The Wire with Joel

Crescent Under The Southern Cross is a short documentary that tells the story of four muslim men who fought in the Australian Defence Forces in World War Two. Dr Simon Wilmot directed and produced the documentary and in this two part interview he talks in depth about how these men ended up in Australia, the immigration policies that they faced at the time, the role they played in the war, as well as why it is important to tell their stories. In part one Dr. Wilmot discusses how these men arrived in Australia, how they ended up in the Defence Forces, and the important missions they were involved in. 

Tune in next week for part two where he talks about how these men were received when they arrived back in Australia after the war, as well as the implications of the white Australia immigration policy that was in force at the time, and why this story is an important part of Australian history.

It has been reported that millions of dollars has been spent in Otago to control populations of wallabies, but some critics are saying that money is being spent with little results. Associate Professor Margaret Stanley from the University of Auckland disagrees that this is wasted money, and highlights the importance of controlling wallaby populations. Simon began by asking Margaret why complaints towards the money spent are misguided.

If you have been exposed to negative news about vaccine side-effects, you are more likely to be affected by them. This is known as the nocebo effect. 

Dr Kate MacKrill, health psychologist at the Department of Psychological Medicine at the University of Auckland, has been studying the nocebo effect in context of Covid-19 vaccinations and has made some startling discoveries. 

Her research shows people are markedly more likely to receive negative side effects from vaccines after seeing bad things about them in the media. 

Arno started the interview by asking what the nocebo effect is.

The bus driver shortage has seen around 1000 buses cancelled per day. Alex Bonham talks to transport campaigner Matt Lowrie of Greater Auckland blog on the impact of delays and cancellations on Aucklanders and what can be done to improve wages and safety for bus drivers.