spinofflive
asbn5

Pop CultureJanuary 14, 2021

Alice Snedden’s Bad News: Why are we still so scared of breasts?

asbn5

Summer reissue: The latest episode of Bad News follows Alice Snedden on a quest to expose the double standards around nudity, and break down the barriers by getting the first-ever topless scene on Shortland Street.

First published August 25, 2020.

Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by its members – click here to learn more about how you can support us from as little as $1.

Ever wondered why TK Samuels can’t stop taking his shirt off, but we’ve never seen a woman’s bare chest on Shortland Street? It’s just one of the many double standards that exists when it comes to women’s and men’s bodies, and it’s a double standard Alice wants to rectify.

Meeting with Steve Crow, organiser of Boobs on Bikes, and Fiona McNamara of the Sexual Abuse Prevention Network, she dissects the complexities, profits and harm that come from sexual objectification. Would normalising nudity on screen reduce that harm, or is it not that simple? Getting the lowdown on censorship from senior classifications advisor Erica Brooks, Alice envisions a new kind of Ferndale that frees the nipple for all.

Commissioned by RNZ and made possible by the RNZ/NZ On Air Innovation Fund.

Classification: PG (Parental Guidance Recommended for Younger Viewers). Contains non-sexualised nudity and discussion of abuse.

Keep going!
Churches_BNessay_0001_Screen Shot 2020-08-05 at 12.15.56 PM

Pop CultureJanuary 13, 2021

Alice Snedden’s Bad News: How come churches don’t have to pay any tax?

Churches_BNessay_0001_Screen Shot 2020-08-05 at 12.15.56 PM

Summer reissue: In the fourth episode of Alice Snedden’s Bad News, Alice makes some inquiries upstairs about the charitable status of churches after finding out the makers of Weet-Bix have an exemption from paying tax.

First published August 20, 2020.

Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by its members – click here to learn more about how you can support us from as little as $1.

New Zealand is a secular society, but “advancement of religion” is still one of the main things that define a charity. That charitable status means that churches – even the big rich ones – don’t have to pay any tax. And that exemption also extends to breakfast cereal tycoons Sanitarium, which is an arm of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Does that seem right? Why is “advancement of religion” still considered a cornerstone of charity? And is it true what they say about Kellogg’s and masturbating? Joined by comedian Eli Mathewson and a giant pile of Weet-Bix, Alice tries to take a charitable view as she hears different perspectives on the issue. Head of the Interchurch Bureau Chris Bethwaite argues the case for churches as a social service, and lets Alice have a go on the church drum kit. Meanwhile, tax advisor Andrea Black explains the origins of the exemption and whether or not it’s still relevant today.

Commissioned by RNZ and made possible by the RNZ/NZ On Air Innovation Fund.

But wait there's more!