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This week on the Tuesday Wire... For Dear Science, our expert, Professor Allan Blackman, chatted with us about discounting claims of life on k2-18b, stories of a mysterious ninth planet, and 'The Blue Danube' heading to outer space.  In our weekly catchup with the National Party's Tom Rutherford, Wire host Castor asked about the new defence spending in 2025's Budget and where everything's going to go.  They also spoke to the General Manager at Forest and Bird, Richard Capie, about the disestablishment of Predator Free 2050.  Producer Faith spoke to Professor Robert MacCulloch from the University of Auckland's School of Business and Economics about the official cash rate (OCR), and whether or not it should drop. She also spoke to Professor Jodi Gardner from the University's Faculty of Law about how the government's Budget 2025 will invest in abuse redress and care reform.

Ngā mihi The Tuning Fork!

This week on Dear Science our expert, Professor Allan Blackman, chatted with us about debunked claims of life on the distant planet k2-18b, stories of a mysterious 'Planet X', and playing 'The Blue Danube' in outer space.  Thanks to MOTAT, the museum inspiring the innovators of tomorrow!

The Budget for 2025 came out two weeks ago, with news for the nation on how funds will be allocated over the coming year. The budget held big news for defence spending, $12 billion over the next four years, including $9 billion of new spending.  The funding is planned to go towards various technologies and equipment for different branches of the military, including replacements for two Air Force Boeing 757 planes and new helicopters to be operated from Navy ships. Defence Minister Judith Collins also announced plans to acquire new killer drones with increased lethality, raising some human rights concerns.  In our weekly catchup with National's Tom Rutherford, Wire host Castor asked about the defence spending announcements, concerns over killer drones, and if this money is best spent on more military equipment.

Tardy but hardy, fresh back from Sabres witnessing, head blown, gasket full of grooves

One of the less discussed announcements in 2025's budget was the disestablishment of Predator Free 2050. The project was announced by former Prime Minister John Key in 2016, with the ambitious goal of complete pest eradication in Aotearoa.  The government's contributions to the mission were funneled through ‘Predator Free 2050' a government-funded organisation created to support conservation projects and technologies. These projects funded through Predator Free 2050 will not be affected by the organisation's closure, and will instead be passed on to the Department of Conservation. Conservation Minister Tama Potaka says the change will increase efficiency and reduce duplication.  While it's good news that the funding won't be affected on paper, the Department of Conservation is already struggling to manage its existing commitments. With these additional responsibilities, the future of the Predator Free mission has become less certain.  To discuss conservation in Aotearoa and how this cut will affect the Predator Free mission, Wire host Castor spoke to General Manager at Forest and Bird, Richard Capie.

Like the rest of the world, we are currently living in a time of economic uncertainty. Economists are forecasting the NZ dollar's decrease in value, and there have been debates about whether the official cash rate should decrease. Professor Robert MacCulloch is one of the academics that believe the OCR should stay as is. Producer Faith spoke to MacCulloch about his stance.  

The government's 2025 budget still seems to be very topical. Despite many academics criticising the budget for taking money out of of the pockets of those less well-off, the government has also received praise for their investment in abuse redress and care reform- with them allocating $774m to the victims of abuse in state care. Producer Faith spoke to Professor Jodi Gardner from the University of Auckland's Law Faculty about how the  investment will benefit this victims, and what she thinks the government should do to ensure practical solutions are put in place  

This week's brainbox is recent doctoral graduate and academic at the Business School Dr Farzana Adeel. Dr Adeel phones in to teach us about her thesis and research into the challenges that migrant entrepeneurs face, and how this impacts the ability of the job market in Aotearoa to attract immigrant entrepeneurs and business owners. To learn more, whakarongo mai nei or read more about Dr Adeel's research here.  Thanks to the University of Auckland!

And we're back from the long weekend! Featuring Ready Steady Learn with Dr Farzana Adeel, thanks to the University of Auckland!

Concerns have been raised about how little youth homelessness has been addressed in Budget 2025, as well as how funding is being allocated, that will impact vulnerable rangatahi and tamariki. Boot camps have received a $33 million boost over four years to create more camps, $1 billion has been stripped from emergency accommodations, and 18 and 19 year olds are set to have their Jobseeker and emergency benefits tested against their parents.  News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to Aaron Hendry - the co-founder and general manager at Kickback; an organisation aimed at tackling youth homelessness, about Budget 2025, and how youth homelessness should have been addressed in the Budget.

Last week, Finance Minister, Nicola Willis, announced her ‘growth' Budget for 2025. In the Budget, multiple initiatives received a boost in funding.  Operational funding and capital funding for Māori education received a $54 million boost and $50 million boost respectively for Māori learner success, with a $14 million injection for Māori wardens, Pacific wardens, and the Māori women's welfare league. However, a variety of Māori initiatives have faced substantial cuts. The Māori Development Fund has had $20 million cut over four years, $32.5 million has been cut from Māori housing initiatives, and $375.5 million cut to the Kāhui Ako programme. Labour's Māori Development spokesperson, Willie Jackson, claims that overall, in Budget 2025, Māori initiatives are seeing cuts of roughly $750 million. For our weekly catchup, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to Te Pāti Māori's Takutai Kemp about Budget 2025 and it's impacts on Māori initiatives. They also spoke about the debate on the potential suspension of Te Pāti Māori co-leaders, Rawiri Waititi, and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, and MP Hana Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, being pushed back prior to the Budget debate.  As well as this, notably, during the Budget debate itself, both Waititi and Ngarewa-Packer were absent. However, they first discussed the 2025 Budget and Māori initiatives

Jenna phones in to review the latest from award-winning authour Tina Makereti (Te Āti Awa, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Rangatahi-Matakore, Pākehā). Makereti's newest work is a collection of essays titled This Compulsion Within Us is introspective and personal, whakarongo mai nei to hear Jenna's whakaaro on this week's recommended read! Thanks to our pals at Time Out Bookstore!

This week on the Monday Wire: For our weekly catchup with Te Pāti Māori's Takutai Kemp, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, speaks to her about Budget 2025 and its impacts on Māori initiatives, and the deferral of the debate into the suspension of Te Pāti Māori MPs. For our weekly catchup with the ACT Party's Simon Court, Joel speaks to him also about Budget 2025, specifically around spending on education and how the Budget will impact young people. They speak to Brian Roper — an Associate Professor in Politics at the University of Otago, about the 2025 Budget, and how much of an impact this Budget will have for the National Party's chances of a re-election. And they speak to the Co-Founder and General Manager of KickBack, Aaron Hendry, about his concerns with Budget 2025 in addressing the youth homelessness crisis. Whakarongo mai.

In Budget 2025, private schools will receive subsidies increasing the annual spend by $4.6 million a year, to $46.2 million. As well as this, the annual spend on charter schools will double to $57 million. ACT Party Leader, David Seymour, says that independent schools are an important part of New Zealand's education landscape that offers diversity of choice for parents. For our weekly catchup, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to the ACT Party's Simon Court about the additional support independent schools will receive, and how this will benefit the average taxpayer. They also discussed changes to Jobseeker and emergency benefits for 18-to-19 year olds, as those receiving this benefit will now have their benefit tested against their parents income. The move, which is set to come into effect in 2027, is estimated to impact almost 9000 young people. They also discussed changes to Kiwisaver, where the government will halve subsidies and increase employer contributions to a minimum of 4% from 3%. But first, they discussed the additional support for independent schools.

With the announcement of how the government is planning to spend money over the next year comes the question of how this will impact the National Party's chances of being re-elected into power in next year's General Election. When presenting her work to Parliament, Finance Minister, Nicola Willis, said that “every Kiwi knows this government has their back”. However, elements of the Budget have been criticised by opposition parties and various activist groups, with opposition leader, Chris Hipkins, calling funding decisions in the Budget “strange and unnecessary”. The Budget can play a major role in whether a government will be re-elected or not.  Labour's 1958 Budget, for example, which has since become known as the ‘Black Budget,' resulted in Finance Minister at the time, Arnold Nordmeyer, imposing additional taxes on cars, alcohol, and tobacco, in an attempt to limit the need for international goods during the payments crisis in late 1957. This caused political tensions, and as a result, Labour lost the 1960 general election after one term. News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to Brian Roper — an Associate Professor in Politics at the University of Otago, about how Budget 2025 will impact National's chances to be re-elected, and his opinion on what party, or parties, will make up the next government.

This week's Fashun topic is teeth whitening! Penelope Noir delves into the history of augmenting your gnashers and why some people choose to have radioactive looking white teeth. 

Featuring Fashun with Penelope Noir and the weekly book review on Loose Reads, thanks to Time Out Bookstore!

Jonny chats to Steve Simpson of the re-formed Tāmaki band Pash (pre-dating Steve's time on bFM too) who have recently played with Voom and will be supporting The Lemonheads this Wednesday night! 

New Zealand Music month and a crisp package of local goodies.

This week on Dear Science our expert Professor Allan Blackman chatted with us about personalised gene therapy, using molecules to spell a word, and the technique for the perfect manu.  Thanks to MOTAT, the museum inspiring the innovators of tomorrow!

This week's brainbox is Sam Lasham, a doctoral student at the Faculty of Health Sciences. Sam's research focuses on the link between psilocybin variability and consumer saftey, and developing a method for species identification. Whakarongo mai nei and read more about Sam's mahi here. Thanks to the University of Auckland.

Oto and Jaycee had a chat with Tāmaki Makaurau artists and producers Nima Astria and Ariki about their latest single 'Cologne.' They also chatted with Nima about work as a DJ under her previous moniker, 'Cupid,' and how the rebrand to Nima Astria ties in to her Persian heritage.

We've all heard about NFTs, AI, crytpo, and all those buzzwords... but do we really know what financial technology is, and how prevalent it is in our daily lives?  Producer Faith spoke to Dr. Chanelle Duley from the University of Auckland about financial technology– or the “fintech” frontier.

This week on the Tuesday Wire... For Dear Science, our expert, Professor Allan Blackman chats with us about personalised gene therapy treatment, using molecules to crack passcodes, and Olympic pool bombing.  In our weekly catchup with the National Party's Tom Rutherford, Wire host Castor asked about Pay Equity in light of the government's recent changes.  They also spoke to Professor Terryann Clark from the University of Auckland about social media use among young people.  Producer Faith spoke to the Dr Chanelle Duley, an economics lecturer at the university of Auckland, about how financial technology can be used for good, and what we need to be cautious of. She also spoke to Professor Frederique Vanholsbeeck from the university's physics department about deep tech, and how NZ can better utilise it. 

Just under two weeks ago the government passed the pay equity amendment bill under urgency. This bill would change existing pay equity legislation to make it more restrictive, which the government says will save billions of dollars.  The process was originally introduced to address issues of pay inequity between sectors. While the Equal Pay Act mandates that people working the same job are paid the same regardless of gender, Pay Equity is meant to ensure industries dominated by women are not paid less than similar industries dominated by men. The process has worked by allowing applicants to compare their positions with positions in other sectors with similar workloads, skills, or experience.  The government's changes will limit the criteria for comparators, allow only industries with over 70% women in the workforce as opposed to the previous 60%, and removing the ability for the authority to award back pay, among other changes.  These changes have been met with criticism from rights organisations, advocacy groups, and opposition parties. In our weekly catchup with National's Tom Rutherford, Wire host Castor asked about the government's reasoning behind the Pay Equity Amendment Bill. 

Featuring Ready Steady Learn, thanks to the University of Auckland!

Many experts believe that New Zealand should also be grabbing more opportunities to keep up with the rest of the world, and invest more in “deep tech." Producer Faith spoke to Professor Frederique Vanholsbeeck from the University of Auckland's physics department about deep and quantum technologies, and their benefits.   

Oto and Jaycee chatted with Tāmaki Makaurau artists Nima Astria and Ariki about their latest single 'Cologne' and played 2 hours of Hyperpop, Trip-Hop and electronic music by Asian artists in Aotearoa.

Social media use among young people has been the subject of recent conversation, sparked by National MP Catherine Wedd's private members bill. While the bill hasn't been drawn, the proposal to restrict social media from those under sixteen was met with criticism and support from other political parties.  Wire host Castor spoke to Professor Terryann Clark from the University of Auckland about how a social media ban might affect young people and address the issues they face around mental health.

This week on the Monday Wire: For our weekly catchup with Te Pāti Māori's Takutai Kemp, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to her about changes to prisoners' voting eligibility, the party calling for more funding for Whakaata Māori in Budget 2025, and ECE recommendations. For our weekly catch up with the ACT Party, Producer Evie spoke to Simon Court about David Seymour's proposal to reduce the size of cabinet, an ACT Members Bill aimed at removing mandatory climate-related disclosures for banks, as well as last week's unprecedented senior doctor strikes. Joel spoke to Marcelo Rodriguez Ferrere, an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Auckland, about animal product imports to New Zealand, as a petition to Parliament to ensure imports are coming from country's with animal welfare standards on par with ours. Joel also spoke to Robert Patman, a Professor of International Relations at the University of Otago, about his article on the Conversation, discussing his concerns over the Trump Administration's proposed peace deal regarding Russia's war on Ukraine, and how New Zealand should proceed with supporting Ukraine. And Global Innovator, Matt Hart, joins us in studio to discuss young people developing their political views through social media. Whakarongo mai

This week's show featured new music from Phoebe Rings, Car Seat Headrest and more.

Frances Chan celebrates NZ Music Month, Mother's Day and the birthdays of Carla Bley, Julian Joseph and Freddie Roach, plus the latest London sounds, an Italian guitar wunderkind and a tour to the Middle East to round out the show. Setlist: Clear Path Ensemble – Best Life Carla Bley – Song Sung Long Julian Joseph – The Other Side of Town Freddie Roach – On Our Way Up Etta James – Something's Got a Hold of Me (live)  Charles Mingus – Track A – Solo Dancer Mike Nock & Frank Gibson Jr – Phaedra's Lullaby   Julian Joseph – Hard Cash Carla Bley Trio – Life Goes On: and On Brandi Younger ft. Ravi Coltrane – Soulris Emma-Jean Thackray – Save Me Joe Armon-Jones – The Citadel Matteo Mancuso – Open Fields  Nautilus – La Ritournelle Genevieve Artadi with the Norbotten Big Band – Life Exploder Aziza Mustafa Zadeh – Always Salah Ragab & The Cairo Jazz Band – Egypt Strut  

Radio Mother's Joel spoke to comedian James Mustapic about his new show, All Good If Not, heading to Q Threatre from the 13th to 17th of May as a part of the New Zealand International Comedy Festival!

"On behalf of all stoners - thank you." - Anon.

Radio Mother's day (tomorrow)! With a chat with James Mustapic about his upcoming comedy show, All Good If Not, as a part of the New Zealand International Comedy Festival, and a chat with Megan Bishop from the Charlotte Museum about the upcoming events the museum are holding to celebrate queer, sapphic, lesbian music in Aotearoa for New Zealand Music Month! Whakarongo mai!

The Charlotte Museum is a queer, sapphic, lesbian museum in the heart of Tāmaki Makaurau, and they are holding a bunch of different events to celebrate New Zealand Music Month! Radio Mother's Joel spoke to the host, event coordinator, and community coordinator of the museum about the museum and what the exciting upcoming events the museum are holding!

e kō, nō hea koe is the debut poetry collection by award-winning slam poet and filmmaker Matariki Bennett (Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Hinerangi).  Published by Dead Bird Books, e kō, nō hea koe is “a series of goodbyes and attempts to slow the shedding, it's a group of teenagers sparking up as they watch the great pacific garbage patch catapult into space and become a second moon, it's endless conversations with Grandmama about stars, it is the constant rebirth of whakapapa and learning that silence isn't the best part of her.”  Sofia caught up with Matariki about the themes of this body of work and how it came to fruition.

Intimidation of Endless Space Given in a Small Window of Time (approximately 10 minutes) is a new exhibition by graphic designer Lina Grumm and composer Ethan Braun at Artspace Aotearoa.  The exhibition tends to relationships between sound, space, the visual, and the body, inviting deep listening and limitless interpretation, and engendering a gallery in constant flux.  Sofia had a kōrero with Kaitohu Director of Artspace Aotearoa, Ruth Buchanan, about the show and the artists.

This week, the New Zealand government has pushed through with urgency, the introduction of a Pay Equity Amendment Bill which makes changes to the Equal Pay Act 1972, making the criteria for pay equity claims stricter, and discontinuing thirty three existing claims, which were representing thousands of workers. While coalition party politicians say the amendment would benefit women and could save ‘billions', opposition parties and community commentators reject these notions and have expressed disappointment and frustration at the lack of opportunity for public engagement on the issue. Producer Sara spoke with University of Auckland teaching fellow Simon Schofield about the issue. She began the interview by asking why this bill is so problematic

A new research paper published this week is exploring how the treatment of wastewater with alkaline minerals could reduce carbon emissions through the mitigation of ocean acidification. The ocean plays a critical role in the Earth's ecosystem as a ‘carbon sink', absorbing about 30% of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere.  As climate change, driven by activities like the burning of fossil fuels and acceleration of land use, has led to an increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, oceans are absorbing increasing amounts of CO2, increasing ocean acidification and negatively impacting marine life. If scalable, the treatment of wastewater released into the ocean to offset acidification could be a valuable piece in the puzzle of global climate solutions.  Producer Sara spoke with University of Canterbury academics and members of the team at New Zealand cleantech company ‘Aspiring Materials', Dr Matt Watson, and Dr Simon Reid, about the potential for these findings, as well as how carbon sequestration can be maximised for the benefit of the environment. Here is that interview.