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.
Dr Lida Ayoubi, Senior Law Lecturer at Auckland University of Technology, whose research focus includes human rights and disability rights, talked about the current immigration policy in Aotearoa for people with disabilities.
Solar power cells currently are made of silicon, but Justin Hodgkiss, who is co-director of the MacDairmid institute for advanced materials and nanotechnology, is undertaking research to find alternative materials. He talked about the future of solar power.
A New study has shed light on the phenomenon of binaural beats, sounds which essentially evoke psychoactive effects within the brain. There is very little-known about binaural beats, so to gain some clarity, Joe spoke to the lead author of the study, Dr. Monica Barrett from RMIT University in Melbourne about what they are exactly.
A study released this week revealed that Kiwis have concerning gaps in knowledge when it comes to the Holocaust. The Holocaust Centre in Wellington is the country's national Holocaust education and remembrance centre, and they say that the results of this study underline the need for a more comprehensive education on the Holocaust in New Zealand.
Emilia Sullivan spoke to Miriam Bookman, deputy chair of the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand.
This week on the Thursday Wire, our regular interview with Labour’s Andrew Little is back. Tuva’a speaks to Little about new Covid-19 medications that New Zealand will be receiving soon.
Joe speaks to Dr. Caroline Shorter, a senior researcher from the University of Otago, Wellington, about a recent study looking at the price of keeping children warm at night.
Producer Emilia speaks to Miriam Bookman, deputy chair of the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand, about a study released this week revealing that Kiwis have concerning gaps in knowledge when it comes to the Holocaust. Emilia also speaks to Professor Robin Gauld, Pro-Vice chancellor of commerce and Dean of Business at the University of Otago, about the major reforms to New Zealand’s healthcare systems set to come into place in July.
Joe also speaks to Sophie Jones from Able on how subtitles can be to utilized to improve children's literacy. Finally, Joe talks to Dr. Monica Barrett from RMIT University in Melbourne about the phenomenon known as binaural beats.
Major reforms to New Zealand's healthcare systems are set to come into place in July. The changes would see all DHBs replaced by one national organisation, Health New Zealand, while a Māori Health Authority will be established to commission health services, monitor the state of Māori health, and develop policy.
Emilia Sullivan spoke about these reforms to the University of Otago's Professor Robin Gauld, Pro-Vice Chancellor of Commerce and Dean of Otago Business School.
A new report was released last week about the state of children’s literacy in New Zealand, demonstrating that it’s time to learn the wide-ranging benefits of using subtitles, in terms of improving literacy. New Zealand’s media accessibility organisation Able creates subtitles and captions for New Zealand TV and media, which have shown the benefits on children’s literacy
Joe talked to Sophie Jones from Able on the matter.
The cost of heating a child’s bedroom through the night in a Wellington winter would run through 46 per cent of the government’s Winter Energy Payment, a study by researchers at the University of Otago, Wellington has found.
Joe spoke to Dr. Caroline Shorter, a senior researcher from the University of Otago, on the matter.
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.
On the Wire this Wednesday Cameron joined Frances from Berlin and spoke about the war in Ukraine, US President Biden’s tour in Europe, elections in Hungary and Serbia and developments in the world of digital tech over there.
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.
95bFM 
