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The Wire with Castor

Latest bCasts • View all

The Wire w/ Caeden: 14 May, 2026

 The Wire w/ Caeden: 14 May, 2026 The Wire w/ Caeden: 14 May, 2026, 83.73 MB
Thu 14 May 2026

For City Counselling this week, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Councillor Julie Fairey about the need for council to be involved in discussions about the details of an additional harbour crossing, and the number of job losses in the Auckland Transport restructure. 

And they spoke to Māni Dunlop from Te Ao Māori News for our new bi-weekly catch-up on the political issues of the week from a Māori perspective.

News Director Castor spoke to kaumatua and climate activist Mike Smith about his court case against Fonterra in the wake of the government removing its legal basis. They also spoke to Professor of Law at the University of Waikato, Alexander Gillespie, about the legal ramifications of such a decision. 

For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Producer Pranuja spoke with Shanan Halbert about the Government disestablishing the BSA and scrapping the tertiary Fees Free scheme, as well as the Government’s new citizenship test.

She also spoke with Associate Professor Alice Mills about why secure housing is central to reintegration for those leaving prison.

City Counselling w/ Julie Fairey: 14 May, 2026

 City Counselling w/ Julie Fairey: 14 May, 2026 City Counselling w/ Julie Fairey: 14 May, 2026, 13.71 MB
Thu 14 May 2026

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown says the council must be involved in any final decision on a second Waitematā harbour crossing. 

And the number of jobs that will be lost in the Auckland Transport restructure has been revealed - a net reduction of 20. 

For City Counselling this week, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Councillor Julie Fairey about both of these topics.

Secure Housing and Prison Rehabilitation w/ Dr Alice Mills: May 14th 2026

 Secure Housing and Prison Rehabilitation w/ Dr Alice Mills Secure Housing and Prison Rehabilitation w/ Dr Alice Mills , 20.34 MB
Thu 14 May 2026

A recent report from the Auditor-General found more than half of people leaving prison have an unmet housing need. Producer Pranuja spoke with Dr Alice Mills, Associate Professor of Criminology at the University of Auckland, about why housing is central to reintegration, and what gaps exist in the current system.

Critical Undersea Infrastructure w/ UoA's Dr Ulrich Speidel: 13th May, 2026

 Critical Undersea Infrastructure w/ UoA's Dr Ulrich Speidel: 13th May, 2026 Critical Undersea Infrastructure w/ UoA's Dr Ulrich Speidel: 13th May, 2026, 31.58 MB
Wed 13 May 2026

A recently released report to the Associate Minister of Transport, James Meager, outlined progress on the resilience and security of New Zealand’s critical underwater infrastructure. The heavily-redacted 9 page report detailed ten ‘no-cost, low-effort’ options to mitigate vulnerabilities to undersea cables and to improve ways of working with industry and regional partners.

While the incidents of cable faults that the report pointed to were typically accidents, or related to currents and seismic activity, a particular impetus for the report was the growing threat to critical underwater infrastructure internationally.

With 99% of our international internet coming from just five cables, their importance to our day-to-day lives is difficult to understate. So, to discuss the report and the importance of the undersea cables connecting New Zealand to the rest of the world, producer Theo spoke to Dr Ulrich Speidel, from the School of Computer Science at the University of Auckland.

Opposition to raising the pension age w/ Susan St John: 13th May, 2026

 Opposition to raising the pension age w/ Susan St John: 13th May, 2026 Opposition to raising the pension age w/ Susan St John: 13th May, 2026, 35.45 MB
Wed 13 May 2026

A policy area looking to become a feature of this year's election is the Superannuation income allowance for those over 65.

Although often considered an insured privilege paid across one's life, Superannuation is paid out of the yearly budget and is by far the largest benefit in New Zealand.

Historically, it's been a thorny topic for any legislator, but as people live for longer and longer, and the age of eligibility for superannuation remains the same, the cost of the policy is increasing. A recent OECD autopsy of the New Zealand economy says this is becoming unsustainable, and the National Party says they agree and will campaign in this election to raise the age. 

Host Manny spoke to Honorary Associate Professor working in the Pensions and Intergenerational Equity Hub at the Economics Policy Centre, Susan St John, about why she opposes raising the age of retirement and what alternatives she prefers.

Raising Superannuation and the End of Fees Free w/ Green Party MP Ricardo Menéndez March: 13 May, 2026

 Raising Superannuation and the End of Fees Free w/ Green Party MP Ricardo Menéndez March: 13 May, 2026 Raising Superannuation and the End of Fees Free w/ Green Party MP Ricardo Menéndez March: 13 May, 2026, 39.88 MB
Wed 13 May 2026

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.

The Wire w/ Manny: 13 May, 2026

 The Wire w/ Manny: 13 May, 2026 The Wire w/ Manny: 13 May, 2026, 69.84 MB
Wed 13 May 2026

This week on The Wednesday Wire...

For our weekly catchup w/ the Green Party, host Manny spoke with MP Ricardo Menéndez March about the Immigration Amendment Act, the axing of Fees Free and the potential increase in the pension age.

He then spoke to honorary associate professor working in the Pensions and Intergenerational Equity Hub at the Economics Policy Centre, Susan St John, about the pension age in more depth - why she opposes raising it and what alternatives she prefers.

Then Toby spoke to infectious disease expert Siouxsie Wiles from the University of Auckland about the Huntavirus.

And Theo spoke to Dr Ulrich Speidel from the University of Auckland’s School of Computer Science on the recently released government report on our undersea cable resilience and security.

Hantavirus Outbreak w/ Siouxsie Wiles: 13 May 2026

 Hantavirus Outbreak w/ Siouxsie Wiles: 13 May 2026 Hantavirus Outbreak w/ Siouxsie Wiles: 13 May 2026, 24.22 MB
Wed 13 May 2026

On the 1st of April, a cruise ship departed from the port of Ushuaia, in the far South of Argentina, carrying 175 passengers and crewmembers. Within a week, the first symptoms of the hantavirus infection began to show. A 70 year old Dutch man died onboard, becoming the first fatality of this outbreak, and his wife died not long after. With the death of a German woman in early May, the death toll now stands at three.

The surviving passengers, who come from 23 different nationalities, have finally disembarked the ship in the Netherlands, and most have gone back to their home countries where they will go now through a period of quarantine

To discuss the specifics of the hantavirus outbreak, producer Toby spoke to infectious disease expert and public science communicator Siouxsie Wiles.

Scrapping the BSA, government complaints about media, and the new citizenship test w/ the National Party's Ryan Hamilton: 12th May, 2026

 Scrapping the BSA, government complaints about media, and the new citizenship test w/ the National Party's Ryan Hamilton: 12th May, 2026 Scrapping the BSA, government complaints about media, and the new citizenship test w/ the National Party's Ryan Hamilton: 12th May, 2026, 8.89 MB
Wed 13 May 2026

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.

The Wire w/ Castor: 12th May, 2026

 The Wire w/ Castor: 12th May, 2026 The Wire w/ Castor: 12th May, 2026, 82.05 MB
Tue 12 May 2026

This week on the Tuesday Wire...

For Dear Science this week, our expert, Professor Allan Blackman chatted with us about stress in sports, the chemistry behind the taste of beer, and Nobel Prize Winner Dorothy Hodgkin. 

For our weekly catchup with the National Party, News Director Castor spoke with MP Ryan Hamilton about plans to scrap the Broadcasting Standards Authority, the government’s stance on TVNZ and RNZ, and the proposed new test for immigrants. 

For Green World this week, Producer Liam spoke to Richard Capie, Chief Advisor at Forest and Bird, about the government’s proposed Conservation Amendment Bill which could make it easier for the government ministers to sell off conservation land, and what this could mean for Aotearoa’s natural heritage. 

He also spoke to Martin Campbell, Vice President of the New Zealand Professional Firefighter’s Union, about the continuing firefighter strikes in New Zealand, what issues the fire service currently faces, and what the Professional Firefighters Union hopes to achieve.