What we've been enjoying this week
Rec Room #5 – When was the last time you had a pear?
Kia ora, welcome to the newsletter.
A bit of exclusive behind-the-scenes Spinoff content for you this week: we recently became one of those offices that has free fruit in the kitchen. I mean, presumably somebody pays for it, but the important thing is it’s not me.
Most weeks the free fruit gets eaten gratefully but without a huge amount of fanfare. This week, however, unprecedented levels of hype have built around one item in particular. Multiple rave reviews led to an office-wide rush on pears, and by the end of Monday they were all gone.
As a result, this week I recommend adding PEARS to your shopping list. Good on their own, great in a salad and a gorgeous addition to a sandwich or wrap, they’re one of the most versatile fruits you can get. When was the last time you had one?
–Cal
Managing editor and The Fold host Duncan recommends Machete Clan’s 2016 single ‘On The Rark’. “I first saw the video on a friend's phone in the back of an Uber, which feels like the most appropriate way to encounter what is essentially the perfect New Zealand rap single. It's three years old, big enough to have 4 million Spotify plays, and have Guy Williams cover it on Jono and Ben – but I somehow missed it until recently, which disturbs me greatly. This belongs in the upper echelons of the New Zealand music canon alongside ‘Royals’ and ‘Slice of Heaven’.
Podcast manager Jane recommends Rose Matafeo’s HBO comedy special Horndog, which is available now on Neon. Speaking of Rose, she also stars in season two of Golden Boy, which started on Three last night, as (her own words!) “a sexy drunk with a chequered past”. And speaking of Golden Boy, it also features the writing talents of Alice Snedden, host of the beloved web series Alice Snedden’s Bad News.
Staff writer Alice recommends the second season of Vice podcast series Extremes on Spotify. “It’s all different stories about crazy true things that happened to people. One’s about an Italian guy who built a radio with his brother when they were kids and accidentally intercepted what they translated to be Russian astronauts’ SOS calls from spacecraft that were never recorded as having been launched. There’s a lady who dated a weapons billionaire, an Aussie guy who found a glitch in an ATM machine and lived this intensely rich life for quite a while and a lady who found out her dad was a serial killer when she was 16. The stories are WILD.”
Ātea editor and On the Rag co-host Leonie recommends Micarah Tewers’ YouTube channel. “She looks like a Barbie or a Disney princess, but she’s a homeschooled weirdo who lives in a trailer park (and for a while lived in a retirement community) and has a menagerie of animal friends. She recreates celebrity red carpet looks from thrift and craft store materials (notably Jared Letos’s MetGala Gucci look ft. a prosthetic head, a ball gown made of adult diapers and a dress suit from an old couch she found). The editing and voiceovers are hectic as hell but it’s also quite wholesome via she’s a good Christian girl who doesn’t drink or swear. SO entertaining.”
Office manager Lucy recommends Table Manners, the podcast singer Jessie Ware hosts alongside her mum. “They invite big name guests over for a meal and just have lovely chats over food mixed in with some funny Mum banter. So far my highlights have been Mel C, Rick Astley and Samin Nosrat (author / host of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat). Stewart says the older episodes are even better but I haven't gone back that far yet.”
Audience and engagement director Eli recommends Chelsea Peretti’s coffee-inspired album Phosphorescent Panic. “My highlight is Oatmilk. And I also love Late and Chore.” (If you haven’t seen Chelsea’s 2014 Netflix stand-up special One of the Greats yet, you have to watch that ASAP too.)
Finally, a lovely beer of the week rec from food editor Alice: Parrotdog’s Rodney West Coast APA. “Just a helluva good beer with a helluva good name.”
On the Rag
The latest episode of On the Rag came out yesterday and it’s dedicated to all the women who’ve ever been called “angry” or “a bitch” or that old sexist chestnut “stroppy”. Hosts Michèle A’Court, Alex Casey and Leonie Hayden go on an odyssey of women’s rage, featuring chats with activist Sue Bradford, kickboxing champion Baby ‘Pitbull’ Nansen and musician Fiona Campbell, to find out how we can all channel our anger into good.
Politicians making videos for social media – a how-to guide
Video producer José Barbosa is working down in the main Spinoff office for the duration of the election campaign. Since I’m up in the video production office, I don’t see or hear from him much, but every couple of days he’ll send me a message saying “got another video coming for you”. Then things like this will show up in my inbox. I hope he’s going to be OK down there for another 32 days.
Dietary Requirements
Food podcast Dietary Requirements reconvened late last week after a lockdown-related hiatus with an episode dedicated to everybody’s favourite lockdown baking activity: the sourdough loaf. Friend of the pod Henry Oliver came in to talk about the book he wrote about the lockdown sourdough phenomenon, and there was also a fair bit of chat about the hospitality scene and how restaurants and bars are going to keep the lights on in these challenging times.
Gone By Lunchtime
For this Te Wiki o te Reo Māori edition of Gone By Lunchtime Ben Thomas has carefully several several whakataukī (proverbs) pertaining to the week in Aotearoa politics. There’s one for Jami-Lee Ross, one for Labour’s tax policy… There’s a busy seven days’ worth of policy announcements to discuss too, including some very persuasive arguments for renaming the country. Toby Manhire hasn’t been this fired up about changing something since Red Peak was still an option in the flag referendum.
That’s all for this week. Please feel free to share Rec Room with anyone you think might like it, and reply if you’d like to get in touch.
See you next Wednesday 👋
