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.
New findings have shown that vaping has not lowered smoking habits in young people in Aotearoa.
The study, published in The Lancet, looked at the daily smoking rates of 14 to 15 year olds, from 1999 to 2023, and shows that the introduction of vaping and subsequent popularity of the smoking device has not helped in lower daily smoking rates in Aotearoa.
News and Editorial Director, Joel, spoke to the Chief Executive of the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation New Zealand, Letitia Harding, about this study, and how the organisation hopes the government will react to these findings.
They started off by asking if the findings in the study were surprising to her.
The free school lunch program has been in the headlines here in Aotearoa for several weeks after facing significant impacts to their quality and delivery following a complete restructure of the program led by associate education minister David Seymour.
Many schools have reported late deliveries of meals beyond the lunch period, plastic packaging melting into the food and one student even experiencing burns from the packaging that required medical attention.
This, of course, has the greatest impact on the more than 150,000 Tamariki living in severe poverty, who relied on programs like Ka Ora Ka Ako to receive daily meals.
In response, the Child poverty action group has made a call to senior government ministers and Finance Minister Nicola Willis to restore the funding that was cut from the school lunches program so that schools across the motu could receive meals from local community suppliers.
Oto spoke to Rich Greissman - Deputy Chair of the Child Poverty Action Group's Governing Committee, to discuss the group’s call and why it’s important for the government to ensure the provision of healthy school lunches to Tamariki.
For their weekly catchup with the Green Party, Oto spoke to Ricardo Menendez-March about the government's new replacement to the Resource Management Act, The Green's call for the compassionate release of Dean Wickliffe, and renewed calls for executive MP support of Chloe Swarbrick's members' bill to Sanction Israel
For this week’s Green Desk, producer Liam speaks to Brent Bielby, manager of EcoMatters’ Bike Hubs, a community project aimed at encouraging more people to take up cycling.
Oto spoke to Rich Greissman - Deputy Chair of the Child Poverty Action Group about their call to senior Government Ministers and finance Minister Nicola Willis to restore funding to Ka ora Ka Ako, the healthy school lunches programme.
And, for this week’s Get Action! Oto spoke to founding chair of Te Taiao o Kāwhia Moana - John Forbes about his group’s petition to remove vehicle access from vulnerable areas of the Kāwhia harbour.
For Dear Science this week, our expert, Professor Allan Blackman, chatted with us about seal blood oxygen levels, phrases boosting citations, and an Australian man importing plutonium.
In our weekly catchup with the National Party’s Tom Rutherford, I ask about Sam Uffindell’s new private members bill and Winston Peters’ war on woke.
They also speak to Senior lecturer at the University of Auckland, Dr. Charlotte Oyston, about a proposal to increase the maternity hospital stay period.
And producer Amani spoke with former NZ Herald editor Dr Gavin Ellis on why he believes a digital-only strategy could shatter the future of the NZ Herald, and how he feels about the recent board-overhaul
A new government proposal would see maternity hospital stay periods extended from 48 to 72 hours. The change would reduce stress on parents and allow more time to adjust with hospital support.
To discuss the change and other support for new parents, Wire host Castor spoke to senior lecturer at the University of Auckland, Dr. Charlotte Oyston, about this proposal to increase the maternity hospital stay period.
For our weekly catch up with Te Pāti Māori’s Takutai Kemp, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to her about the Winston Peters meeting with his US counterpart, Marco Rubio, the recent Ipsos Issues Monitor Survey findings, and the recent developments in Israel’s war on Gaza.
For our weekly catch up Producer Evie spoke to the ACT Party’s Simon Court about the ACT party entering candidates into local elections, ACT MP Mark Cameron criticising National’s approach to rural communities, as well as David Seymour failing to inform the Education Minister that a key school lunch provider was going into liquidation.
Evie also spoke to Geopolitical Analyst at the University of Otago, Geoffrey Miller about Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters recent trip to the US, and what outcomes this achieved for US New Zealand relations.
Joel spoke to the Political Marketing Expert from the University of Auckland Edward Elder about the most recent Ipsos Issues Monitor Survey, which recorded the government as having the lowest score since the survey started collecting data in mid-2017.
And Global Innovator, Matt Hart, joins us in studio today to discuss the new tv series ‘Adolescence’, and how this relates to creativity and innovation.
Last week Foreign Minister Winston Peters made a trip over to the US to meet with the new Trump administration.
On the trip, Peters carried out a number of meetings with officials such as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Peters has since revealed very little about what was discussed or achieved in these meetings, instead simply stating he was ‘very pleased’ and ‘more confident going out than coming in.’
The main questions ahead of the trip were around what effect Trump’s tariffs may have on Aotearoa, as well as what trade with the US will look like moving forward. However little has been revealed following the trip.
Producer Evie spoke to Geopolitical Analyst at the University of Otago Geoffrey Miller about the trip and what Aotearoa can expect to come out of it.
The most recent data from the Ipsos Issues Monitor Survey was released.
The survey looks at various factors, including government favorability, as well as what areas in Aotearoa are of the most concern for respondents.
The survey recorded data from just over 1000 individuals and shows that respondents gave the government a 4.2 out of 10; the lowest score the survey has recorded since collecting data in mid-2017.
News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to a political marketing expert from the University of Auckland, Edward Elder, about these findings.
They started off by asking him if these recent statistics are a surprise to him.
Global Innovator, Matt Hart, joins News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, and Producer Evie in studio to discuss the new TV series, 'Adolescence,' and how this series delves into toxic masculinity and incel culture.
World Vision has just released their annual Price Shocks Report for 2025, examining food price inflation around the world.
They found that while New-Zealand and other wealthier countries saw an improvement in food affordability, many poorer nations reported significantly worsened price to wage ratios.
While the report highlights a clear need for adequate funding for global humanitarian aid, in 2024 only 47% of required humanitarian food assistance was funded, leaving millions without support.
As conflict, climate change and other global crises exacerbate conditions in the worst-off regions, World Vision is calling for the New Zealand government, among other wealthy nations, to contribute more to assist populations suffering from food insecurity.
Producer Sara spoke with World Vision’s Head of Advocacy and Justice Rebekah Armstrong about this report and World Vision’s call to action for the government. Here is that interview.
Last week, fuel stocks in the country went down by three or four days across each fuel type. The government recognised this as not enough to change to phase two in the national fuel plan, drawing some concerned comments from the political opposition around the state of our stocks, and when the government plans to actually move up phases.
Following a week that saw both Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon comment on the state of the Strait of Hormuz, and the way the United States has handled the ongoing conflict, Willis also travelled to the US to meet with White House advisors.
This week, Host Alex spoke with National MP Ryan Hamilton about these fuel crisis developments, and what the government’s approach going forward may look like.
To start our discussion, however, we spoke briefly about the confidence in Christopher Luxon’s Leadership.
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 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.
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.
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.
95bFM 
