The Best Of

Jim Grenon (left) and Julian Batchelor (right) are suing TVNZ for defamation.

Inside the weirdest trial of the year: Jim Grenon, Julian Batchelor and TVNZ

Billionaires, secrets, conspiracy theories, denials of racism, contempt of court and twists at every turn. This case had it all.

By Joel MacManus | 19th December, 2025

(Image: The Spinoff)

A definitive list of what belongs in the fridge – and what doesn’t

You might be sabotaging your food (and flavour) without realising it.

By Charlotte Muru-Lanning | 18th December, 2025

Contributing writer

Staff said extra waste will go to landfill as a result of councillors’ decision on Tuesday.

The great idea that almost everyone absolutely hates

It would save 25,000 tonnes of carbon emissions a year and reduce the amount of waste going to landfill by half. There’s just one issue.

By Hayden Donnell | 18th December, 2025

We asked tech consultancy director Ben Reid, minister of finance Nicola Willis and economist Shamubeel Eaqub to peer into the future.

The impact on NZ if the AI bubble bursts

There will be financial and technological implications for us if the whole thing blows up.

By Duncan Greive | 11th December, 2025

Just some of the titles that have made it into this year’s best-of list.

An A to Z of The Spinoff’s best books of 2025

The year's best reads, as chosen by our panel of experts.

By The Spinoff Review of Books | 10th December, 2025

Every hydroslide at Christchurch’s record-breaking new aquatic centre, ranked

Every hydroslide at Christchurch’s record-breaking new aquatic centre, ranked

The Parakiore hydroslides are a very late contender for 2025’s best thing.

By Alex Casey | 10th December, 2025

The Papatoetoe-Ōtara Action Team didn’t just win, they dominated.

Did NZ’s most brazen electoral fraud just take place in Papatoetoe?

In court, they opened up 53 wrongfully cast ballots. Fifty of them had gone to the winning side.

By Hayden Donnell | 10th December, 2025

Ruth Richardson and Nicola Willis in budget mode. (Images: Getty; Parliament TV. Design: Tina Tiller)

Ruth Richardson v Nicola Willis: the mother of all epochal debates

Two National finance ministers, three decades apart, are locking horns. But just how different is the political environment of today to the time of the juggernaut?

By Toby Manhire | 10th December, 2025

Editor-at-large

Christopher Luxon at the opening of Ikea on Thursday, December 4 (Photo: Phil Walter/Getty Images)

Why Christopher Luxon thinks Ikea could win him the election

National’s strategy in 2026 will be all about grand openings and major events.

By Joel MacManus | 9th December, 2025

(Screengrab)

What Christopher Luxon did last week while saying no to Q+A

Look, prime minister, we get it. Nobody wants to get up early on a Sunday morning.

By Tara Ward | 8th December, 2025

Pōneke’s dating pool feels more like a paddling pool (Image: The Spinoff)

‘Wait, you hooked up with them too?’ Tales from Wellington’s scarily tiny dating pool

Welcome to the cursed reality of looking for love in the capital.

By Jessie Davidson | 8th December, 2025

Scotty Stevenson has apologised – and it was a good apology.

Scotty Stevenson, ‘syrup suckers’ and the teen bombs hidden within us all

A whole arsenal of offensive stuff we rarely think of or examine sits in our brains, and sometimes it goes kaboom.

By Greg Bruce | 8th December, 2025

Chemist Warehouse growth over time. Image: Alex Casey

Prediction: New Zealand will eventually be one big Chemist Warehouse

How much discounted Nicki Minaj Pink Friday Body Mist can a small island nation possibly need?

By Alex Casey | 8th December, 2025

Hayden and the meatball (Image: The Spinoff)

Ikea’s opening was a deeply embarrassing time for us as a nation

Yesterday was the capstone to a multi-year symphony of simping.

By Hayden Donnell | 5th December, 2025