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I watched all 46 of Tom Cruise's films over the past 12 months. The question on everyone's lips: why?

‘The mission is clearly possible’: On watching every single Tom Cruise movie ever made

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A dark and stormy night of mushrooms and murder, sorbet and suspicion, and more fedoras than you've ever seen in your life. 

I survived five hours on Christchurch’s first murder mystery train ride

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Presenting our full top 100 countdown for your reading pleasure.

The complete top 100 NZ TV shows of the 21st Century

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'A few old boomers still think I actually am Lyn ... I choose to take this as a compliment.'

‘A curse and a blessing’: Ginette McDonald on how Lyn of Tawa changed her life

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'We say to our kids every dinner time, you have no idea how lucky you are that we have all our own food here. And they just go ‘yeah yeah whatever mum'.'

‘We’d never move back’: Nadia Lim and Carlos Bagrie on swapping the hustle for the harvest

Nadia Lim and Carlos Bagrie on swapping the hustle for the harvest

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As he makes a surprise return to Shortland Street, actor Craig Parker takes us through his life in television.

‘We were as famous as Tom Cruise’: Craig Parker on 90s Shortland St fandom

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'I want to check in at the pearly gates and have them say, ‘theres nothing left here, he’s worn to a nub, put it in the bin’.'

‘I prioritise the mission, not my health’: Adam McGrath’s perfect weekend playlist

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The 2024 Christmas cliffhanger screens on Monday, and you can expect the final episode to be bigger and badder than ever before. 

The one episode of Shortland Street you need to watch this year

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A couple of weeks after Spotify Wrapped comes a much more comprehensive survey of New Zealand’s listening.

The real NZ Wrapped: Analysing the 2024 NZ Music charts

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From singing witches to horny tennis players, here's what we loved at the movies this year.

The Spinoff’s favourite movies of 2024

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In February you'll be able to say you were an OG fan.

Banger alert: the song of the summer is ‘Harty Māori Stylez’

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From Eden Park stepping up to rappers stepping each other out, we look back at the best of music this year.

The Spinoff’s favourite music of 2024

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The Spinoff’s favourite TV shows of 2024

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Including a much-anticipated new stand-up special, a documentary about a soap, and cute baby animals. 

New to streaming: What to watch on Netflix NZ, Neon and more this week

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I made it to the end of 2024 without finding out what ‘hawk tuah’ means

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New Zealand's 'Godfather of Christmas' looks back on his life in TV and music.

‘I’m very happy about that’: Frankie Stevens on being the voice of Christmas

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'This is one of those songs that I will cry to in the car. I don’t even know why.'

‘A great song is one you can dance and cry to’: Elliott Dawson’s perfect weekend playlist

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For the past three decades, there’s only been room for one Dr Love in Ferndale. Until now.

Conan O’Brien just gave us the weirdest two minutes of Shortland Street ever

Tara Ward

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From Chris Warner’s beard to Newshub’s tearful goodbye, these are the TV moments that gripped the nation this year.

The most memorable local television moments of 2024

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From Holmes to Sheeran, a look back at some of the more memorable visitors Ferndale has ever seen.

A brief history of celebrity cameos on Shortland Street

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'Everything reminded me of the comfort of TV, the promise of a story.'

Can NYC ever live up to the hype? 

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An essential guide to all the holes you can drive through in this country.

All 29 road tunnels in New Zealand ranked from worst to best

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When he died, my friend Doug got no media obituary. Hardly anyone outside his tiny rural community knew him. But everyone inside that community did.

A life story

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How a little jar of seawater ends up as a red cross that ruins your day-at-the-beach plans – but keeps you safe from swimming in sewage.

A trip to the beach with the poo detectives

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After two decades of promised redevelopment, Johnsonville Shopping Centre remains neglected and half empty. 

Who killed the Johnsonville mall?

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Has the country changed all that much in three decades? Loveni Enari compares his two New Zealands.

Returning to a different New Zealand after 32 years away

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Speed puzzling is like a marathon for the mind – intense, demanding, surprisingly exhausting. But does turning it into a sport destroy it as a relaxing pastime?

The need for speed: What I learnt competing in an online jigsaw puzzle competition

. To celebrate, bandleader Finn Scholes has drawn us a comic, a “science fiction story about a man who realises his life is not what it seems,” that you can read while listening to the album.

The Spinoff’s music content is brought to you by our friends at Spark. Listen to all the music you love on Spotify Premium, it’s free on all Spark’s Pay Monthly Mobile plans. 

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Today, Auckland band Carnivorous Plant Society released their new album The New King. To celebrate, bandleader Finn Scholes has drawn a comic that you can read while listening to the album.

The Spinoff

Pop CultureMarch 16, 2018

Listen to the Carnivorous Plant Society album while reading a comic by Finn Scholes

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Pop CultureMarch 16, 2018

Listen to the Carnivorous Plant Society album while reading a comic by Finn Scholes

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