Just last week, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister - Judith Collins, announced that the government would be slashing funding to humanities and social sciences programmes funded under the Marsden Fund.
Collins said that Marsden funding needed to be redirected to natural science fields, such as physics, mathematics and biology, which she said had more "tangible" impacts on the economy.
However, the move has been criticised by academics from both humanities and social sciences background, who've highlighted the importance of social science in highlighting societal inequities and called the funding cuts "ideologically-driven".
Oto spoke to Nicola Gaston from the Department of Physics at the University of Auckland for her perspective on the cuts to humanities and social science programs in the Marsden fund as a professor in a natural science field.
Kāhui Ako is a government programme providing funding to teachers and schools identified by the government as having greater educational quality. Recent government leaks have revealed that the programme may be cut.
While the programme did provide funding for the education sector, its implementation was inconsistent.
To discuss the programme, why it's being cut, and what the government could do for education, Wire host Castor spoke to Deputy Dean in the Faculty of Arts and Education at the University of Auckland, Camilla Highfield.
Hunter Keane talks to Connan Mockasin about the ins and outs of his most recent collaboration with Sam Dust (Late of The Pier, LA Priest) called 'Soft Hair'.
Labour's Andrew Little is back for our weekly chat. This week, Jogai discusses concerns highlighted in the People's Mental Health Report and Labour's plans to prevent tens of thousands of immigrants coming into the country.
We look at new research from Unitec showing significant numbers of students are considering dropping out because of financial struggles. Including interviews with Alison Dow, Manager of Student Engagement and Experience at Unitec, NZUSA President Jonathon Gee, AUSA President Will Matthews and students from Auckland University.
This week, the third of our special NZ Music Month series, Sam takes a look at the debut album from indie rock band Cut Off Your Hands "You & I." Released in 2008, this album is considered a late-00s indie classic with flowing melodies and jangle guitar lines.
Courses in the Universities School of Social Sciences have been revealed, with 250 courses from within the school approximated by a Senior lecturer within the faculty of arts. Laura Kvigstad, investigates on the claim speaking with both Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Robert Greenberg and Sociology Lecturer, Bruce Cohen on the changes. She gets both the perspective from management and the staff on the changes, hearing why it is happening but also what the potential ramifications are for the deletions.
Ōtautahi based game development studio Fnife Games has recently put their queer narrative indie game demo, Small Town Emo, onto Steam, after it’s release earlier on this year.
The demo goes through a nostalgic day in the life of a queer teenager in small town Aotearoa, aiming to recall the memories of the late 2000’s through the style of a Nintendo Game Boy.
Liam had a chat with Thomas Barrer, the main developer, artist, and writer behind the game, about its production and eventual release. This is the extended cut, where we also talk about Fnife Games' other projects and other stuff.
For their weekly interview, News and Editorial Director, Jessica Hopkins, spoke to ACT’s Simon Court about the government’s new measures aimed at reducing youth vaping, significant cuts to the Ministries for Primary Industries and Health as directed by the government, and calls from more than 30 organisations, including World Vision, Save the Children, and Greenpeace, for the government to create a special humanitarian visa for Palestinians in Gaza with family connections to New Zealand.
The Government is reintroducing the Three Strike laws which were repealed by Labour during their last term. These laws set out mandatory, lengthy sentences for some repeat offenders.
The laws have been controversial, with experts stating that there is no evidence that they work in preventing serious crime.
The Government has also announced a reduction in support to community food providers. Auckland City Mission has stated they may need to cut their food packages by half.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden asks Labour Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni about both of these topics.
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