Gordon Campbell on Mrs Frisby and The Rats of NIMH
This week, the Werewolf series of essays on classic children’s literature turns the spotlight onto Robert C. O’Brien’s book about one family’s encounter with genetic […]
Gordon Campbell
Gordon Campbell On Why Professional Sport Needs Strong Unions
True to form, US President Donald Trump has found a way to try and monetise the war he launched against Iran. Trump is proposing to […]
Gordon Campbell On Abel’s Island, By William Steig
More than anything else, Abel’s Island is a tale about love enduring through peril. It is also about the beauty of solitude. Over the course […]
Gordon Campbell On The Amoral Panic Over China’s Missile Test
Head for the basement, people! China has just tested an intercontinental ballistic missile with a dummy warhead! It splashed down somewhere into international waters in […]
Gordon Campbell On The Strange World Of Israel’s Domestic Politics
The genocidal carnage in Gaza has not ceased. The settler violence on the West Bank has sharply increased this year, the UN has denounced the […]
Gordon Campbell On The True Confessions Of Charlotte Doyle
The Werewolf series of essays on classic children’s books continues this week with this story by Avi of murder, mutiny and teenage rebellion on the […]
Gordon Campbell On The School Lunch Fiasco, And Homelessness
The Auditor General’s damning report on the school lunch programme– and the litany of callous bungles it has uncovered – should require associate education minister […]
Gordon Campbell On The Shaky Iran Truce And MPs’ Housing Rorts
To no-one’s surprise, the fragile 60 day truce that began on June 17 has already been broken by attacks on Iran by the US, by […]
Gordon Campbell On The Dark Is Rising
This week, the Werewolf series of essays on classic children’s books features Susan Cooper’s 1973 novel The Dark Is Rising. The antlered horseman on the […]
Gordon Campbell On Being Thankful That Someone Is Talking About Income Inequality
Political myths die hard. For decades it has been taken on faith – all evidence to the contrary – that those business-savvy National Party types […]
Gordon Campbell On RNZ’s Morning Report – Flagship, Or Sinking Ship?
No doubt, the government’s plan (a) to make KiwiSaver compulsory and (b) significantly increase the contribution rate required of both workers and employers would end […]
Gordon Campbell On The Indian In The Cupboard
The Werewolf series on classic children’s books continues this week with “The Indian in the Cupboard” by Lynne Reid Banks. Usually, fantasy offers a means […]
Gordon Campbell On Trump’s Temporary Fix In Iran
When Britain tried (and failed) to re-take control of the Suez Canal in 1956, it marked the moment when a formerly Great Power was forced […]
Gordon Campbell On Being Spooked Into Settling For Less
Every three years around this time, the election campaign begins to feel a bit like the old carnival Ghost Train. All aboard. After the lurch […]
Gordon Campbell On Harriet The Spy
The Werewolf series of essays on classic children’s books continues this week with Harriet The Spy by Louise Fitzhugh. Ever since Harriet the Spy was […]
Gordon Campbell On The Epic Falling Out Between Trump And Netanyahu
Here’s a snapshot of government priorities: one third of staff at a key facility that seeks to prevent the incidence of family and sexual violence […]
Gordon Campbell On The Myths Of Frugality In Our Defence Spending
In one sense, Peru is the poster child of political instability, having gone through nine presidents in the past 10 years, with several ending up […]
Gordon Campbell on The Incredible Journey
The Werewolf series on classic children’s books focusses this week on The Incredible Journey (1961) by Sheila Burnford Ultimately, The Incredible Journey is worth admiring […]
Gordon Campbell On Having The Backbone To Restrict Our Defence Spending
Lynda Topp can look after herself. Yet the rejoinder by Paul Goldsmith to her criticism of our irresponsible spending spree on Defence was so patronising […]
Gordon Campbell On Budget 2026
The Luxon government won the last election by claiming that it alone possessed the managerial competence to fix the nation’s cost of living crisis. Three […]
Gordon Campbell On Labour’s Vanishing Act
Chris Hipkins is testing the patience (and allegiance) of every centre- left voter. We may be now only a few months out from the election, […]
Gordon Campbell On The Social Housing Debacle, And The Red Tape Fantasy
Fair is foul, and foul is fair. Truly, the witches in Macbeth had a pretty accurate take on the government’s new demands for social housing […]
Gordon Campbell On Goodnight Moon By Margaret Wise Brown
The Werewolf series on classic children’s books continues this week with the bedtime favourite Goodnight Moon, and the brief life of the tragic genius who […]
Gordon Campbell On The Public Service Chainsaw Massacre
According to Finance Minister Nicola Willis, trashing the public service (“an old clunky system” says Willis, a “make work scheme” says Christopher Luxon, “a job […]
Gordon Campbell On James Cameron, And The Paramount Bid For Warners
Late last year, our resident Hollywood titan James Cameron got a good deal of publicity for his opposition on principle to the attempted sale of […]
Gordon Campbell On Classic Children’s Books: Badger’s Parting Gifts
Every Friday, Werewolf is re-publishing some essays about classic children’s book, that I began writing in 2009. This essay on Badger’s Parting Gifts has been […]
Gordon Campbell On Pauline Hanson’s Rise, And The TOP Renaissance
Routinely in politics, there is a double standard for outrage. The same people who regarded Jacinda Ardern as a jackbooted tyrant seem to be quite […]
Gordon Campbell On How US Courts Are Helping Donald Trump Steal The Mid-Terms
The world has been quietly hoping and praying that the Republicans will lose control of the lower House or Senate – or both – in […]
Gordon Campbell On Children’s Book Classics: The Moomins
About 15 years ago on Werewolf, I started writing a series of articles about classic children’s books. Over the next few months, these articles will […]
Gordon Campbell On The Political Panic Over Immigration
In the wake of WW2, immigration policy was driven by a mixture of compassion for the refugees of war, and by a less admirable desire […]