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.
In recent months, there has been a growing exodus of artists and bands moving away from Spotify. These decisions are being made along political and ethical lines, as the platform continues to come under fire for a range of business practices and investments.
In the streaming era, however, artists cannot make this decision lightly. Musicians often depend on streaming services like Spotify for a consistent source of income.
Monday Wire Producer Alex spoke to the University of Otago’s Michael Holland about why these artists are leaving spotify, and what it means for artists to leave streaming services.
Last week, Poland confirmed that Russian drones had entered and caused damage in Polish airspace. This incursion has been met with strong opposition, with Poland and NATO allies threatening retaliation.
Monday Wire Producer Alex spoke with the University of Otago’s Robert Patman about the drones, other similar occurrences, and what the geopolitical implications of these incursions in regards to Russia, the US, and Europe.
A study from the University of Otago, looking into how New Zealand news coverage depicted the country’s responses to the Covid-19 pandemic, has shown elements of nationalism and creating a sense of competition.
News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to Emma Anderson, a PhD Candidate at the Bioethics Centre at the University of Otago, about the study and the harmful consequences of this framing.
On Saturday, roughly 20,000 marched in the pro-Palestine rally, the ‘March for Humanity,’ with protesters walking from Aotea Square to Victoria Park in Auckland’s CBD.
For our weekly catchup with the ACT Party’s Simon Court, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to Simon about the rally and what protestors are calling on the government for, regarding their response to Israel’s war on Gaza, as the death toll in Gaza reaches over 64,000, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.
As well as this, Regulations Minister and ACT Party Leader, David Seymour, has not ruled out changes to the labelling of alcohol, nicotine, and tobacco products.
However, firstly, they discussed the ‘March for Humanity’ rally.
For our weekly catch-up with the ACT Party, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to MP Simon Court about this weekend’s Palestine rally, the ‘March for Humanity’ and Regulations Minister, David Seymour, not ruling out changes for the labelling on alcohol, nicotine, and tobacco products.
Thursday Wire Host Caeden, Thursday Producer Sanat, and Tuesday Wire Host Sara interviewed participants at Saturday’s ‘March for Humanity’ as well as Aotearoa for Palestine organiser Nadine Mortaja.
Joel spoke to Emma Anderson, a PhD Candidate at the Bioethics Centre at the University of Otago, about a recent study she was the lead author in, showing New Zealand news media’s coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic having nationalistic and ‘us versus them’ elements in its reporting.
Producer Alex spoke with the University of Otago’s Robert Patman about recent Russian drone incursions in Poland, and what they mean for NATO and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
And Alex also spoke to The University of Otago’s Michael Holland about artists leaving spotify, and the issues with the platform.
Earlier this week, Green Party MP Benjamin Doyle (Ngāpuhi) resigned from Parliament.
They cited concerns for their safety following receiving ‘hate, vitriol and threats of real-world violence.”
Earlier this year, research found online threats of physical and sexual violence have caused Members of Parliament to feel ‘fearful, anxious and distressed.’
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Canterbury, Cassandra Mudgway, about this issue and potential solutions.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden asked Shanan Halbert about the Tāmaki Makaurau by-election result, this weekend's march across the Harbour Bridge for Palestine, and the Pacific Islands Forum.
For International Desk, they spoke to Yale Daily News’ Andre Fa’aoso about the death of Conservative political activist Charlie Kirk and the prominence of political violence in the United States.
They also spoke to Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Canterbury, Cassandra Mudgway, about the online abuse faced by politicians, especially those who are women and/or minorities.
For City Counselling, News and Editorial Director, Joel, spoke to Councillor Julie Fairey on the major ‘shakeup’ of Auckland Transport.
And Joel spoke to John Fraser, the former Dean of Faculty of Medical Sciences and current research professor in the Department of Molecular Medicine and Pathology at the University of Auckland, on US health secretary RFK Jr’s cancellation of $500 million US dollar worth of funding for mRNA vaccine research.
Producer Jasmine spoke to Dr. Nona Taute about the tool he’s developed through his PhD research to centre mātauranga Māori and empower iwi decision-making in geothermal engineering in Aotearoa.
The government has recently announced the specifics of the ‘shakeup’ of Auckland Transport.
This follows the plan, which was first announced in December last year, to introduce new legislation that would strip Auckland Transport of a lot of the entity’s power.
The changes will result in Auckland Council overseeing major decisions regarding transport, that will be split between the major, 20 councillors, and local boards.
As well as this, a new Auckland Regional Transport committee will be established, that will include councillors, government appointee’s, and an independent chair, to work on a 30-year transportation plan.
The bill is set to have its first reading next month, and is expected to pass into law by March next year.
For City Counselling this week, News and Editorial Director, Joel, spoke to Councillor Julie Fairey about this topic.
Recently, the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, RFK Jr, has cancelled over $500 million US dollars, roughly equating to $851 million New Zealand dollars, worth of federal funding for the mRNA vaccine.
News and Editorial Director Joel spoke to John Fraser, the former Dean of Faculty of Medical Sciences and current research professor in the Department of Molecular Medicine and Pathology at the University of Auckland, about this cancellation of funding, and the claims RFK Jr has made regarding the vaccine, which Fraser has described as ‘ill-informed nonsense’.
Earlier this week, Councillor Julie Fairey moved a resolution to investigate Auckland Council’s involvement with companies that are complicit in Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territory.
And this week, Auckland Council launched an AI virtual assistant to report issues such as graffiti, roaming dogs, and noise complaints.
For City Counselling, Wire Host Caeden spoke with Councillor Julie Fairey about both of these topics.
Last Friday, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown announced the signing of a new ‘City Deal’.
The deal will see closer partnership between the central government and Auckland Council, coordinating planning in areas such as infrastructure and transportation.
The deal will see a long-term partnership between the government and council, with regular meetings and cooperation on strategies for innovation and transportation, with reviews of sporting venues such as Eden Park and the Auckland Tennis Centre.
However, the deal has been critiqued by some as being a collection of promises without any new funding.
So for our weekly catch-up with the Green Party’s Ricardo Menéndez March, he and producer Theo discussed the signing of the Auckland City Deal, and how the Green Party would work with Auckland Council on issues such as transportation and infrastructure.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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