An utterly amazing one-woman show by Eddie Izzard that put a whole new perspective on Hamlet for me - alone on stage playing 20+ characters for more than two hours, bravo!

Happiest of birthdays to the legend Mel Brooks, 100 years old today and funny for at least 98 of them!

Mel Brooks: Say What's In My Heart

ALT: Mel Brooks: Say What's In My Heart

static.klipy.com

New on the website today: An appreciation of Paul Chadwick's Concrete, one of the best comic books of all time and finally returning this week after far too long of a hiatus -- nikdirga.com/2026/06/14/p...

Paul Chadwick’s Concrete: The best comic book you may have never heard of

There were a lot of fantastic comics that launched in the 1980s – your Dark Knights and Watchmen, your Maus and Love and Rockets – but one of the closest to my heart is Paul Chadwick’s …

nikdirga.com

New on the blog: We’re living in the golden age of documentary deep dives into comedians, and it’s a funny thing - nikdirga.com/2026/06/10/l...

Laugh? I thought I’d cry – The best comedian documentaries do a little bit of both

Mel Brooks from the film “Mel Brooks: The 99-Year-Old Man!” (HBO Max via AP) The lives of comedians are a funny subject for documentaries, but I find I can’t get enough of them.  R…

nikdirga.com

Soon, you'll have to pay to drive into parts of Auckland. Congestion charging is coming - but when, and how will it work? My latest for RNZ: www.rnz.co.nz/news/communi...

Explainer: Congestion charging is coming to Auckland - but when?

Explainer: The government and council are planning to charge drivers for going into parts of the city. Here's what we know so far.

rnz.co.nz

Streamers, streamers, everywhere you look - now that HBO Max has announced a price for its NZ launch, how do all these services compare? My latest for RNZ: www.rnz.co.nz/life/screens...

Streaming wars: HBO Max reveals prices - so which service is right for you?

Explainer - HBO Max has announced its prices before its 16 June launch. How does it compare to competitors, and which streamer is right for your home?

rnz.co.nz

Over on my website today, I ask the immortal question — can Doctor Doom be funny? nikdirga.com/2026/06/02/c...

Can Doctor Doom be funny?

Doctor Doom is, of course, the greatest comic book villain of all time.  Forget the Joker or Darkseid – both way too overexposed – or figures like Catwoman, Magneto and Loki, who’ve all…

nikdirga.com

New by me at RNZ: The 'Definitions of Woman and Man' bill now before Parliament and how the public can make submissions on it over the next month -- www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

New Zealand's Definitions of Woman and Man Bill and how the public can give submissions

Explainer - A new bill would define gender in the law, and there's a month to make public submissions on it. Here's how.

rnz.co.nz

I might have gone a little loopy writing about the King’s Birthday holiday. www.rnz.co.nz/news/communi...

New over on my website - how the sweary, sweaty satire of Deadloch gives us a new spin on the Australian cop show: nikdirga.com/2026/05/27/h...

How Deadloch shows us a different side of Australia

Australia is far weirder, bigger and louder than compact little ol’ Aotearoa. I love the place, but it always seems like the swaggering older brother.  The gloriously profane and funny TV series De…

nikdirga.com

This has been a terrific year for live music in NZ and I'm amazed that I've managed to review David Byrne, Iggy Pop and Sparks for RNZ all in less than six months (and gone to see Pulp, Mountain Goats, Chappell Roan and a heap of others). Music is back, baby!

Nik Dirga@nikdirga.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Sparks! They’re groovy and cool and they played New Zealand for the first time ever! My review of the Auckland show is now up at RNZ: www.rnz.co.nz/life/music/s...

Sparks! They’re groovy and cool and they played New Zealand for the first time ever! My review of the Auckland show is now up at RNZ: www.rnz.co.nz/life/music/s...

Sparks show why they're your favourite band's favourite band | Review by Nik Dirga in Music

For a band that’s been making hit records for over 50 years, Sparks still feel a little bit underrated.

rnz.co.nz

For the first time stalking is about to be a crime in New Zealand. Here's how the new law that takes effect May 26 works in my latest for RNZ: www.rnz.co.nz/news/crime-a...

Explainer - How New Zealand's new anti-stalking laws will work

Explainer - Everybody knows what a stalker is. But until this month, it wasn't officially a crime. What will that mean?

rnz.co.nz

Public service announcement: You can pick up my huge book of memoirs and journalism CLIPPINGS and two collections of my long-running small press comics AMOEBA ADVENTURES right here on the internet by clicking here: www.amazon.com/stores/Nik-D....

I can't go past TIME WALKER (1982), which hurt my little Star Wars-primed brain with its bizarre combination of mummy movie and alien movie all apparently made with a budget of about $2.49. I watched it again a couple years ago to confirm my fading childhood memories that it was... not good.

Ryan Godfrey@ryangodfrey.com · 3mo ago

Inspired by Sean’s memory of the 1987 MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE, what was the movie you saw as a kid that made you realize it was possible for movies to be bad? For me I think it was THE ICE PIRATES (1984).

A most excellent week of the Auckland Writers Festival with hordes of fellow bibliophiles hearing about Shakespeare, Slow Horses, fake Russian oligarchs, mushroom murders, New Zealand zines, Kiwi gothic fiction and much more. Huzzah!

Living in a world where even the cheap haircuts at the mall run $40 is making me consider a return to my long-haired hippie college days.

New by me at RNZ - how to get this year's flu vaccine, and what is this "super-k" flu strain you might have heard about? www.rnz.co.nz/news/health/...

What you need to know about getting a flu vaccine this year and the 'super-k' flu

Explainer - Where can you get your flu vaccine this year, and what will it cost? Here's what you need to know.

rnz.co.nz

New on the website - in celebration of New Zealand Music Month, it's a fond look at all the Kiwi classics I didn't grow up with, festooned with a few wonderfully kitschy '80s videos to boot! nikdirga.com/2026/05/14/n...

New Zealand Music Month and the songs I didn’t grow up with

May is New Zealand Music Month, and as always, I’m all for celebrating the towering cultural footprint little ol’ Aotearoa has made in the music scene with everything from Flying Nun Records to Lor…

nikdirga.com

You left us two years ago today. Miss and love you always, Dad. "There's a bit of magic in everything, and some loss to even things out." - Lou Reed

New over on my website - how Star Trek navigated the 80s by embracing being a story of old guys getting older: nikdirga.com/2026/05/09/a...

Aging like fine Romulan ale: How Star Trek survived the ’80s

When I was an ’80s kid, I guzzled down all the sci-fi that was coming our way. Star Wars was king, of course, but I was also all about Flash Gordon, Battlestar Galactica, V, that scary adult …

nikdirga.com

My latest piece at RNZ looks at why Parliament might soon make English an official language in NZ - and what that actually means - www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

What is the English Language Bill and what would it actually do in New Zealand?

Explainer - You're reading this in English right now - but should English be an official language? Parliament is soon set to decide.

rnz.co.nz

This latest one I’ve done for RNZ is set in my own part of town - Why everyone is talking about the future of the Waitākere Ranges: www.rnz.co.nz/news/environ...

Why planning reforms have people concerned about the Waitākere Ranges and development

Explainer - Could government reforms lead to increased development in the ranges? Here's why locals are concerned.

rnz.co.nz

New on the website today: A look back at Marvel Comics' mysterious Human Fly, the real-life stuntman who became one of comics' weirdest heroes - nikdirga.com/2026/05/03/m...

Marvel’s mysterious Human Fly or, why real life people don’t always work as superheroes

The Human Fly’s brief run in Marvel Comics never really got a lot of buzz back in the 1970s, but I still have a soft spot for this oddball stuntman-turned-comics hero. The first issue – relea…

nikdirga.com

This is really an essential read by @dylanreeve.com. One of the saddest things unfolding the past few years is EVERYONE - left wing, right wing - seems to have succumbed to perpetual conspiracy theory brain 24-7.

David Farrier@davidfarrier.com · 4mo ago

no, the trump assassination attempt was *not* a false flag operation - a new piece from my tickled co-conspirator @dylanreeve.com: www.webworm.co/notafalseflag/

Because god knows we all can't get enough of America politics in 2026, for my latest piece at RNZ I hopped into the time machine to take a look ahead at what might happen in 2028: www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/5...

Why it's not too early to start thinking about the US 2028 presidential election - seriously

Explainer - What's going to happen in America after Trump? A former National Party leader says the 'MAGA' movement may continue.

rnz.co.nz

Look out, it’s a new issue of Amoeba Adventures! AMOEBA ADVENTURES #38 I here for you as a FREE PDF download! It’s the latest issue in the small press comic book I’ve somehow been putting out on and off since 1990! This issue - Ninja Ant gets a job! nikdirga.com/2026/04/28/h...

Hang on tight, it’s time for Amoeba Adventures #38!

Friends, romans, countrymen – brace yourself – it’s time for Amoeba Adventures #38, the latest issue of the small press comic series I’ve been bravely publishing on and off ever since 1…

nikdirga.com

Oh yawn, another story about lazy AI used in ads, how bad can it be… GREAT WEEPING JESUS www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/queenstow...

It's a fittingly wet morning in Auckland for my latest piece over at RNZ - Is it getting harder to forecast the weather due to climate change, and what new tools are being used to do it? Read here: www.rnz.co.nz/news/weather...

Wellington floods and tropical cyclones: How weather forecasting is dealing with an uncertain future

Explainer - Has climate change made weather forecasting harder to do - and how is technology changing the game?

rnz.co.nz

Overheard on Sunday morning walk: “Tell me what the internet was like in the old days, Dad”