Chernobyl, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and truth in fiction
A review of Chernobyl, written by Craig Mazin and directed by Johan Renck, a 2019 mini-series in five parts on HBO/Sky. In an early scene of Chernobyl, a young pregnant […]
Author Archives: James Robb
Is Science a social construct? – a response to Richard Dawkins
With characteristic certainty and self-assurance, Professor Richard Dawkins recently tweeted his irritation with those who describe science as a social construct. “Science is not a social construct. Science’s truths were […]
Police, professions and the Kaikohe ‘tooth fairy’ – a stark illustration of the decay of dental care
In April last year, police and Ministry of Health officials raided the home and workshop of Claire Wihongi-Matene, and charged her with claiming to be a health practitioner and six […]
A witch-hunt devastates the Auckland art world
If the artists responsible for the Mercy Pictures exhibition “People of Colour” were setting out to shock and provoke, they certainly succeeded. The show, which recently closed in Auckland, was […]
Human beings and nature – lessons from My Octopus Teacher
For relief from the disgusting spectacle of the US elections, I turned to My Octopus Teacher (released on Netflix September 2020). This documentary records an unlikely but fascinating bond that […]
New Zealand Labour Party re-elected on an anti-labour course
In the October 17 general election in New Zealand, the Labour Party government of Jacinda Ardern was re-elected for a second three-year term with a greatly increased majority. For the […]
Harry Holland, Leon Trotsky, and ‘Undesirable Immigrants’
The New Zealand Labour Party formed in 1916 encompassed a wide range of tendencies in the labour movement, from revolutionaries to obdurate class-collaborationists. But initially at least, it was led […]
Toppling statues, censorship, and erasing history
The first brass head has toppled in New Zealand. On 12 June the Hamilton City Council removed a statue of… Hamilton! British naval Captain John Fane Charles Hamilton, veteran of […]
Reflections on the George Floyd march in Auckland
Echoes of the June 1 march in Auckland in solidarity with the protests against the police murder of George Floyd continue to reverberate across New Zealand. The march was an […]
The economic crisis that caused the pandemic
The virus and capitalist society, Part 4: a note on the dialectic of cause and effect The cause of the economic slump that has brought the world economy crashing down […]
