The Wire with Castor

Last week, courts in the United States found that Meta and YouTube were responsible for the childhood addiction and mental health issues of a woman known as ‘KGM’, awarding $6 million USD (or $10.4 million NZD) in damages. 

Meanwhile, in New Mexico, Meta was fined $375 million USD (or, $650 million NZD) for endangering children.

Internationally, countries are increasingly coming to reckon with the effects of social media. Australia, which last year banned under-16s from accessing social media, is pursuing further potential legal action against the social media giants, while debates around a similar ban in Aotearoa New Zealand continue to polarise. 

However, in the light of the harms posed by social media, a ban is not the only solution that has been proposed. To speak to us on some of these alternative approaches, Producer Theo was joined by Professor Terryann Clark, of the University of Auckland’s School of Nursing.

This week on the Tuesday Wire...

For Dear Science this week, our expert, Professor Allan Blackman speaks with us about going to the moon, graphene, and alchemy. 

For our weekly catchup with the National Party, Wire Host Alex spoke with Ryan Hamilton about the Government’s Surcharge ban, the new police amendment, and the continued fuel crisis.

For Green World, Wire Producer Liam spoke to James Russell, Professor of conservation biology at the University of Auckland, about updates to the Predator Free 2050 Strategy, including further funding to make Wellington a predator free city within the next ten years.

And Wire Producer Flo spoke to Chris Bullen, Professor of Public Health at the School of Population Health of the University of Auckland about his criticism’ of the recent RNZ investigation into illicit tobacco and his research-based rejection of the investigation’s findings in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Health Coalition Aotearoa and Healthy Families South Auckland have recently released a report looking at food security issues in South Auckland and actions which can be taken to improve access to affordable, nutritious food in these areas.

The report recommended multiple measures which could be taken such as expanding Ka Ora Ka Ako the Healthy School Lunches programme through a sugary drinks tax, giving communities a say in how many junk food outlets are in their neighbourhoods and allowing Auckland Council to better utilize  underused public land for kai initiatives.

Its main call to action, however, is to ensure solutions are community-led with a collaborative approach from local and central government, to guarantee those suffering are being put first in systematic fights against the industrial food complex and economic inequality.

To discuss the report and its findings producer Thomas spoke to Health Coalition Aotearoa CoChair and Professor of Population Nutrition and Global Health, Boyd Swinburn.

This week on the Monday Wire...

For our weekly catch-up with the ACT Party, News Director Castor spoke to MP Simon Court about the government’s fuel management plan. 

They also spoke to Professor of Climate Science and Physical Geography at Victoria University, James Renwick, about 2025 being one of the hottest years on record and what can be done about it from a policy perspective. 

And they spoke to Principal Science Advisor with the Department of Conservation, Drew Bingham, about how increasing temperatures impact conservation efforts. 

Producer Thomas spoke to Health Coalition Aotearoa CoChair and Professor of Population Nutrition and Global Health, Boyd Swinburn about a new South Auckland food security report and its findings.