The Wire with Jessica Hopkins

This week Zazi spoke to Brooke about the Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Bill and the Auckland cycle bridge. 

On the 30th of July, the Government announced The Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Bill, following through with Labour's election promise to ban gay conversion therapy. To begin with, Brooke spoke about the Party’s stance on this bill, why they have hesitations, and what they would like the next step to be in terms of developing the bill further.

In the second half, Zazi and Brooke talk about the Auckland cycle bridge, its Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR), and whether Brooke believes that catering to cyclists is important. 

This week on the Wednesday Wire Frances Wright has her regular Dear Science segment with Allan Blackman, they talk about a study that found dogs can tell when people are lying to them, a large meta-analysis that suggests a link between a vegetarian diet and depression, and the world's first 'green' synthesis of plastics from CO2. She also talks with Professor Pare Keiha, Dean of the Faculty of Maori and Indigenous Development at AUT about National's call for a referendum about calling New Zealand Aotearoa. 

Zazi Hewlett has her regular catch-up with ACT party's Brooke Van Velden, this week talking about the Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Bill and the Auckland cycle bridge. She also talks to the Group Editor at Freeman Media, Gavin Evans, about New Zealand's energy sources and the increase in coal imports. 

With the recent backlash towards Kiwi Olympic weightlifter Laurel Hubbard competing in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Joe speaks to Dr Jaimie Veale, an expert in transgender studies and public health, about the global reaction. They discuss whether the argument over transgender athletes competing in the Olympics has turned into a hateful sentiment towards transgender people. They also touch on how this impacts the wider LGBTQI+ community.

Today on the Wire, Joe Wickins speaks to University of Waikato Director of the Transgender Health Research Lab, Dr Jaimie Veale, about some of the issues surrounding the reaction to Laurel Hubbard's participation in the women's weightlifting event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. They go on to discuss how this impacts the wider LGBTQI+ community.

Jemima Huston reports on the Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Bill, which was introduced by the Government last week. 

Tomorrow’s World is back! This week Isla and Stella dive into the world of microplastics. Drawing on interviews with Dr Shinji Kihara from the School of Chemical Sciences at the University of Auckland, they discuss how nanoplastics affect human cellular function, and how prevalent they are in Aotearoa. 

Joe talks to Mental Performance Coach David Niethe, who works with elite athletes, about the issue of the mental wellbeing for athletes and how this impacts the young people. 

Jemima wraps it up with an interview with Stephen Stockwell, who is the station manager of community radio station 4ZZZ based in Brisbane Australia. They speak about how the stop-start lockdowns taking place in Australia, due to the Covid-19 Delta variant outbreak, are impacting the creative industries across the country.