Listen back to features and interviews from 95bFM's daily news and current affairs show. Castor Chacko, Alex Fox, Emmanuel Orange, and Caeden Tipler focus on the issues of Tāmaki Makaurau and elsewhere in independent-thinking bFM style. Monday-Thursday 12-1pm on 95bFM.
For Dear Science this week our expert, Professor Allan Blackman chats with us about snow, ice, and “freezing-point depression”
For our weekly catchup with the National Party, Wire Host Sara spoke to National MP Ryan Hamlilton about Waitangi Day & National Party views on some of the recent environmental legislation
For Green World, Sara spoke to Professor Carl Rhodes from the University of Technology in Sydney, about the influence of billionaires on global climate progress
Producer Toby spoke to Associate Professor Maria Armoudian, from the University of Auckland, about the Trump administration’s targeting of political opponents in the United States
Earlier this year, an Oxfam report revealed that once again, billionaire wealth increased in 2025 — three times faster than the previous five-year average.
In January, Oxfam also proclaimed ‘Pollutocrat Day’ on the 10th of January, on which the richest 1% have already exhausted their annual carbon budget.
Professor of Business & Society at the University of Technology in Sydney Carl Rhodes has delved into the ‘myth of the heroic billionaire’ and the problems generated for political processes and global inequality.
Wire Host Sara spoke to Rhodes about the influence of billionaires, in particular with regard to climate action, starting by asking what the myth of the heroic billionaire is, and how it is perpetuated.
On Thursday last week, politicians including Prime Minister Chris Luxon and ACT party leader David Seymour addressed the audience during the Waitangi Day events at the Treaty Grounds.
The theme this year was Mō tātou, mā tātou, which is for all of us and by all of us.
As well, the past week has seen various news updates in environmental legislation including the draft decision to reject consent for seabed mining in the South Taranaki Bight, Greenpeace voicing concerns about a ‘kiwi killing clause’ in the proposed Natural Environment Bill, and a new Green Party bill calling to recognise the legal personhood of Tohorā — whales.
This week, Wire Host Sara spoke to National MP Ryan Hamilton about all of these topics, starting with Waitangi.
Over the past year, the Trump administration has taken a series of actions targeting political opponents. Under Trump’s second term, the polarisation of American politics has seemingly reached unprecedented levels, with members of the administration accusing a variety of peaceful individuals and groups of ‘domestic terrorism.’
Dr. Maria Armoudian is a professor of politics and international relations at the University of Auckland, who has written books on international human rights and the role that the media plays in shaping the future.
She is also a dual citizen, having been born and raised in the United States, and this year she hopes to visit her home country. But she’s worried that some of her viewpoints may land her in hot water when she arrives.
This past week saw multiple polls on public support for Te Tiriti o Waitangi in lawmaking. In RNZ’s Reid Research poll, while 38.1% thought Te Tiriti had too much influence, 34.1% thought it was just right and 16.6% called for more.
The complex array of approaches to Te Tiriti were on full display this weekend, with politicians and MPs talking about what it means to them. Some of the narratives shared, especially by the act party, framed Te Tiriti’s role in politics as taking rights away from Pākehā and favouring Māori.
To discuss all of these, News Director Castor spoke to senior lecturer of sociology at the University of Auckland, Avril Bell.
You can find the article by Avril Bell here and more information on Matike Mai here.
In late January, Education Minister Erica Stanford and Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced the latest development in their approach to supporting disabled children in Aotearoa; $44 Million of funding to build 2 new ‘special schools’.
These schools signal a focus on providing options for parents to support their children who need it with the choice for specialised support, but are not without criticism. Experts have expressed concern that this move is turning towards strengthening the exclusion of disabled children from Aotearoa’s youth and education, and have instead argued in favour of a more inclusive approach, supporting these children in local schools instead.
Monday Wire Producer Alex spoke with Senior Lecturer in Education and Social Practice at the University of Auckland, Dr Jude MacArthur, about this announcement, what it means in the context of this government, and what we should be seeing instead for the best outcomes for all of our young people in Aotearoa.
For our weekly catch-up with the ACT Party, News Director Castor spoke to MP Simon Court about the party’s stance on Te Tiriti in light of this past Waitangi Weekend, and the employment relations amendment bill in light of a recent protest.
They also spoke to Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Auckland, Avril Bell, about public sentiment on Te Tiriti and interpreting the government’s stance on it.
And producer Alex spoke to Senior Lecturer in Education and Social Practice at the University of Auckland, Dr Jude MacArthur, about the Government’s recent moves to fund new ‘special schools’ for disabled children, and what that says for exclusivity versus inclusivity in our education.
Opposition parties have criticised the coalition government for its talks with the United States regarding New Zealand supplying the nation with rare and critical minerals.
This comes as US President Donald Trump has stated he aims to reduce America’s reliance on China for materials essential to tech innovation and military interests.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Catherine Cheung, researcher for Climate Justice Taranaki, about the environmental impact of New Zealand scaling up its mining sector.
They then spoke to Marco de Jong, Pacific historian and lecturer at AUT law school and co-director of Te Kuaka, about what this means for New Zealand’s foreign policy stances and relationship to the United States.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, News and Editorial Director Castor spoke to MP Shanan Halbert about the party’s plans for Waitangi Day and Labour’s take on the government’s secret mineral talks.
Usual Thursday Wire Host Caeden spoke to Catherine Cheung, researcher for Climate Justice Taranaki and Marco de Jong, Pacific historian and lecturer at AUT law school and co-director of Te Kuaka, about the critical mineral talks between the governments of New Zealand and the United States.
For City Counselling this week, producer Jasmine spoke to Councillor Julie Fairey about Waitangi Day, Laneway, Yellow-legged hornets and back-to-school.
She also spoke to Age Care Concern CEO Kevin Lamb about the generational inequities of NZ Post closures around the motu.
Last week, NZ Post announced the closure of 142 retail stores in the urban-retail network across the motu.
Concerns have been raised about the disproportionate impacts the closures may have on senior communities who may not have the digital literacy to support the transition in regards to important administration, like paying bills, and staying in touch with loved ones.
Producer Jasmine spoke to Age Care Concern Tāmaki CEO, Kevin Lamb, about this issue.
Over the past few weeks, the government has been hesitant to call out the US and Israel for their role in the recent conflict in Iran. While Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has called for all parties to comply with international law, he refrained from explicitly addressing either aggressor. Only in the past week has Luxon offered any criticism, calling Trump’s Iran policy “unhelpful” and Finance Minister Nicola Willis “alarmed” at Trump’s comments around destruction of civilisation in Iran. Labour has criticised the government for its lack of a hard stance.
Also this past week has seen funding for the Tukituki water security project secured, which could see flooding for significant amounts of conservation land in the Hawke’s Bay. The project could also see acceleration under the Fast Track Approvals bill, which Labour has also criticised since its inception.
Lastly, Auckland Council has repeatedly called for additional support for public transport amidst the fuel crisis. Despite these calls, the government has yet to deliver.
To discuss each of these topics and what the Labour party could bring to the table, News Director Castor spoke to Labour MP Shanan Halbert.
A record number of Aucklanders are using public transport amidst rising fuel costs. The average number of users is up 10% from the same time last year.
And yesterday, Watercare lifted its boil water notice for the suburbs of Hillsborough, Mt Roskill, Royal Oak, and Three Kings after 2 days under the notice.
The notice was due to a detection of bacteria on Monday, which a Watercare investigation found was caused by a single water quality monitoring tap.
For City Counselling this week, The Wire Host Caeden spoke to Councillor Shane Henderson about these topics.
This morning, with negotiations continuing to stall and his own deadline for ending the war approaching, US President Donald Trump threatened civilisational destruction on Iran if they did not concede to the US demands. Whether a sincere threat or an act of brinkmanship may remain unclear, as just before Trump’s deadline, Trump claimed a two week ceasefire had been agreed to.
Last week, the Green Party released their housing policy - a home for everyone. It takes a welfare-based approach, pitching rent controls, reversing tax breaks on the bright line test, and a public housing building program.
For our weekly catch-up with the Green Party’s Ricardo Menéndez March, Wire host Manny asked about the gravity of Trump's threats on Iran, but began with the Greens' housing platform.
Cabbage, mull, buds, dak, smoke, skunk, hash, chronic, grass, pot, cannabis. It’s the fourth most used recreational drug in New Zealand, coming in behind caffeine, alcohol, and tobacco. Back in 2020, alongside the general election, voters were asked in a non-binding referendum whether they supported a proposed cannabis legalisation and control bill. The result was a vote opposing the legalisation of cannabis by a thin margin.
Currently, medicinal cannabis is available via prescription, but cannabis otherwise remains illegal to use, distribute, or produce.
For this week’s Get Action, producer Theo spoke to Patrick and Colden from the Reeferendum 2026 campaign, on their petition to legalise cannabis and reform drug laws and policing in Aotearoa New Zealand.
If you'd like to sign this petition, you can find it here.
Last week, the Prime Minister revealed his cabinet reshuffle, which saw major changes to the roles of two prominent MPs and Ministers, Chris Bishop and Simeon Brown.
Last week also saw the passing of the Resource Management (Auckland Housing) Amendment Bill, after years of discussion, paving the way for a new approach to housing density and intensification in the future.
Of course, the fuel crisis is still hitting New Zealand, and discussions remain around the role public transport should play, and how the government should support public transit.
This week, Wire Host Alex spoke with National Party MP Ryan Hamilton about each of these topics, beginning with the cabinet reshuffle.
This week, the government announced another change to Plan Change 120, Auckland’s plan for future housing developments across the city. Originally, the plan proposed a minimum housing capacity of 2 million homes, but many in central suburbs raised concerns that intensification could harm the character of their neighbourhoods. In February, the government lowered the minimum capacity to 1.6 million, which Auckland’s council and mayor spoke out against.
Despite the disagreement, council developed new plans for the 1.6 million capacity. This week, however, the government announced plans to lower the minimum capacity further to 1.4 million, forcing council to make further changes to the plans.
Also these past few weeks we’ve seen disagreements between the government and council over how best to manage the fuel crisis. The government has focused on payouts to middle and lower class families with children, but Mayor Wayne Brown says a better solution could involve subsidising public transport.
To discuss each of these issues, News Director Castor spoke to Councillor Julie Fairey.
About a month ago, Wednesday Wire host Manny spoke to a researcher sounding the alarm over the state of our primary healthcare, here and globally.
Across the globe, services meant to be the first port of call for health issues such as dental, GPs and pharmacists, were found to be increasingly under stress as costs grow and the workforce fails to keep pace with demand.
Here in Aotearoa New Zealand, The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners Workforce Survey in 2022 raised concerns: Over half of GPs were planning to retire within the next decade, a declining number of GPs work in GP run practices and filling that gap is an increasing number of corporate healthcare providers.
As the holder of the Green parties Primary Healthcare Portfolio, our Green Party interviewee is the perfect subject to discuss his parties platform on the subject.
So for our weekly catch-up with the Green Party’s Ricardo Menéndez March, we talk primary healthcare, it’s current state in Aotearoa, the issues it faces and where the Green Party would like to take it.
Last week, Minister for Conservation Tama Potaka announced an update on the Predator Free 2050 strategy, which aims to rid New Zealand of rats, possums and stoats. Five and a half million dollars of funding was set aside by the government with the aim of making Wellington the first predator free city in the world within the next ten years.
This week on Green World, Wire producer Liam spoke to James Russell, professor of conservation biology at the University of Auckland, about the progress and impact of Predator Free projects in Wellington and nationwide.
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