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.
What do Zebrafish, MC Hammer and Auditory Processing in pople with Austism Spectrum Disorder have to do with each other? Bronwyn speaks to Maya Wilde, her sister and PhD student at the Queensland Brain Institute, about a recent study by her colleague Rebecca Poulsen which Maya helped out on. It shows how the brains of Zebrafish respond to different sounds - including MC Hammer's "Can't Touch This" - and what that can teach us about auditory processing in humans.
This week on The Wire James is joined by Aneeka in studio for a jam packked wire with their regualr segments and an interview with Sarah Helm from the New Zealand Drug Foundation.
This week James talks to deputy leader of the ACT party, Brooke van Velden, about vaccines and climate change.
On Dear Science, James and Aneeka talk to Marcus Jones about COVID-19 and pregnancy, nuclear energy and ancient earth.
Aneeka talks to Sarah Helm from the New Zealand Drug Foundation about the medicinal cannabis bill which is being passed through parliament tonight.
Today the Helen Clark Foundation released a poll which found 69 percent of respondents would prefer legalisation or decriminalisation of cannabis over total criminalisation. Lyric spoke with Snadra Murray from Make It Legal NZ about these figures, fears around cannabis corporate harm, and more.
Today on the Tuesday Wire, Lyric Waiwiri-Smith speaks to Sandra Murray from Make It Legal NZ about a new poll regarding the cannabis referendum. The poll shows an overwhelming 69 percent of respondents preferred legalisation or decriminalisation over total criminalisation of cannabis.
Jemima Huston talks to Neill Ballantyne, an organiser of Diverse Church New Zealand's Awaken 2021 Conference, about the event and why it creates a safe space for queer Christians to connect.
Jade Lewis looks into the attitudes surrounding the Covid-19 vaccination at universities in the United States. She speaks to a recently vaccinated residential advisor, Daniel Sprague, from Duke University as well as Duke University’s Associate Professor of Medicine and Covid-19 Response Director Dr. Cameron Robert Wolfe.
Diverse Church NZ is a Rainbow Christian network that connects people who are part of both the LGBTQI+ and Christian communities.
Awaken 2021 is an event (March 26, 27 and 28) created by Diverse Church NZ that aims to empower queer people of faith, as well as bridge the often complicated divide between faith and the rainbow community in Aotearoa.
News and Editorial Director Jemima Huston speaks to Neill Ballantyne, an Awaken 2021 organiser, about the event. They discuss the issues facing queer Christian people today, how change can happen widely across the different denominations of the Christian faith and the government's steps to ban conversion therapy, which has been a significant policy issue this Pride Month.
Jade Lewis looks into the attitudes surrounding the Covid-19 vaccination at universities in the United States. She speaks to a recently vaccinated residential advisor at Duke University, Daniel Sprague, as well as an Associate Professor of Medicine and Duke's Covid-19 Response Director Dr. Cameron Robert Wolfe. They talk about how the University has handled the Covid-19 pandemic and the vaccine roll out in North Carolina.
Felix spoke to Green Party co-leader James Shaw about Covid-19 support, poverty in Pasifika communities, bottom trawling and, since it’s international women's day, what the Green Party is focusing on this year in terms of women's rights.
Felix spoke to the Green Party co-leader James Shaw on Covid-19 support, poverty in Pasifika communities, bottom trawling and, since it’s international women's day, what the Green Party is focusing on this year in regards to women's rights.
Jess interviewed Sir Peter Gluckman, the President-elect of the International Science Council, about a new international panel that is mapping future Covid-19 scenarios.
Jess also talked to Dr Melanie Kah and Dr Emma Sharp about the Soilsafe Aotearoa research programme.
Lastly, Felix spoke to Jan Tinetti, Minister for Women, about international women's day and her focus as minister.
A new oversight panel for the recently launched International Science Council Covid-19 Scenarios Project has been announced.
The panel will report on possible Covid-19 scenarios, and choices for governments, agencies, and citizens.
I interviewed Sir Peter Gluckman, the President-elect of the International Science Council, about the panel and the importance of international collaboration.
We started by discussing the purpose of the panel and who is involved.
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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