Listen back to features and interviews from 95bFM's daily news and current affairs show. Joel Armstrong, Castor Chacko, Oto Sequeira, and Caeden Tipler focus on the issues of Tāmaki Makaurau and elsewhere in independent-thinking bFM style. Monday-Thursday 12-1pm on 95bFM.
This week on the Wednesday Wire, Aneeka kicks off speaking with the ACT Party’s Brooke van Velden on our weekly catch-up. This week they’re talking about the call for a referendum on co-governance
Frances then speaks with Associate Professor Erin Griffey from the University of Auckland about the Beautiful Chemistry Project - taking beauty recipes from Renaissance Europe in art history and making them in the lab at the university
Alex then speaks with Pauline Cleaver, the Associate Deputy Secretary from the Ministry of Education about the new history curriculum and then Frances speaks with Annie Newman, the Assistant National Secretary from E Tu about the introduction of the Fair Pay Agreements bill to Parliament yesterday.
Finally we jump into this week’s EuroVision where Frances speaks with European correspondent Cameron Mulgan. This week talking further about Ukraine, Biden’s tour through Europe, some elections going on and some changes in the world of digital tech over there.
Frances talks to Associate professor Erin Griffey from the University of Auckland who is taking popular beauty recipes from Renaissance Europe and working with a team in the science faculty to recreate and analyse them. They call themselves the Beautiful Chemistry Project, and have a great website where you can have a look at some renaissance beauty secrets.
https://www.beautifulchemistryproject.com/
Erin told Frances a bit about how the project began, what it entails and where it’s hoping to go in the future.
Tuesday saw the introduction of the Fair Pay Agreements (FPAs) Bill to Parliament. The bill will provide a regulatory foundation for setting pay and conditions across whole industries, through negotiations between employers and workers through their unions. On the Wire this week Frances speaks to Annie Newman from the New Zealand trade union E Tū about what the Bill will mean for workers and their in developing legislation.
With Ukraine-Russia news dominating the headlines, it's possible you've missed the latest news from the United States. Christina caught up with Dr Maria Armoudian, a senior politics lecturer from the University of Auckland, about recent happenings in US politics.
In an effort to address the rising cost of living, the government has announced it will increase benefits to families on April 1. However, The Fairer Futures coalition has released new data that indicates these increases aren't enough, and people will remain locked in poverty. On the Wire, Christina spoke to Brooke Pao-Stanley from Fairer Futures about income inequality and what needs to be done.
This week on Dear Science, Christina caught up with AUT Professor Allan Blackman. They talked about how the war in Ukraine has caused a helium shortage, the materials that make up the crust of Mercury, and why we find certain people boring.
Trishil Dahya reports on the prevalence of Long Covid, as well as the research efforts going into understanding the condition, and the various clinical trials and treatment options for the condition.
The Tuesday Wire kicks off with regular segment Dear Science. Today, host Christina spoke to AUT Professor Allan Blackman about helium shortages due to war in Ukraine, the surpsiingly valuable materials making up mercury’s crust, and why you might be to blame if you find everyone else boring.
She then spoke to Brooke Pao-Stanley from Fairer Futures, which has released new data that indicates recent benefit increases aren't enough, and people will remain locked in poverty.
With Ukraine-Russia news dominating the headlines, it's possible you've missed the latest news from the United States. Christina caught up with Dr Maria Armoudian, a senior politics lecturer from the University of Auckland, about recent happenings in US politics.
And finally, producer Trishil reported on the prevalence of Long Covid, as well as the research efforts going into understanding the condition, and the various clinical trials and treatment options for the condition.
The fourth annual University of Otago Tourism Policy School was on Friday, featuring lectures from academics and members of the tourism sector. Sam Clark spoke to Professor Katharina Ruckstuhl from the University of Otago about how Māori values can be incorporated into tourism in Aotearoa.
Inflation rates and living costs continue to rise, and taxes take a large amount of low earner incomes away from the workers. Nicola Willis, Deputy Leader of the National Party, discussed with Charlie National's proposal for restructuring tax brackets and who this would impact the most.
Last week, the council’s Civil Defence and Emergency Management (CDEM) Committee said they would be seeking to implement a number of recommendations that improve emergency readiness for disabled populations.
Following a hui last year where community members were invited to bring forward issues relating to future planning for natural disasters, Sara was interested to hear about how the council is taking suggestions on board.
As well, Auckland Council has been considering proposals to mitigate flood risks around the Wairau catchment, including one which would see the reduction of the size of the Takapuna Golf Course, to convert the space into a flood catchment.
Producer Sara spoke to Auckland Councillor Shane Henderson on both of these topics, firstly by asking him to discuss the desired outcomes relating to emergency preparedness for disabled people, and the council’s first steps to implementation
Zohran Mamdani has all but won the Democratic Primary in New York City after key competitor Andrew Cuomo conceded the race.
Mamdani will now be the Democratic candidate for New York City mayor.
His campaign was built on cost-of-living, where Mamdani presented himself as an authentic, Democratic Socialist, grassroots campaign leader.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to 95bFM reporter and South Asia correspondent Sanat Singh about Momdani’s win, what this means for the communities he represents, and where to from here.
A reported 131,000 submissions were made on the Regulatory Standards Bill.
The Bill, proposed by the ACT party, includes a set of principles outlining “responsible regulation.” Notably, it does not include any mention of either version of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Last weekend, hundreds of Destiny Church members marched on Queen Street in a rally that they called “in defence of faith, flag, and family.”
And the Labour Party has criticised the framing of a poll question by the Taxpayers Union/Curia on whether or not Cook Islanders should retain automatic New Zealand citizenship.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden asked Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni about all of these topics.
Recently the Green Party commissioned independent legal advice to look into the government’s $200 million investment in new gas fields that was carried out last month and found out that the investment was in breach of the Agreement on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainability (ACCTS).
NZ First MP Shane Jones recently announced that he’d be drafting a member's bill to force Ngāpuhi into a single commercial settlement, which would prevent hapū from negotiating separate commercial redresses and remove any reference to hapū sovereignty from the settlement terms.
And the Green party recently issued a call to the New Zealand government to condemn the US strikes on Iranian Nuclear facilities, almost a week after Iran and Israel had both been trading missile strikes between each other.
For our weekly catchup with the Green Party, Oto spoke with MP Hūhana Lyndon to get the party’s take on all of these issues
Last week, Statistics Minister Shane Reti announced plans to scrap the nationwide census moving forward. The census is the largest statistical survey done in Aotearoa, and provides the bulk of population data used in research and decision-making. Reti says the census is “no longer financially viable” and will be replaced with a combination of smaller annual surveys and administrative data.
While the change looks good on paper, there are concerns around how the change in data collection could affect representation of marginalised and minority groups. Census data tends to be more protected from bias than administrative data and smaller surveys, meaning there are more opportunities for misrepresentation. Some statisticians are particularly concerned about the potential exclusion of marginalised rural communities.
In our weekly catchup with the National Party’s Tom Rutherford, Wire host Castor asked him about the census decision and its implications on marginalised and minority groups.
Associate Health Minister, David Seymour, has recently announced changes to Psilocybin and Melatonin availability.
Psilocybin, the compound found in magic mushrooms, will be available for certain patients suffering from poor mental health outcomes. Melatonin, which is used for insomnia and jetlag, is set to be available over the counter.
For our weekly catchup with the ACT Party’s Simon Court, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to him about this move, and the potential accessibility concerns with accessing these medications.
They also discussed taxpayers set to be funding newly-funded cancer medicines for private facilities.
Finally, they discuss opposition parties criticised Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, over a lack of transparency regarding the effectiveness of boot camps for youth offenders, especially as boot camps have received a boost of $30 million, despite the pilot programme still being ongoing.
But first, they discussed Psilocybin and Melatonin.
Last Saturday, over 2,000 protests took place across all 50 American States against President Donald Trump.
The protests coincided with Trump’s birthday and the 250th anniversary of the US Army, and they served as a direct response to the military parade in Washington, DC.
The organisers of the protests say they aimed to reject “authoritarianism, billionaire-first politics, and the militarisation of our democracy.”
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Jeremy Pressman, Professor of Political Science at the University of Connecticut about the protests and the backlash towards them from the Trump administration.
Housing intensification is a key priority for Auckland Council as Auckland's population is forecast to reach 2.3 million by 2050.
But as planning for growth continues, some Auckland residents have expressed concern about the approval of developments in areas on flood plains or particularly prone to natural disasters.
With Kāinga Ora selling homes as ‘high risk investments’ in areas which were impacted by flooding in recent years, and 15 percent of all granted consents for new builds by Auckland Council being on floodplains, I spoke to Councillor Julie Fairey about how the council is taking into account these issues for the coming years.
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