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.
International research to understand the relationship between degenerative brain diseases and head knocks that occur in contact sports continues to develop, with New Zealand researchers calling for a delay for children’s involvement in contact sports until they are older.
Risk factors are not exclusive to concussions, or to professional players. Producer Jasmine Gray spoke to Dr. Helen Murray, Senior Research Fellow and Head of Brain Injury & Neurodegeneration Research at Waipapa Taumata Rau, about the recommendation to delay contact sports to reduce the risk of degenerative brain diseases later in life.
The Ministry of Education has recently revealed their new draft math's curriculum for years 0 - 10, making this new curriculum the third in three years.
In announcing the move, Education Minister, Erica Stanford, says the new curriculum is another step forward for the country producing a world-leading system for all students.
However, the new curriculum has faced criticism, such as around the amount of time educators are expected to have implemented the new curriculum.
As a result, multiple open letters have been sent to the government. In an open letter from 44 maths education experts yesterday, they say the changes “seem more political than educational”.
News and Editorial Director Joel spoke to Lisa Darragh, a Senior Curriculum and Pedagogy Researcher at the University of Auckland, about this new curriculum and what her thoughts are on it.
Recently, the Labour Party have unveiled their capital gains tax (CGT) policy.
The policy only targets properties, with the exception of family homes, and farms. The tax policy, according to Labour, will supply all New Zealanders with three free doctor visits yearly.
For our weekly catch up with the Green Party’s Ricardo Menéndez March, News and Editorial Director Joel spoke to him about Labour’s CGT policy, and what the Green’s think of it.
They also discussed the funding cuts for the Māori news organisation’s Te Karere and The Hui, as well as how the Green Party will be campaigning 1 year out from the next general election.
For our weekly catchup with the Green Party, News and Editorial Director Joel spoke with MP Ricardo Menendez-March about Labour’s new capital gains tax, slashing of funding for the Māori news organisation’s The Hui and Te Karere, and the party’s campaigning plans one year away from the next general election.
And Joel spoke with Lisa Darragh, a Senior Curriculum and Pedagogy Researcher at the University of Auckland, about the government’s new maths curriculum of years 0 - 10.
And Producer Manny spoke with James Russell, Professor of Conservation Biology at the University of Auckland and Peter Morton, Coordinator of the Department of Conservation’s predator control program about an impending explosion of predator populations.
For Dear Science this week, our expert, Dr Cushla McGoverin chats with us about Napoleon’s army, pill-sized bioprinters, and mushroom memory chips.
For Green World, Wire Host Sara spoke to University of Auckland Professor Jacqueline Beggs about an upcoming clean tech conference
Producer Faith spoke to Rob Weinkove from the Malaghan Institute of Medical research about access to medical gene therapies in Aotearoa
Faith also spoke to Prudence Walker from the Human Rights Commission NZ about how disabled public servants need to be better supported.
The University of Auckland’s Ngā Ara Whetū – the Centre for Climate, Biodiversity and Society, are hosting a Blue & Green technology conference at the beginning of December looking at how technology can be a part of a climate-resilient future for New Zealand.
Host Sara spoke with Professor Jacqueline Beggs, the co-executive director of Ngā Ara Whetū, who is organising the event.
She started by asking what the Blue & Green tech conference is all about
The results of this year’s Te Taunaki Public Service Census highlight that almost a third of disabled public servants felt discriminated against at work. The Human Rights Commission’s disability rights commissioner Prudence Walker believes that the results highlight the need for more support towards public sector workers living with disabilities.
Producer Faith spoke to Prudence about the discriminations faced, and how we can achieve a shift in attitude, rather than just strengthening laws.
A new term for Tāmaki Makaurau’s city council is rolling out amidst sizeable public transport changes for the city. Namely, the restructuring of responsibility that transfers primary policy and planning powers to council and leaves transport delivery responsibilities to Auckland Transport.
It has also been announced that 4162 of the approximately 10,000 special votes in the recent Auckland election were deemed invalid due to outdated enrolment details, or missing and incorrect declarations on voting forms.
Producer Jasmine spoke to Councillor Fairey about her thoughts on the future of Auckland’s transport systems and policy in the coming years, and her concerns around disenfranchisement of local democracy in light of the large number of discounted votes.
Health Coalition Aotearoa is calling for a permanent fix to New Zealand’s School Lunch Programme.
The current contract is being delivered by provider ‘The School Lunch Collective’, after National axed the prior Ka Ako, Ka Ora programme model. This latest iteration of the school lunches programme has seen smaller meals, lower nutritional quality, and disengagement from community-based providers.
Currently, the funding for the government’s school lunch programme is due to end in late 2026, with no proposed initiatives in its place.
Producer Jasmine Gray spoke to Dr. Kelly Garton about the inefficacies of the current contract, and the urgent need to invest in this support for our rangatahi.
Last week, the Ministry for the Environment together with Stats New Zealand released Our Freshwater 2026, a major report on the state of Aotearoa’s freshwater systems based on decades of data. The report highlights both long-term improvement and deterioration of waterways nationwide, with particular focus on groundwater sources and the impacts of agricultural land use and the climate crisis on water quality.
I spoke to Troy Baisden, co-president of the New Zealand Association of Scientists and Adjunct Professor at Victoria University of Wellington, about what the findings of this report mean and also about the strengths and limitations of freshwater reporting.
Last week, the Government and Auckland Council agreed on the ‘Auckland City Deal’, which seeks to enhance co-ordination between the two bodies to enable better investment in the city to get the most out of what Mayor Wayne Brown has called the ‘Engine’ of the economy. This will see better communication between the mayor and prime minister, co-operation on certain legislation, and funding.
The weekend also saw Cyclone Vaianu hit the country, with parts of the country facing damage and flooding. The government now has the job of responding to the damage, and deciding what needs to change, looking forward to future cyclones.
This week, Host Alex spoke with National Party MP Ryan Hamilton about each of these topics.
Over the past week, the conflict in Iran has seen consistent U-turns as the United States continues to change its strategy in the war. On Wednesday morning, US President Donald Trump threatened Iran, saying "a civilisation will die tonight", just hours before agreeing to a two-week ceasefire with Tehran.
This ceasefire is now in doubt, however, as Israel has escalated its bombing campaign in Lebanon, killing hundreds since it was signed, and Trump announced this morning that the US will block the Strait of Hormuz after failed peace talks with Iran in Pakistan.
Amidst all of this, New Zealand's Foreign Minister, Winston Peters, met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the day of Trump's threats and wouldn't condemn the comments. Some New Zealanders are concerned by the country's limp response to these illegal threats and actions against Iran.
Also this month, the Act Party has continued to call for the abolition of the Broadcasting Standards Authority, after it was announced that a complaint about online site The Platform and its host, Sean Plunkett, would be looked at by the authority.
For our weekly catch-up with the ACT Party's Simon Court, producer Thomas asked him about the ceasefire in Iran, the US blocking the Strait of Hormuz and the Broadcasting Standards Authority.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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