Madeleine Chapman

Auckland

Editor at The Spinoff

Editor at The Spinoff. Author – 'Jacinda Ardern: A New Kind of Leader' and 'Steven Adams: My Life, My Fight'

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Articles

The Weekend: You don’t know until you know

3 weeks ago | thespinoff.co.nz | Madeleine Chapman

Madeleine Chapman reflects on the week that was. “Did you know?”That’s often the first question asked of each other when someone we considered a friend reveals themselves to be a stranger. An opener of “did you know?” is rarely prompted by good news. Instead it will be heard at the funeral of someone who kept an illness private, or the first gathering following a surprise and acrimonious divorce.
A Jacinda Ardern biographer reviews Jacinda Ardern’s memoir

3 weeks ago | thespinoff.co.nz | Madeleine Chapman

Having written a whole book on her life, Madeleine Chapman reviews Jacinda Ardern’s version of events. This book was always going to have one unsolvable tension: Jacinda Ardern as politician vs Jacinda Ardern as global celebrity.
The Weekend: Might I suggest a walk?

4 weeks ago | thespinoff.co.nz | Madeleine Chapman

Madeleine Chapman reflects on the week that was. There’s something about a long weekend that somehow makes the week preceding it feel unfathomably long also. For that reason, and because we are entering into the darkest days of the year ahead of winter solstice, I am keeping this short and suggesting one simple tip. Go for a walk. This is not a revolutionary idea, in fact it might just be oldest idea in human history.
The Weekend: Did you grow up terrified of investing?

1 month ago | thespinoff.co.nz | Madeleine Chapman

Madeleine Chapman reflects on the week that was. When I was 21 years old, I travelled to America and spent some time with my cousin in Albuquerque. She was 30 and had what I assumed was a reasonably high-paying job in healthcare. Even so, she lived a life of luxury that was a shock to me. She owned a lovely home, planned frequent weekends to Vegas, was happy to drop everything on a dime and roadtrip the west coast with me, and drove a very cool red Mercedes SUV. How?
The Weekend: What does ambition look like?

1 month ago | thespinoff.co.nz | Madeleine Chapman

Madeleine Chapman reflects on the week that was. Over new years, I was in Japan on a lovely trip, waiting outside a tiny cafe run by an old man. He didn’t have a website or anything, but had recently gone viral on TikTok for one of the few dishes he made. When we arrived, his store was closed, but the sign said it would be open that day. So we waited, and over the next 40 minutes, tourists came and went, some knocking on the glass, others grumbling about the inconsistent opening hours.
Huge and true: Madeleine Chapman to step down as editor of The Spinoff

1 month ago | thespinoff.co.nz | Madeleine Chapman

The search for a new leader begins. Is it you? Later this year, after four extremely fulfilling and busy years in the role, I will be stepping down as editor of The Spinoff. I’ll be taking a break and then returning for a little while longer to work on some special writing projects. This is where you’d expect to read something like it was a really difficult decision but in my case, and for reasons I’m proud of, it wasn’t.
The Weekend: Please don’t say goodnight when you leave the office

1 month ago | thespinoff.co.nz | Madeleine Chapman

Madeleine Chapman reflects on the week that was. Two days ago, I was sitting at my desk at 5.23pm, finishing my work so I could walk home to nearly set the kitchen on fire trying to make a very basic pasta. Since our office is a rare paradise where colleagues all like each other, everyone says a loud goodbye as they leave for the day. At 5.23pm there weren’t many people to say goodbye to but my colleague persisted. Only she didn’t say goodbye at all. “Goodnight everyone,” she called out.
The rise and rise of fake ‘local’ boutiques

1 month ago | thespinoff.co.nz | Madeleine Chapman

The Commerce Commission has received more than 100 enquiries about them this year alone, but the fake storefronts continue to operate. Madeleine Chapman reports. At a glance, it looks like any other clothing website. There’s a banner along the top for a “clearance sale” which ends at 11.59pm. Scroll down and a grid filled with “bestsellers” appears, showing blouses, shoes, dresses and more being modelled by real people and featuring heavily discounted prices (usually half price).
The Weekend: My nephew keeps calling me nana

1 month ago | thespinoff.co.nz | Madeleine Chapman

Madeleine Chapman reflects on the week that was. There is no adult in the world who can cut you to the core as cleanly as a small child. My unwitting assassin is my lovely not-quite-two-year-old nephew, who with a single, repeated word has forced me to reevaluate my hair, my clothes and my life. The word? Nana. My sister (and therefore nephew) lives 10 minutes from me and I see them approximately once a week.
Sad news for Samoans: Cheehoo is dead

1 month ago | thespinoff.co.nz | Madeleine Chapman

No good thing ever lasts and this week, the Samoan call was lost to the corporate world forever. Everybody’s heard a cheehoo before. Certainly if you’ve ever been in the vicinity of two or more Samoans, you’ll have heard one whether you wanted to or not. It soundtracks every sports event and school gathering, and Dwayne Johnson let out a few slightly cringe ones as Maui in Moana. A cheehoo is undefinable.