Culture

How burlesque helps break down the rules of gender

"Wearing heels makes my legs bulge and my muscles ripple in ways that they don't in flat shoes. I feel more masculine." We visit burlesque dancer…

New release: How to be The Beths in four easy steps!

The Beths make music that is jubilant, neurotic, carefree and anxious. I revisited their debut album Future Me Hates Me during a state-sanctioned walk around my…

A very scientific analysis of Covid memes with comedian Chris Parker

It’s natural to turn to humour in times of darkness. Here, we rank eight Covid-19 memes with comedian Chris Parker.

If you haven’t seen at least one…

Release of the Week: Auckland R&B singer-songwriter Jordan Gavet is both baby and baddie

One rhinestone-encrusted hair clip reads ‘BADDIE VIBES’. The other reads ‘HONEY BABY’. In the opening of her new music video, directed by Shae Sterling, Jordan Gavet…

Release of the Week: Diggy Dupé turns a Niuean war chant into an exhilarating hip hop track

Since we’ve just entered a nationwide, 4-week long lockdown, Diggy Dupé briefly considered pushing his music video release for ‘Keke Boy’ a week later... but then…

In photos: NZ's empty streets at rush hour

At 11:59pm on Wednesday, 25 March, New Zealand went into a nationwide lockdown. Here are some photos taken by Re: journalists of the scenes about town…

Here's a list of books to help you escape from this Covid-19 nightmare

We all have a lot of time on our hands now that we’re in lockdown. Some of you might want to read dystopian fiction or watch…

Work From Home Bingo

Lots of us are working from home now, which means... video conferencing!

Those who've dipped their toes into video conferencing before our present WFH times will know…

Release of the Week: Raiza Biza and his crew of African-Kiwi artists are stealing back their funds

Like pretty much every artist in New Zealand, Raiza Biza has just had a bunch of shows and interviews cancelled due to measures to stem the…

Auckland rapper Hans. shows us how to make Korean cocktails | Party Trick

Impress your friends at your next Korean barbecue hang. Auckland rapper Hans. shows us how to whip up yum cocktails that disguise the "ass" taste of…

Premiere: Reb Fountain exposes our false gods in her new song ‘When Gods Lie’

When Reb Fountain sings “when gods lie”, who are the gods she is talking about?
It’s a lyric that suggests a crisis of faith, like a coming-of-age…

Nadia Reid’s new album brings Otago to the world

Folk is a genre with a deep sense of place - music that breathes life to the nature and communities rooted within it. For Nadia Reid,…

The Bachelorettes answer your medical and dating questions

The Bachelorettes Lily and Lesina are here to fix your dating problems... and a few of your bodily problems too. Lesina's a doctor so we might…

The dance epidemic that infected an entire town

A dancing plague once overtook Strasbourg during the middle ages. Throughout the city, people were "using dance to get to some transcendent state to get out…

These 'insecurity guards' look out for your emotional safety

The Insecurity Guards patrol music festivals to look after your emotional safety. See them at work at Splore.

Disruptors: Frickin Dangerous Bro navigate the Pākehā spaces of comedy

EPISODE 1:

In the first ever episode of Disruptors, Comedy trio Frickin Dangerous Bro (Jamaine Ross, James Roque and Pax Assadi) talk about New Zealand’s comedy scene. 

How…

Release of the Week: VÏKÆ talks escaping Chernobyl, being bipolar and her new song ‘Liar’

If you’ve ever fucked up, one thing you could do is write a song about it and hope the people you wronged will hear it. That’s…

Why we love 'gross' Chinese food

When news broke that the coronavirus likely originated from a Wuhan wet market (a street market selling fresh produce), Chinese people were immediately demonised in the…

Students tell us the meanest thing someone has said to them online

What's the meanest thing someone's ever said to you online? The answers from students at AUT's O Week show us that harmful comments are much too…

Queer Portraits of Auckland

Becki Moss is a photographer and visual storyteller with a background in environmental science, psychology and medical science. Her photo project Queer Portraits of Auckland captures…

Our best stories from the past year

It's the Re: website's very first birthday!

To celebrate, we're tooting our own horns. Each person on the team has picked what they reckon is their best…

Premiere: Mo Muse’s new music video “goes out to all the immigrants”

“This one goes out to all the immigrants, maaan,” is how Mo Muse begins his song ‘All the Kids’. 

Then he quips, “You know, we always had…

Here's 10 of the best sustainable, non-problematic outfits from Splore

You could be forgiven for thinking the theme for this year’s Splore Festival was ‘Wear a Rain Poncho, But Make it Sexy’.
But it was actually ‘Infinity’,…

Premiere: Merk makes door hinges sound cool in his new music video

There’s a metallic synth sound, almost like a squeaking hinge, in Merk’s latest single ‘H.N.Y.B’. You wouldn’t think a door hinge in need of lubrication is…

Jang Huddle is telling 1.5 generation stories through dance

Cindy Jang is extending the possibilities of what dance can be with her collective Jang Huddle.

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How to stop being afraid of the word 'fat'

Ema Tavola first learnt about BMI when she was at school. “We went around the class. Everyone got weighed, and then we looked at everyone on…

Release of the Week: Auckland rapper Hans. takes us into his dreamy $5 music video

This week, Hans. released ‘Getby’, our first peek into his new project Tango Hue.

Hans. has a knack for transforming everyday motifs into something special. In the…

7 questions with The Handmaid's Tale author Margaret Atwood

"Some of the states in the United States have gone all the way to Gilead, pretty much." Margaret Atwood was in NZ for a speaking tour,…

Illustrations of what I think about on Waitangi Day

This Waitangi Day, we asked illustrators from across Aotearoa to draw what they think about on February 6th. Their images speak of resilience, courage, tenacity and…

Backstage on a giddy night at the Pride Gala

We handed Freya Finch, the director of OurGala, and Hugo Grrrl, drag king and effervescent MC of the night, a disposable camera each to take photos…