Listen back to features and interviews from 95bFM's daily news and current affairs show. Joel Armstrong, Sara Mckoy, Max Micheel, and Caeden Tipler focus on the issues of Tāmaki Makaurau and elsewhere in independent-thinking bFM style. Monday-Thursday 12-1pm on 95bFM.
Each new species discovered need a name, however, how do researchers or scientists come up with a name for a species? That’s exactly what a recent study from the University of Otago was looking to find out. Researchers looked at naming trends for almost 3,000 parasitic worms over he last two decades and found some interesting trends surrounding the naming process of new found species. Joe spoke to one of the authors of the study, Professor Robert Poulin from the Department of Zoology at the University of Otago, on the subject.
As Covid restrictions ease, more employers are trying to lure their employees back into the office.
Dubbed ‘the Great Hybrid Return to Work’, employers have to make decisions on how to implement a working schedule that offers the flexibility that workers had over the lockdowns.
Emilia Sullivan spoke to Dougal Sutherland, Clinical Psychologist from Umbrella Wellbeing, about what employers should take into consideration when figuring out a hybrid working schedule.
Yesterday Myeloma NZ called for Andrew Little to release the independent Pharmac report. Myeloma NZ regarded the report as buried due to it not being released yet. Joe spoke to Myeloma NZ Chief Executive Dr Ken Romeril, on the matter.
Recently in the news, we've seen an uptick of stories of youths committing crimes such as ram raids, burglaries and more. This has caused concern that New Zealand is facing a once-in-a-lifetime surge of youth offending.
However, statistics show that reported youth crime has dropped by about 65% over the past decade, and the narratives we often see in the media is shaped by reports that fail to contain information about the factors driving youth crime, or context on the overall statistics on youth offending.
Emilia Sullivan spoke to Dr. Ronald Kramer, senior criminology lecturer at the University of Auckland about the media's portrayal of youth crime.
Frances spoke with Cameron Mulgan on Eurovision, where they discuss the situation in Ukriaine and Putin's Victory Day Speech, the EU oil embargo, elections in Northern Ireland, the Swiss referendum on funding Frontex (the EU's border patrol) and EU tech regulations in the Digital Services Act.
On this Wednesday's Wire, Stella spoke with Elise Whitson, shift supervisor of 0800 What’s Up about the state of our youth’s mental health as we transition out of the pandemic
Stella also spoke with Dr Trevor Gee, PhD researcher at UoA about how AI is being used to bring renewable energy to isolated communities in Aotearoa, and the trends of AI use in research.
Frances spoke with Cameron Mulgan on Eurovision, where they discuss the situation in Ukriaine and Putin's Victory Day Speech, the EU oil embargo, elections in Northern Ireland, the Swiss referendum on funding Frontex (the EU's border patrol) and EU tech regulations in the Digital Services Act.
Finally, Stella spoke with Fay Selby-Law, general manager of the National SUDI prevention coordination service about recent recent uncovering new information about sudden infant death.
A study from Victoria University shows artificial intelligence can be used to design better renewable energy systems and could offer remote communities cheaper options. It’s utilising what’s known as an optimisation algorithm. Stella spoke with Trevor Gee, a research fellow at the university of auckland in computer vision and AI, about the increase of using AI technology in research.
A new study from The Children's Hospital Westmead in Sydney has identified that babies who pass away from SIDS have a significantly lower level of a specific enzyme butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) that is imperative in the brain’s arousal pathways.
Stella speaks with Fay Selby-Law, General manager of the National SUDI Prevention Coordination Service about the implications of this research on the picture of SIDS in Aotearoa.
With limited beds and staffing issues affecting maternity care, mothers are on average provided with 48 hours of post natal care before being sent home to look after their child.
Trishil spoke to Dr Alison Eddy from the New Zealand College of Midwives about these issues in order to gain a wider perspective on the matter. The story contains mentions of suicide towards the end.
This week on The Tuesday Wire, Christina and AUT Professor Allan Blackman spoke about magnets being used to treat cancer, Tasmania achieving carbon-negative status, and Canada's attempt to stamp out crime on the Moon.
Christina also spoke to Gemma Rasmussen, head of Campaigns and Communications at Consumer NZ, about New Zealand's supermarket duopoly and the organisation's petition urging the government to lower the price of groceries.
Aneeka had her regular catch up with the National Party's Dr. Shane Reti. This week, they spoke about the emissions budget, truancy in NZ schools, and the unemployment rate.
And Trishil spoke to Dr. Alison Eddy from the New Zealand College of Midwives about the state of post-natal care in New Zealand. This was Trishil's last producing shift for the Tuesday Wire but you can catch him over on the Monday Wire from next week!
From Dec 27 to Jan 18, all train lines across Tāmaki will be shutting down for summer maintenance, a closure which is expected to be the last of its kind ahead of the opening of the City Rail Link.
The current measles outbreak in Tāmaki is being continually monitored, with exposure sites being updated daily on info.health.nz. The public are encouraged to track whether they’ve been in possible contact with the virus, and get up to date on any vaccinations to limit possibilities of transmission.
Auckland Council are supporting arts initiatives across the summer months, with Music in the Park kicking off in early January, and Movies in the Park following in February.
Producer Jasmine Gray spoke to Councillor Julie Fairey about these topics, and also asked for comment following the attack by two gunmen at Bondi Beach earlier this week.
Yesterday, the latest six-monthly survey of housing support providers under the National Homelessness Data Project, or NHDP, showed that homelessness in Auckland has more than doubled in the year to September. The report also found that 14 of the 21 agencies interviewed reported an increase in homelessness.
As well as this, Australia’s ban on social media for children under 16 has taken effect. And according to an interim report into social media harm, a social media ban for children in New Zealand is worth exploring further.
And last week the Government announced the replacement of the Resource Management Act, or RMA. The coalition said its replacement will slash red tape and supercharge growth.
For our weekly catchup with the Green Party, Wednesday Wire Host Max spoke to MP Ricardo Menendez March about the Government’s new RMA reforms and a potential social media ban in New Zealand.
But first they discussed the latest report on Auckland homelessness.
The Parliament’s Workforce and Education Committee has released an interim report on an inquiry into the harm young New Zealanders face online. The government has recently announced an overhaul of the Resource Management Act and introduced two new bills in its place, the Natural Environment Bill and the Planning Bill.
For our weekly catch-up with the National Party, Producer Vihan spoke to MP Carl Bates, who is also the Deputy Chairperson of the Workforce and Education Committee, about the new findings of the interim report, the new Natural Environment Bill, and the Fast Track Approval Amendments Bill.
The government has announced the overhaul of the Resource Management Act (RMA), which will be replaced by two different bills, the Planning Bill and the Natural Environment Bill. The RMA is set to be fully replaced by 2029.
The RMA, which has been in effect for 34 years, is polarising across the political spectrum.
In announcing the reforms, RMA Reform Minister, Chris Bishop, says that “pretty much everything” will be quicker and less costly under the new regime.
For our weekly catch-up with the ACT Party, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host Joel spoke to MP Simon Court about this overhaul of the RMA.
They also discussed The Education and Workforce Committee’s interim report on the harms young people experience online, with a majority recommending a ban on social media for under-16-year-olds.
But first, they discussed the overhaul of the RMA.
On Sunday, “Block the Ban” held a protest against the government’s decision to ban new prescriptions of puberty blockers for young people with gender dysphoria.
The United Nations’ committee for the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination has released a report warning that New Zealand is at serious risk of weakening Māori rights.
And last week, the government rejected the recommended methane emissions targets.
This is despite officials warning against the government doing so, stating that lowering methane emissions targets could increase New Zealand’s contribution to global warming.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Shanan Halbert about all of these topics.
Safety measures on public transport are of growing concern this week following the fatal and unprovoked attack that took place on route 76 in East Tāmkaki on Monday night.
Earlier this week there were also multiple critical incidents that occurred simultaneously across Auckland’s West Coast beaches and waterways, seeing an unusually high deployment of emergency services and surf lifesavers for this early in the summer.
Swedish home and furniture retailer Ikea opened in Sylvia Park a week ago today, drawing huge excitement for many.
Producer Jasmine Gray spoke to Councillor Shane Henderson about these topics.
Last week was scrutiny week, where Parliament focuses entirely on holding government agencies and ministers to account, to check-in on how well the Government is performing.
Many of the questions surrounding scrutiny week have been focused on climate change, with many recent reports highlighting the Government’s questionable decision-making.. The biggest headline was that the coalition had chosen to reject all three of the climate change commission’s recommendations to strengthen New Zealand’s emissions targets.
Along with this, the United Nations released a new report, where they’ve warned that New Zealand is at serious risk of weakening Māori rights and entrenching disparities for the indigenous population. In the 14-page report, the UN expressed concerns over multiple government policies affecting Maori, including the disestablishment of the Maori Health Authority, cuts to public funding for Maori services, and minimising the role of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
For our weekly catchup with the Green Party, Wednesday Wire Host Max spoke to MP Ricardo Menendez March about the report released by the United Nations, but first they discussed Scrutiny Week and the Government’s recent climate change decisions.
The government is pausing the new prescriptions of Puberty Blockers to gender diverse and transgender young people from the 19th of December onwards, following a similar move by the UK after the results of the NHS’s Cass Review.
Wire Producer Flo spoke to activist Lauren Craig about the effects of the legislation, her petition “Reverse the decision to deny transgender and takatāpui young people access to puberty blockers” against the changes and the wider political motivation for the policy.
If you'd like to sign this petition, you can find it here
The biannual Scrutiny Week took place in Parliament last week, with meetings across select committees and government departments focussed on scrutinising the outcomes of government work.
These include hearings on ministries like Health, Housing, Environment and Justice.
Wire Host Sara spoke to National MP Carl Bates about Scrutiny Week, firstly by asking him to talk about the meetings he was involved in
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