Over the last few months, concerns have been raised over the hosting of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States. Particularly, concerns over human rights in the country, VISA worries, and accusations of sportswashing have been increasingly levied towards the country.
The relative lack of coverage of these concerns, comparatively to concerns over the previous tournament in Qatar, or those in the future in countries like Saudi Arabia, complicate the history that Football and FIFA have with questionable regimes and funding. Despite Trump Administration policies that seem to threaten the tournament, there continues to be a lack of noise around whether or not the three host countries should be reduced to two, removing the US.
Monday Wire Producer Alex spoke to a Doctoral Candidate in the Faculty of Arts and Education at the University of Auckland, Luke Bird, about this Sportwashing, its background, and why the US and countries like Qatar are treated differently.
In an article on Newsroom, John Morgan, Head of the School Critical Studies and Education at the University of Auckland, discusses his belief that we are seeing a collapse in the country’s curriculum accord.
This comes as the government has announced a plethora of changes to the country’s curriculum heading forward.
News and Editorial Director Joel spoke to Morgan about the history of the curriculum accords in the country and why we are seeing changes in this space.
This week Marcus discusses with James everyting from space exploration to natural disasters.
Marcus starts off by telling us about the latest space missions to be announced, which will be heading to explore Venus. With the conditions far harsher than Mars, different challenges are at the forefront.
Next, Marcus explains a dilemma occuring between experts around COVID-19 variants, children, and whether thry need to be vaccinated straight away. Differing opinions mean some say children are not at risk, while others say they are holding grounds for new variants to grow.
To finish everything up, Marcus talks about a landslide which pccured in India at the start of the year and some of the statistics around the slide.
Last week, Daniel Ortega won his fourth consecutive election for Nicaragua's presidency. However, the election was marred by controversy, as eighty percent of eligible voters abstained, while seven of Ortega's opponents were arrested before voting began.
Louis spoke to the University of California, Santa Barbara's Kai Thaler about the election, Nicaragua's slide towards dictatorship, and what action he was expecting pro-democracy, western powers to take.
It's Renee's turn on the Gang of Four.
The Kiwi Classic Throwback is a tribute to Roy Phillips of The Peddlers - originally from the UK, but he made Aotearoa NZ his home. And boy can he play the Hammond organ!
There are also a couple of classic Kirikiriroa Hamilton songs in the mix ahead of Contact FM's reunion party next Saturday May 3rd (for more info go to Contact Will Always Be Your Friend on Facebook).
You'll also hear new recent tunes from Ocean Beach, The Bemsha Swing and Please Give Blood.
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