Listen back to features and interviews from 95bFM's daily news & current affairs show, The Wire. Your hosts Jessica Hopkins, Jemima Huston, Frances Wright, Zazi Hewlett, Justin Wong and Noah Ferguson-Dudding focus on the issues of Tāmaki Makaurau and elsewhere, in independent-thinking bFM style. Weekdays 12-1pm on 95bFM.
This week on Dear Science, Frances Wright talked to AUT Professor Marcus Jones about US President Biden's COVID origins report, how arctic warming links to cold winters and about the Mars rover ‘Perseverance’ collecting its first rock sample to bring back to earth.
While the rest of the country moves to alert level 2 thise week Aucklanders remain home in their bubbles under level 4. With the reduction of cars on the road, native birdsong has become easier to hear and a welcome silver lining of the lockdown for many. For a bit of Covid news relief on the Wire this week, Frances Wright spoke with Professor Jacqueline Beggs from the University of Auckland about New Zealand's native birds, focussing on the beloved kererū which won Bird of the Year in 2018 and are known to occasionally fill themselves up with fermented fruit and fall out of trees…
Frances and Professor Beggs spoke about how kererū survive in urban environments and what we can do to encourage them, and other native birds, into our gardens.
Today on the Tuesday Wire, Jemima Hustons speaks to Professor Richard Jackson from Otago University about the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Bill that aims to prevent and respond to terrorism in New Zealand.
Joe Wickins interviews to Dr Angus McPherson from Tree’s for Bee’s and Jess Curtis from Branch Creek Honey about Bee Aware Month and why bees are so important for the ecosystem.
Jemima talks to Laura Boren from the Department of Conservation about how the public can help the Department of Conservation determine why subantartic fur seals have been sighted more commonly in Aotearoa’s waters this year.
Joe finally speaks to Kristie Amado from Recovered Living NZ about how the pandemic has impacted people who struggle with eating disorders and body dysmorphia.
On Friday 3 September, a terrorist attack took place at a LynMall supermarket in New Lynn, Auckland. The attacker stabbed six people and injured one before being shot and killed by Police. It was quickly revealed that the person was a known supporter of the Islamic State and was under long-term Police surveillance. Following the event, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said that she wants the Government's Counter-Terrorism Legislation Bill, which was brought in following the 2019 Christchurch terror attacks, to be passed no later than by the end of the month.
As part of an ongoing investigation into New Zealand’s counter-terrorism strategy, News and Editorial Director Jemima Huston wanted to look into some of the issues that have been raised about the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Bill. She spoke to Professor Richard Jackson, Director of the National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Otago, about some of the problems he says the Bill has. Professor Jackson, along with other experts on terrorism, are concerned that the Bill is being passed too quickly and that more research and time is needed to properly address terrorism in New Zealand's legislation.
Jemima and Professor Jackson touch on the restrictions terrorism legislation places on human rights, the difficulty to determine a person's intention, protecting minority groups against the deep racial biases that exist in New Zealand society, and whether it is possible to appropriately define terrorism.
Ultimately, Professor Jackson is concerned that the Bill is being rushed through the legislation process. He says that in times of public distress, the Government moves quickly to make laws as a way to show that the state cares about its people and has done something to address the issue at hand. However, Professor Jackson warns that rushed legislation doesn't consider all the evidence and runs the risk of negatively impacting certain minority communities and increasing grievance amongst those most likley to turn to extremism.
Mental Health is extremely important during a time like this, being in lockdown. An issue which some may be faced with is with eating disorders, body dysmorphia, or muscle dysmorphia. Ultimately, these issues all play a part in our mental wellbeing. Joe speaks to Kristie Amadio, the Managing Director from Recovered Living New Zealand, about eating disorders and body dysmorphia, how Covid has played a part in this, and how one can help themselves to identify and work on recovery.
This month is Bee Aware Month, where the focus is how we can help with supporting Bee’s as they help support our ecosystem. Joe talks to Dr Angus McPherson from Tree’s for Bee’s and Jess Curtis from Branch Creek Honey on the importance of Bee’s to the ecosystem, and how Kiwi’s can help them during the month of Spring.
This week on the show, Jessica Hopkins spoke to Terry Bellamak of Abortion Law Reform New Zealand about extreme anti-abortion laws that have come into affect in Texas in the United States.
She also talked to Debbie Sorenson from Pasifika Futures about the impact of the delta outbreak on Pasifika people, particularly the Samoan community, and the recent announcement of government funding to support Pacific health and vaccination services.
Louis Macalister interviews SAFE’s Will Applebe and a Greyhound Trainer, Craig Roberts about the recent review of the Greyhound racing industry.
Lastly, he speaks to Scott Hindman, a resident and member of Bethells Emergency Response Group about the impact of last weeks flooding on the Bethells Beach community.
A ban on abortions from six weeks, with no excpetions has taken affect in Texas, after it was signed off by the Supreme Court. This is the first US state to allow a ban to go into effect since Roe v. Wade.
This move has been condemned by human rights activists and medical experts, who say this approach is not based on science and will put women at severe risk.
Jessica spoke to Terry Bellamak of Abortion Law Reform New Zealand, who says that anti-abortion lawmakers in Texas want to incentivize anyone in the US who opposes abortion to sue providers or individuals who help patients get care.
They started off our interview discussing the restrictions put in place by conservative judges, which many have called out for being unconstitutional.
The government recently approved FORTY NINE MILLION DOLLARS in additional funding to support pacific health and vaccination services during COVID-19, including TWENTY THREE million dollars for Whānau Ora services.
Jessica Hopkins spoke to Debbie Sorensen from Pasifika Futures, a Whanau Ora Commissioning Agency about what this funding means for the critical support services they provide, and what the impact of the delta outbreak has been for Pasifika people, particularly the Samoan community.
They started the interview discussing how the Pacific community has responded to this current outbreak.
Ilena spoke to Councillor Pippa Coom for an update on Auckland Council’s Covid-19 response as we look forward to another two weeks of lockdown. We also discussed the flooding that happened earlier this week in parts of Auckland due to a period of intense rain and storms, and how emergency services responded to those affected under level 4 restrictions. She also mentioned resources available on the Council website for those looking to stay healthy physically and mentally during lockdown, as well as getting rid of Auckland library overdue fines.
Noah Ferguson-Dudding caught up with National MP Christopher Luxon for their weekly chat. They discussed what Luxon would like to see the government to do around their recent Three Waters proposal. They also touched on a recent poll which has put National at 21.3%, and the controversy around Judith Collins' criticism of Siouxsie Wiles.
Today, Pippa and Ilena talked about how Auckland Council will be helping local businesses move down through alert levels- in particular, how the Council can help the hospitality industry with licensing requirements so that they can do trading on the footpaths and allow more space between customers.
They also talked about Vision Zero, an ethics-based transport safety approach that was developed in Sweden and is now being implemented in Auckland. The vision states that there will be no deaths or serious injuries on our roads by 2050. Ilena asked Pippa about how realistic this goal is, what concrete steps have already been taken to make our roads safer and what future plans are in place.
Justin talks about the Canadian federal election with Professor Daniel Béland of McGill University. The election will take place on September 20 after Prime Minister and Liberal leader Justin Trudeau called a snap election in August.
Justin spoke to Health Minister Andrew Little about New Zealand's Covid-19 strategy post lockdown and the vaccine bus to boost vaccination rates in Auckland.
Justin talked to Victoria University's Professor Robert Ayson on the new Ausuk defence pact between Australia, the US, and the UK. Part of the pact would see Australia acquire its first nuclear-powered submarines to replace its aging fleet with the US and UK sharing technology.
On this week's Dear Science, Frances Wright was joined by AUT Professor Allan Blackman. They began by talking about the serious but hilarious Ig Nobel Prizes and then moved onto research on toilet training cows from the University of Auckland. They finished up by talking about the food scientists who have found the key to perfectly smooth chocolate.
This week Zazi spoke to Brooke about the Māori Party's petition to to change New Zealand's official name to Aotearoa as well as John Tamihere's comments in a Newshub interview yesterday.
Zazi asks Brooke about the Māori Party's petition - whether she supports it, thinks it’s important, or believes official titles don't make much of a difference.
In the second half, Zazi and Brooke talk about comments made by Māori Party's John Tamihere, saying that ACT members contacted him, appalled and apologetic of Seymour’s Māori priority vaccine tweet, posted last week.
The Māori Party's co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer also spoke with Zazi about the Aotearoa petition in today's Wednesday Wire show. If you would like to listen to that interview as well, click the link here.
In another week of level four lockdown, Isla and Stella look into how intermittent isolation could be affecting young kiwis. They chat with Maria Corkin from the University of Auckland about her research on 'technoference' and its influence on child development, executive functioning in kids, and the differences in outcomes depending on input.
Noah Ferguson-Dudding caught up with National MP Christopher Luxon for their weekly chat. They discussed the government's potential plans for booster vaccines against Covid-19, Auckland's ongoing Level 4 lockdown, and the National Party's identity given the current strength of the government.
This week, Ilena spoke with Councillor Shane Henderson about what he calls the ‘week from hell’ for West Auckland. The week started with extensive flooding and ended with a terror attack at the LynnMall Countdown, all while the region was in level 4 lockdown. He gives some updates on where flooding emergency and support efforts are at now, and how West Aucklanders are coping.
On another note, Ilena and Shane also talked about bin tags and how a proposal to streamline Auckland’s rubbish service might look like.
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