Yesterday Golriz Ghahraman announced that she is joining the Green Party and hopes to become NZ’s first refugee MP. Ghahraman currently works as a human rights lawyer in the High Court, where she represents family members caring for their disabled relatives. Olivia Mortimer-Eade speaks with Golriz about her future in politics.
Spinal cord injuries are common in New Zealand, and 40% are a result motor vehicle accidents. They often have a major impact over the lives of those injured, which is why effective treatment is being sought by the international science community. A budding researcher at the forefront of this field from the University of Auckland, Jarred Griffin, is doing some interesting research into how gene therapy might treat such injuries. Ximena speaks to him about his findings.
Recently, there's been a prevelent rhetoric about the government's lack of support for the arts and creative industries. Producer Olivia Mortimer-Eade explored this topic and reports on the issue.
Check out the full show from Wednesday 18th January, where Ximena & Olivia take a look at youth homelessness, eco-friendly bullets, arts funding and more.
Why do people still collect vinyl records? Associate Professor Karen Fernandez from the University of Auckland has undertaken research into this to find out what drives people to continue to collect records in an age where streaming is the norm. Reporter Sam Smith spoke to Fernandez about her research.
Today in Glen Innes a protest will take place in support of Niki Rauti. She is a Tamaki Housing Association tenant who is facing eviction from her home which has been sold to developers. Tamaki Redevelopment Company are removing state housing in the area and building a mixture of social, affordable and private housing in their place. Her supporters say that evicting tenants and redeveloping the land is about making money. Reporter Sam Smith spoke to one of the protest organisers Lisa.
2016 was a big year for celebrity deaths. The amount of famous people passing was seemingly bigger than normal, while the scale of public mourning online was more extensive than ever. But what drives people to mourn celebrities on social media? And has social media changed how we respond to the deaths of famous people? Rebecca Kern is a lecturer and researcher in media studies at Manhattan College in New York and has studied the phenomenon that is the collective mourning of celebrities. Reporter Sam Smith spoke to her about social media, death and celebrities.
A recent New Zealand Medical Record article looks into suicide rates in New Zealand, focusing on age and cultural patterns. The results showed that Maori suicide rates are at a record high, being 1.6 times that of non-Maori. Wire producer Jess Smith spoke to John Snowdon, an old age psychiatrist and the author of the article, about the results and some of the reasons for them.
Around 3000 junior doctors have begun their three day strike today in support of safer working hours and conditions. Currently, junior doctors are expected to work for seven nights in a row, and up to 12 day shifts in a row. They say this putting the lives of patients at risks and are demanding changes be made. bFM reporter John-Michael Swannix filed this report.