Staff writer Tara Ward has been writing about local TV on The Spinoff for over a decade. Today we published her Cover Story looking back at how Outrageous Fortune came to be, 20 years after the first episode aired on New Zealand TVs. Tara spoke to the creators, writers, directors and stars of one of New Zealand’s most beloved shows, and tells the behind the scenes tales of its journey to our screens. If you’ve never seen Outrageous Fortune, I’d suggest reading Tara’s feature and then pressing play on episode one. And if you’re a longtime fan, The Spinoff will have Outrageous stories running all week to celebrate its 20 year anniversary.

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Five years on from the Zoom Boom and in the middle of a cost of living crisis, Alex Casey investigates what is motivating women to get Botox.

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Senior writer Alex Casey has always been fascinated by the multi-billion-dollar appearance industry, both as a consumer and a journalist. Today The Spinoff published a Cover from Alex, headlined “Is everyone getting Botox without me?” Alex is 33 and looks 23, or so a Botox specialist said. But she’s been thinking about injectables and how they seem to be everywhere she turns. So she spoke to dozens of women about their decisions to either get Botox or stay away from it, as well as those who’ve administered them, with mixed feelings. The story is a thoroughly researched but also deeply personal feature about the decisions women must make about their bodies every day.

Alex appeared on Behind the Story to talk first-person feature writing, ageing and having your mind changed.

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Ātea editor Liam Rātana has reported two stories recently on the same topic, a topic that is so often ignored by both media and everyday New Zealanders: veterans. Our returned or retired army personnel are at the sticky end of almost every social measure: unemployment, mental health, suicide. But without even a national register of how many veterans we have, it’s even harder to tell the stories of a community that hasn’t been quantified yet. Liam’s work covers the recent Waitangi Tribunal hearings into the treatment of Māori veterans as well as a veteran group’s call to boycott the formal ceremonies of Anzac day.

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Alex Casey is a pop culture writer and expert and also an incredible investigative journalist. This week she combined the two to investigate why popular global shows in New Zealand are just a little bit shorter than overseas in ‘Mystery of the missing minutes: Why are TV shows shorter in New Zealand?’ And what happens when the answer to a question is a little bit boring but you still want to write about it?

Plus, there’s wild chat about Lorde’s new album teaser and why it suggests her greatest ever work is about to come out.

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As the premier local TV writer at The Spinoff, Tara spends a good chunk of her time thinking about what’s on our screens and why. This year has gotten off to a roaring start, with the big hitters of television returning, like Severance, White Lotus and Handmaid’s Tale, as well as new trendsetters like Adolescence. Tara joins Behind the Story to talk old favourites and the current state of broadcast television in New Zealand.

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On Sunday 23rd March, hundreds marched to parliament in support of gender-affirming care for youth. Meanwhile, Winston Peters declared a “war on woke” in his state of the nation address. Lyric Waiwiri-Smith wrapped the two together in a story we published earlier this week, calling the dichotomy “two visions of New Zealand”. She joins Gabi Lardies to talk about all the attention on trans healthcare and the so-called “woke mind virus”.

A vision of two New Zealands: The ‘war on woke’ and a hīkoi for trans healthcare

The Winston Peters glossary

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A five-strong line-up of guests began with avid reader Courtney Johnston who discussed her passion for reading and the books she loves most; writers Carl Shuker and Duncan Sarkies joined to chat about their latest novels and how they came to be; to round off the group Unity Books manager Susanna Andrew and Unity's Aotearoa book buyer Melissa Oliver (Ngāti Porou) joined the stage to give insights on the health of our publishing sector, current trends, and some sparky views on the "Shockams".

Books by the authors in the episode:

Duncan Sarkies' latest novel: Star Gazers

Carl Shuker's latest novel: The Royal Free

Book recommendations from our guests:

Courtney Johnston:

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

A Touch of Mistletoe by Barbara Comyns

Irma Voth by Miriam Toews

Carl Shuker:

Vanishing Point by David Markson

Duncan Sarkies:

Black Cat, White Dog by Kelly Link

The Dark Dark by Samantha Hunt

Doppelganger: A trip into the mirror world by Naomi Klein

Susanna Andrew: 

Makeshift Seasons by Kate Camp

Melissa Oliver:

This Ragged Grace by Octavia Bright

Ash by Louise Wallace

The Chthonic Cycle by Una Cruickshank

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After three years and eight months writing from the Auckland office, staff writer Shanti Mathias is heading south. In that time, she has eaten locusts, ranked nuts, interviewed someone while cycling, and found herself in sewage pipes. Very intrepid! Shanti joins Gabi Lardies on Behind the Story to look back on four of her most iconic stories, her particular interests in science, conservation, gambling and transport, and to get the scoop on her unfinished business.

Getting rid of predators is one thing. Keeping them gone is another

Rainbow warmth and garish colours: When did stripy polyprop disappear?

Sinking lids and rising profits: The problem with pokies

Inside the exclusive, chaotic, painful NFT party at Auckland’s Longroom

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This week we published a deeply researched and reported story by Liam Rātana. It takes an inside look at what many people face when they are considering starting a family – tricky ethical choices and less than ideal medical and legal systems. When Liam pitched the story in our weekly editorial meeting a few weeks ago, it was a personal experience, but he chose to focus the final article on others’ experiences and interviews with experts in the field. I wanted to know the thinking behind his approach, and what the process of reporting had been like for him.

The genetic gamble: Having children when you carry a hereditary condition

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