The Wire w/ Alex: 19 May, 2026

This week on the Tuesday Wire...

For Dear Science this week, our expert, Professor Allan Blackman speaks with us about politics and expertise, solar storms and trees, and droughts in Aotearoa. 

For our weekly catchup with the National Party, Host Alex spoke with MP Ryan Hamilton about the state of the Social Media Ban for Under-16s, the Prime Minister’s comments about immigration, and the upcoming budget. 

And for Green World this week, Producer Liam spoke to Professor Nicolas Lewis about the government’s plan to disestablish the Ministry for the Environment and merge it into a combined Ministry for Cities, Environment, Regions and Transport, and what effects this will have in the short and long term?