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.
A study published this week in the European Journal of Public Health has revealed 87% of children in Aotearoa have experienced significant trauma before the age of 8, which is much more than previously thought.
The study observed the effects of 8 kinds of traumatic childhood experiences, and found there can be a link between childhood trauma and obesity. It was also revealed that positive experiences can mitigate the effects of trauma.
Producer Athena spoke to Senior Researcher at City University of London and Honorary Researcher at the University of Auckland, Ladan Hashemi, about the effects of childhood trauma, its links to obesity, and ways to prevent and mitigate its effects.
For Dear Science this week, our expert Professor Allan Blackman chatted with us about analysing massive ice chunks, air pollution in ancient Rome, and a mystery volcano from 1831.
In our first weekly catchup with the National Party of the year, Wire host Castor spoke to MP Tom Rutherford about the Treaty Principles Bill, Regulatory Standards Bill, and the party’s plans for the rest of the year.
Producer Athena spoke to associate professor at Massey University’s College of Health, Marta Rychert, about the results of the latest New Zealand Drug Trends Survey
They also spoke to senior researcher at City University of London and Honorary researcher at the University of Auckland, Ladan Hashemi, about the effects of childhood trauma
Global Innovator, Matt Hart, joins News and Editorial Director, and Monday Wire Host, Joel, and Producer Evie in studio to discuss new years resolutions, as we begin 2025!
Last month, the inaugural Lancet Countdown Indicator Report was released, showing that small island nations are facing escalating health risks associated with the implications of the climate crisis.
The report shows a multitude of health risks associated with the effects of the climate crisis, such as an increase in disease risks, displacing communities, and devastating the livelihoods of those living in these regions.
News and Editorial Director, and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to the Co-Director and Senior Research Fellow for the Centre of Pacific & Global Health at the University of Auckland, Dr Roannie Ng Shiu, who led the report's of health, hazards, and impacts, about what this will mean heading forward, and whether larger nations, such as New Zealand, are doing enough to mitigate these concerns.
They started off by asking her about what health risks we can expect.
NIWA has recently released their annual climate summary for 2024, which shows that last year was New Zealand’s tenth warmest year on record.
Of the top ten warmest years on record, eight of these have occurred in the past twelve years.
The report shows that these rising temperatures, which are in line with global trends, are largely due to climate change caused by humans.
As well as this, this comes as Copernicus, ECMWF, and NASA are expected to release their annual climate summary, which is expected to show that 2024 was the Earth’s warmest year on record.
News and Editorial Director, and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to Principal Scientist at GNS Science, Dr Nick Cradock-Henry, about this report, and what this report means for 2025.
They started off by asking him about the rapidness in temperatures seen in the report in prior years.
Submissions on the government’s highly contested Regulatory Standards Bill close tonight.
The legislation, which has largely flown under the radar, is now being slammed for being dangerous, with worries it will entrench the ACT Party’s ideology into New Zealand’s constitutional framework.
The bill, which is not yet before parliament, focuses heavily on property regulation - catering towards developers and corporations.
Producer Evie spoke to Climate Justice Taranaki’s Catherine Cheung about the increasing concerns that activist and environmental groups have surrounding the legislation.
News and Editorial Director, and Monday Wire Host, Joel, speaks to Principal Scientist at GNS Science, Dr Nick Cradock-Henry, about NIWA’s annual climate summary, showing that 2024 was the 10th warmest year on record in Aotearoa.
They also speak to the Co-Director and Senior Research Fellow for the Centre of Pacific & Global Health at the University of Auckland, Dr Roannie Ng Shiu, about a report she was involved in in December, showing that vulnerable Pacific nations will be facing a multitude of devastating consequences due to the climate crisis.
Producer Evie speaks to the Director of Global Studies at the University of Auckland, Chris Ogden, about what we can expect from Donald Trump’s inauguration, one week out from him taking office.
She also speaks to Climate Justice Taranaki’s Catherine Cheung about the government’s controversial Regulatory Standards Bill.
And finally, Global Innovator, Matt Hart, joins us in studio to discuss the concept of new year resolutions.
One week from today, President elect Donald Trump’s inauguration will take place, marking his second term as president.
Between election day in November and now, much has occurred. Most recently Trump was granted an unconditional discharge in his highly publicised hush money trial - avoiding penalty, jail time or a fine - but he will still become the first president with a felony conviction.
He’s also become increasingly strong on claims that the USA will buy Greenland as a territory, and aim to make Canada its 52nd state. Although the claims may seem outrageous - Trump is also demanding that Panama cede control of the Panama Canal back to the US.
With such brazen claims and events - Producer Evie spoke to Director of Global Studies at the University of Auckland, Chris Ogden about what Trump’s upcoming term may look like and what impact these events may have.
On this week's Thursday Wire, we reflect on our favourite interviews from 2024 as we wrap up our reporting for the year.
In May,Wire Host Caeden spoke to Yale University student Andre Fa’aoso and University of Auckland student Layan Khalil about the pro-Palestine protests that swept across United States college campuses and then the world. The protests were part of the movement to divest from Israel due to their ongoing war on Gaza.
And in November,Tuesday Wire host Castor and Caeden went down to Te Whanganui-a-Tara to speak to Hīkoi Mō Te Tiriti protestors who were arriving at Parliament to protest against the Treaty Principles Bill.
As part of Caeden and Castor’s coverage, producer Sofia spoke to renowned Māori activist Tāme Iti in November about the hīkoi.
In April,Sofia spoke toAssociate Professor at the University of Auckland Faculty of Law, Carrie Leonetti, about calls to criminalise stalking.
And in July, she spoke to the Research Director at the Disinformation Project, Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa, about the Employment Court’s judgement on Associate Professor Siouxsie Wiles’ case against the University of Auckland.
Last week finance minister Nicola Willis announced a budget cut of 25% to the reserve bank. The cut follows criticisms of the reserve bank staffing numbers, which have risen significantly since 2018.
Also last week education minister Erica Stanford announced $100 million of new classroom developments across the country, with one large development in Massey. The move has been well received, though some have pointed out the continued impacts of overcrowding in the school system, particularly due to housing intensification in parts of the country.
In our weekly catchup with National’s Tom Rutherford, Wire host Castor asked about each of these issues, starting with reserve bank budget cuts.
Kilmar Ábrego García, a man legally in the United States, was wrongly deported to a maximum security prison in El Salvador earlier this month.
The Trump administration refuses to bring Ábrego García back to the United States despite a Supreme Court ruling stating that Trump must “facilitate” this process.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Associate Professor Jean Lantz Reisz from the Gould School of Law at the University of Southern California about Ábrego García's removal from the US and what this means for the rule of law.
Earlier this week, Wayne Brown shared an opinion piece offering a case for council amalgamation.
He discusses his experience in the Upper North Island Strategic Alliance, stating that discussions on local issues can be inefficient because of the number of members, and arguing that some sort of council amalgamation would be more beneficial in terms of efficiency, and providing better representation for New-Zealanders in this region.
As well, ahead of this year’s local elections, Auckland Council has posted an advertisement on LinkedIn for “passionate Aucklanders” to throw their hat in the ring for an Auckland Council position. They have said they are hoping to draw in a ‘diverse range of community leaders’ to help represent Auckland within local governance.
Producer Sara spoke with Councillor Shane Henderson this morning about both these topics.
Foreign Minister Winston Peters recently completed the last leg of his trip across the Pacific in Hawai’i, having hosted a number of meetings with US military and political leaders in the American Indo-Pacific territories.
Winston Peters said that this portion of his Pacific trip was aimed at strengthening New Zealand’s partnership with the United States and our shared strategic objectives in the Pacific, additionally saying that “Our Pacific links with the United States are more important than ever”.
The week before, the Greens recently made a renewed call for Visa waivers to be granted to Pacific Nationals looking to travel to Aotearoa after the government announced that visitors from Pacific Islands Forum countries may be eligible for a multi-entry visa, into Aotearoa from July onwards.
And the government recently released their annual child poverty statistics, which showed an increase in the number of Tamariki experiencing material hardship, rates of food insecurity and the number of children in households receiving a main benefit.
For our weekly catchup with the Green Party, Oto spoke to Green Party MP Ricardo Menendez-March about all of these issues.
Have you ever thought about what happens to all the food, which, while perfectly edible, simply doesn’t make it to the table? This week, the Green Desk delves into the growing issues of food waste, food insecurity and social isolation, and discusses how they can all be remedied by making better use of the perfectly good food that would otherwise end up in the bin.
Everybody Eats is an organisation founded in 2017 which rescues surplus food items from charities and businesses and converts them into restaurant style food. They have a pay-what-you-can mode, with the aim of making this food accessible to all.
Ahead of Earth Day 2025, Green Desk Producer Liam spoke to Amanda Butland, the Systems and Support Manager at Everybody Eats, about the current food waste crisis and what we could all learn from the Everybody Eats ethos.
The Treaty Principles Bill was officially put to bed last week, as it was voted down in parliament by all parties besides ACT. The bill spent a long time in the public spotlight and has been met with extensive criticism from across the political spectrum. Now that it’s done, Wire host Castor asked Nancy Lu about whether the bill met the government’s expectations and whether they’d explore something similar in the future.
Last week, we also saw a report released about the harassment of female MPs. The harassment levels have been concerning to many, especially given targeted campaigns and posts from some members of parliament or political parties encouraging this harassment.
In our weekly catchup with the National party, Tom Rutherford was absent this week, so Castor spoke to Nancy Lu about these issues, beginning with the Treaty Principles Bill.
Last week, the controversial Treaty Principles Bill was voted down in its second reading.
The bill received 112 votes against the bill, with only the ACT Party voting in favour of the bill with 11 votes.
Since the inception of the bill, the bill has faced significant backlash. Te Pāti Māori MPs, Hana Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke, Rawiri Waititi, and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, protested the first reading of the bill by doing the haka in Parliament. The bill also resulted in what many believe is one of the largest hīkoi the country has seen, with the bill also receiving over 300,000 public submissions, 90% against the bill.
For our weekly catch up, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to Te Pāti Māori’s Takutai Kemp about the second reading of the Treaty Principles Bill voting the bill down.
As well as this, following the bill being voted down, Te Pāti Māori announced they will be running candidates in general seats.
They also discussed this, and why the party has decided to run candidates in general seats.
But first, they discussed the Treaty Principles Bill being voted down.
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