The Wire with Caeden

This week on the Wednesday Wire, Aneeka kicks off speaking with the ACT Party’s Brooke van Velden on our weekly catch-up. This week they’re talking about the call for a referendum on co-governance

Frances then speaks with Associate Professor Erin Griffey from the University of Auckland about the Beautiful Chemistry Project - taking beauty recipes from Renaissance  Europe in art history and making them in the lab at the university 

Alex then speaks with Pauline Cleaver, the Associate Deputy Secretary from the Ministry of Education about the new history curriculum and then Frances speaks with Annie Newman, the Assistant National Secretary from E Tu about the introduction of the Fair Pay Agreements bill to Parliament yesterday. 

Finally we jump into this week’s EuroVision where Frances speaks with European correspondent Cameron Mulgan. This week talking further about Ukraine, Biden’s tour through Europe, some elections going on and some changes in the world of digital tech over there.

The Tuesday Wire kicks off with regular segment Dear Science. Today, host Christina spoke to AUT Professor Allan Blackman about helium shortages due to war in Ukraine, the surpsiingly valuable materials making up mercury’s crust, and why you might be to blame if you find everyone else boring.

She then spoke to Brooke Pao-Stanley from Fairer Futures, which has released new data that indicates recent benefit increases aren't enough, and people will remain locked in poverty.

With Ukraine-Russia news dominating the headlines, it's possible you've missed the latest news from the United States. Christina caught up with Dr Maria Armoudian, a senior politics lecturer from the University of Auckland, about recent happenings in US politics.

And finally, producer Trishil reported on the prevalence of Long Covid, as well as the research efforts going into understanding the condition, and the various clinical trials and treatment options for the condition.

Listen back!

In an effort to address the rising cost of living, the government has announced it will increase benefits to families on April 1. However, The Fairer Futures coalition has released new data that indicates these increases aren't enough, and people will remain locked in poverty. On the Wire, Christina spoke to Brooke Pao-Stanley from Fairer Futures about income inequality and what needs to be done.

Minimum wage is due to increase, but families are still struggling to afford the basic costs of living. COVID-19 has also made this struggle more difficult, with isolation rules causing families to stretch their incomes to new products and necessities. Charlie spoke with Green MP, Ricardo Menéndez March, about the potential of implementing a living wage for all New Zealand adult workers.