Preventative Medicine, Politics and Big Pharma Debate

Andrew Urquhart speaks with Professor Grant Schofield, an expert in preventative medicine, about New Zealand First's health policy which draws on work from the Make New Zealand Healthy trust. Schofield explains he was part of a scientific advisory team that offered comprehensive health reform polic…

Rubberstamp Bias: Who Do Public Servants Really Serve?

TUE 15 SEP ~ Are political bias, bureaucratic stalling and buried incompetencies the hallmark traits of the civil service? Arian Tashakkori from civil liberties group PILLAR joined Andrew Urquhart to discuss recent examples of clashing loyalties and conflicts of interest, including public servi…

KiwiSaver Battle Between Labour & National

Has Kiwisaver become a bit of a political football? Or is it more a tug-of-war? With the original author Labour on one side, and on the other, National's developments for the superannuation scheme, Pillar CEO Nathan Seiuli questions whether Kiwisaver will serve New Zealanders well in retiremen…

Winner Winner Cheaper Dinner - Will 'Kiwimart' Whet Voters' Appetite?

"This is a cost-of-living election," observes a political analyst; and the Green Party may have just found their meal ticket. Dr Bryce Edwards of the Democracy Project unpacks the Greens' proposal that's banking on the people to break New Zealand's supermarket duopoly with a $2.8b publicly-owne…

Ground Zero Chaplain Remembers 9/11 Twenty-five Years On

Faith in the midst of horror, quiet heroes... God with skin on.     A Ground Zero chaplain recalls the moments, days and weeks after terror struck the Twin Towers on September-eleven, 2001.     25 years later, Father Emile Frische still feels the weight of the tragedy as he describes the shock …

How 9/11 Changed the World

A tragic, violent and symbolic end to an age of innocence. That's one confronting way to view the September-11 terror attacks on the USA. Brendan Malone reflects on one of the most momentous days in modern world history, when calculated aeroplane hijackings on American soil ushered in a new era of…

Election Slogans, Taxation and Wily Civil Servants

WED 2 SEP - Will bad slogans decide the polls and should Ministry staff change with outgoing governments? Family First's Simon O'Connor brings his political insights to bear as electioneering ramps up. The ex-MP discusses party slogans and the likelihood that tax will dominate debate, alongside co…

Trial by Social Media: The Lindsay Clancy Tragedy

TUE 1 SEP - A once-devoted mum succumbs to psychosis and commits an unspeakable crime... or did she.    Despite Lindsay Clancy's insanity plea, internet speculation has proliferated like wildfire as her trial draws to a close. Blame aside, the human loss is all but lost amidst the noise of a worl…

Socials & Religion Taboo? U-16 Ban & Blasphemy Laws

The Free Speech Union is critiquing a renewed attempt to legislate against blasphemy. Responding to calls for religious criticism to be classed as 'hate speech', CEO Jillaine Heather points out that it's a thinly-veiled attempt to restrict unpopular or divisive opinions, and could be used again…

Birds & the Bees: Raising Kids with Dignity, Not Deviancy

A local documentary by Jo Robertson entitled "What Happened to Sex?" has premiered this week, exposing a hidden darkness that has been stalking increasingly-younger children. Family advocate and podcaster Brendan Malone says that a generation of youth are learning about sexuality from sources …