In case you missed something, here are our most read stories for the month.
1 - THE PENCILSWORD: ON A PLATE
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A short story about privilege. By Toby Morris.
2 - WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE YOUNG AND UNEMPLOYED IN NZ
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Tens of thousands of young New Zealanders are out of work. We talk to three who have struggled to get their foot in the door of the job market. Story by Mava Moayyed.
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Toby Morris sees himself as an under the radar type of guy, though lately he's been anything but. Over half-a-million people have viewed his latest piece On A Plate, some even offering to translate it into different languages and make it into a short film. He reflects on the ways people have connected with it.
4 - ONLINE INSECURITY: 'SLOPPY PRACTICE WITH PASSWORDS'
Keeping passwords in unencrypted plain test is "sloppy practice" says Insomnia Security consultant Adam Boileau, “and it’s generally indicative of bad practice in other areas of security”. Photo: Unknown
Hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders’ personal details could be at risk from companies not storing website passwords safely according to a security consultant. While websites usually encrypt passwords, businesses such as Vodafone and Ticketek have been keeping users’ passwords in unencrypted plain text, leaving them vulnerable to anyone with access to the site, from developers to hackers. Story by Mava Moayyed.
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Charlotte Reynolds hoped she could still have a life and a baby at the same time so she joined the club. How bad could it be, right?
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In this story from The Watercooler, Ashton Brown says he thought he was untouchable but woke up one day and something was different. He explains why it’s time to finally share his demons.
7 - PAUL F TOMPKINS: THE UNDISPUTED KING OF PODCASTS
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The internet tore down the walls of what entertainment was supposed to look like, and from the rubble, Paul F Tompkins emerged. Charlotte Graham explains how he's among those trailblazing how comedy and art are defined in 2015.
8 - LIVE BLOG: AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL
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Writers from children’s author (and actor) David Walliams, to science fiction writer Emily St John Mandel, Shakespeare scholar Peter Holland, graphic poet Rachel Fenton, novelist David Mitchell, to science writer Philip Ball gave talks and workshops at this year's Auckland Writers Festival. We sent Charlotte Graham and Ellen Falconer along to get amongst it.
9 - GOING TO WINZ: 'IT'S DEGRADING'
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New Zealanders on the benefit feel dehumanised, intimidated and publicly humiliated by the country’s welfare system, a report says. We take a closer look at the situation.
10 - BEST AND WORST NZ FLAG DESIGNS
Dan Taipua, Dave Bell and Lucy Zee get together to take a hilarious look at some of the designs submitted for the new New Zealand flag.