being middle-aged ... I want to know what a little old lady has to say, now that I am one.'By Chris Schulz | 7th February, 2026Guest writer
Lolita is harmful filth. Or is it a satirical masterpiece?Nabokov’s controversial novel is back in the headlines after popping up in the Epstein files. Here's why it sparks such heated debate.By Claire Mabey | 7th February, 2026Books editor
‘Ripe with humour and heart’: Seed by Elisabeth Easther, reviewedWhat’s a little bit of sperm between friends, after all? By Tara Ward | 7th February, 2026Staff writer
How to watch the 2026 Winter Olympics from New Zealand: Everything you need to knowWhen it’s on, how to watch, our medal hopefuls, and one prediction.By Calum Henderson | 7th February, 2026Production editor
Waiata of Waitangi: What parliamentarians sang'Tūtira Mai Ngā Iwi' is a classic, but maybe it's time to find another waiata to make famous.By Lyric Waiwiri-Smith | 7th February, 2026Politics reporter
The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending February 6Award nominees, new novels and old favourites.By The Spinoff Review of Books | 6th February, 2026⚖️
Good Week/Bad Week: Peeni Henare gets to leave politics and Shane Jones channels Lady WhistledownAll anyone can hope for when they begin a career in politics is that one day they’ll be allowed out to be a normal person.By Joel MacManus | 6th February, 2026Senior writer
Laneway review: Chappell Roan, Wolf Alice and many other glorious actsHoly fucking shit! Chappell fucking Roan! How to even sum her up?By Group Think | 6th February, 2026A bunch of people
Taonga and top hats: Slick fits from the Waitangi Treaty GroundsWaitangi is the perfect place to make a political statement with your fashion.By Liam Rātana | 6th February, 2026Ātea editor
‘We are all part of a grand design’: Wrestling with George Saunders’ Vigil'I'm quite snotty, at least in my mind... it’s an albatross to be seen as the genial uncle of American letters.'By Claire Mabey | 31st January, 2026Books editor
The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending January 30Julian Barnes' Departure(s) has arrived.By The Spinoff Review of Books | 30th January, 2026
Jacinda Ardern longlisted for this year’s Ockham New Zealand Book AwardsFour categories, 44 books, zero AI book covers.By Claire Mabey | 29th January, 2026
‘I ugly-cried my way through the whole thing’: Jackie Lee Morrison’s reading life'I’ve never read anything else that gave me that same high, and I suppose I’ve been chasing it ever since.'By The Spinoff Review of Books | 28th January, 2026
All the book news you might have missed while actually reading booksIt's not even the end of January, but so much has gone down already.By Claire Mabey | 24th January, 2026