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.
The United Nations recently received permission from Israel for 100 more emergency aid trucks to enter Gaza, after International humanitarian experts warned of looming famine due to Israel’s renewed blockade of the strip since March.
On Monday this week, Israel cleared nine trucks of goods to enter Gaza, however, only five of those trucks actually entered Gaza and haven’t distributed their aid yet.
However, even if all nine of those trucks were to enter Gaza, that still wouldn’t be nearly enough to attend to the needs of the strip’s 2.1 million population, 47% of whom are children under the age of 18.
Oto spoke to Maher Nazzal from the Palestinian Forum of New Zealand about why the clearance of aid trucks into Gaza isn’t enough, and the additional steps that the New Zealand government could take to put pressure on Israel.
Disclaimer: As of the 21st of May, 2025, Israel claims that 93 trucks had entered into the Gaza Strip, however, aid is yet to be delivered.
Last week, UNICEF published their latest child wellbeing report, comparing childhood experiences, child poverty rates and mental wellbeing in OECD countries.
In the report, Aotearoa New Zealand was ranked 32 out of 36 OECD countries for child wellbeing and at the very bottom of this list for child mental health.
The report also showed that New Zealand had the highest suicide rate amongst rangatahi in the developed world and the second highest rate of children experiencing bullying.
Chief Children’s Commissioner Dr Claire Achmad, said that the findings in the report were unacceptable, that they were attributed to the ongoing issue of child poverty in New Zealand and called on the government to act immediately to combat child poverty and invest in mental health services for tamariki and rangatahi.
Wednesday Wire Host, Oto, spoke to Achmad about this.
This week it was announced that a visualisation tool was being developed, which would help young people with cancer who are undergoing radiotherapy.
The visualisation tool is being developed by Dr. Annie Jones, a Research fellow in the Department of Psychological Medicine at the University of Auckland. Dr. Jones said that “stress can affect the way our body responds to treatment”, and that “if we can reduce people’s anxiety, that should have positive benefits for their physical recovery as well.”
The visualisation will provide clear information for children, as well as their families and friends, about how radiotherapy works. While making it clear that it’s normal to feel worried and offering coping strategies.
To talk about this, Producer Max spoke with Dr. Annie Jones.
For our weekly catchup w/ the Green Party’s Ricardo Menendez-March, Oto spoke to him about the suspension of three Te Pati Maori MPs, The Waitangi Tribunal's recommendation to halt the regulatory standards bill and the impact of the social security amendment bill on beneficiaries.
He spoke to Dr Claire Achmad, Chief Children’s Commissioner about New Zealand ranking 32nd out of 36 countries for child wellbeing in UNICEF’s recent childwellbeing report.
And he spoke to Maher Nazzal from the Palestine Forum of New Zealand about how the recent clearance to bring aid trucks into Gaza won’t be enough to address the needs of affected Palestinians
Max spoke to Dr Annie Jones, a Research fellow in the Department of Psychological Medicine at the University of Auckland, to talk about a new visualisation tool that is being developed for children during cancer treatment.
And he spoke to Dr Denis Odlin, of the Management and International Business Department at the University of Auckland, about the potential for New Zealand to take advantage of the new space economy.
Is it time for New Zealand to shine in the space economy?
Dr. Denis Odlin, of the Management and International Business Department at the University of Auckland, as well as other co-authors, have published an analysis that looks into how the space race is being reshaped due to current ongoing geopolitical tensions.
They analyse how Aotearoa New Zealand has found itself in an ideal position to take advantage of the situation, because of its historically neutral position in the space economy.
To talk about New Zealand’s space history, the benefits of neutrality, and the current reshaping of the global space economy, Producer Max spoke with Dr. Denis Odlin.
Many experts believe that New Zealand should also be grabbing more opportunities to keep up with the rest of the world, and invest more in “deep tech."
Producer Faith spoke to Professor Frederique Vanholsbeeck from the University of Auckland’s physics department about deep and quantum technologies, and their benefits.
Social media use among young people has been the subject of recent conversation, sparked by National MP Catherine Wedd’s private members bill. While the bill hasn’t been drawn, the proposal to restrict social media from those under sixteen was met with criticism and support from other political parties.
Wire host Castor spoke to Professor Terryann Clark from the University of Auckland about how a social media ban might affect young people and address the issues they face around mental health.
For Dear Science, our expert, Professor Allan Blackman chats with us about personalised gene therapy treatment, using molecules to crack passcodes, and Olympic pool bombing.
In our weekly catchup with the National Party’s Tom Rutherford, Wire host Castor asked about Pay Equity in light of the government’s recent changes.
They also spoke to Professor Terryann Clark from the University of Auckland about social media use among young people.
Producer Faith spoke to the Dr Chanelle Duley, an economics lecturer at the university of Auckland, about how financial technology can be used for good, and what we need to be cautious of.
She also spoke to Professor Frederique Vanholsbeeck from the university’s physics department about deep tech, and how NZ can better utilise it.
We’ve all heard about NFTs, AI, crytpo, and all those buzzwords... but do we really know what financial technology is, and how prevalent it is in our daily lives?
Producer Faith spoke to Dr. Chanelle Duley from the University of Auckland about financial technology– or the “fintech” frontier.
Last week Finance minister Nicola Willis announced a $190 million social investment fund that will invest in at least 20 social service initiatives over the next year.
Three projects will receive initial funding: an Autism New Zealand programme providing early support to 50 families; an expansion of Emerge Aotearoa’s work with at-risk youth; and He Piringa Whare, a data-informed programme to support at-risk Māori.
Social Investment is a policy that has been seen from previous National governments, largely associated with former prime minister Bill English.
Under English, the policy involved using data to calculate which groups of people cost the government the most over a lifetime. Interventions aimed at reducing that cost are then targeted at those people.
However critics say this often leads to fiscal outcomes being valued over social outcomes, or profit over people.
This time around the government claims they’ll focus on social outcomes over financial ones - but the policy’s real effects are yet to be seen.
Producer Evie spoke to the University of Auckland’s Associate Professor in Environment Tom Baker about the fund, and how we can expect it to take effect this time around.
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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