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.
Wire host Caeden speaks to Labour’s Willow-Jean Prime about the beginning of boot camps for youth offenders at the end of this month and funding cuts at Oranga Tamariki.
They speak to Dr Simone Watkins from the University of Auckland about the importance of equitable approaches for Māori, Pacific, and Indian communities in our health system.
And they speak to the University of Auckland’s Liz Beddoe about the state of reproductive justice in the United States two years on from the overturning of Roe v Wade.
For City Counselling this week, Producer Sofia speaks to Councillor Julie Fairey about flood prevention work in Māngere and Muriwai as well as increasing public safety in Auckland’s CBD.
Tuesday Wire host Castor spoke to Professor of business at the University of Auckland, Alex Sims, about the history and impact of planned obsolescence.
A recent report by the UK medical journal - The Lancet, estimated that the actual number of casualties in the Gaza strip is above 186,000. This number was estimated based on the percentage of infrastructure in Gaza destroyed by Israeli missiles, as well as the impacts of famine and communicable disease caused by Israel’s war on the Gaza strip.
Oto spoke to John Minto from Palestinian Solidarity Network Aotearoa to discuss the figures published in the Lancet and what it means for the war in Gaza.
They also spoke about New Zealand’s involvement in RIMPAC, as well as Christopher Luxon’s increased support to Ukraine.
Last week, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts outlined the government's latest climate strategy; a three-page document narrowing the government’s pathway to reducing emissions and decarbonising our industries into five core strategic pillars.
For their weekly catch-up, Oto spoke to Green Party MP Ricardo Menéndez-March to discuss the climate strategy, and went through the plan by addressing each of the strategy's core pillars.
For their regular catch-up, Oto spoke to the Green Party’s Ricardo Menéndez March about the new climate strategy announced by Climate Change Minister Simon Watts.
He spoke to John Minto from Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa about the updated death toll in Gaza published by UK Medical Journal - The Lancet, as well as New Zealand’s participation in RIMPAC and the government’s increased support for Ukraine.
For this week’s Get Action! He spoke to Ayah Kayed from Students for Justice in Palestine Pōneke to talk about a petition calling for Victoria University of Wellington to divest from the state of Israel.
And he spoke to Professor Emeritus Ralph Cooney from the University of Auckland about advancements in solar and wind power and the contribution to our net zero emissions goals.
Sasha spoke to Professor Emeritus Ralph Cooney from the University of Auckland about advancements in solar and wind power and it's contribution to our net zero emissions goals.
Along with wind energy and electric vehicles, the growth of solar power is expected to have one of the largest contributions to reducing global carbon emissions.
According to statistics from Climate Analytics, 2024 is likely to be the year that carbon dioxide emissions peak and start to fall, in part thanks to innovations that have allowed the growth of renewable energy sources.
Sasha spoke to Professor Emeritus Ralph Cooney in the department of chemical sciences at the university of Auckland to discuss the evolution of solar power and its contribution to reducing global emissions.
The government recently announced its climate strategy for 2024, including five pillars in the different areas they plan to focus on. This government has been criticised previously for its inaction or ignorance of climate issues, particularly through policies such as agriculture’s removal from the Emissions Trading Scheme, the scrapped clean car discount, and the Fast Track Approvals Bill.
In our weekly catchup with the National Party, Wire Host Castor spoke to MP Tom Rutherford about the government’s new Climate Strategy for 2024, particularly its focus on businesses.
For Dear Science this week, we chatted to Doctor Cushla McGoverin about giving an old antibiotic a makeover, frozen woolly mammoth DNA, and a mummified crocodile’s final snack .
In our weekly catchup with the National Party, Wire host Castor spoke to MP Tom Rutherford about the government’s climate strategy 2024.
He also spoke to Senior history lecturer at the University of Auckland Paul Taillon, about the attempted assassination of former President and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, and its potential social impacts.
And he spoke Sarah Bickerton from the University of Auckland about risks of using generative AI in education.
Artificial intelligence and generative AI have seen a major uptick in usage over the past two years, with impacts across society. Of particular note is the impact on education, with students using artificial intelligence to brainstorm, write, or edit their assignments.
Wire host Castor spoke to the Doctor Sarah Bickerton from the University of Auckland about issues with generative AI in education and what educators can do about it.
This weekend during a rally in Philadelphia, former president of the United States, Donald Trump, was injured in an attempted assassination. This morning, Trump was confirmed as the Republican party’s presidential nominee in this year’s US Presidential election.
In recent years, the United States has seen extreme levels of political polarisation, leading to increased tensions and activism across the political spectrum. Wire host Castor spoke to senior history lecturer at the University of Auckland, Paul Taillon, about what kind of impact the assassination attempt could have both on society and in the United States historical context.
The government recently announced a reversal on the oil and gas exploration ban, which was put in place by the Labour government in 2018.
This has been met with concerns around the increased emissions that will be caused by this exploration. Many environmental groups have stressed that the government will have to offset these emissions to meet Aotearoa’s targets.
I spoke to Associate Professor in Civil and Natural Resources Engineering, David Dempsey about the history of the ban, the environmental implications of it being reversed and what sustainable alternatives Aotearoa can use to gather energy instead.
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.
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.
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.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon recently spoke to media saying that the government would announce reforms to the Holidays Act that would impact sick leave entitlements for part time workers.
Under the suggested changes, sick leave entitlements would be processed under an accrual system, meaning that part-time workers working half the hours of their full-time counterparts may only earn half of their previously entitled sick leave.
In that same week, a directive was recently given to Te Whatu Ora - Health NZ to give private hospitals 10-year outsourcing contracts to perform elective surgeries.
And earlier this week Associate Education David Seymour announced a review of the funding for early childhood education.
For our weekly Catchup with the Green Party, Oto spoke to MP Ricardo Menendez-March about all of these issues.
Last week, Tourism and Hospitality Minister Louise Upston announced plans to double the tourism value by 2034, with increased funding to support the country in reaching this goal. The funding is primarily targeted at increasing the marketing of New Zealand tourism overseas, which has been met with mixed reactions from tourism operators in Aotearoa, many of whom have been struggling with existing tourist numbers.
Also this past week, the New Zealand government imposed sanctions on two Israeli ministers for ‘inciting extremist violence’ against Palestinians. While the move has received cross-party support, opposition parties such as the Greens and Te Pāti Māori have criticised the government for not taking further action against Israel.
In our weekly catchup with National's Tom Rutherford, Wire host Castor asked about each of these issues, beginning with the new tourism funding.
This week on Dear Science our expert, Professor Allan Blackman, chatted with us about characterising liquid carbon, a New Zealand led cleanup in Antarctica, and plants making their own pesticide.
The ACT Party has recently announced that candidates standing in local elections, if elected, will oppose attempts to mitigate emissions at a local level.
ACT Local Government spokesperson, Cameron Luxton, says council’s should “focus on what they can control,” and not “costly symbolic declarations”.
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.
We also discussed the government’s sanctions on Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
New Zealand has joined countries such as the UK, Australia, Canada, and Norway, in banning Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich over allegedly “inciting extremist violence" against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and “undermin[ing] peace” for a two-state solution.
Finally, we discussed changes being made to the proposed anti-stalking laws.
But first, we discussed ACT candidates opposing attempts to mitigate emissions at a local level.
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