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Essay

Do we lose something when huts have electric lights? Image: Tina Tiller

Lights at a hut are like togs in a sauna

Around the country, DOC is upgrading backcountry huts with solar panels and electric lights. But as technology evolves, are we losing something special?
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By Dan Keane | 16th June, 2025
Guest writer
Why am I wearing a white shirt again? (Photo: Troy Rawhiti-Connell)

The Spinoff Essay: The celebration you’re looking for is just around the bend

At Waitangi, the celebration frequently demanded by those who feel robbed of having a 'national' day is right there for the taking.
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By Anna Rawhiti-Connell | 8th February, 2025
Senior writer
Why are these categories of womanhood so pervasive? What compels us to create (and recreate) them? (Image: The Spinoff)

Why young women like me are rotting in our bedrooms

It's become an internet trope, but the art of girl rotting dates back at least to the 19th century. 
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By Maya Field | 11th January, 2025
Guest writer
Don’t we all feel we’ve been on epic quests in search of love? (Photo: Getty Images)

Following the Swiss wolf, who walked 2,000 kilometres for love

When we insert ourselves into the lives of animals, we become complicit in their fates.
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By Kathryn van Beek | 3rd January, 2025
Guest writer
Portraits by Abhi Chinniah. (Photo: Supplied)

‘We just are’: When can migrant artists stop representing culture and just create art?

Representation matters, but the piece of the puzzle that’s missing is the freedom to represent no one but yourself.
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By Preyanka Gothanayagi | 2nd December, 2024
Contributor
Even if I could afford what I wanted, I could not buy what I was looking for. (Image: The Spinoff)

Should I buy the murder house?

Realising she can afford to buy a house, but only one that contained meth use or murder, Kristin Kelly reflects on the true value of a home.
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By Kristin Kelly | 19th October, 2024
Guest writer
Why are these categories of womanhood so pervasive? What compels us to create (and recreate) them? (Image: The Spinoff)

Why young women like me are rotting in our bedrooms

It's become an internet trope, but the art of girl rotting dates back at least to the 19th century. 
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By Maya Field | 12th October, 2024
Guest writer
He hadn’t been in the room, and now he was. (Images by Tina Tiller)

The slow and painful process of falling in love with my son

A lockdown birth, an abortion, and an excruciating back injury: Annie Wolfe traversed three hospital rooms on her hard road to motherhood.
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By Annie Wolfe | 14th September, 2024
Guest writer
The Spinoff Essay: An ode to tea, the universal panacea

The Spinoff Essay: An ode to tea, the universal panacea

Skimmed Alive, Earl Gravy or Peanut Safari, there's nothing like making someone a cup of tea exactly how they like it.
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By Kiran Dass | 7th September, 2024
Guest writer
Don’t we all feel we’ve been on epic quests in search of love? (Photo: Getty Images)

The Spinoff Essay: Following the Swiss wolf, who walked 2,000 km for love

When we insert ourselves into the lives of animals, we become complicit in their fates.
avatar
By Kathryn van Beek | 10th August, 2024
Guest writer
Illustration: Sloane Hong

The Sunday Essay: You can’t hide your prying eyes

When you stare at a trans woman and drop your eyes to the middle of her body? You're not being quite as covert as you think.
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By A.C. Gull | 5th February, 2023
Guest writer
Pitcairn island (Image design: Archi Banal)

Essay on Sunday: The sense-defying magic of the Pitcairn Islands

These tiny, remote islands have witnessed the best and worst sides of humanity.
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By Graeme Lay | 29th January, 2023
Guest writer
Image: Archi Banal/disappointingaffirmations.

The power of the disappointing affirmation

Positive affirmation quotes often aren't helpful. But taking the piss out of them can be.
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By Paula Harris | 28th January, 2023
Guest writer
Image: Getty / Archi Banal

Essay on Sunday: Growing up between two dealers

My childhood taught me that the best small-town weed dealers are good neighbours first.
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By Briar Pomana | 22nd January, 2023
Guest writer
Image: Getty / Tina Tiller

One million species face extinction, but saving the Māui dolphin still matters to me

Why do I still worry so much about the Māui dolphin? Let me count the ways.
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By Maia Ingoe | 17th January, 2023
Guest writer
Essay on Sunday: Can a stitch in time still save us?

Essay on Sunday: Can a stitch in time still save us?

For my mother, sewing was a means to our family's survival. To me it's about the survival of the planet.
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By Nadine Hura | 15th January, 2023
Contributing writer
Image: Getty / Bianca Cross

Essay on Sunday: ‘Tis the season to be solo

Christmas is a time for loving and giving – and sometimes for leaving.
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By Nadine Hura | 25th December, 2022
Contributing writer
Image: Getty / Archi Banal

I swim for my sanity through summer, winter, dawn and dusk

Drowning in anxiety on land, I braved my fears of slimy seaweed, pinching crabs and Jaws, and turned to the sea.
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By Shona Riddell | 24th December, 2022
Guest writer
Image: Getty / Tina Tiller

Essay on Sunday: Eat your heart out, it’s Christmas

Christmas gets its hold over us in childhood, with a magic we can never quite recreate.
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By Wyoming Paul | 11th December, 2022
Contributing writer
Photo: Getty Images

Essay on Sunday: Where women were cloaked in shame

In Iran after the revolution, everything became about what we women wore, how we interacted with men, and how we behaved.
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By Aida Tavassoli | 4th December, 2022
Guest writer

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