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The Bloke Who Animated the Apocalypse
When Charlie Faulks talks about animation, it’s with a kind of unstudied inevitability. “It was just always there,” he says. “I didn’t have to force myself to like it. It was just this passion that formed very quickly.”
Phoebe Robertson
Oct 31, 20255 min read
What is our Worth?
TW: Violence Against Women, Domestic Violence There’s this opinion piece I’ve had in my mind for a while; since starting back at Salient...
Phoebe Robertson
Oct 9, 20253 min read
The Radium Girls
TW: Medical Neglect, Graphic Content There’s a photograph I can’t stop seeing: A small house in Illinois, 1938. A woman, Catherine...
Phoebe Robertson
Oct 9, 202512 min read
Tough on Crime, Except When It’s Me
On March 4, 2024, I was sexually assaulted by members of a visiting Vietnamese delegation. I was an international student from the U.S., far from home but trying to build a life in Aotearoa, a place I believed could be safe for me.
Ali Cook
Oct 3, 202521 min read
Opinion: Why Should I Believe You This Time?
On Wednesday, October 1, 2025, Detective Scott Rankin called me into the Wellington Police station. I hadn’t heard a word from him since February, when Stuff was told an extradition file was being prepared for the Vietnamese officials who sexually assaulted me. At 6:30 p.m., sitting in a bland police office under fluorescent lights, Rankin told me the file was being dropped.
Ali Cook
Oct 3, 20255 min read
Lived Experience Identifies “Glaring Gap” In Legal Protections for Survivors of Sexual Assault
There is another, less headline-grabbing element of Cook’s experience that has led her to seek Parlimentary support: the absence of readily available, publicly funded, non means-tested legal advice for survivors of sexual assault.
Henry Broadbent
Oct 2, 20254 min read
Tiaki I Ā Koe Anō – Looking After Yourself This Study Period
Nā Taipari Taua (Muriwhenua, Ngāpuhi) It’s that time of year—exams are looming, lecturers are breathing down your neck, your to-do list...
Taipari Taua
Sep 29, 20254 min read
Home Ground: Art and Incarceration
“You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world. And you have to do it all the time”—Angela Davis For the past...
Alyanna Oquendo
Sep 29, 20255 min read
The Rebrand of Addiction
By Sophie Cook I look back fondly on a time when smoking was gross and pokies were cringeworthy. For years, attitudes in New Zealand have...
Sophie Cook
Sep 29, 20254 min read
Don’t Date Musicians
If you’ve survived break-up season, I commend you. If you haven’t, brace yourself: dating in Wellington sucks.
Georgia Wearing
Sep 29, 20254 min read
What’s a Human Right Anyway?
Unpacking Politics' Most Beloved Shallow Phrase. By Maia Berryman-Kamp (Te Arawa, Mataatua, me Tainui) In this most humble of election...
Maia Berryman-Kamp
Sep 22, 20253 min read
Basic Guide to Boycotting
When our money becomes bullets, missiles, directed into Gaza—towards children, journalists, doctors, families, people who just want to live—we must boycott.
Te Urukeiha Tuhua
Sep 22, 20255 min read
Not Evil, Just Underpaid: Why You Think People Suck
By Pluto Rennie (He/They/She) "Humans are just selfish." You’ll hear it in lectures, see it in comment sections, feel it in flatmate...
Pluto Rennie
Sep 22, 20254 min read
Women in the Arts.
An essay on the evolving landscape, By Sophie Spencer Historically, women’s desire and capability to produce art has not been taken...
Sophie Spencer
Sep 22, 202511 min read
He’s Not the Love of Your Life, He’s Literally Just a Guy
Dedicated to my second mother, who is always here for me and filled with wisdom. Love you lots. By Te Urukeiha Tuhua (he/they/ia,...
Te Urukeiha Tuhua
Sep 8, 20255 min read
Morango Do Amor: Annals of a Brazilian Chef
By Ryan Cleland (he/him) In Brazil, there is a sweet known as Morango do Amor, or Strawberry of Love. At its heart lies a whole, ripe...
Ryan Cleland
Sep 8, 20255 min read
What’s a Native Species Worth?
By Dan Moskovitz (he/him) What is the value of a native species? And is every species of equal value? Ultimately, the answer to these...
Dan Moskovitz
Sep 8, 20252 min read
Love te taiao, trapped in the city? Go freediving — it's free.
By Marlena Chambers It’s 1 pm on a Friday arvo. I’m pulling thick neoprene on, balancing on a chipped boulder on the south coast. A...
Marlena Chambers
Sep 2, 20255 min read
Klo Promotions - A New Space in the Scene
Words by Jia Sharma (she/her) Calling all emerging artists! Meet Klo Promotions, a fresh-faced new presence in the Wellington music...
Jia Sharma
Sep 2, 20252 min read
To The Free Store
Angel Vic-Marie (all pronouns) To the Free Store Wellington, I want to tell you how I feel. It’s grief and anger. It’s frustration and...
editor11172
Sep 2, 20257 min read
Paying Rent in a Broken House
Phoebe Robertson (she/her) On the afternoon of Tuesday, 5 August 2025, a glass window pane detached from the Hunter Lounge and plunged to...
Phoebe Robertson
Aug 11, 20253 min read
If Suzuki Swifts Could Fly
Words by Jamie Livingstone (he/him) Before I begin, let me offer a quick disclaimer: I’m deeply grateful to live a life that allows me to...
Jamie Livingstone
Aug 11, 20254 min read
Who’s Been To Council?
Darcy Lawrey (he/him) This week, Salient asked candidates running for Wellington City Council a simple question: have you ever attended...
Darcy Lawrey
Aug 4, 20253 min read
The Culinary Capital is Losing its Flavor
Author: CDP (he/him) For as long as I can remember, Wellington has been heralded as New Zealand’s culinary capital.The city offers...
editor11172
Aug 4, 20253 min read
The First-Years Guide to Protest
Te Urukeiha Tuhua (he/they/ia, Tūhoe) So, we’re at university—what now? By the time Trimester Two rolls around, many of us are already...
Te Urukeiha Tuhua
Aug 4, 20255 min read
What’s your favourite Māori book?
Arabella King (Ngā Ruahine, Taranaki, Te Ātiawa, Te Aitanga a Hauiti, Ngāti Hauā) Books: Aroha & Wawata by Dr Hinemoa Elder These...
editor11172
Aug 4, 20254 min read
Lena Is Still in the Room
Ryan Cleland (he/him) TW: Sexism, harassment Lena Forsén was a Swedish model featured in the November 1972 issue of Playboy . More than...
Ryan Cleland
Jul 28, 20256 min read
From the Mayor of Wokeville
TW: Online abuse and misogyny By Marcail Parkinson (she/they) “She’s thuuuuuuuuuuck.” “Kiwis like Ms Parkinson need to be mocked &...
Marcail Parkinson
Jul 28, 20253 min read
Looking Gay!
By Zia Ravenscroft (he/they/it) One of the most common concerns I hear from young queer people is that they don’t look “gay enough.”...
editor11172
Jul 14, 20253 min read
Is Drag... Anti-Feminist?
By King Markiss: Drag king, philosopher, feminist, queer woman (he/him) Drag performers catch a lot of shit. We’re called mentally ill,...
editor11172
Jul 14, 20258 min read
Queer safe tattoo studios: so you’ll only cry because of the blood and hours of pain
By Maia Berryman-Kamp (They/she/ia), Te Arawa me Mataatua Wellington - gay, artistic, expensive. Nothing sums up the city like a series...
editor11172
Jul 14, 20253 min read
Rating Star Wars Characters Based On How Much Tboy Swag We Think They Have
by R2-BEAR2 (he/him) and Jar-Jar Twinks (glup/shitto) 8: Lando Calrissian Coming in strong at number eight is Lando Calrissian. He...
editor11172
Jul 14, 20252 min read
Solidarity Forever
By Will Hansen (he/him, PhD student in History at Te Herenga Waka) “Look out, straights! Here comes the Gay Liberation Front. We are the...
editor11172
Jul 14, 20256 min read
Identity in the Pacific
By Tanumia Matega The Pacific has long recognised and respected gender diversity. MVPFAFF + is an acronym used to encapsulate the many...
editor11172
Jul 14, 20251 min read
“What If Disability Qualifies You?”: Reimagining Disability and Faith at University
by Annabelle, DSA Co-President Let’s start with this uncomfortable truth: many disabled people have been hurt by the Church. Not always...
editor11172
Jul 11, 20254 min read
From Aotearoa to Palestine: Matariki Reflections
It’s Matariki, and I am with my whānau by the coast with a bowl of hot boil-up on my lap and some fry bread in my hand. We’re gathered...
editor11172
Jul 7, 20253 min read
Healing the World: Jewish Traditions and Justice.
by Ari (they/them) Kia ora, and Shalom aleichem. I’m a PhD candidate here at Te Herenga Waka and I am of Ashkenazi (Jewish people whose...
editor11172
Jul 7, 20257 min read
Islam on Campus (and Respawning My Faith)
The first time I was introduced to Islam was through a terrorist joke. Just a kid playing Halo on my Dad’s Xbox 360, on a tiny TV in...
editor11172
Jul 7, 20255 min read
ENTER THE CONCLAVE: Ryan's Guide to becoming the Pope
By Ryan Cleland (he/him) So you want to be the Pope, eh? Well, you’ve come to the right place! Your journey to the Papacy is a busy one —...
editor11172
Jul 7, 20253 min read
Whatever Happened to Berrigan House?
By Will Irvine For nearly a decade, a utopian socialist community existed right on the doorstep of Victoria University of Wellington....
editor11172
Jul 7, 20255 min read
A Few Minutes with Andy Johnston
By Nick Heine-Sheldrake Andy Johnston didn’t mean to become a wildlife expert, but the 25-year-old now finds himself traveling from...
editor11172
Jul 4, 20253 min read
Sex Myths and What I Wish I Knew at 18 (Now That I'm 30)
By Magenta Kaos (they/he) Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Whare, Tūhoe “Sex Is Only Sex If There's Penetration” Sex education has long been lacking,...
editor11172
Jul 4, 20253 min read
The Sex Parties of Queen Dove
By Georgia Wearing How did you get into hosting sex parties? I’ve always identified as kinky, as a teenager I scoured every corner of the...
editor11172
Jul 4, 20256 min read
Everyone is a target: Inside Deepfake Pornography
By PHOEBE ROBERTSON Deepfake pornography has been called the future of revenge porn, but that term doesn’t quite capture it. Unlike...
editor11172
Jul 4, 20253 min read
Getting Methy – New Zealand’s changing drug market
By Darcy Lawrey (he/him) Trigger Warning: Discusses drug use. Testing of New Zealand’s wastewater over the last year has revealed an...
editor11172
Jul 4, 20253 min read
Standing Guard
words by Will Irvine I never had the makings of a traditional doorman. I’m 5’11, 88kgs, and nowhere near close to intimidating. In high...
editor11172
Jul 4, 20255 min read
Naked and Unafraid
Words by Dorian (he/him) I’ve been to a few life drawing classes in my time as someone who sketches, though I had never thoroughly...
editor11172
Jul 4, 20253 min read
Opinion: Can Chris Hipkins Pull it Off?
By Walter Hamer Zamalis The 2023 New Zealand general election was one in which Aotearoa saw nothing in its future, and so voted according...
editor11172
Jul 4, 20256 min read
An Oral History of Sex
By Shaw McEwan (Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Ngāti Pāhauwera, Ngāti Porou) and Taipari Taua (Muriwhenua, Ngāpuhi) Sex and love have always been...
editor11172
Jul 4, 20254 min read
FROM DISHWASHER TO TOP DOG
Stories from a life spent behind the bar By Courtney Plaize (she/her) Being a female bartender is hard. Now add management and Courtenay...
editor11172
Jul 4, 20253 min read
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