Is there anybody out there?
Some people have a gift for technology, and I'm not one of them.
Latest
Coming soon
This is The End is Naenae, a brand new site by Anna McMartin that's just getting started. Things will be up and running here shortly, but you can subscribe in the meantime if you'd like to stay up to date and receive emails when new content
Even though it is small it is precious
This is for Malachi and children like him. I've changed some details so the people I talk about aren't identifiable. Be aware: the discussion of family violence isn't graphic but is still distressing.
Another day stolen
In strict confidence for my paid subscribers.
Having a mayor? Why we need our local leaders to take a stand
It’s done and dusted. The recounts have been finalised. The inaugurations have been held, complete with fancy robes and oaths and sandwiches after. New mayors and councillors have found their places at big tables across the motu. There’s much to celebrate, and yet I wish I could unsee
Waste land
What is not handed down must be found some other way; and so my mum, who is retired in Invercargill, spends her days uncovering our whakapapa from libraries and archives and genealogical sites. Mum grew up some thirty kilometres from Invercargill in a place called Winton - somewhere you probably
Hungover
In confidence, for my paid subscribers.
Playing chess with a pigeon
Content warning for harassment and misogyny. May cause existential despair.
Who the **** is Rita Angus?
I took art history for approximately three weeks in 1993, at the beginning of my seventh form year. It was going fine, until I was asked to do an assignment on an artist. The artist was Rita Angus, and I thought to myself, "Who the **** is that?". I
A letter
When the tantalising details run out, the breathless headlines are exhausted and the camera turns away, kids could still be in danger. Now is the time to call for an inquiry. This cannot happen again.
That's entertainment
In confidence for my paid subscribers, because I don't want to sound like a cooker. I welcome your feedback on whether this should go public.
Hey hey! I'm grey!
It's a faffy, faffy thing, going au naturel. I started the transition two years ago, when I realised my hair was getting lighter, my body wasn’t, and that fighting what happens to us all didn’t make a lot of sense. My Facebook announcement at the time
Newsletter
Thought for the day, 28 August 2025
I'm not watching the Loafer's Lodge trial. I scroll past the stories or hit mute on the TV. I pretend it's not happening because the distress is more than I can bear. The man who lit the fire should be and is being held
Newsletter
Thought for the day, 20 August 2025
Here's a curious thing. Tom Phillips abducted his kids almost four years ago. In that time, their teeth have decayed. Their asthma has flared up. Their education has halted, as has their social development. They've faced puberty without reliable access to period products. They've
Newsletter
On with the show (trial)
I cannot say it enough: this is messed up. In confidence for my paid subscribers.
Newsletter
Average
The year was 1991. It was the last time the Red Hot Chili Peppers would have an original musical idea. Terminator 2 came out, and everyone loved it, because back then an apocalypse created by rapacious humans and unfettered machine intelligence seemed like a bad thing. I got what was
Newsletter
This one goes out to all the dropkicks
Some people in this life have their shit together naturally. They are not dropkicks. My sons are two of those people, and their brains fascinate me. They’re neurodiverse, and that comes with its quirks and limitations - but both have an intuitive drive to map stuff out, everything plotted
Newsletter
Ray of hopelessness
It was Ray Chung who pushed me over the edge. This is not an honour the man deserves. Less stupid politicians have taken me to the brink, but I somehow held it together. Ray’s masterstroke was complaining about the councillors who betrayed him by sharing his email about Tory
Newsletter
The angry dudes got something right. We don't have one person, one vote.
Fuelled by grumpiness, I set out to explore claims that Māori have special electoral privileges. I discovered privilege, alright - but it's not for Māori.
Newsletter
Thought for the day, 7 July 2025
Honestly, I've had the most extraordinary day. You wouldn't believe it. It started first thing, when I got on the train. 'Tickets, please', said the clippie. I fumbled with my wallet. 'Hurry up, dickhead', the clippie sneered, and laughed. Shaking my head,
Newsletter
Heroes and zeroes
This sounds like it's going to be boring or just about numbers, but I hope you'll be surprised. As always, I'm writing in my personal capacity.
Newsletter
My pitch
I'm testing an idea quietly with my paid subscribers.
Newsletter
Fit and proper
For months, I’ve been working on a piece about firearms, and I need to thank my paid subscribers especially for giving me the space and grace to do it. I thought the piece would be straightforward - more fool me - but I hope that when I finally deliver,
Newsletter
Immigrant song
How quickly we forget that most of us were immigrants once, if you go back. My mum’s side arrived first, generations ago. They made their way with an enviable canny and hard work, as farmers and then truckers, but on Ngāi Tahu land. A gravel road with the family