FNC - 40 at a festival baby!

Emily Writes

06 Feb 2026 — 8 min read

Welcome to Friday Night (actually day) Chats! I'm so happy to be here! I am in such a good mood because I'm away from my kids! I'm in Tāmaki Makaurau for Laneways! I'm writing this on a Wednesday, but I'll have Friday updates, I imagine. And it's Waitangi Day, so I'm assuming you're having a long weekend! Let's chat...

Usually, Friday Night Chats is just a perk for paid subscribers. It's fun! We get together and chat about what we're reading, watching and listening to. I figured because it's a long weekend I'd share it with all subscribers. If you like it, please consider subscribing. It makes such an enormous difference to me and my family. FNC usually comes out at 5pm but I’m sending it early because why not.

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As I said, it's Wednesday, I am so excited to see my wife and truest love, Chappell Roan. I know exactly three other artists - Wet Leg (so great), Gigi Perez (she sings one song I know), and Lucy Dacus (lesbian). I just really need some music and friends. I've been feeling so sad about so much.

I will now leave this to Friday Emily to tell you what it was like:

Friday Emily is here! Tired, sore feet, but very happy! Chappell Roan was amazing. I sobbed like a baby and it was a very cathartic experience. I was very chill don't worry:

Gigi Perez was great. Wet Leg were amazing. I didn't see Lucy - I needed to find shade.

But Gawd festivals are the absolute worst. Truly. So little shade. So many people wandering around like it's their first day on earth. I feel like I managed it well until Chappell. Honestly, I was so annoyed by the straight men in the crowd that I might have to write an entire post about it??? A huge rant....Will I calm down about it enough not to write? It's 50/50.

BUT that's for Sunday, maybe. Today it is sunny. And it's Waitangi Day. Here are some things you can do to mark Waitangi Day:

Enrol to vote
Not sure if you can vote? Check your eligibility here.
If you're enrolled - make sure your details are correct. You can check here.
If you are Māori and wish to change your roll type. You can do that here.
In as many conversations as you can today, talk about voting in the election and the harm this government has done when it comes to trying to dismantle Te Tiriti and Māori rights.

Things you might like to talk to family about today if you haven't already:

The UN’s committee for the convention on the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination (CERD) published its most critical review of Aotearoa due to this government's actions. The report says we are is at serious risk of weakening Māori rights and entrenching disparities.
Despite more than 156,000 people signing a petition opposing the Regulatory Standards Bill and nearly 99% of submissions to the select committee rejecting it, this government passed it on its third reading. The bill prioritises corporate interests over the rights of people and the environment. As Tamatha Paul says:

“It erases Te Tiriti o Waitangi, ransacks the environment and puts corporate greed over the public good. The people who engineered this bill don’t have the range to even comprehend te ao Māori or Te Tiriti or iwi and hapū.

This government cut te reo Māori teacher training, they have removed at great expense Te Reo names and branding from the public sector out of petty spite.
They have disestablished Te Aka Whai Ora (the Māori Health Authority)
They tried to end Māori wards across the country.
The government has quietly, and without any transparency, worked very hard to limit the powers and scope of the Waitangi Tribunal - they know what they're doing breaches Te Tiriti.
The Government is not only ignoring its moral obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi, but it's also violating its binding commitments under the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), which Aotearoa signed in 2010.
The coalition also supported the Treaty Principles Bill - as we all remember. Introducing the most vile racism into the mainstream and normalising it in Parliament.
Education Minister Erica Stanford stopped the printing of new editions of a series of books because they included te reo words.
And Winston Peters has refused to call New Zealand 'Aotearoa'.

There's so much more, but that's just off the top of my head.

If you haven't already, there's no better time to talk to your family about this. If you're Tangata Tiriti - living in Aotearoa by grace of Te Tiriti - you have a crucial role to play in addressing this racist rot that is infecting our country. We all need to stand up.

Arohanui Emily x

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What I'm reading:

Not Even the Dead Rest in Palestine - "Settlers and the state of Israel have been engaged in a continuous battle to change the original face of the land, in a relentless pursuit to supplant Palestine’s rugged and arid Mediterranean terrain with an imagined European-like landscape."

"If the past few weeks have felt like someone tapping your nervous system with a hammer, it’s because this is what it feels like to be informed and empathetic right now."

What I'm watching:

I started Bridgerton, and I should be into it. I mean, we finally have a bisexual Bridgerton. But I dunno. It's just not grabbing me yet.

I started watching Girl Taken on Neon. And it's just like misery porn, so I stopped watching it. If there's no reason for trauma on screen, particularly such horrific violence against young women, I dunno, why do it?

Ryan Murphy has a new horror - this time it's a love story? It's about JFK Jr and Carolyn Bessette, and it looks terrible. I hope I don't watch it, but I'm known for watching shit.

What I'm listening to:

Obviously, I've been obsessively listening to my queen, my love, my world, Chappell Roan. I absolutely frothed her outfit at the Grammys. She is an icon.

Kneecap has a new song that I love:

I sent episodes of the Maintenance Phase to a boomer relative in the hopes they will see BMI is bullshit, and so is fasting and all of the other eating disorders disguised as wellness trends.

On the topic of listening...OK thoughts? Feelings? I sincerely hope Paul Mescal isn't going to make me want to bang Paul McCartney.

What are you listening to? Watching? Reading?

I hope you have a wonderful long weekend!

Arohanui Emily x

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