Listen back to features and interviews from 95bFM's daily news and current affairs show. Jessica Hopkins, Castor Chacko, Nicholas Lindstrom, and Caeden Tipler focus on the issues of Tāmaki Makaurau and elsewhere in independent-thinking bFM style. Monday-Thursday 12-1pm on 95bFM.
Kiwis battling the deadliest form of breast cancer, are a step closer to gaining access to life-saving treatment. There are currently no funded treatment options for triple-negative breast cancer, but hope is on the horizon with Pharmac recommending funding for drug, Keytruda. Producer Jasmine Gray spoke to Breast Cancer Foundation Chief Executive, Ah-Leen Rayner, about the path to rollout for patients in Aotearoa.
Producer Jasmine Gray spoke to OutLine’s volunteer coordinator, Jenn Tamati, about their perspective on how Aotearoa’s rainbow communities are feeling a week on from the vandalism of Karangahape Road's rainbow crossing, one of the most recent acts in increasingly visible hate crimes against our LGBTQIA+ whānau in Aotearoa.
Associate Education Minister, David Seymour, has announced the creation of an establishment board to re-open Charter Schools by 2025.
The government is also set to announce plans to increase school attendance, but has not yet said if this will include fining parents for truancy, which the ACT Party campaigned on during the election.
First, news teamer Fath spoke to New Zealand Post Primary Teachers' Association President, Chris Abercrombie, about their response to the government's plans for the education sector.
Faith also spoke to New Zealand Education Institute President, Mark Potter.
She started off the interview by asking Potter how he thinks the government could address truancy in schools.
In August 2021, New Zealand’s intelligence agency was hit with a cyberattack carried out by a group allegedly backed by the government of China, part of a series of attacks that also hit government offices in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia.
However, the parliament data breach wasn’t the only cyberattack to happen here in Aotearoa. More than 100 staff members were the victim of cybercrime in 2023 alone, disrupting the operations of more than than a third of businesses nationwide. The repeated string of cyberattacks across the country has created discourse surrounding the vulnerability of cybersecurity systems in New Zealand.
Oto spoke to Professor Giovanni Russello, the head of the school of computer science at the University of Auckland and a lecturer in cybersecurity, to discuss the state of cybersecurity in Aotearoa, and possible steps that can be taken to improve it.
Nicholas spoke to Green Party MP Ricardo Menéndez March about the Fast Track Approval Legislation and the IMF’s recommendations regarding New Zealand’s tax system.
He also spoke to Dr Kevin E Trenberth about why we shouldn’t rely on geo-engineering as a solution to combat climate change.
Sofia spoke to Research fellow Marnie Prickett about public health concerns regarding the in-process fast-track approval bill
Oto spoke to Professor Giovanni Russello, the head of the school of computer science at the University of Auckland and a lecturer in cybersecurity, to discuss the state of cybersecurity in Aotearoa, and possible steps that can be taken to improve it.
Finally, Sofia spoke to Dr Jude Ball joins us to talk about the impending introduction of even MORE oral nicotine and tobacco products
Climate change is a problem that hangs perpetually over the head of humankind.
In an effort to find a solution to this existential issue, some scientists have proposed using geoengineering to “hack” the climate.
Possible geoengineering proposals include injecting sea salt into clouds to increase their brightness and using giant space parasols to block the sun.
However, geoengineering has its critics.
Dr Kevin E Trenberth discussed the pitfalls of geoengineering in his recent newsroom article Hacking planet Earth will not save us from ourselves
In the article Dr Trenberth uses this fable to display ethical problems around who gets to control a hacked climate.
“Once upon a time in an idyllic country, near a small town and a farming community, a rope hung out of the sky. One pull on the rope changed the weather from fine and sunny to cloudy and rainy, and the next pull changed it back. For many years the people cooperated; the farmers used the rains to help grow crops, and the townspeople enjoyed the sunny periods. But there came a time when the townspeople protested the rain and wanted more sunshine. The farmers were concerned about their crops. And so arguments broke out, with a person from the town pulling on the rope, followed quickly by a farmer pulling it again, and they pulled and pulled and . . . broke the rope.”
Nicholas spoke to Dr Trenberth about his article and the implications of pursuing geoengineering as a solution to climate change
A Māori and Pasifika study space at Waipapa Taumata Rau, the University of Auckland, has engendered wide discourse about safe spaces in universities.
Commentary has included ACT MP Dr Parmjeet Parmar saying the space is a form of segregation, and New Zealand First leader Winston Peters saying it is comparable to the Ku Klux Klan and apartheid in South Africa.
Producer Sofia Roger Williams spoke to Dr Julie Douglas, the National Co-President for the Tertiary Education Union, about this commentary and the importance of these spaces for these tauira.
A nationwide climate strike organised by a coalition of organisations including Fridays for Future, School Strike 4 Climate, and Toitū te Tiriti is happening this Friday April 5th.
The strike is demanding the coalition government to slow down the Fast Track Approvals Bill, keep the ban on oil and gas, uphold Te Tiriti o Waitangi, protect land and moana, and more.
It will also stand in solidarity with the call to free Palestine, demanding an end to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and calling for the New Zealand government to provide emergency humanitarian visas to Palestinians with family in Aotearoa.
Producer Sofia Roger Williams spoke to one of the organisers of the Tāmaki Makaurau strike, Sophora from Fridays for Future, about these demands, youth-led activism, and how people can get involved.
Social work students in Aotearoa along with many other countries undergo 120 hours of unpaid placement work as part of their qualifications.
During this time, many students experience financial and material hardship, juggling placement work with paid work or other commitments.
In a recently published paper, social workers discuss the conditions and offer possible solutions. Wire host Castor spoke to one of the paper’s authors, the University of Auckland’s professor Liz Beddoe, about the paper and how these issues affect social work students.
Education Minister Erica Stanford made several comments in mid-March regarding the government’s “one size fits all” approach to inequities in education.
However, a “one size fits all” approach has been critiqued by several education experts, citing differences in learning ability and environment that make a blanket approach impossible.
Wire host Castor spoke to Professor of Disability studies and inclusive education Missy Morton about the issues with a one size fits all approach and the possible alternatives to better address student needs.
The coalition government has made changes to the Residential Tenancies Act, including allowing landlords to charge an additional bond of up to two weeks rent on top of the standard bond of up to four weeks, if a tenant wishes to have a pet on the property.
No-cause evictions have also been reintroduced, allowing landlords to evict tenants without providing a reason, provided they give them 90 days notice.
For our weekly interview with the ACT Party, News and Editorial Director, Jessica Hopkins, spoke to MP Simon Court about these changes.
Disability communities have been rallying against a surprise change in purchasing rules in the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha. Communities have said the changes will have massive impact, despite no consultation on these changes or a formal announcement.
The Department of Conversation also recently proposed staffing cuts to meet funding demands. DoC controls a third of Aotearoa’s landmass which is all conservation land. It remains uncertain how job losses in the Ministry could impact conservation land management.
For weekly catch-up with the Labour party Wire Host Caeden spoke to Labour spokesperson for Disability Issues and Conservation Priyanca Rahdakrishnan about both of these issues.
For our weekly interview with the ACT Party, News and Editorial Director, Jessica Hopkins, spoke to MP Simon Court about the government’s proposal to increase student attendance rates and his post on X last week, in which he stated he stands with Israel.
A proposal to merge the Ōtara-Papatoetoe and Māngere-Ōtāhuhu local boards has been met with criticism, with consultation opening at the end of next month.
A new report has also been released on the quality of living in Tāmaki Makaurau with our city receiving mixed results by scoring high on some areas (the environment), and lower on others (education).
Wire Host Caeden speaks to Counsellor Lotu Fuli about both these topics for City Counselling.
The Ministry of Social Development is not immune to job cuts seen in other public service departments, with MSD calling for voluntary redundancies after cost-saving efforts failed to meet Government targets. For our weekly catch-up with Labour’s Carmel Sepuloni Wire Host Caeden asks her about the impact of cuts at MSD, especially amongst other Government policies disadvantaging beneficiaries.
They also ask about the Samoan Citizenship Bill led by Teanau Tuiono, and the impact of losing independent media giants such as Newshub for democracy.
For this week's Get Action! Sofia spoke to petitioner Abdul Safi and his campaign to place sanctions on Israel amidst genocidal acts that are widely considered war crimes.
If you want to sign this petition, you can find it here: