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.
One week from today, President elect Donald Trump’s inauguration will take place, marking his second term as president.
Between election day in November and now, much has occurred. Most recently Trump was granted an unconditional discharge in his highly publicised hush money trial - avoiding penalty, jail time or a fine - but he will still become the first president with a felony conviction.
He’s also become increasingly strong on claims that the USA will buy Greenland as a territory, and aim to make Canada its 52nd state. Although the claims may seem outrageous - Trump is also demanding that Panama cede control of the Panama Canal back to the US.
With such brazen claims and events - Producer Evie spoke to Director of Global Studies at the University of Auckland, Chris Ogden about what Trump’s upcoming term may look like and what impact these events may have.
News and Editorial Director, and Monday Wire Host, Joel, speaks to Principal Scientist at GNS Science, Dr Nick Cradock-Henry, about NIWA’s annual climate summary, showing that 2024 was the 10th warmest year on record in Aotearoa.
They also speak to the Co-Director and Senior Research Fellow for the Centre of Pacific & Global Health at the University of Auckland, Dr Roannie Ng Shiu, about a report she was involved in in December, showing that vulnerable Pacific nations will be facing a multitude of devastating consequences due to the climate crisis.
Producer Evie speaks to the Director of Global Studies at the University of Auckland, Chris Ogden, about what we can expect from Donald Trump’s inauguration, one week out from him taking office.
She also speaks to Climate Justice Taranaki’s Catherine Cheung about the government’s controversial Regulatory Standards Bill.
And finally, Global Innovator, Matt Hart, joins us in studio to discuss the concept of new year resolutions.
NIWA has recently released their annual climate summary for 2024, which shows that last year was New Zealand’s tenth warmest year on record.
Of the top ten warmest years on record, eight of these have occurred in the past twelve years.
The report shows that these rising temperatures, which are in line with global trends, are largely due to climate change caused by humans.
As well as this, this comes as Copernicus, ECMWF, and NASA are expected to release their annual climate summary, which is expected to show that 2024 was the Earth’s warmest year on record.
News and Editorial Director, and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to Principal Scientist at GNS Science, Dr Nick Cradock-Henry, about this report, and what this report means for 2025.
They started off by asking him about the rapidness in temperatures seen in the report in prior years.
Last month, the inaugural Lancet Countdown Indicator Report was released, showing that small island nations are facing escalating health risks associated with the implications of the climate crisis.
The report shows a multitude of health risks associated with the effects of the climate crisis, such as an increase in disease risks, displacing communities, and devastating the livelihoods of those living in these regions.
News and Editorial Director, and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to the Co-Director and Senior Research Fellow for the Centre of Pacific & Global Health at the University of Auckland, Dr Roannie Ng Shiu, who led the report's of health, hazards, and impacts, about what this will mean heading forward, and whether larger nations, such as New Zealand, are doing enough to mitigate these concerns.
They started off by asking her about what health risks we can expect.
Global Innovator, Matt Hart, joins News and Editorial Director, and Monday Wire Host, Joel, and Producer Evie in studio to discuss new years resolutions, as we begin 2025!
On this week's Thursday Wire, we reflect on our favourite interviews from 2024 as we wrap up our reporting for the year.
In May,Wire Host Caeden spoke to Yale University student Andre Fa’aoso and University of Auckland student Layan Khalil about the pro-Palestine protests that swept across United States college campuses and then the world. The protests were part of the movement to divest from Israel due to their ongoing war on Gaza.
And in November,Tuesday Wire host Castor and Caeden went down to Te Whanganui-a-Tara to speak to Hīkoi Mō Te Tiriti protestors who were arriving at Parliament to protest against the Treaty Principles Bill.
As part of Caeden and Castor’s coverage, producer Sofia spoke to renowned Māori activist Tāme Iti in November about the hīkoi.
In April,Sofia spoke toAssociate Professor at the University of Auckland Faculty of Law, Carrie Leonetti, about calls to criminalise stalking.
And in July, she spoke to the Research Director at the Disinformation Project, Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa, about the Employment Court’s judgement on Associate Professor Siouxsie Wiles’ case against the University of Auckland.
For the Best of the Wire today, Oto and Sasha reflected on their favourite interviews over the past year as the bFM news team heads into the holiday period.
In April this year, Oto did an on the ground interview with Students for Fair Rent Chairman - Matthew Lee and Green Party Co-Leader - Chloe Swarbrick at a protest held by Students for Fair Rent calling for a rent strike and end to the cost of living crisis at the University of Auckland's halls of residence.
A month later, Oto spoke to organisers and attendees at another protest held by Students for Justice in Palestine - Auckland, around the time that Palestinian solidarity encampments were being held at universities across the globe.
In July, Oto spoke with Professor Emmy Rākete from the Department of Social Sciences at the University of Auckland to discuss the findings of the Abuse in Care Inquiry and how abuse in state and faith-based institutions lead to a prison pipeline that disproportionately affected Māori.
And, in his funniest and most light-hearted Interview, Oto spoke to comedian and professor in the department of chemical sciences at the University of Auckland - Dr Joel Rindelaub, to discuss the impacts of microplastics on the human brain and body.
In October, Sasha had a chat with Doctor Alex Beattie - a lecturer in Media and Communication at Victoria University of Wellington, to discuss why New Zealanders are becoming more distrustful of the media and why the younger generation is becoming more apathetic.
And, in September, Sasha talked to Associate Professor Laszlo Sajtos at the University of Auckland Business School about the trial usage of facial recognition technology by Foodstuffs in their North Island outlets.
On this week's Monday Wire, we reflect on our favourite interviews from 2024, as we wrap up our reporting for the year.
In August, for her weekly catch up with the ACT Party's Simon Court, Producer Evie spoke to him about the proposed repeal of Section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act on the same day Aotearoa’s largest iwi, Ngāpuhi, was on a hikoi in opposition to the proposal. You can listen back to this interview here.
A week prior to this, Evie also spoke to Emmy Rakete, a lecturer at the University of Auckland who is Ngāpuhi herself, about the hikoi and her thoughts on the proposed repeal. You can listen back to this interview here.
In October, News and Editorial Director, and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to Professor in the Faculty of Law at the Auckland University of Technology (AUT), Paul Myburgh, about the legislative implications of the Inquiry into the sinking of the HMNZS Manawanui, as well as Lecturer in the Department of Marine Science at the University of Otago, Dr Bridie Allan, about what environmental implications we were seeing due to the oil spillage. You can listen back to these interviewshere.
And in November, Producer Yesenia spoke to E Tū Union's Savage Director of Organisations at E Tū about the core messages workers have for the ministry of Health and where the Work and Safety Act of 2015 could be improved to reflect workers vitality. You can listen to this interview here.
This week on the Tuesday Wire is a special 'Best of the Wire' segment...
For Dear Science this week, our expert Doctor Cushla McGoverin chatted with us about worms eating face masks, spray on tattoos, and neanderthal-human interbreeding. Afterward, we ran back some clips from some of the best Dear Science segments this year.
We also ran back some of the best Tuesday Wire interviews today, including…
Wire host Castor spoke with Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Information and Technology at Monash University in Melbourne, Jathan Sadowski, about the use and development of Artificial Intelligence.
They also spoke with President of the New Zealand Police Association Chris Cahill about the organisation’s open letter to the government regarding their involvement with firearms legislation reform.
And they spoke with Professor at the University of Auckland, James Russell to talk about the costs and methods of pest eradication in Aotearoa.
Producer Athena spoke with Professor at the University of Auckland, Ngaire Kerse, about the loneliness epidemic among older people.
Despite a tenuous ceasefire, the fuel crisis - resulting from the US and Israel bombing of Iran, and subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz - drags on. Prices have remained high, hitting low-income households hard, and while fuel stocks in or on-the-way to the country sit comfortably above a month’s cover, approaches to conserving fuel remain front-of-mind for many.
One strategy that New Zealanders have been urged to adopt is switching to public transport, which would put fewer cars on the road. However, access is often dependent on location and affordability.
Over the past few years, the Ministry of Education has reviewed numerous rural school bus routes, cancelling some, cutting off students from ready access to their education.
For this week’s Get Action, producer Theo spoke to Alicia Hall from Parents for Climate Aotearoa, on their petition to restore rural school bus routes and make public transport free for children, and students under 25.
If you'd like to sign this petition, you can find it here.
Last week, the Green Party leaders, Marama Davidson and Chloe Swarbrick, hosted their state of the planet address, where they launched their call to electrify the nation.
On top of that, events this week have led the party to criticise the government. The first critique, instigated by the floods that swept the nation, hitting the Coromandel and causing a state of emergency in the Wellington Region, led the Greens to question the government's decreased funding of flood responses as harsh weather increases.
The second critique came with a cabinet paper this week that shows the government is planning on moving ahead with reforms to legislation that will see references to the Treaty of Waitangi and Te Tiriti o Waitangi redefined, in what the government sez is about ‘standardisation’ but what the Green Party sees as dishonouring Te Tiriti.
So for our weekly catch-up with the Green Party’s Ricardo Menéndez March, we discuss their criticisms of the government but start with a discussion of their electrification policy.
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.
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