Matt Nippert
@mattnippert.bsky.social
Digger for Herald Business and ICIJ. Disclaimer: Views my own yadda yadda. Signal 64211931011
The most successful regime changes (Japan and Germany) required years of total world war, decades of occupation, a generational international development effort, and the prioritising of building genuine grassroots democracy. I don’t think the US has any of this in mind for Venezuela.
January 7, 2026 at 8:15 PM
The most successful regime changes (Japan and Germany) required years of total world war, decades of occupation, a generational international development effort, and the prioritising of building genuine grassroots democracy. I don’t think the US has any of this in mind for Venezuela.
I often get approached by fraud victims who want to expose a costly con. My well-worn pep talk goes a bit like this: “I can help expose what happened, maybe nudge authorities to take a proper look, but in all likelihood your money is gone.” www.nzherald.co.nz/business/per...
Investors in $53m East Wind Ponzi face near-zero returns as liquidators exit
Liquidation of giant East Wind Ponzi wraps: Most creditors to get hardly anything back.
www.nzherald.co.nz
January 7, 2026 at 7:12 PM
I often get approached by fraud victims who want to expose a costly con. My well-worn pep talk goes a bit like this: “I can help expose what happened, maybe nudge authorities to take a proper look, but in all likelihood your money is gone.” www.nzherald.co.nz/business/per...
Advice to those cold-calling me trying to pitch a story: Losing a legal case you’d convinced yourself you would win is not evidence of widespread corruption in the judiciary and the legislature.
January 3, 2026 at 9:46 PM
Advice to those cold-calling me trying to pitch a story: Losing a legal case you’d convinced yourself you would win is not evidence of widespread corruption in the judiciary and the legislature.
How’s that FIFA Peace Prize working out now, Gianni Infantino?
January 3, 2026 at 7:30 PM
How’s that FIFA Peace Prize working out now, Gianni Infantino?
My most indulgent purchase of 2025 was backing the Alien Evolved kickstarter. First test-run session saw my USMC disposamarines get shanked in the first round, one getting face hugged, and the other seeing his foot dissolved from acid splash when a colleague blasted a xeno who threatened similar.
December 31, 2025 at 9:44 AM
My most indulgent purchase of 2025 was backing the Alien Evolved kickstarter. First test-run session saw my USMC disposamarines get shanked in the first round, one getting face hugged, and the other seeing his foot dissolved from acid splash when a colleague blasted a xeno who threatened similar.
Another water outage out West, on a road that's been down to one lane for six months after the last pipe broke and triggered a landslide that also took out a power box. Councils need funding for instracture more than they need a rates cap.
December 28, 2025 at 10:18 PM
Another water outage out West, on a road that's been down to one lane for six months after the last pipe broke and triggered a landslide that also took out a power box. Councils need funding for instracture more than they need a rates cap.
Shameless self-promotion alert! I'm going to thread my 2025 in journalism, which was a difficult year (20% of my newsroom got restructured out the door), but given I was nudged to increase my story count it appears I wrote quite a lot. 1/X
December 27, 2025 at 8:17 AM
Shameless self-promotion alert! I'm going to thread my 2025 in journalism, which was a difficult year (20% of my newsroom got restructured out the door), but given I was nudged to increase my story count it appears I wrote quite a lot. 1/X
The greatest contribution of the C21 to psychiatry is the replacement of Rorschach blots with the Epstein Files.
December 23, 2025 at 11:06 PM
The greatest contribution of the C21 to psychiatry is the replacement of Rorschach blots with the Epstein Files.
Musk will one day bend and let Trump design a Donald-class production car for Tesla. And that will be that.
a cartoon of homer simpson driving a green car
ALT: a cartoon of homer simpson driving a green car
media.tenor.com
December 23, 2025 at 4:55 AM
Musk will one day bend and let Trump design a Donald-class production car for Tesla. And that will be that.
My kid is 14. He uses discord to talk to friends when playing Minecraft and dnd. He has no interest in FB or instagram or TikTok, but a social media hard-cap of age 16 would limit his social life unnecessarily with no benefit. Ffs, direct policy at platforms not users. Or ban boomers as well.
December 22, 2025 at 10:07 AM
My kid is 14. He uses discord to talk to friends when playing Minecraft and dnd. He has no interest in FB or instagram or TikTok, but a social media hard-cap of age 16 would limit his social life unnecessarily with no benefit. Ffs, direct policy at platforms not users. Or ban boomers as well.
A reminder that Die Hard, widely considered the greatest Christmas movie, is a heartwarming story about a cop who accidentally shot a child recovers and grows and learns to shoot again.
a blurry picture of a police officer with a badge on his chest
ALT: a blurry picture of a police officer with a badge on his chest
media.tenor.com
December 22, 2025 at 9:36 AM
A reminder that Die Hard, widely considered the greatest Christmas movie, is a heartwarming story about a cop who accidentally shot a child recovers and grows and learns to shoot again.
I’ve kept tabs on a troubled Ōpōtiki mussel farm, and despite $52m in government support the losses only continue to grow. www.nzherald.co.nz/business/com...
Shelling out: $52m govt-backed mussel venture posts deeper losses and faces going concern flag
Troubled Opotiki mussel farm which received $52m in public funding, sees losses grow.
www.nzherald.co.nz
December 21, 2025 at 8:13 PM
I’ve kept tabs on a troubled Ōpōtiki mussel farm, and despite $52m in government support the losses only continue to grow. www.nzherald.co.nz/business/com...
Jake Paul should next fight a hologram of Muhammad Ali.
December 20, 2025 at 5:28 AM
Jake Paul should next fight a hologram of Muhammad Ali.
Latest from me in a long intermittent series: A fairly audacious piece of charity financial engineering. www.nzherald.co.nz/business/wai...
Waipareira paid bonus to allow Tamihere to settle campaign loan
John Tamihere said to step down as Waipareira Trust CEO in a settlement with regulators.
www.nzherald.co.nz
December 18, 2025 at 2:11 AM
Latest from me in a long intermittent series: A fairly audacious piece of charity financial engineering. www.nzherald.co.nz/business/wai...
At a wonderful family bach, and this Dijon mustard in the fridge clearly has seen some great times over the 23 YEARS! it’s spent here beyond its best-before date.
December 17, 2025 at 4:58 AM
At a wonderful family bach, and this Dijon mustard in the fridge clearly has seen some great times over the 23 YEARS! it’s spent here beyond its best-before date.
This, with Steve Kerr and LeBron talking about how difficult it is stop Steven Adams doing his very effective thing, is pretty eye-opening from a sports analytics standpoint. streamable.com/uxsncm
Watch Lebron wants more men on Steven Adams | Streamable
Watch "Lebron wants more men on Steven Adams" on Streamable.
streamable.com
December 11, 2025 at 5:01 AM
This, with Steve Kerr and LeBron talking about how difficult it is stop Steven Adams doing his very effective thing, is pretty eye-opening from a sports analytics standpoint. streamable.com/uxsncm
Times New Roman is an imported font, developed for London newspaper The Times in 1931. You know what American-designed font cooked up in 1994 would be perfect for this regime? Comic Sans.
Marco Rubio ordered diplomats to return to using Times New Roman font in official communications, calling his predecessor's decision to adopt Calibri a “wasteful” diversity move
Rubio Stages Font Coup: Times New Roman Ousts Calibri
The secretary of state called it a "wasteful" diversity move, according to an internal department cable seen by Reuters.
www.huffpost.com
December 10, 2025 at 1:51 AM
Times New Roman is an imported font, developed for London newspaper The Times in 1931. You know what American-designed font cooked up in 1994 would be perfect for this regime? Comic Sans.
As promised, this story has now come out from behind the paywall. Cheapskates, fill your boots. www.nzherald.co.nz/business/com...
December 8, 2025 at 9:08 PM
As promised, this story has now come out from behind the paywall. Cheapskates, fill your boots. www.nzherald.co.nz/business/com...
TPMs plan to engineer an overhang by tanking their party vote is coming together precisely as intended.
December 8, 2025 at 8:16 AM
TPMs plan to engineer an overhang by tanking their party vote is coming together precisely as intended.
I'm so old I remember following the Black Caps when our batters had test averages in the 30s and Vettori was pretty much the best scorer on offer. #GoldenYears
December 5, 2025 at 9:32 AM
I'm so old I remember following the Black Caps when our batters had test averages in the 30s and Vettori was pretty much the best scorer on offer. #GoldenYears
Generative AI is a dead end. Try building reasoning instead of paint-by-numbers iterative slop-making.
December 4, 2025 at 8:14 AM
Generative AI is a dead end. Try building reasoning instead of paint-by-numbers iterative slop-making.
I get the eye-rolling over the Ikea opening: But there's a pile of better-part-of-a-decade projects getting born (CRL, NZICC, Ikea) that seems a sign that finally Auckland might be getting there. And I need some cheap shelves/desk chairs.
December 4, 2025 at 8:01 AM
I get the eye-rolling over the Ikea opening: But there's a pile of better-part-of-a-decade projects getting born (CRL, NZICC, Ikea) that seems a sign that finally Auckland might be getting there. And I need some cheap shelves/desk chairs.
The creeping terror of an upcoming dental appointment, matched only the constant horror of endless iced-water sipping to suppress a toothache.
December 2, 2025 at 11:48 PM
The creeping terror of an upcoming dental appointment, matched only the constant horror of endless iced-water sipping to suppress a toothache.
As a newspaper reporter, any time your work gets picked up by the cartoonist is a sign you're on the money. Straight to the pool room.
November 29, 2025 at 8:49 AM
As a newspaper reporter, any time your work gets picked up by the cartoonist is a sign you're on the money. Straight to the pool room.
We need to issue Alien Weaponry diplomatic passports and assign them to Nordic states ASAP.
Taiwanese ambassador to Finland performs with his metal band at Taiwan-Finland cultural event! 🤘✊️
That's what I call great ambassador
That's what I call great ambassador
November 29, 2025 at 8:17 AM
We need to issue Alien Weaponry diplomatic passports and assign them to Nordic states ASAP.