Podcast
95bFM: The Wire
Hosted by 95bFM · EN
Listen back to features and interviews from 95bFM's daily news and current affairs show. Castor Chacko, Alex Fox, Emmanuel Orange, and Caeden Tipler focus on the issues of Tāmaki Makaurau and elsewhere in independent-thinking bFM style. Monday-Thursday 12-1pm on 95bFM.
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Episodes
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The Wire w/ Alex: 7 April, 2026
Apr 9Tap to summarizeThis week on the Tuesday Wire... For Dear Science this week, our expert, Dr Cushla McGoverin speaks with us about Artemis II, and forever chemicals in bacteria. For our weekly catchup with the National Party, Host Alex spoke with Ryan Hamilton about the cabinet reshuffle, the Auckland Housing Amendment Bill, and public transport. Alex also spoke with Assistant National Secretary of the E tū union, Annie Newman, about the rise in Living Wage, and what it means that minimum wage is lagging behind. And Producer Liam spoke to Sinéad Deighton-O’Flynn, the agricultural campaigner at Greenpeace Aotearoa, about the result of Greenpeace’s lawsuit against Fonterra, which recently admitted to having falsely advertised its butter to consumers, and the impact this will have in New Zealand.
Transcribe →Fonterra’s Butter Label Lawsuit and Settlement w/ Greenpeace's Sinéad Deighton-O’Flynn: 7 April 2026
Apr 9Tap to summarizeLast week, Fonterra admitted that the claim that its Anchor butter came from “100% New Zealand Grass-Fed” cows was false and contravened the Fair Trade Act 1986. Greenpeace, which was behind the lawsuit, argued that cows were being fed palm kernels imported from South East Asia, and that therefore this label was misleading to the New Zealand public. Wire producer Liam spoke to Sinéad Deighton-O’Flynn, agricultural campaigner at Greenpeace Aotearoa, about 'greenwashing' in New Zealand and the impact that this decision will have on the New Zealand dairy industry.
Transcribe →Living Wage and the Gap between Minimum Wage w/ E Tū's Annie Newman: 7 April, 2026
Apr 9Tap to summarizeLast week, Living Wage was raised to$29.90. This puts it at roughly $6 more than minimum wage, sparking debate and discussions around the need for a raise in minimum wage, particularly amidst the fuel crisis placing more pressure on Aotearoa’s workers. Wire Host Alex spoke with Assistant National Secretary of the E Tū Union, Annie Newman, about the living wage, the discrepancy with minimum wage, and the political nature of the Government’s ability to raise the latter.
Transcribe →The Wire w/ Manny: 8th April, 2026
Apr 8Tap to summarizeThis week on the Wednesday Wire... For our weekly catchup w/ the Green Party, Wire host Manny spoke with MP Ricardo Menéndez March about their recently released housing platform and Trump's threats to destroy Iranian civilisation. Producer Toby spoke to astronomer Josh Aoraki about the Artemis II lunar flyby mission. And Producer Theo spoke to Patrick and Colden from the Reeferendum 2026 campaign on their petition to legalise cannabis and reform drug laws and policing in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Transcribe →Why Public Transport Should Be the Focus of Fuel Crisis Relief Packages w/ University of Auckland’s Dr Timothy Welch: 26 March, 2026
Apr 8Tap to summarizeLast week, Thursday Wire host Caeden spoke to Dr Timothy Welch, Senior Lecturer at the University of Auckland, about New Zealand’s reliance on cars in the face of a fuel crisis. Earlier this week the Government announced a fuel crisis relief package, which includes giving 150,000 families an extra $50 a week to help with fuel costs. The Green Party proposed an alternative support package that includes free public transport for three months on top of targeted relief payments. Caeden spoke to Dr Timothy Welch again, this time about the government’s response and alternative proposals that focus on increasing public transport usage. They started by asking if he could give an overview of what is in the Government’s relief package.
Transcribe →Artemis II Lunar Flyby w/ Josh Aoraki: 8 April 2026
Apr 8Tap to summarizeFour NASA astronauts aboard an Orion spacecraft are currently on their return trip to planet Earth, having just conducted a successful flyby mission to the moon. The mission brought humans within the vicinity of the moon for the first time in over fifty years, and when the four astronauts passed behind its far side, they set the record for the furthest distance that any human has ever travelled away from Earth. The test mission is paving the way for a manned landing on the lunar surface, currently scheduled for 2028, and eventually, a permanent lunar base. Producer Toby spoke to Josh Aoraki, resident astronomer at Auckland’s Stardome Observatory, about the past, present, and future of lunar exploration.
Transcribe →The Wire w/ Caeden: 2 April, 2026
Apr 7Tap to summarizeFor our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Labour’s Shanan Halbert about university funding shortfalls, the living wage rise and the default KiwiSaver contribution rate increasing. And they spoke to Aaron Gilbert, Professor of Finance and Associate Dean Research at Auckland University of Technology, about the minimum KiwiSaver contribution rate increasing. For City Counselling this week, News Director Castor spoke to Councillor Julie Fairey about the second round of changes to PC 120 and about the council’s disagreements with central government over fuel crisis support. Producer Pranuja spoke to Gehan Gunasekara, Professor of Commercial Law at the University of Auckland Business School, on the new Policing Amendment Bill.
Transcribe →Complexities of the Policing Amendment Bill w/ Professor Gehan Gunasekara: 2nd April, 2026
Apr 4Tap to summarizeA new law change known as the Policing Amendment Bill is raising concerns about privacy and police powers in Aotearoa. The bill would give police expanded powers, including the ability to record and retain short-lived videos in public. Supporters say it will help police respond more effectively to crime, but critics are worried the rules are too vague, with a low threshold for collecting personal information and not enough safeguards around how that data is stored or used. There are also concerns that the changes could disproportionately affect Māori and young people. Wire Producer Pranuja spoke to Gehan Gunasekara, Professor of Commercial Law at the University of Auckland Business School, about what this could mean for everyday New Zealanders.
Transcribe →University Funding Shortfalls, Living Wage Rise, and the KiwiSaver Minimum Contribution Rate Increase w/ Labour’s Shanan Halbert: 2 April, 2026
Apr 1Tap to summarizeThe Tertiary Education Commission does not have enough funding for all student enrollments, meaning they’re carrying unsubsidised domestic students. The living wage is increasing by 95c, to $29.90. It is calculated independently and released by Living Wage Aotearoa NZ. And from yesterday, the default rate for KiwiSaver contributions from both employers and employees has increased by half a per cent to 3.5 percent. For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden asked MP Shanan Halbert about all of these issues.
Transcribe →Court findings in the USA against social media giants w/ The University of Auckland's Professor Terryann Clark: 1st April, 2026
Apr 1Tap to summarizeLast week, courts in the United States found that Meta and YouTube were responsible for the childhood addiction and mental health issues of a woman known as ‘KGM’, awarding $6 million USD (or $10.4 million NZD) in damages. Meanwhile, in New Mexico, Meta was fined $375 million USD (or, $650 million NZD) for endangering children. Internationally, countries are increasingly coming to reckon with the effects of social media. Australia, which last year banned under-16s from accessing social media, is pursuing further potential legal action against the social media giants, while debates around a similar ban in Aotearoa New Zealand continue to polarise. However, in the light of the harms posed by social media, a ban is not the only solution that has been proposed. To speak to us on some of these alternative approaches, Producer Theo was joined by Professor Terryann Clark, of the University of Auckland’s School of Nursing.
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