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
My quick review of an amazingly good time in the summer sun with Chappell Roan, Wet Leg, Wolf Alice, Geese and more at Laneway Festival! nikdirga.com/2026/02/06/l...
Laneway Festival Auckland 2026 Review: Chappell Roan, Wet Leg and the kids are all right
I finally got around to quitting Spotify at the end of last year, but not before their silly-ass “Wrapped” feature told me that my musical age was about 77 years old. A bit rude, I thought. I admi…
nikdirga.com
February 5, 2026 at 9:00 PM
My quick review of an amazingly good time in the summer sun with Chappell Roan, Wet Leg, Wolf Alice, Geese and more at Laneway Festival! nikdirga.com/2026/02/06/l...
What a heck of a good time with Chappell Roan, Wet Leg, Geese, Alex G, Wolf Alice and many more at Laneway Festival 2026. The kids are all right!
February 5, 2026 at 10:21 AM
What a heck of a good time with Chappell Roan, Wet Leg, Geese, Alex G, Wolf Alice and many more at Laneway Festival 2026. The kids are all right!
Reposted by Nik Dirga
New by me today - a page calling itself NZ News Hub is flooding Facebook with AI NZ slop - including grotesquely using AI to animate a still photo of a dead teenage Mt Maunganui landslide victim: www.aap.com.au/factcheck/nz...
NZ 'media outlet' misrepresents news with AI images and video
An expert says a Facebook page's use of AI-generated
www.aap.com.au
February 4, 2026 at 11:08 PM
New by me today - a page calling itself NZ News Hub is flooding Facebook with AI NZ slop - including grotesquely using AI to animate a still photo of a dead teenage Mt Maunganui landslide victim: www.aap.com.au/factcheck/nz...
New by me today - a page calling itself NZ News Hub is flooding Facebook with AI NZ slop - including grotesquely using AI to animate a still photo of a dead teenage Mt Maunganui landslide victim: www.aap.com.au/factcheck/nz...
NZ 'media outlet' misrepresents news with AI images and video
An expert says a Facebook page's use of AI-generated
www.aap.com.au
February 4, 2026 at 11:08 PM
New by me today - a page calling itself NZ News Hub is flooding Facebook with AI NZ slop - including grotesquely using AI to animate a still photo of a dead teenage Mt Maunganui landslide victim: www.aap.com.au/factcheck/nz...
My latest piece for AAP Factcheck spotlights some of the shoddy and offensive fake AI slop doing the rounds after the deadly Mount Maunganui landslide: www.aap.com.au/factcheck/fa...
Facebook pages peddle AI images of NZ landslide disaster
Fake news and AI-generated images about a landslide that killed six people in New Zealand are being shared on social media.
www.aap.com.au
February 3, 2026 at 11:02 PM
My latest piece for AAP Factcheck spotlights some of the shoddy and offensive fake AI slop doing the rounds after the deadly Mount Maunganui landslide: www.aap.com.au/factcheck/fa...
In these dark times, seeing the Kickstarter for NEW Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes blow past a million dollars NZ (US$600,000+) in mere hours fills a humble fan with hope. (Darn straight, I've joined the MST3K hordes because Crow and Servo must NEVER DIE) www.kickstarter.com/projects/rif...
RiffTrax Makes MST3K! — Four NEW episodes in 2026!
Mike, Kevin, and Bill are heading back to the Satellite of Love for Mystery Science Theater 3000: THE RIFFTRAX EXPERIMENTS!
www.kickstarter.com
February 2, 2026 at 9:05 PM
In these dark times, seeing the Kickstarter for NEW Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes blow past a million dollars NZ (US$600,000+) in mere hours fills a humble fan with hope. (Darn straight, I've joined the MST3K hordes because Crow and Servo must NEVER DIE) www.kickstarter.com/projects/rif...
Hey, want to hear me ramble about movies for 90 minutes? I'm a guest on the latest episode of Johnny Andrews' excellent MY MOVIE DNA podcast talking about the films that changed my life from Chaplin to Cronenberg to Point Break. Have a listen through the links below! nikdirga.com/2026/02/02/t...
Take a deep dive with me into My Movie DNA
Hey, you dig reading me ramble on about movies on this here website? Well, now you can listen to me do the same thing, as I made a guest appearance on the new episode of Brit-turned-Kiwi Johnny And…
nikdirga.com
February 1, 2026 at 9:01 PM
Hey, want to hear me ramble about movies for 90 minutes? I'm a guest on the latest episode of Johnny Andrews' excellent MY MOVIE DNA podcast talking about the films that changed my life from Chaplin to Cronenberg to Point Break. Have a listen through the links below! nikdirga.com/2026/02/02/t...
And one more long read by me at RNZ today before I go have a nap: www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
Election 2026: How does campaign advertising work, and what are the rules?
Explainer - Soon politicians will blanket the internet and airwaves with pleas for your vote. What are they allowed to do?
www.rnz.co.nz
January 29, 2026 at 8:47 PM
And one more long read by me at RNZ today before I go have a nap: www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
Iggy Pop! Joan Jett! Rock and roll will never die! My review of a blazingly fun night at Spark Arena is up at RNZ: www.rnz.co.nz/life/music/i...
Iggy Pop and Joan Jett prove rock legends have no expiration date | Review by Nik Dirga in Music
Now, I only want to say this once, but it’s worth highlighting - proto-punk legend Iggy Pop is 78 years old … 79 in April.
www.rnz.co.nz
January 29, 2026 at 7:56 PM
Iggy Pop! Joan Jett! Rock and roll will never die! My review of a blazingly fun night at Spark Arena is up at RNZ: www.rnz.co.nz/life/music/i...
Reposted by Nik Dirga
New on my website: It was 40 years ago today - how the 1986 Challenger space shuttle disaster changed how I saw the world: nikdirga.com/2026/01/28/f...
Forty years ago, they slipped the surly bond of earth
I remember the Challenger, coming apart in the infinite blue, 40 years ago today. I was in eighth grade, on January 28, 1986, and our classroom came to a chattering halt that day when we heard tha…
nikdirga.com
January 27, 2026 at 9:24 PM
New on my website: It was 40 years ago today - how the 1986 Challenger space shuttle disaster changed how I saw the world: nikdirga.com/2026/01/28/f...
New by me at RNZ: Is violence on Auckland buses getting worse, and what's being done about it? www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
Bus attacks: How to stay safe on Auckland Transport
Explainer - A series of attacks - including a fatal stabbing - have raised concerns about the safety of riders.
www.rnz.co.nz
January 27, 2026 at 9:01 PM
New by me at RNZ: Is violence on Auckland buses getting worse, and what's being done about it? www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
Reposted by Nik Dirga
Last week in Minnesota, I watched ordinary people risk their lives to protect their neighbors. In the process, they not only won a significant—though not final—victory against authoritarianism, they proved virtually every MAGA social theory wrong. (gift link) www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
January 27, 2026 at 1:06 PM
Last week in Minnesota, I watched ordinary people risk their lives to protect their neighbors. In the process, they not only won a significant—though not final—victory against authoritarianism, they proved virtually every MAGA social theory wrong. (gift link) www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
Reposted by Nik Dirga
Oscars 2026: Who will win and how do I watch in NZ?
Oscars 2026: Who will win and who should win and how do I watch in NZ?
Sinners has bagged a record breaking 16 nominations at this year's Oscars, butOne Battle After Another is still the one to beat for best picture.
www.rnz.co.nz
January 22, 2026 at 11:00 PM
Oscars 2026: Who will win and how do I watch in NZ?
New on the website - a look back at quite possibly the greatest year in comics history, and my 12 favourites of 1986: nikdirga.com/2026/01/21/t...
The greatest year in comics history: My 12 favourite comics of 1986
Was 1986 the greatest year for superhero comics? Or the greatest year for comics, period? It sure feels like that now – Alan Moore’s triumphant Watchmen and Swamp Thing, Frank Miller’s …
nikdirga.com
January 21, 2026 at 4:13 AM
New on the website - a look back at quite possibly the greatest year in comics history, and my 12 favourites of 1986: nikdirga.com/2026/01/21/t...
Reposted by Nik Dirga
I talked to @nikdirga.bsky.social for his story about what to about X. Musk has wrecked its public utility and now he's put an abuse tool front and centre. Public agencies and NGOs need to ask whether they should be there. www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/5...
The X Factor: Grok deepfakes and why NZ is still using Elon Musk's X
Explainer - Elon Musk's X has been in the line of fire over Grok AI deepfakes - with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon's office calling them "concerning." What's going on?
www.rnz.co.nz
January 14, 2026 at 10:08 PM
I talked to @nikdirga.bsky.social for his story about what to about X. Musk has wrecked its public utility and now he's put an abuse tool front and centre. Public agencies and NGOs need to ask whether they should be there. www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/5...
And you may ask yourself, how did I get here? My review of the awesome David Byrne show in Auckland now up at RNZ: www.rnz.co.nz/life/music/d...
David Byrne has already given us one of the year's best shows | Review by Nik Dirga in Music
It's only January, but the legendary Talking Heads frontman served Auckland a dazzling display that will go down as one of the year's best.
www.rnz.co.nz
January 14, 2026 at 9:11 PM
And you may ask yourself, how did I get here? My review of the awesome David Byrne show in Auckland now up at RNZ: www.rnz.co.nz/life/music/d...
David Byrne and his 12 (!!) piece band are here to single-handedly save 2026 and make us love again
January 14, 2026 at 10:12 AM
David Byrne and his 12 (!!) piece band are here to single-handedly save 2026 and make us love again
My first explainer of the year is now up at RNZ: www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/5...
What exactly are American ICE agents and what can they do?
Explainer - America has been in an uproar the past week over the actions of ICE agents after the shooting of a Minneapolis woman. But who exactly are they?
www.rnz.co.nz
January 12, 2026 at 1:31 AM
My first explainer of the year is now up at RNZ: www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/5...
Yes, but will your Instagram ad make me enough money to be able to buy a current calendar?
January 11, 2026 at 1:54 AM
Yes, but will your Instagram ad make me enough money to be able to buy a current calendar?
Happy New Year, and happy New Issue of Amoeba Adventures! The grand finale of the “The Crane Flies High” trilogy in AMOEBA ADVENTURES #37 is here for you as a FREE PDF download! It’s the latest issue in the comic book I’ve somehow been putting out on and off since 1990! nikdirga.com/2026/01/09/h...
Happy New Year, it’s Amoeba Adventures #37 time!
Happy New Year, world, and happy New Issue of Amoeba Adventures! The grand finale of the “The Crane Flies High” trilogy in AMOEBA ADVENTURES #37 is here for you as a FREE PDF download! …
nikdirga.com
January 9, 2026 at 6:49 PM
Happy New Year, and happy New Issue of Amoeba Adventures! The grand finale of the “The Crane Flies High” trilogy in AMOEBA ADVENTURES #37 is here for you as a FREE PDF download! It’s the latest issue in the comic book I’ve somehow been putting out on and off since 1990! nikdirga.com/2026/01/09/h...
It's the last day of 2025, thank god, so it seems like a good time to think positive with my Top 10 Pop Culture Moments of the year: nikdirga.com/2025/12/31/a...
And now, it’s my top 10 pop culture moments of 2025!
At this point, complaining about what a terrible year life has thrown at us is a bit of a cliche, eh? So yeah, bad things happened in 2025, oh boy did they … but if you try to doomscroll less…
nikdirga.com
December 30, 2025 at 7:11 PM
It's the last day of 2025, thank god, so it seems like a good time to think positive with my Top 10 Pop Culture Moments of the year: nikdirga.com/2025/12/31/a...
Continuing with the Year in Review over at my website, it's time to stop doomscrolling and start ...bookscrolling? My 10 favourite new books of 2025, revealed! nikdirga.com/2025/12/30/i...
I’m an open book: My 10 favourite books of 2025
In this AI-generated world we’re morphing into, you’ll have to pry my actual human-written books out of my cold, dead hands. Or at the very least send the Terminators to do the job. Anyway, re…
nikdirga.com
December 29, 2025 at 7:24 PM
Continuing with the Year in Review over at my website, it's time to stop doomscrolling and start ...bookscrolling? My 10 favourite new books of 2025, revealed! nikdirga.com/2025/12/30/i...
Let the year in review madness begin! My 10 favourite movies of 2025, laid out for all the world to see and debate: nikdirga.com/2025/12/29/m...
Monsters, madness and heroes – My favourite movies of 2025
The calendar is on its last page yet again and it’s Year In Review week here. Let’s kick it off with my 10 favourite movies of 2025* – a surprisingly excellent year for mainstream Hollywood w…
nikdirga.com
December 28, 2025 at 9:22 PM
Let the year in review madness begin! My 10 favourite movies of 2025, laid out for all the world to see and debate: nikdirga.com/2025/12/29/m...
This is a shocking embarrassment for NZ media.
#4 sounds like a lovely book but I didn't write it. Have had whānau up and down the country send me clippings lol
Whoever put together this list that has been circulated to regional papers, didn't fact check.
Whoever put together this list that has been circulated to regional papers, didn't fact check.
December 25, 2025 at 10:29 PM
This is a shocking embarrassment for NZ media.