Culture
We tracked down the owners of Chinese Cuisine, one of Mercury Plaza’s most popular eateries
Mercury Plaza! Once the go-to spot where Aucklanders young and old would congregate for some of the best kai in town. Since it’s closure in 2019,…
The Dunedin band asking 'what are we going to do with all this shit?'
Dunedin Doom Pop duo Night Lunch’s new track ‘House Full of Shit’ really connects with the consumerist nightmare we are all living in.
“What are we going…
Surviving personal loss, genocide and standing solo in front of an audience | Disruptors
In the sixth episode of Disruptors, Jean Sergent and Sarita So talk about their solo shows Change Your Own Life and Digging to Cambodia – two…
A Sri Lankan family talks about guilt, obligation, and what freedom really means | Conversations…
“I think there is this misunderstanding that some people have about what staying at home with your parents indicates. I think in Sri Lankan culture it…
TEEKS on music as a form of healing
“It’s about reestablishment or reclamation of whakaaro Māori because I know our tupuna were emotionally aware and conscious of the power and strength in vulnerability and…
Judah, Tafara, and Pako: Not Your White Boy | Conversations With My Immigrant Parents
“Not getting a job doesn’t surprise me, I feel like racism plays a part in that. I’ve been looking for work for the last ten years,…
Inside the barbershop giving men a place to open up
“Anyone can walk through those doors. A priest, a businessman, a schoolboy, a gang member, and there is no judgment put on them.”
Meet Fitz, the owner…
Comedian Liv McKenzie cooks gnocchi with spite not love
“Cooking with love isn’t the best way - cooking with spite I think is what gets the job done.”
Comedian Liv McKenzie makes gnocchi and pesto from…
Photo essay: looks from Auckland’s Pride Gala
Every year at the start of Auckland’s Pride Festival, the city’s best-dressed get together for the opening night Gala.
This year we went along and took some…
New Zealanders tell us how they honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi
Six Kiwis share the various ways we can honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
The anti-snob vintage fashion store in Auckland | The Outliers
“If you don’t dress a certain way, they don’t think that you have the money to spend in their store and it’s hurtful. We don’t want…
Four life lessons we can learn from the fall of hip-hop giants Dawn Raid
We speak to Oscar Kightley, the director of 'Dawn Raid', a doco about the legendary NZ hip hop label.
The illustrator whose art helps people see themselves differently | The Outliers
Huriana Koepke-Te Aho illustrates portraits that encourage people to see themselves in new ways.
They’re also an activist, recently lending their talents to the Protect Ihumātao movement,…
New Zealanders massively hoarded booze the night before lockdown
Newly released data shows Kiwis bought 195% more alcohol at liquor stores right before the March 2020 lockdown.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, there was a huge spike in alcohol…
Nah Zone is uplifting brown creatives in Aotearoa | The Outliers
“We just need to get out of that whole humble mentality.”
Jonique Purcell knows music creatives in Aotearoa are just as good - if not better -…
Chevron Hasset on being the only working class Māori at his art school | The Outliers
“Working class Māori don’t actually attend art school.”
Chevron Hasset is an artist who was raised in Naenae, Lower Hutt. He shares what it was like to…
A 64 Bars debut from Ranuimarz that’s “full of mana”
“When they hear Ranuimarz, they know exactly where I’m from.”
Ranuimarz and fellow West Aucklander Melodownz meet up ahead of Ranuimarz’s explosive 64 Bars debut at Red…
Our favourite music by NZ artists in 2020
A list of our favourite songs by artists in Aotearoa in 2020.
Simran Kaur on being a Sikh in New Zealand | The Outliers
“You don’t belong here. This is not your country. You are a terrorist.” Growing up Simran Kaur, a first generation Sikh New Zealander, watched her family…
Comedian Brynley Stent makes her Oma's trifle, with help from a taxidermy possum | Comedians Cook
Comedian Brynley Stent shows us how to make her Oma's trifle with store bought sponge cake, homemade custard, and then store bought custard when the homemade…
20-year-old Shiraz is “the most underrated MC in the country”
Shiraz used to keep his rapping a secret. Now, he’s being called the most underrated rapper in New Zealand by one of his inspirations, Dirty. Shiraz…
Waguan raps about social justice while making you dance
“We out here talking about social justice and twerking.”
Making people dance while rapping about social justice can seem like an unlikely combo. But for Waguan, like…
Muslim rapper Abrzy travels to Bangladesh to make sense of his home in Aotearoa | The Outliers
Abid Rahman - stage name Abrzy - is a rapper living in Wellington. We travel with him to the city he was born in, Dhaka, Bangladesh,…
Comedian James Mustapic shows us how to make a gingerbread house | Comedians Cook
Comedian James Mustapic decides to use his oven for the first time ever, and shows us how to make a gingerbread house in this special Christmas…
Black New Zealanders are taking control of their narratives
Redefining what it means to be Black in Aotearoa.
Why people are taking the 'date rape' drug
With rising hospitalisations from liquid ecstasy experts say drug checking at festivals is needed.
Pacific Heights, CHAII and Kings’ new track is for driving around the city at night
'405' is a track about extreme wealth and poverty, the best way to listen is to go for a drive.
TEEKS on being Māori in a mostly Pākehā music industry
TEEKS and Matariki Bennett have a beautiful kōrero at a beautiful location.
Stylish people at a design festival describe their fashion and their 2020
Stylish people at a design festival describe their fashion and their 2020.
35 years of iconic NZ fashion house NOM*d
What’s kept NOM*d so relevant, aspirational and darkly cool for the last 35 years?