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.
Los Angeles is approaching a week of protests against ICE, the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
Over 200 protestors have been arrested since the protests began, and restrictions have been placed on protestors, including a curfew.
The White House has sent 2,000 members of the National Guard to the city already, and another 2,000 are expected to be deployed. This is despite California Governor Gavin Newsom attempting to stop their deployment.
For International Desk, I spoke to Andre Fa’aoso from the Yale Daily News about the protests.
Earlier this week, the National Business Review released its annual “rich list”, which contains information about who the wealthiest people in Aotearoa are.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Mike McRoberts, Te Ao Māori editor at the NBR, about the list, including its timing in a cost-of-living crisis and what it means for Māori.
The release of Jacinda Ardern’s new book, has sparked a renewed interest in the leadership style that was present as Prime Minister of New Zealand, between 2017 and 2023.
Leadership is constantly being tested and redefined. However, it was Ardern’s leadership and circumstances throughout her tenure as Prime Minister that caught global attention and recognition.
Professor Brigid Carroll, from the University of Auckland, is an expert in leadership identity and practice. Her work challenges many of the ideas that we have traditionally seen as good leadership traits. She believes that now is a good time to explore what effective leadership can look like.
This week marks Men’s Mental Health Week in Aotearoa – a time to kōrero about the challenges that many men face, and to break down the stigma that still surrounds emotional well-being.
For a long time, the phrase ‘harden up’ has shaped the way men think about vulnerability, and in turn, often pushes men to bottle up emotions, instead of reaching out for help.
‘Soften Up Bro’ is a kaupapa grounded in Te Ao Maori values, encouraging men to embrace softness, honesty and connection.
To talk about men’s mental health in Aotearoa and this movement, I spoke to co-founder of ‘Soften Up Bro’, Heemi Kapa-Kingi.
For our weekly catchup w/ the Green Party’s Ricardo Menendez-March, Oto spoke to him about the seizure of the Madleen freedom flotilla by Israeli Defence Forces and the greens’ calls for Sanctions on Israel, The government's new Parent Boost Visa and the unrest in Los Angeles opposing the US immigration policies and how it could impact immigration policy here in Aotearoa.
For this week’s Get Action! Oto spoke to Sue Coutts from Zero Waste Network New Zealand about a petition calling for Aotearoa to be kept incinerator free.
And he spoke to Neal Curtis a professor in the Faculty of Arts and Education at the University of Auckland to discuss why “reclaim the wealth” is a better phrase than “tax the rich.”
Max spoke to Brigid Carroll, a professor at the University of Auckland, to talk about the traits that make an effective leader.
And he spoke to Heemi Kapa-Kingi, Co-Founder of the ‘Soften Up Bro’ movement, to talk about men’s mental health.
In the wake of increasing global inequality, discussions about taxing the world’s wealthiest few and the redistribution of wealth are becoming more prevalent.
However, the concept of wealth taxes are often stigmatised by proponents of neoliberalism, often likening taxation to a form of theft.
Discussing the idea of wealth taxes and redistribution is Dr Neal Curtis, a professor in the Faculty of Arts and Education at the University of Auckland who says “reclaim the wealth” is a better rallying cry than “tax the rich.”
Although there have been concerns raised about whether robots will replace workers, there have been proposals for how we can utilise this new technology without jobs being at stake.
Producer Faith spoke to PhD student Yuan Gao from the University of Auckland about her research on how robots can help patients suffering from dementia. She has focused on making sure they won’t be a replacement for caregivers, but how caregivers can work alongside them– along with the importance of differentiating the robots from humans for the patients.
The government recently announced a new visa for parents of migrants, allowing them to come to New Zealand for a longer period of time than traditional visitors without having to acquire residency.
The Parent Boost Visa is designed to support migrants who may be struggling with workloads or who want to bring their parents here through a more clear pathway.
Wire host Castor spoke to CEO of immigration advisory and support group Aims Global, Arunima Dhingra, about how this parent boost visa will benefit migrants and address the issues they face more generally.
The Hard to Find Bookshop in Auckland is set for its lease to expire in February next year. The bookshop moved into the location on Saint Benedict’s Street in 2017, however it is unclear whether they will be able to move again, especially given rising rents for businesses and increased cost pressures in recent years. There is, therefore, a strong chance that the bookstore may be forced to close.
To discuss the future of the bookshop and the importance of secondhand bookshops in Auckland, Wire host Castor spoke to the owner of the Hard to Find Bookshop, Warwick Jordan.
Amidst Israel’s war on Palestine, France and the UK are preparing to recognise Palestinian statehood. There have been debates about whether New Zealand should follow, or whether it should be considered a priority.
147 out of 193 United Nations members have recognised Palestinian statehood. Producer Faith spoke to Justice for Palestine NZ co-convener Kate Stone about why she believes our government should join them.
The Government is heading into Budget week with plans to cut the core public service, and RNZ reports public servants' fears that their jobs are once again on the line. At the same time, questions have been raised over MFAT being spared from cuts, and the Government has unveiled major changes to secondary education through its proposed NCEA replacement.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Producer Pranuja spoke with Shanan Halbert about public service cuts, Budget priorities, and what the education overhaul could mean for students and teachers.
Crypto investment schemes are spreading across the Pacific, often through trusted family, church, and community networks. While they are promoted as offering financial freedom and fast returns, regulators have warned that some schemes carry serious risks and limited protections for investors.
Producer Pranuja spoke with Associate Dean Pacific Sione Taufa about how trust can be exploited in Pacific communities, why endorsement matters, and what people should know before investing.
A survey of Automobile Association members' views on time-of-use charging has been presented to the Auckland Council’s Transport and Infrastructure Delivery Committee.
The survey found that members were open to congestion charging if it worked, even if they thought it was unfair.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins gave a ‘State of Auckland’ speech last week, focusing on the need for cross-party collaboration on infrastructure projects.
Wire Host Caeden spoke with Councillor Shane Henderson about both of these topics.
This week has seen discussions on New Zealand Firsts announcement that if they win the election they plan to buy BNZ and nationalise it into kiwibank, a plan some estimate to cost $30,000,000,000 and has been completely ruled out by their coalition partner in the National Party. Despite this, it’s sparked conversations around how we should be engaging with our banking sector, the vast majority of it dominated by Australian owned banks.
And critics fear that National party changes to the accommodation supplement is going to hit poor working families at a time they’re already doing it rough, nullifying other support that they are offering the rest of the country more broadly, repeating a pattern of policies that hurt poorer communities worse than the rich.
So for our weekly catchup w/ the Green Party, Host Manny spoke with MP Ricardo Menéndez March on what impact he thinks will come from restrictions to the accommodation supplement, particularly for the poor, they then discussed New Zealand Firsts policy to buy BNZ bank, and whether minor parties tend to over promise if they are constrained by the major parties who they will inevitably have to work with if they make into parliament.
Since 1986, the Ministry for the Environment has been the central policy advising entity in New Zealand for environmental issues. The government has recently proposed the Environment Amendment Bill, which seeks to disestablish the Ministry for the Environment, which would be amalgamated into a larger Ministry for Cities, Environment, Regions and Transport.
For Green World this week, Wire producer Liam spoke with Professor Nicolas Lewis, of the University of Auckland’s School of Environment, about these proposed changes, how they fit in with the government's current priorities around the environment, and the impact this may have on New Zealand in the short-term and long-term.
Last week, National MP Catherine Wedd’s members bill for an Under-16s social media ban was paused. Instead, Education Minister Erica Stanford has pledged to, before this years election, bring a wider and more robust proposal for a ban in a larger bill.
Last week also saw Prime Minister Christopher Luxon make comments about the National Party’s stance on immigration, amidst criticised changes to compliance officer powers, and previous spats and comments over immigration policy between government coalition partners.
And with the budget expected next week, promises have begun to be made by the government for where funding can be expected, particularly within education.
Host Alex spoke with National MP Ryan Hamilton about these topics, starting with the Social Media ban.
Recent weeks have seen the government adopting a series of policies targeted at immigration. Some of these policies are set to be introduced immediately, while others are proposals for the upcoming election. What all of these policies have in common is that they aim to respond to an idea that there is a subset of immigrants who are making society in New Zealand worse.
This is a narrative that we’ve seen dominate conversations about immigration overseas, particularly in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia. It often leads to gross displays of racism, with mass riots and crackdowns on people who have done nothing wrong. With these recent policies and media attention towards the anti-immigrant rhetoric in Aotearoa this month, concerns have been raised over whether those overseas developments could be seen here.
For this week’s catchup with the ACT Party’s Simon Court, News Director Castor planned to ask about both immigration and the move-on orders for rough sleepers, though we ran out of time to discuss both. They began by asking Simon about the government’s recent stance on immigration.
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.
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