Is "one man's terrorist another man's freedom fighter"? Scholars debate the phrase, but it has played out in real time, as democracy activists have been executed by the state in Myanmar, accused of conspiring to commit terror acts. Stella spoke to Dr Wendy Choo, (a teaching fellow at the University of Auckland in the school of education) on the events in Myanmar. She holds a masters in international relations and her research interests include Myanmar.
On today's episode of Strangest Things- Is the Loch Ness Monster plausible?
Historically, sceptics say no - the most similar being to the cryptid is the plesiosaur dinosaur who has never been found in freshwater circumstances like Loch Ness.
That was, until a group of British scientists discovered plesiosaur fossils in a moroccan river system.
Are any doubts of the Loch Ness Monster's existence now thwarted? Probably not, but Liam spoke to David Martill from the University of Portsmouth anyway.
Russia's foreign ministry has slapped New Zealand journalists, officials and an academic with sanctions for supporting what it called the country's "Russophobic agenda." Thirty two individuals have been added to their no fly list, bumping the total to 153.
The sole academic that got slapped with sanctions, was Politics and International Relations Professor Stephen Hoadley. Trishil spoke with Professor Stephen Hoadley on the matter, wanting to gain his perspective on the ban.
A new inquiry has recently been opened by the Transport and Infrastructure Committee, asking for submissions on how to improve inter-regional rail in Aotearoa.
The committee is particularly trying to understand how best to implement sustainable practices, and how to revitalise trains between big cities.
This comes after months of campaigning by Save our Trains, an organisation set up after minter-regional rail was minimised and plans to shift the trains to tourist transporters.
To understand what the new inquiry means, Liam spoke to Paul Callister from Save our Trains.
Earlier this week saw a march in the Octagon of Otepoti Dunedin, advocating for the safety of the Crown Hotel
The music venue has been at risk due to plans for a housing developer to build a new residential area nearby, banning the Crown Hotel from making the noise it needs to.
To learn more, Liam spoke to bFM’s own Taylor McGregor, also from Save Our Venues, about the venue and the issues of the new development.
The National Party has been claiming that the workforce shortages New Zealand is seeing is a result of mismanaged immigration policy.
This week, to address the workforce shortages, the government announced that skilled migrant workers will be able to be payed under the median wage, as well as a doubling of the working holiday scheme cap and an extension to currently held working holiday visas.
For Casper's weekly catchup with National MP Dr. Shane Reti, he asked him to explain what he thinks needs to happen regarding immigration policy, as well as how he views this latest announcement.
The industry of EV’s has been steadily rising over the past few years, with the amount of car sales that were electric last year reaching 12.5 percent.
Plus, earlier this year millions of dollars in the 2022 budget were allocated to funding the rise of EV’s in New Zealand as a part of the Climate Emergency Response Fund.
To learn more, Liam had a chat with Steve Greenwood from Drive EV about the current state of electric vehicles throughout Aotearoa.
Joe spoke to Alex James from University of Canterbury about their new research into gender pay equity within universities, and how it explores interventions that will improve the representation of women at higher levels of academia.
This week’s Wire shows will contain a series of interviews with Auckland’s mayoral candidates, which bFM has been putting together to provide our listeners with relevant information on the candidates and their policies. Today, Casper speaks to Auckland Mayoral Candidate Viv Beck.
Our regular fortnightly segment with OurActionStation is back! Trishil speaks to Protect Putiki about their recent petition calling for the Auckland Council to instigate a review of the resource consent for the marina at Putiki Bay.
Joe also speaks to Andreea Calude, a Senior Lecturer in Linguistics at University of Waikato about the Plain Language Bill and why it’s important.
This weeeeeeeeek is a more laidback show and I play some of the new releases I have been listening to this week. Thanks again to the Tuning Fork for bringing us Morning Glory every weekday - legends!
Yesterday the government announced the scrapping of the traffic light covid-19 protection framework, as well as the easing of many key restrictions.
Mask wearing will now no longer be required outside of healthcare settings, household contacts don’t need to isolate and all vaccine mandates will cease at the end of the month.
In the same announcement the government dedicated a one-off public holiday to honour the passing of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
For Casper's regular interview with National MP Dr Shane Reti they spoke about this announcement and how it has been received by the National party.
Casper started off by asking him how he felt about the announced changes and whether there is anything he would have done differently.
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