Nik Dirga
@nikdirga.bsky.social
RNZ Digital Explainer editor and AAP journalist, indefatigable blogger, cartoonist and creator of small press comic Amoeba Adventures, website nikdirga.com! Used to be an American, New Zealander since 2006.
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Nik Dirga
@nikdirga.bsky.social
· Nov 12
Hey, groovy people! My sprawling memoir of my journalism life and times from America to New Zealand, “Clippings," is now on sale for the holidays for a mere US$12.99 for the paperback (ebook $2.99)! If you’ve been putting it off, wait no more! Get it right here: www.amazon.com/dp/B0DW4D9KRR
New on the website today - Quiet on the set! My brief vicarious moment on the sidelines for the filming of One Battle After Another: nikdirga.com/2025/12/21/a...
Action! Live on set with One Battle After Another
I’m not expecting anything to dislodge One Battle After Another as my favourite film of 2025 with mere days to go before the rough beast of 2026 slouches in, snorting fire and brimstone. Paul…
nikdirga.com
December 20, 2025 at 7:56 PM
New on the website today - Quiet on the set! My brief vicarious moment on the sidelines for the filming of One Battle After Another: nikdirga.com/2025/12/21/a...
Shoutout to my coworkers at AAP Factcheck who have been very busy debunking the sewage flood of misinformation after last week’s horrific Bondi shootings. Don’t fall for the nonsense out there. www.aap.com.au/factcheck/
AAP FactCheck | AAP
www.aap.com.au
December 19, 2025 at 11:19 PM
Shoutout to my coworkers at AAP Factcheck who have been very busy debunking the sewage flood of misinformation after last week’s horrific Bondi shootings. Don’t fall for the nonsense out there. www.aap.com.au/factcheck/
New on the website today: The mass market paperback is dead, long live the mass market paperback in our dreams -- nikdirga.com/2025/12/18/t...
The death of the mass market paperback, the people’s books
The mass market paperback is dying. Publishers Weekly makes it official, as distributors have pretty much ended those once-ubiquitous 4-by-7 inch-sized books sold around America and the world. Peop…
nikdirga.com
December 17, 2025 at 9:03 PM
New on the website today: The mass market paperback is dead, long live the mass market paperback in our dreams -- nikdirga.com/2025/12/18/t...
Grandpa: And as they reached for each other...
[stops reading]
The Grandson: What? What?
Grandpa: Ah, it's kissing again. You don't want to hear that.
The Grandson: I don't mind so much.
Grandpa: Oh, okay.
[keeps reading]
[stops reading]
The Grandson: What? What?
Grandpa: Ah, it's kissing again. You don't want to hear that.
The Grandson: I don't mind so much.
Grandpa: Oh, okay.
[keeps reading]
December 15, 2025 at 4:32 AM
Grandpa: And as they reached for each other...
[stops reading]
The Grandson: What? What?
Grandpa: Ah, it's kissing again. You don't want to hear that.
The Grandson: I don't mind so much.
Grandpa: Oh, okay.
[keeps reading]
[stops reading]
The Grandson: What? What?
Grandpa: Ah, it's kissing again. You don't want to hear that.
The Grandson: I don't mind so much.
Grandpa: Oh, okay.
[keeps reading]
One day, the oral history of how an adaptation of Orwell’s dark and satirical Animal Farm somehow turned into a cinematic version of AI slop with Seth Rogen, fart jokes and pigs driving Lamborghinis will make for fascinating reading. It’s like they made 2025 Disappoints: The Movie.
The "Based on the masterpiece by George Orwell" title card is really quite something.
December 13, 2025 at 2:59 AM
One day, the oral history of how an adaptation of Orwell’s dark and satirical Animal Farm somehow turned into a cinematic version of AI slop with Seth Rogen, fart jokes and pigs driving Lamborghinis will make for fascinating reading. It’s like they made 2025 Disappoints: The Movie.
Today’s piece at RNZ by me looks at the mysterious world of lactose intolerance, which is totally not a thing that the author has been experiencing 😉🐮 www.rnz.co.nz/life/wellbei...
Why you might suddenly stop drinking milk
Explainer - Lactose intolerance affects most of us as we get older. Why does this happen?
www.rnz.co.nz
December 11, 2025 at 5:31 AM
Today’s piece at RNZ by me looks at the mysterious world of lactose intolerance, which is totally not a thing that the author has been experiencing 😉🐮 www.rnz.co.nz/life/wellbei...
New on the website today - a look back at Pierce Brosnan's tenure as James Bond, 30 years on! nikdirga.com/2025/12/10/w...
Why Pierce Brosnan never quite worked as James Bond
In theory, he should’ve been the perfect James Bond. He looked great. He was groomed for the role and talked about it far longer than other actors, and yet, 30 years on after his 1995 debut in Gold…
nikdirga.com
December 10, 2025 at 12:53 AM
New on the website today - a look back at Pierce Brosnan's tenure as James Bond, 30 years on! nikdirga.com/2025/12/10/w...
Are our holidays actually too long in New Zealand? My latest explainer digs into how the Kiwi summer became a cultural institution: www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
Why does New Zealand take such a long summer holiday break?
Explainer - Are our summer breaks too long - and how did they become a Kiwi institution?
www.rnz.co.nz
December 8, 2025 at 9:22 PM
Are our holidays actually too long in New Zealand? My latest explainer digs into how the Kiwi summer became a cultural institution: www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
New on the website: Why after all these years I never get to the bottom of figuring out the Beatles - nikdirga.com/2025/12/08/i...
I never really got over my Beatles phase
My Beatles phase has never really ended. Like all of us, I go through phases. One week I’ll be super-into the films of Billy Wilder, or I’ll be reading all of Percival Everett’s novels I can find o…
nikdirga.com
December 7, 2025 at 8:08 PM
New on the website: Why after all these years I never get to the bottom of figuring out the Beatles - nikdirga.com/2025/12/08/i...
How do you run the roads in a city of 1.5 million people? My latest explainer at RNZ: www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
Metallica, Santa and IKEA - How Auckland Transport Operation Centre controls the city's traffic
Explainer - It looks like Mission Control, but it's actually where traffic for Auckland and much of the North Island is managed.
www.rnz.co.nz
December 3, 2025 at 7:04 AM
How do you run the roads in a city of 1.5 million people? My latest explainer at RNZ: www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
New by me at RNZ: What happens when a political party decides to roll its leader? www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
How leadership challenges happen in New Zealand politics
What happens if National or Labour MPs decide to turn on their party's leaders?
www.rnz.co.nz
December 1, 2025 at 7:16 PM
New by me at RNZ: What happens when a political party decides to roll its leader? www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
New by me at RNZ - why the heck is Black Friday a thing in New Zealand when Thanksgiving doesn’t exist here? (short answer: 💰💰💰)
www.rnz.co.nz/news/busines...
www.rnz.co.nz/news/busines...
What is Black Friday and why is it a big deal in New Zealand?
Explainer - You can't turn around without seeing a Black Friday advert this week. But where did it come from?
www.rnz.co.nz
November 27, 2025 at 8:52 PM
New by me at RNZ - why the heck is Black Friday a thing in New Zealand when Thanksgiving doesn’t exist here? (short answer: 💰💰💰)
www.rnz.co.nz/news/busines...
www.rnz.co.nz/news/busines...
post your warning label
November 26, 2025 at 2:31 AM
post your warning label
New in the website today: Adventures on the edges of the world - nikdirga.com/2025/11/23/t...
There’s more than one edge of the world
I’ve always been fascinated by the edge of the world. Regrets, I’ve had a few, but one of them is that I’ve never travelled as much as I would like. In my free-wheeling 20s I was dead broke, …
nikdirga.com
November 22, 2025 at 8:47 PM
New in the website today: Adventures on the edges of the world - nikdirga.com/2025/11/23/t...
Got a surprise very nice hand-written letter and package full of zines today from a cartoonist I’ve long admired, and it was like a ray of nostalgic sunshine from the before times when our lives didn’t feel subservient to faceless algorithms.
November 15, 2025 at 4:52 AM
Got a surprise very nice hand-written letter and package full of zines today from a cartoonist I’ve long admired, and it was like a ray of nostalgic sunshine from the before times when our lives didn’t feel subservient to faceless algorithms.
New on the website: Why Star Trek: The Next Generation remains peak TV comfort food for me after all these years - nikdirga.com/2025/11/14/s...
Star Trek: The Next Generation, my ultimate comfort watch
I’m not a big one for massive binge re-watches of television shows. There’s always so much other stuff to watch, for one thing. So when I see people say that they’re watching all of Friends for the…
nikdirga.com
November 13, 2025 at 8:57 PM
New on the website: Why Star Trek: The Next Generation remains peak TV comfort food for me after all these years - nikdirga.com/2025/11/14/s...
Hey, groovy people! My sprawling memoir of my journalism life and times from America to New Zealand, “Clippings," is now on sale for the holidays for a mere US$12.99 for the paperback (ebook $2.99)! If you’ve been putting it off, wait no more! Get it right here: www.amazon.com/dp/B0DW4D9KRR
November 12, 2025 at 10:28 PM
Hey, groovy people! My sprawling memoir of my journalism life and times from America to New Zealand, “Clippings," is now on sale for the holidays for a mere US$12.99 for the paperback (ebook $2.99)! If you’ve been putting it off, wait no more! Get it right here: www.amazon.com/dp/B0DW4D9KRR
Stood at the end of the world, or at least the end of the south part of this one today (not pictured: Antarctica, at right)
November 8, 2025 at 8:03 AM
Stood at the end of the world, or at least the end of the south part of this one today (not pictured: Antarctica, at right)
New on the website today: I still miss the American Halloweens I grew up with - nikdirga.com/2025/10/31/i...
I still miss Halloween
Of all the holidays of my wayward youth, I think I miss Halloween the most. I have great memories of trick or treating on Race Street back in California as a kid, with my brother and neighbourhood…
nikdirga.com
October 31, 2025 at 2:43 AM
New on the website today: I still miss the American Halloweens I grew up with - nikdirga.com/2025/10/31/i...
It's fireworks season again and time for angry social media posts about it - but will New Zealand ever ban them? My latest at RNZ: www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
With Guy Fawkes Day approaching, will New Zealand ever ban fireworks?
Explainer - Every November, talk of banning fireworks sparks up. But despite petitions presented to Parliament, will it happen?
www.rnz.co.nz
October 27, 2025 at 6:57 PM
It's fireworks season again and time for angry social media posts about it - but will New Zealand ever ban them? My latest at RNZ: www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
Just hanging out with Elijah Wood and Andy Serkis as you do on Labour Weekend.
October 26, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Just hanging out with Elijah Wood and Andy Serkis as you do on Labour Weekend.
New on my blog: The cinematic crack cocaine of Spike Lee's double dolly shots. nikdirga.com/2025/10/25/t...
That cinematic jolt: Spike Lee and those double dolly shots
I’ve been on a bit of a Spike Lee binge lately, re-watching some of my favourites like Do The Right Thing and The 25th Hour and BlacKkKlansman and dipping into some of the more obscure byways of hi…
nikdirga.com
October 24, 2025 at 8:26 PM
New on my blog: The cinematic crack cocaine of Spike Lee's double dolly shots. nikdirga.com/2025/10/25/t...
New on my website today - A look back at the Swamp Thing movies, the forgotten comic book movie franchise! nikdirga.com/2025/10/17/s...
Swamp Thing: The forgotten comic book movie franchise
As part of my annual Halloween month monster movie marathon, I went back to the swamp. Swamp Thing, that is, who starred in two almost forgotten comic book movies that oozed their way through the ‘…
nikdirga.com
October 16, 2025 at 8:55 PM
New on my website today - A look back at the Swamp Thing movies, the forgotten comic book movie franchise! nikdirga.com/2025/10/17/s...
Clearly I should’ve just been writing about gloriously weird birds all along
The greatest bird in the universe has finally won Australia's bird of the year. ALL HAIL THE TAWNY FROGMOUTH! www.theguardian.com/environment/...
October 16, 2025 at 7:27 AM
Clearly I should’ve just been writing about gloriously weird birds all along
The greatest bird in the universe has finally won Australia's bird of the year. ALL HAIL THE TAWNY FROGMOUTH! www.theguardian.com/environment/...
October 16, 2025 at 2:36 AM
The greatest bird in the universe has finally won Australia's bird of the year. ALL HAIL THE TAWNY FROGMOUTH! www.theguardian.com/environment/...