The Wire with Castor

Health outcome gaps for Māori and Pasifika suffering from cardiovascular conditions have been apparent for quite some time.
In order to address this ongoing problem, a group of researchers involved in Manawataki Fatu Fatu for ACCESS conducted a qualitative study, where they interviewed Māori and Pasifika patients in cardiovascular care to uncover the causes behind these health gaps, as well as potential solutions. 

To discuss the study and its findings, Oto spoke to Senior Research fellow Karen Brewer from the University of Auckland, of Whakatōhea and Ngaiterangi descent, who conducted the study and had some insights to offer on Māori and Pasifika cardiovascular health gaps.

An urgent open letter has called on the Minister of Justice, the Honourable Paul Goldsmith, to amend the Crimes act to include the act of stalking. 

Producer Ezra spoke to co-director of the New Zealand Centre for Human Rights Law Practice and Policy at the University of Auckland, Carrie Leonetti, about why criminalising stalking will help prevent innocent people from living in fear.

For Dear Science this week, Professor Allan Blackman chatted to us about reconstructing the genomes of extinct moa, a protein folding prediction programme, and a discovery forcing us to rewrite chemistry textbooks. 

Wire host Castor spoke to the National Party’s Katie Nimon about the Waikeria prison development and funding for corrections in advance of this week’s budget announcements. 

He also spoke to People Against Prisons’ Emmy Rākete about these developments and the government’s approach to crime more broadly. 

Producer Sofia spoke to Associate Professor of Medical Psychological Medicine at the University of Auckland, David Menkes, about concerns over direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription medicine in Aotearoa. 

And Producer Ezra spoke to co-director of the New Zealand Centre for Human Rights Law Practice and Policy at the University of Auckland, Carrie Leonetti, about how Aotearoa needs to criminalise stalking.

Recently, a University of Canterbury study, ‘investigating the spatial and temporal variation of vape retailer provision in New Zealand: A cross-sectional and nationwide study,’ published in the peer-reviewed journal, Social Science and Medicine, shows that most vape retailers reside in the country’s most deprived areas.

News and Editorial Director, Joel, spoke to Senior Lecturer in Public Health at the University of Canterbury, and head of the study, Matthew Hobbs, about the findings of this study, and what this means for these communities.