Listen back to features and interviews from 95bFM's daily news and current affairs show. Castor Chacko, Alex Fox, Emmanuel Orange, and Caeden Tipler focus on the issues of Tāmaki Makaurau and elsewhere in independent-thinking bFM style. Monday-Thursday 12-1pm on 95bFM.
Over recent weeks, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has been busy touring South-East Asia, in the hopes of negotiating various trade deals and securing meetings with other world leaders.
In his returning press conference, where he recapped his trip, the Prime Minister focused on the importance of securing a 1-on-1 meeting with US President Donald Trump.
For our weekly catch up with the Green Party’s Ricardo Menéndez March, Wednesday Wire Host Max spoke to him about the Prime Minister’s trip.
They also discussed the Green Party’s plans for an evidence-based cannabis regulation and whether they would campaign with that policy for next year’s election, as well as the new draft school curriculum released by the government, and the subsequent plans to shrink the teaching council.
But first, they discussed whether Luxon’s trip to South-East Asia was a success.
For Dear Science this week, our expert, Professor Allan Blackman chats with us about ice variations, the international space station, and a problem in the atmosphere..
For our weekly catchup with the National Party, Host Sara spoke to MP Carl Bates about the new draft curriculum, the Deepfake Harm & Exploitation Bill, and the New Zealand Initiative call for electoral reforms
For Green World, Sara spoke to AUT School of Future Environment senior lecturer Dr Priscila Besen, about the upcoming COP30 in Brasil
And finally, Sara spoke to University of Auckland associate professor Dr David Moreau about his latest research on the effects of fasting on the brain
Early this morning, University of Auckland associate professor in psychology Dr David Moreau, published findings in the Psychological Bulletin around the effects of fasting on mental cognition.
The paper has found that while the effects vary across age and genetic composition, there is no indication of decline in mental performance whether or not one is fasting.
Wire Host Sara spoke with Moreau this morning about his research, firstly by asking about his interest in the effects of fasting on the brain.
The 30th UN climate conference will run from next week, the 10th to 21st of November in Belém, Brazil, taking on key issues around the mitigation of climate change, like the limiting of global temperature rise, increase in climate spending commitments, and the impacts for vulnerable populations.
For Green World this week, Wire Host Sara spoke with Senior Lecturer at AUT’s School of Future Environments, Dr Priscila Besen, about the importance of this year’s conference for climate action.
Besen will be in attendance at COP30, and will share content at the event here.
Last week, Education Minister Erica Stanford confirmed the latest additions to draft curriculum changes for English and Maths, with the hope for implementation in 2026.
While she says the changes are not significant to the existing system, teachers have said the draft proposes an entire overhaul and greatly increases workload expectations.
Also, ACT MP Laura McClure has put forward the Deepfake Harm & Exploitation Bill to update legislation around exploitation committed on digital platforms especially with AI.
Finally, after 30 years of MMP, the New Zealand Initiative, a kiwi policy thinktank, has proposed a four year parliamentary term and more MPs for Parliament, among numerous electoral reforms that they think can make New Zealand more effective for representing the population.
Wire Host Sara spoke with MP Carl Bates about all of these topics, starting with the curriculum changes.
Recently, the government announced that a charter school specifically catering to secondary students with autism would be started up.
The school, the Autism NZ Education Hub, would operate from Wellington and Auckland, with 96 students at first, with Associate Education Minister, David Seymour, saying the structure of the school will be personalised based on a students, needs, strengths, and interests.
However, concerns have been raised regarding whether this is the best approach to support autistic students.
News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host Joel spoke to Missy Morton, a Professor in Disability Studies & Inclusive Education at the University of Auckland about this school, and her concerns regarding it.
For our weekly catch-up with the ACT Party, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host Joel spoke to MP Simon Court about the government’s new draft curriculum, specifically focusing on the changes to history, Labour’s capital gains tax policy, and the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Producer Alex spoke to Senior Lecturer in Architecture and Planning at the University of Auckland, Dr Mohsen Mohammadzadeh, about concerns that the council and auckland transport are ‘commodifying non-compliance’ with parking tickets; that is, seeing parking ticket enforcement as a source of revenue.
And Joel spoke to Missy Morton, a Professor in Disability Studies & Inclusive Education at the University of Auckland, about the government’s announcement of a charter school for autistic students and her concerns with the move.
Last year. Half a million parking tickets were given out in Auckland by the city's growing fleet of Automatic plate-recognition vehicles. The city now has 25 of these vehicles. With non-compliance tickets having doubled since 2024, concerns have been raised over how these systems generate revenue for Auckland Transport and the council.
While Auckland Transport has defended revenue as an unavoidable consequence of non-compliance systems, and insisted that they must stay consistent in their policing and management, some have labelled this as a ‘commodification of non-compliance’
Monday Wire Producer Alex spoke to Senior Lecturer in Architecture and Planning at the University of Auckland, Mohsen Mohammadzadeh about these tickets, revenue, and how this technology should, or shouldn't, be used.
The government has recently announced a new draft curriculum for years 0-10 that has seen changes to various subjects, including history, as per National/ACT coalition agreements.
ACT Party Leader, David Seymour, says the changes to the Aotearoa New Zealand’s Histories curriculum removes “dismal, divisive and overly political ‘big ideas’”.
However, these changes have received criticisms from the NZ History Teachers Association over a multitude of concerns.
For our weekly catch up with the ACT Party’s Simon Court, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host Joel spoke to him about these changes.
They also discussed Labour’s Capital Gains Tax policy, and the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
But first, they talked about the government’s proposed history curriculum.
Thousands of households across the country are currently in rates arrears, struggling to pay their rates for the 2024/2025 financial year.
Auckland Council's head of rates, valuations and data management, Rhonwen Heath, said 6.6 percent of rates, or 42,902 households were outstanding at the start of the 2025/2026 year.
As cost of living pressures continue to grow on households, with rising food, electricity and rents, Thursday Wire Producer Sanat wanted to chat to Auckland Councilor Shane Henderson about how Auckland Council plays a role in making life more affordable for everyday Aucklanders.
They also had a discussion about the role of fireworks in our community, with major festivals like Diwali prompting some communities to express concern about the disruption that fireworks are causing to their families, animals and the natural environment.
The Wire is starting a new segment - Politics with Māni Dunlop for Te Ao Māori News.
We’ll be catching up on the big political issues of the week and goings on in the House from a Māori perspective.
Wire Host Caeden caught up with Māni Dunlop about the new Te Tai Tokerau Party, the Conservation Amendment Bill passing first reading, and the submissions made as part of the Mana Wāhine inquiry this week.
The Government has confirmed plans to disestablish the Broadcasting Standards Authority and move toward a self-regulation model for media complaints, raising questions about accountability, misinformation, and audience protection.
It has also been confirmed that the Fees Free tertiary scheme will be scrapped in the upcoming Budget, while the new citizenship test has sparked debate over whether it strengthens civic knowledge or creates another barrier for migrants.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Producer Pranuja spoke with Shanan Halbert about these topics.
This week on Dear Science our expert Professor Allan Blackman chatted with us about the science behind football players choking, the chemistry behind the taste of beer, and the woman behind determining the structure of insulin.
Last week the government announced plans to scrap the Broadcasting Standards Authority, the entity that serves to ensure television, radio, and internet broadcasters remain accountable to members of the public.
While the government saysit trusts broadcasters to self regulate, it’s unclear what this regulation could look like, especially without the all encompassing BSA to ensure that a universal standard is met.
In addition, ACT Party Leader David Seymour has expressed dismay at some of the recent publications by state funded broadcasters TVNZ and RNZ. Since Seymour is one of the ministers responsible for appointing the board for each organisation, his comments and criticisms are being compared to threats of censorship.
Lastly, the government has announced a new test for prospective immigrants to New Zealand, which would see them quizzed over topics relating to New Zealand values, our Bill of Rights, and our system of government. While the government is proposing this standard of knowledge for immigrants, many New Zealand citizens could be unable to answer the questions.
For this weeks catchup with the National Party's Ryan Hamilton, News Director Castor asked about these topics, beginning with the BSA.
Last week, the government announced plans to scrap a policy that gave university students one free year of study, known as fees free, with commitments to reallocate that funding to trades training. This comes at a time when an increasing number of young people are absent of employment, education and training.
And an OECD report spelled bad weather for the New Zealand economy. To correct course, they urged for reforms to increase the age of eligibility of Superannuation all the way up to 72, among other policies. This was picked up by the National Party, who are campaigning on moving forward with their previous plans to raise the retirement age up to 67.
So for our weekly catch-up with the Green Party, host Manny spoke with MP Ricardo Menéndez March about the scrapping of fees-free and raising the eligibility age for superannuation, but as we called in, Mr Menéndez March was just leaving an extended sitting of parliament to scrutinise Erica Stanford's Immigration Amendment Bill, and we began with a discussion on how he believes it will hurt vulnerable migrant communities.
Last week, Conservation Minister Tama Potaka submitted the Conservation Amendment Bill to parliament. Among various changes, the bill has drawn criticism for its proposals to change the role of the Department of Conservation and make it easier for government ministers to exchange or sell off up to 60% of conservation land.
For Green World this week, producer Liam spoke with Richard Capie, Chief Advisor for Forest and Bird about what the Conservation Amendment Bill really means, the impact it might have and the importance of preserving our conservation land for future generations.
Last week the ACT Party announced a new health policy that would see the responsibilities of pharmacists expanded to move pressure away from GPs. The idea of the policy is that for less significant health issues, people could see their local pharmacist instead of their GP, reducing wait times and costs for the public.
Also last week, the government announced plans to scrap the broadcasting standards authority. The announcement follows a period of complaints from the government over the BSA, which had ruled on online broadcaster The Platform. The government (and The Platform) say that the BSA shouldn’t be able to make rulings on online broadcasters, but some others disagree.
Without the BSA, many of the restrictions and rules that broadcasters are held to could disappear. In addition, the BSA offers a vehicle for members of the public to hold said organisations to account. Without the BSA, avenues for public feedback on poor conduct are minimal.
For this week’s catchup with the ACT Party’s Simon Court, News Director Castor asked about each of these issues, beginning with the party’s new health policy.
The Government has signed a new Agreement on Trade in Essential Supplies with Singapore, aimed at keeping crucial goods like fuel, food, medicine and construction materials moving during future crises.
Meanwhile, ACT has released a new immigration policy, framing it as a way to make immigration “work for New Zealand,” with proposals including tougher deportation settings and requirements for migrants.
And leaked emails around New Zealand’s response to US strikes on Iran have raised questions about the coalition’s foreign policy direction.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Producer Pranuja spoke with Shanan Halbert on these topics.
Auckland Council has approved their first-ever transport policy statement, which, together with the central Government’s Policy Statement on Land Transport, will shape the future of transport funding in Auckland.
And a petition is being hosted on Our ActionStation that calls on the Government to strengthen protections for the Waitākere Ranges.
For City Counselling, Wire Host Caeden spoke with Councillor Shane Henderson about both of these topics.
95bFM 
