Salient

An extremely moving, deeply impressive work of musical design from one of our most important living songwriters “Crying in a suit and tie / But you should see the other guy / One more time for old time’s sake / I’ll watch him get carried away.” There’s the formal attire, then the dad joke, then the adage; by the fourth line, we know we’re at the funeral.

There is this idea that the best way to kill a revolutionary ideal is to idolize their leader, converting them into harmless icons that can be put upon a pedestal. How many Che Guevara t-shirts are there? How many Martin Luther King Jr Boulevards? I think in some twisted way this happens to us as well. When we lose someone, when they disappear from our lives, our nostalgia grips us and takes hold and their memory is forever unblemished and held above.

Despite his right-wing political connections, Arie Joe’s campaign for a seat on the University Council prominently features the branding of democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani. Joe’s candidacy has also brought attention to his Save Our Clubs campaign, his admitted use of pirated analysis software, and a domain registration bearing his name for an invite-only men’s club.

The National Party appears to have developed a new campaign strategy just in time for the election. It is called amnesia. National is suddenly presenting themselves as the party prepared to fix the justice system for survivors of sexual violence. The rebrand only works, however, if we forget what the National-led Government has already done with the power they have. In May 2025, the Government rewrote the pay-equity system and forced the legislation through every stage under urgency.

Emma Bradfield Picture this: it’s a busy Saturday evening shift at a Wellington restaurant. There’s glassware to  polish, drinks to run, and orders to take—but I am standing in front of a customer who has been staring at the beer list for the better part of two minutes. Finally, he turns to me and says, ‘Do you have anything that isn’t this Wellington shit?’ People working in hospitality have been dealing with this sort of thing since the dawn of time.

Kia ora, Salient reader! Welcome to our fortnightly column on the environment, sustainable living, and the small, stubborn act of hope amongst a world on fire! Check in every second week for waste-free recipes, genuinely good news, and practical ways to lend a hand—nudging a happier, healthier earth a little closer into view. Waste-free recipe of the week Make your own Muesli bars! It's no secret that a good muesli bar is one of the few unrivaled snacks.

A feed for fuck-all By the time this issue goes to print, Wellington will again be going feral for chunky sandwiches. Every pub, cafe, and ferry terminal will be scrambling to serve their own Wonky Bonky Baby Burger—a 60-centimetre tall monstrosity, made with the mince of a steer called Jeremy who was fed on a stash of Snickers Pods—topped with beetroot, banana, and a relish of wild dandelion root picked under a new moon, in an Arobake brioche bun. No, I jest.

Author: KnowYourStuff Cocaine! “Coke” to its friends, “Nose Beers” to its mates, and “Booger Sugar” to the joker in the back of the class that thinks he’s funny. Cocaine is a stimulant drug that increases the rate at which messages travel between the brain and the body. It is made from the leaves of the coca bush, which is native to South America.

Freddy Jarman I heard my friend doesn’t want to vote in this election. It's fine—he goes to Massey. Still, it astounded me. I can’t imagine looking at everything that has happened over the past three years and deciding that abstaining is the best course of action. But he got me thinking about why somebody might not want to vote. The political world can feel exhausting to look at, let alone invest time in. This political indifference is present in so many people I talk to now.

CW: Cancer, familial loss. On Friday 28th August, San Fran will come alive with Pōneke’s best dance music as more than 15 DJ’s take the decks from six o’clock all the way until three in the morning. All of them are doing it for free, with the entirety of profits set to be donated to Cancer Society New Zealand. The fundraiser, dubbed Daffodil Dancefloor, is the brainchild of Ben Bonetti.