Revealing Reviews

Content warning: this review discusses themes of graphic violence and feet   This informative film acts as a metaphor for the exploration of one man and his weird obsession with women’s feet. While this review is non-kink shaming, it will explore how the director’s action film is an intertextual expression across

Read More »

The Notesapp – Depression in the garden

The sun casts down onto the water that decorates the grass beneath me, a million tiny prisms littering the strands that intertwine like lovers. My feet are white, bleached by the winter of shoes and the endless torrent of rain. Gross. The bottoms of my jeans and the shoulders of my shirt are

Read More »

What’s the Buzz – Why does ACT Bee-lieve in Paul Henry? 

Election campaigns are always learning opportunities for political parties. This year, it seems as though ACT is learning the lesson that it is not good practice to take on people with sections of their Wikipedia pages labelled “controversies” to run for List MP.   While I wouldn’t put it past ACT voters to look beyond

Read More »

The Horror Within Us: the Horror Genre and Mental Illness

I think horror has always been so strong as a genre because it reflects both the best and worst in us. There’s always been a certain pull to the battles that occur in both literary and film within this area. Never have I been an overly large consumer of horror, mostly because I’m a

Read More »

America, what the fuck??? 

You’d think I would have stumbled across it before, but for the first time in my life, I recently saw an anti-abortion sticker on the back of an old woman’s truck. ‘Abortion stops a beating heart.’ Well yeah Susan, that’s kind of the point, so it’s good to know you got the memo. Now obviously, we’re lucky enough to

Read More »

Hong Kong’s City of Darkness 

Picture this. The year is 1985, and you are flying into Hong Kong’s old Kai Tak Airport. As you approach the runway, you look out of your window, and what appears is a giant megastructure that is made up of hundreds of buildings crammed together like sardines in a can. What’s even

Read More »

Revealing Reviews

This show is a gripping psychological survival horror series about the dangers of child neglect. It follows a young girl who suffers from frequent abandonment, often left to wander the surroundings of her town and nearby jungle alone. As a result of her parent’s frequent neglect, it appears the poor girl has

Read More »

History’s Missing Civilisation 

In 1826, explorer Charles Masson of the British East India Company was travelling across the Punjab. Well-versed in the classics, Masson was busy exploring the sites of Alexander the Great’s military campaigns when he stumbled across mysterious ruins near Sahiwal in what is now modern-day Pakistan. Impressed by the site’s size and large

Read More »

Night, blooming jagoff – Fakemink’s Terrified

Since his rocket to stardom with the danceable EDM-laden Easter Pink in 2025, UK Rapper Fakemink has been a staple of everyone you know’s TikTok FYP thanks to a slew of catchy hooks, a distinct pitched-up voice and constant invoking of Belgian fashion designer Ann Demeulemeester. Mink’s debut 2023 album London’s Saviour made him concrete in the “UK

Read More »

The Notesapp: For Grant

It sat empty, the armchair  Black, bold, scuffed  Home to the ghost of a man  He used to fish,  He used to walk,  He used to laugh,  He used to be  Then he didn’t  It began in his feet,   Tickling his toes and grabbing at his ankles,  A cruel, curling pain 

Read More »

$50 date 

Welcome to the $50 Date, where a broke university student takes his girlfriend on a date with a budget of $50, and rates the activities accordingly. The rules of this exercise are simple; Whatever we do, we can only spend $50. Each, or total, I hear you asking? Yes. After the activity,

Read More »

What’s The Buzz – MMBee

Some people have a countdown until Christmas. I’m crossing off the days on the calendar until it reaches the 7th of November: Election Day.  Whether you’re anxiously watching the votes get counted, you’re actively avoiding any mention of politics, or you have no idea how to even wrap your head around the election, it’s important to understand

Read More »

Editorial – 11/3

I have a serious question for all of you. I was watching The Babysitter (2017) last night, and there was the question of who to put in a five-member inter-galactic dream team. I want to know who you guys would choose in a team to fight a star war (hehe),

Read More »

Editorial – 26/2

It doesn’t seem right to be claiming this space as my own. For the past two years, I have worked with Jak, and it feels weird to be succeeding him in the editor’s position. Well, I suppose all there is to do is say thank you. Thanks for being awesome,

Read More »

The Backseat Lovers: When We Were Friends 

When we were friends is The Backseat Lovers’ 2019 debut album, an indie, slightly pop-rocky-y lyrical exploration of being 18-20, learning about people and the world, and having wonderful experiences whilst being not too sure on what to think of them.   The album opens with ‘Watch Your Mouth’, a song about wanting to help someone you love get through something, before

Read More »

COMPX202 Mobile Computing and Software Architecture 

It is the first week back at uni (yay) and I had nothing better to do. Actually that is a lie, I was assigned three practicals on my first day back that I had to complete by the end of the week but instead of doing that, I decided to attend a random lecture. You’re welcome.

Read More »

Horoscopes – Issue 16

Aries: Have you thought about cancelling that gym membership? When was the last time you actually went?  Cancer: Do not go anywhere near the library stairs this week. You will be cursed to fall down them.  Aquarius: Consider the fact that doing the readings for class might actually help you pass whatever you’re

Read More »

Playlist:

Best songs with colours in the title  Back to Black: Amy Winehouse  Black Hole Sun: Soundgarden  Brown Sugar: The Rolling Stones  Red Moon: Big Thief  Orange Show Speedway: Lizzy McAlpine  Big Yellow Taxi: Joni Mitchell  Yellow ledbetter: Pearl Jam  Green Light: Lorde  Blue Monday: New Order  Purple Rain: Prince  Pink + White: Frank Ocean 

Read More »

PSYCH101 – Social Psychology, Health and Well-being 

Do I know if someone has already done a random audit on this class? Absolutely not, and I don’t care. This dumbass, meaning me, was going to audit another class only to find out that the lecture does not exist. I won’t be taking questions on how I managed that. So, after a quick

Read More »

Horoscopes – Issue 15

Aries: Supporting Taylor Swift at your grown age is a horrible choice. Please get a hobby or something instead.   Cancer: I know you’re the asshole who overstays their welcome at the pub. Please leave so the poor staff can close.   Aquarius: Picking a gross vape flavour will not help you quit. You’ll just end up enjoying

Read More »

Sad girl music for even the good days.

Picture this, I’m in my flat on the other side of the world. No less than a month into my exchange semester in the UK. I’m making lunch and decide to play some music. Something chill, singable, slower paced, that’s what I’m needing right now.   My legendary flat mate, Ava, (I miss you, Ava) walks in with the most baffled

Read More »

Horoscopes – Issue 14

Aries: Your back is fucked from work, and it’s a responsible idea to see the physio. Think of the ACC money.  Cancer: Please continue visiting the cinema once a week. You’re keeping it alive, and we all appreciate it.   Aquarius: Bored? Crazy idea! Go clean out your car. It’s actually disgusting inside and out.  Sagitarius: How long has it

Read More »

Sound Check – Issue 13

Joe sat down with James – self professed Muso and Hamilton lover #1 – to discuss how he put on a gig in town to celebrate his birthday and the music that he loves; Rather than let culture be something that happens to him, he got stuck in and built it up

Read More »

Bisexual girls are allowed to have boyfriends- just accept it.

Since pride month has finally ended, it’s appropriate to talk about what’s happening to bisexual women in queer internet spaces at the moment. Since the 1980s, there has been an observable rift between bisexual women that date men and lesbians, which has been recently revived on social media. I sat down with Sonja Ellis, a professor

Read More »

The iPad Kids Aren’t Alright 

A New Plymouth primary school has phased out the use of iPads for students in years one to four.  Omata School was one of the first in the country to adopt the use of devices in the classroom, but Principal Karen Brisco is now not so convinced that they are

Read More »

Gymfluencers and the Ozempademic

Scroll through social media for five minutes and you’ll find a new body to aspire to. One creator swears by becoming a “muscle mommy,” another insists Pilates is the secret to a lean physique, while someone else claims marathon training transformed their body and life. Alongside these fitness trends come equally viral

Read More »

The Tavern – Grassroots NZ Film with Matt Hicks

Sup Matt! Tell us a bit about yourself and your time at Nexus?  I used to write a column called ‘Making living cheaper with Honest Matt’. It was dodgy (borderline criminal) financial advice for poor students. I won columnist of the year for 2012 and got really drunk at House.    Also, that

Read More »

Maiki Sherman’s resignation: more than just a controversy

Maiki Sherman has resigned from her role as political editor for 1News at TVNZ.   That’s the headline, but it’s not the full picture. The circumstances surrounding her resignation have been only one part of an ecosystem of muddied waters that now make up the relationship between Parliament, the media, and the New Zealand

Read More »

The Rise and Fall of Fees Free

The tumultuous history of deciding who pays for university  The University of Waikato opened in1964, and its students back then had a much different experience financing university than we do today. From 1962 until 1989, the government paid for tertiary tuition fees in full with the state bursary.   As the story often goes, all good things

Read More »

Red or Black? 

It’s not much of a secret that online gambling has seen a rise in popularity in the last few years, especially with the younger generation. The technology being offered today means you can gamble from anywhere you can find a connection, anytime you want, on whatever device you’re using. It’s convenient, accessible, and marketed as entertainment suited

Read More »

An Objectively Good Jawline – the Dehumanisation of Looksmaxxing

Content warning: mentions of sexual violence, drug use and suicide   The popularisation of looksmaxxing has opened a gaping glory hole in the manosphere – ironically by some of the most homophobic people on the internet.   Looksmaxxing, a portmanteau of ‘looks’ and ‘maximising’, is the idea and practice of improving one’s physical appearance through a variety of

Read More »

Metamodernism: The Feeling After Irony 

At some point in the early 21st century, it became clear that the cultural mood had shifted. The ironic detachment that defined late 20th-century art and thought – so central to postmodernism – no longer felt sufficient in a world shaped by climate anxiety, digital hyperconnectivity, and renewed political urgency. Yet a return to

Read More »

Amplifying Stripper Voices in Aotearoa: Pole, Politics and Power

Brittle Splits is a 30-something year old Waikato Arts alumni, who wears nipple pasties and fishnet tops onstage (in 9 inch boots) just for fun—and feminist expression, duh. Here, she outlines the mediascape of pole politics within Aotearoa. She recommends strippers to follow (Online only. Do. Not. Stalk.) for equal

Read More »

Hamilton Busses – Absolute Bus-shit. 

All my fellow Uni students with no cars, where are we at? Oh, I’m the only one? Damn, I guess I lost that bet then. Well, what about the ones who take the affordable bus? Ahh, that’s much better.  It’s cheaper than fuel, you don’t have to fight for parking, and there’s no chance of someone breaking in and stealing your vehicle. For these three

Read More »

Nexus Breaks the News – Issue 13 2026

The South Island finally gets shitty weather: Thank God it’s passed us and gone down there. We did not need more rain this year, but the flooding looks horrific. Sorry for laughing at you, Otago.  China warns New Zealand about upcoming missile tests in the Pacific: Of course our Prime Minister was chill with this. Put your mouth where

Read More »

School lunches inquiry: What went wrong? 

The Audit Office has responded to an Official Information Act request regarding the changes to the Healthy School Lunches programme.  The changes were proposed in 2024 by Associate Minister for Education David Seymour, and rolled out over 2025.  The original Healthy School Lunches programme was expected to cost between $5.78 and $8.62 a lunch

Read More »

An Interview with: Chloë Swabrick

As students continue to navigate rising living costs, growing student debt and the government’s decision to end the first-year Fees Free scheme, tertiary education has become a major election issue. To discuss what these changes mean for students and why young people should pay attention this election, Aoife sat down

Read More »

  “Butter Chicken Tsunami” Deez Nuts

I naïvely had hoped anti-immigration rhetoric wouldn’t reach Aotearoa as it has in other countries. Over the past year I have been proven wrong. It’s hard to see hate winning over a country I once had so much pride in, at least a very vocal demographic make it seem that way. I was born

Read More »

Budget 2026: Show Me the Money.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered Budget 2026without any election-year giveaways. The Government has spent months preparing New Zealanders for what is one of the tightest budgets in years. Rather than major new spending programmes, the focus was on controlling government debt, returning the books to surplus, and funding a small number of priority areas. For students, that may

Read More »

Nexus Breaks the News – Issue 12 2026

Max Verstappen takes a podium in Montreal:  No one understands how much this means to me. The battle between him and Hamilton was class, and we got a podium out of it too. The Red Bull comeback might be coming sooner than we thought.  Crusaders horse spooks at home game:  Look,

Read More »

POLITICAL VIRGINS – Housing and Rentals

Four people who’ve never voted or voted but didn’t care sit in a room and learn about politics, so you don’t have to. This week: Housing and Rentals. Labour ACT National Greens NZ First Te Pāti Māori Opportunity Party Responses: Lauren:   Filly: Due to my current situation, what Labour is proposing sounds really good to me, one of my end goals has always been buying a house for my fam, so any support to help me

Read More »

Nexus Breaks The News – Issue 11 2026

Thousands of public servants to lose their jobs, saving the government billions.  Good to see that the government’s solution to being in crippling debt is to fire the people that literally operate the country. Another great example of why they are a one term government.  Couple Devastated after uninsured pirate ship catches on fire and sinks 

Read More »

CHAOS BY DESIGN: Restructures, tears and panic at the Design School  

By Nexus Magazine – additional reporting done by Nexus Interns Tomas Richly and Hailey Reece   Mid-Trimester restructures at the Waikato School of Design have led to tears, panic and at least ten students scrambling to find 100-hour internships in the last three weeks of the Trimester.    According to a University spokesperson the

Read More »

Nexus Breaks the News – Issue 10 2026

Missing Hotel Guest found inside huge crocodile airlifted from river  Oh so this is a real thing that happens? You can actually get swallowed whole by a creature? Thank god we don’t have crocodiles here, because if we did I’d never touch a body of water again in my life.  Pierre Gasly dramatically flips after a crash with Liam Lawson  I’m not religious, but thank

Read More »

Coachella

Rating: 4/5 Okay so we all grew up watching Coachella videos on YouTube, right? Right. But what’s it actually like to be a peasant at one of the world’s biggest festivals? Unfortunately, it’s pretty incredible.   Listen, there’s really no “budget” way to do Coachella without sacrificing a fraction of your dignity, so I’m not about to give you numbers or

Read More »

Euphoria Episode 2 

SPOILER WARNING  Euphoria episode 2 wasn’t any less inane than episode 1, however a little less disgusting. Amazingly we got blessed with a Maddy opening scene, who is deservingly living her best life working a high-end office job. While also being an only fans manager on the side, I love women in male dominated

Read More »

Bojack Horseman- Escape from LA

Rating: 5/5 Bojack Horseman is constantly controversial in my mind- I flop between hating him because he’s an asshole, to feeling terrible for him because his life is falling apart, before I realise that’s entirely his fault and flop back to the first opinion, but nothing conflicted me more than season two,

Read More »

It doesn’t feel like Euphoria

Rating: -2/5 If you’re a Euphoria fan that hasn’t seen the new episode, then skip this because I am about to spoil it. It was good. It wasn’t amazing, or mind blowing, it was just an episode of Euphoria. I watched it twice, to try and work out what the problem was, and I deduced that while it

Read More »

Goodbye Julia

Rating: 4/5 Set in the years leading up to the secession of South Sudan, Goodbye Julia tells the tale of an unlikely friendship between two women in a racially divided nation. The story revolves around Mona and Julia, two women who could not be more different. Mona is North Sudanese,

Read More »

The Drama

Rating: 2/5 A24’s The Drama (2025), directed by Kristoffer Borgli, is a razor-sharp satire that skewers modern Hollywood with gleeful abandon.   Starring Zendaya as a fading starlet navigating auditions, breakdowns, and absurd industry rituals, the film revels in cringe-inducing cringe comedy – think improvised tantrums and viral meltdowns that expose fame’s hollow core. Its lo-fi aesthetic,

Read More »

U by Underscores

Rating: 4/5 April Harper Grey is an artpop/hyperpop artist known as Underscores. She frequently collaborates with other experimental pop adjacent artists such as Jane Remover and Danny Brown, whilst having her own unique genre-bending sound that separates her from the rest.   Underscores’ latest album U is fully self-produced and feels like her most personal and all-encompassing album

Read More »

Kokuho

Rating: 4/5 It’s not every day that you watch a movie that, despite its slow pace, absolutely captivates you. Recently, I stumbled across a movie called Kokuho. Directed by Lee Sang-il, Kokuho dives into the world of kabuki theatre and explores themes of artistic discipline and personal identity. But at its heart, it is a universal story

Read More »

Miyazaki 

Rating: 4 For many people in the arts, creation is central to identity. I’m in that group. I put a little bit of myself in everything I do. Consequently, I am a huge fan of Studio Ghibli and the work of Hayao Miyazaki, who is one of the most powerful storytellers I’ve come across.  ‘Miyazaki’ by Paris Paloma

Read More »

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Rating: 2 Because I didn’t look properly at the specifics of the showing, I walked into the theatre and ended up watching the newest Avatar movie in 3D, which wasn’t something I’d done in a long time, and it made the movie’s experience so much better to be sitting there

Read More »

Malignant

Rating: 4 As an avid horror movie fan, I liked to think I could predict how the story was going to go, but this one really had me stumped, and the reveal had me absolutely amazed. Malignant is an incredible movie about a woman named Madison who is starting to have

Read More »

Manosphere Madness 

Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere is a compelling but uneven look at misogynistic online influencers and the young men drawn to them. The film effectively exposes an ecosystem where outrage and insecurity are turned into a lucrative business model, with “manfluencers” selling courses, communities, and personas as much as ideas. It’s most powerful

Read More »

Kōrero Mai – Issue 10 2026

I’ll just come right out and say it. If there were no extra financial support for education, I would not be attending university right now. Many tauira don’t have the luxury of a safety net or financial stability. Many come from homes that don’t have an extra $20 to spare.  Back in the dark ages, in

Read More »

Kōrero Mai – Issue 7 2026

Tauira Māori on campus   Māne (Monday)  Tūrei (Tuesday)  Wenerei (Wednesday)  Hoki atu ki tō kāinga – Just go home   Nā Elyse Rahiri   Only a quarter of the way through the year and already most of us are feeling a bit pau te hau. Getting back into the swing of study can be overwhelming and even worse if you have people pleasing tendencies, don’t say

Read More »

Kōrero Mai

Tauira Māori on campus   Tūrei (Tuesday)  Wenerei (Wednesday)  Taite (Thursday)  Te Waiora – Rā Hākinakina | Gate 2b – 4:30 pm  Reo Māori Phrases of the Week  Kia ora koutou! Here are some useful everyday Reo Māori phrases to help you talk about holidays, whānau, and what you’ve been up to.  COLUMN  I tōku whānau tokorua ōku kuia, noho tahi ai. Arā, ko tōku kuia a toto nei, me te kuia o tōku ngākau. Ko te rongo o te aroha, kāore i rerekē. He tirohanga Māori tēnei. Ahakoa te momo aroha,

Read More »

Kōrero Mai

By now you’ve probably heard we’ve got a new name. We’re still WSU, but now we also carry our ingoa Māori, Te Awa Kōtui.  This didn’t happen overnight. WSU has been working towards an ingoa Māori that truly reflects us and our tauira for a long time, across multiple boards. I also want to acknowledge the presidents, vice presidents, VP Māori, and life members who contributed

Read More »

He Kura Tūroa

Kia ora, my name is Anaia Rua, and I am from Ngāi Tūhoe & Ngāti Awa. In the following piece, I reflect on the profound connection shared between Aotearoa and our relatives from Hawai’i during the “He Kura Tūroa” wānanga.    He Kura Tūroa: Relatives Across the Pacific  He ahurea te taiao, he taiao te ahurea. The environment is the culture, the culture is the

Read More »

Tikanga: Does It Evolve in a Modern World? 

A question I heard recently has been sitting with me: can tikanga evolve in a modern world? It came up during a kōrero between a group of tauira, and it sparked a lot of reflection for me about what I’ve been taught and how I understand tikanga today. For many people, tikanga is

Read More »

Tauira Māori on campus

There’s a strong Māori presence on campus and plenty happening this week, from Cultural Hour to weekly wānanga and study spaces. If you want to meet other tauira, build your reo, or spend time in a Māori space between classes, there are kaupapa running across campus. Keep an eye on…  Te whakahiapo – Maori law students association – @te_whakahiapo 

Read More »

This Weeks Top Contributors