Madeleine Chapman

2 weeks 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?

3 weeks 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.

3 weeks 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.

4 weeks 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.

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).