History
Is Mallard Living in a Fantasyland?
Mallard’s claim has a slightly loony, off-the-wall, quality. If he has evidence, he should front up with it. Otherwise people will be justified in concluding it was a case of Mallard in Fantasyland.
The Importance of a Unifying Story
Why New Zealand's lack of national narrative keeps me up at night.
One Last Question, Prime Minister
Barry Soper’s honest reflections from the halls of power.
Diving Into Obscurity: Robert Anton Wilson
Books both wonderfully bonkers and usefully thought-provoking.
Her Image Outlived Everyone Who Knew Her
Seen every day by millions, but almost never remembered.
What They Think Socialism Means
Before you carry that flag – before you cast that vote, before you cheer that candidate – I ask one thing: know what is behind it. My family paid for that knowledge with their bodies, their decades, their country, and their lives. The least you can do is learn it before you celebrate it.
The University Cauldron Where It All Starts
Over time, institutions – such as the public service or the industrial relations system or higher education – become adept at building up defences and seeing off zealous reformers. The only option is to break with.
The Myths of ‘Genocide’ and ‘Stolen Land’
The past should be neither lied about nor judged by the present.
Trump’s Rallies: The Great American Soapbox, Reborn
Donald Trump and Abraham Lincoln both exemplified a great American tradition.
Diving into Obscurity: the JAMs
How to conquer the music biz and blow it all up in the suits’ faces.
The Great Slavery Hypocrisy of the Left
Only one civilisation spent blood and treasure to end the trade and then spent the next 200 years beating itself up about it.
New Zealand’s Rot Starts in Empty Pews
Christianity is not nostalgia. It is the operating system that once made this country work. Time to reinstall it – before the hard drive crashes for good.
This Racist Relic Must Go
New Zealand was founded on the liberal promise of equal citizenship under one law for all. The Māori seats mock that promise. Abolish them.
More British History Needs to Be Taught
It is lunacy that my year-six son has had a Mayan Day where he ate tortillas but has not visited the nearby ruins of a Roman villa, the site of the Battle of Cheriton or learned anything at all about Alfred the Great, our local hero.