Listen back to features and interviews from 95bFM's daily news and current affairs show. Jessica Hopkins, Castor Chacko, Nicholas Lindstrom, and Caeden Tipler focus on the issues of Tāmaki Makaurau and elsewhere in independent-thinking bFM style. Monday-Thursday 12-1pm on 95bFM.
The flu vaccine will no longer be free for children under 12 or Māori and Pacific people aged 55 to 64.
News and Editorial Director, Jessica Hopkins, spoke to Associate Professor in Hauora Māori at the University of Otago, Dr Esther Willing, about the impact this will have on the health of our communities, particularly children, Māori, and Pasifika.
She started the interview by asking Willing what her reaction is to this change in eligibility.
A recent study by the University of Auckland has found micro-influencers play a greater role in spreading information during crises than their larger counterparts.
I spoke to Business School Researcher at the University of Auckland, Shohil Kishore, about the implications of his research for government agencies, policy makers and social media platforms.
Producer Ezra spoke to Business School Researcher, Shohil Kishore, from the University of Auckland about his recent study on the impact of micro-influencers during crises.
News and Editorial Director, Jessica Hopkins, spoke to Senior Lecturer in Bioethics at the University of Otago, Dr Elizabeth Fenton, about the government removing free flu vaccines for children under 12 and Māori and Pacific People aged 55-64
And co-founder of New Zealand NGO Reemi, an organisation which works to alleviate period poverty, discussed supplying reusable period underwear to people in Gaza.
Nicholas spoke to Green Party MP Ricardo Menéndez March about Winston Peter’s speech at the UN General Assembly as well as public sector job cuts
He also spoke to Professor Rita Krishnamurthi about new research into the prevalence of dementia in Aotearoa
And he spoke to Dr Kelly Garton of Health Coalition Aotearoa about associate health minister David Seymour using outdated advice to justify defunding school lunch programs
For GetAction! Sofia spoke to Abdul Safi about a petition to place sanctions on Israel
Oto spoke to Dr Thomas Gregory from the University of Auckland, to talk about the use of A.I in military conflicts
Kiwis battling the deadliest form of breast cancer, are a step closer to gaining access to life-saving treatment. There are currently no funded treatment options for triple-negative breast cancer, but hope is on the horizon with Pharmac recommending funding for drug, Keytruda. Producer Jasmine Gray spoke to Breast Cancer Foundation Chief Executive, Ah-Leen Rayner, about the path to rollout for patients in Aotearoa.
Producer Jasmine Gray spoke to OutLine’s volunteer coordinator, Jenn Tamati, about their perspective on how Aotearoa’s rainbow communities are feeling a week on from the vandalism of Karangahape Road's rainbow crossing, one of the most recent acts in increasingly visible hate crimes against our LGBTQIA+ whānau in Aotearoa.
Associate Education Minister, David Seymour, has announced the creation of an establishment board to re-open Charter Schools by 2025.
The government is also set to announce plans to increase school attendance, but has not yet said if this will include fining parents for truancy, which the ACT Party campaigned on during the election.
First, news teamer Fath spoke to New Zealand Post Primary Teachers' Association President, Chris Abercrombie, about their response to the government's plans for the education sector.
Faith also spoke to New Zealand Education Institute President, Mark Potter.
She started off the interview by asking Potter how he thinks the government could address truancy in schools.
In August 2021, New Zealand’s intelligence agency was hit with a cyberattack carried out by a group allegedly backed by the government of China, part of a series of attacks that also hit government offices in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia.
However, the parliament data breach wasn’t the only cyberattack to happen here in Aotearoa. More than 100 staff members were the victim of cybercrime in 2023 alone, disrupting the operations of more than than a third of businesses nationwide. The repeated string of cyberattacks across the country has created discourse surrounding the vulnerability of cybersecurity systems in New Zealand.
Oto spoke to Professor Giovanni Russello, the head of the school of computer science at the University of Auckland and a lecturer in cybersecurity, to discuss the state of cybersecurity in Aotearoa, and possible steps that can be taken to improve it.
Nicholas spoke to Green Party MP Ricardo Menéndez March about the Fast Track Approval Legislation and the IMF’s recommendations regarding New Zealand’s tax system.
He also spoke to Dr Kevin E Trenberth about why we shouldn’t rely on geo-engineering as a solution to combat climate change.
Sofia spoke to Research fellow Marnie Prickett about public health concerns regarding the in-process fast-track approval bill
Oto spoke to Professor Giovanni Russello, the head of the school of computer science at the University of Auckland and a lecturer in cybersecurity, to discuss the state of cybersecurity in Aotearoa, and possible steps that can be taken to improve it.
Finally, Sofia spoke to Dr Jude Ball joins us to talk about the impending introduction of even MORE oral nicotine and tobacco products
Climate change is a problem that hangs perpetually over the head of humankind.
In an effort to find a solution to this existential issue, some scientists have proposed using geoengineering to “hack” the climate.
Possible geoengineering proposals include injecting sea salt into clouds to increase their brightness and using giant space parasols to block the sun.
However, geoengineering has its critics.
Dr Kevin E Trenberth discussed the pitfalls of geoengineering in his recent newsroom article Hacking planet Earth will not save us from ourselves
In the article Dr Trenberth uses this fable to display ethical problems around who gets to control a hacked climate.
“Once upon a time in an idyllic country, near a small town and a farming community, a rope hung out of the sky. One pull on the rope changed the weather from fine and sunny to cloudy and rainy, and the next pull changed it back. For many years the people cooperated; the farmers used the rains to help grow crops, and the townspeople enjoyed the sunny periods. But there came a time when the townspeople protested the rain and wanted more sunshine. The farmers were concerned about their crops. And so arguments broke out, with a person from the town pulling on the rope, followed quickly by a farmer pulling it again, and they pulled and pulled and . . . broke the rope.”
Nicholas spoke to Dr Trenberth about his article and the implications of pursuing geoengineering as a solution to climate change
On Wednesday Labour’s Carmel Sepuloni dominated political headlines with news that she is believed to be a contestant on this year's season of Celebrity Treasure Island.
The last MP to compete on a reality TV show was David Seymour, who competed on Dancing with the Stars in 2018. This appearance resulted in a now infamous video of Seymour twerking in 80s getup.
Last years Celebrity Treasure Island also drew headlines for including famous political figures, notably Tame Iti.
Political news this week has also included an announcement from Paul Goldsmith that the Government is looking at stopping election day voter enrolment due to the administrative burden.
Caeden asked about both these topics for our weekly catch-up with Carmel Sepuloni. They started by asking if she would appear in Celebrity Treasure Island.
On the 19th of December 2022, Farzana Yaqubi, a 21 year old law student at AUT, was murdered by a man who had been repeatedly stalking her and sending her threatening messages on social media. In the months leading up to her murder, Farzana made multiple police reports with evidence of her experienced stalking, urging law enforcement to intervene. However, her reports were effectively disregarded and treated as low priority, as there are no official laws in Aotearoa that criminalise stalking.
Farzana’s murder triggered a call to the government from numerous women’s rights advocates across the motu to come up with more effective legislation to criminalise stalking and establish more effective preventative measures in law enforcement.
For this week’s Get Action! Oto spoke to Leonie Morris from the Auckland Women’s Centre, to discuss a petition calling for the official criminalisation of stalking.
If you're interested, you can sign the petition here:
For Dear Science this week Doctor Cushla McGoverin chatted to us about an orangutan treating its own injury, beluga whales changing the shape of their foreheads, and the development of skin burn healing bandages from plant based materials.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party’s Carmel Sepuloni I ask about MPs getting a pay raise, recent polling results that showed an increase in support for Labour, and a new policy from Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka which would prioritise whānau with tamariki for social housing.
Weekly Palestine protests have taken place in Britomart since last October, and an action in support of Palestine with several hundred students took place at the University of Auckland last night.
For City Counselling this week, Wire Host Caeden asked Councillor Shane Henderson for his stance on the Palestine protests, as well as Council’s view more generally.
They also ask about the community impacts of half priced public transport for under 25s, which ended on May 1st.
The government recently made a series of changes to the licensing requirements for early childhood centres to be able to operate.
These include repealing the network approval provisions for people looking to establish early learning centres and removing the Person Responsible Staff requirements to have a full teaching licence.
The government justified these reforms by saying regulation cuts would make it easier for early childhood centres to operate, thus addressing Aotearoa’s teacher shortage.
However, many Kaiako working in early childhood education have said deregulation does not address the root causes of the teacher shortage, and that more focus is needed on addressing pay inequality for teachers within the sector.
For this week’s Get Action! Oto spoke to Early childhood Kaiako and member of the New Zealand Educational Institute, Hayley Cross, to discuss a petition from the union to the government calling for pay parity in early childhood education.
The coalition government has made changes to the Residential Tenancies Act, including allowing landlords to charge an additional bond of up to two weeks rent on top of the standard bond of up to four weeks, if a tenant wishes to have a pet on the property.
No-cause evictions have also been reintroduced, allowing landlords to evict tenants without providing a reason, provided they give them 90 days notice.
For our weekly interview with the ACT Party, News and Editorial Director, Jessica Hopkins, spoke to MP Simon Court about these changes.
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