Podcast
The Kākā by Bernard Hickey
Hosted by Bernard Hickey · EN
102episodes
Episodes
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Dawn Chorus: Will the fuel tax hikes actually happen?
Mar 800:07:11Tap to summarizeThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit thekaka.substack.comBriefly in the news in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Monday, March 9:* Brace for US$100+ per barrel oil this week as the Iran war widens and lengthens.* Iran hit oil fields and refineries in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait overnight after US and Israeli air strikes blew up Iran’s biggest refinery in Tehran.* Petrol prices set to top NZ$3/litre in New Zealand this week, especially as oil prices keep rising and refining margins in Asia jump — thanks to China’s move to ban exports from its refineries.* Diesel prices here are expected to surge over $2.50 per liter. And remember that diesel price inflation is very closely correlated with CPI inflation, as the chart of the day below shows.* The key thing to watch is the Strait of Hormuz, and how long it takes to restart production and refining in the Gulf. It looks like many weeks, rather than days. It’s still closed and the US promise of insurance and warship escorts isn’t working.* The key question here will be whether the fuel tax hikes set for 2027 (12c) & 2028 (6c) will actually be enacted, given an election coming up on November 7 and cost of living being voters’ top concern. Paying subscribers can see more below the paywall fold & hear more in the podcast above.
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Dawn Chorus Live Video with Bernard Hickey
Mar 800:07:11Tap to summarizeThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thekaka.substack.com/subscribe
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Dawn Chorus Live with Bernard Hickey
Mar 600:09:48Tap to summarizeThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thekaka.substack.com/subscribe
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The Weekly Hoon: Middle East in crisis; NZ economy stagnant; Peters at odds with Luxon
Mar 500:51:17Tap to summarizeThe podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night featured co-hosts Bernard Hickey & Peter Bale talking with regular guests Cathrine Dyer and Robert Patman about geopolitics, the economy, climate change and politics here, along with special guest historian and author Jonathan Lyons.This week:* Bernard and Peter began with a discussion about deaths of a record 129 journalists reported in 2025 by the Committee to Protect Journalists, mostly in Gaza, and the risks of it worsening in an extended war in the Middle East.* Bernard and Peter talked about New Zealand’s lack of resilience to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz for both diesel and fertiliser.* Bernard, Peter and Cathrine talked about the impending dropping of clean car standards and the connections between war and climate change.* Bernard, Peter, Robert and Jonathan talked about the implications from the widening war in the Middle East, including Israel’s role and Iran’s history.Jonathan has written these books on Iran: The House of Wisdom: How the Arabs Transformed Western Civilization, and, Islam Through Western Eyes: From the Crusades to the War on Terrorism.The Hoon’s podcast version above was recorded on Thursday night during a live webinar for over 200 paying subscribers and was produced and edited by Simon Josey. The Hoon won the silver award for best current affairs podcast in last year’s New Zealand Podcast awards. (This is a sampler for all free subscribers and anyone else who stumbles on it. Thanks to the support of paying subscribers here, we’re able to spread my public interest journalism here about housing affordability, climate change and poverty reduction other public venues. Join the community supporting and contributing to this work with your ideas, feedback and comments, and by subscribing in full. Remember, all students and teachers who sign up for the free version with their .ac.nz and .school.nz email accounts are automatically upgraded to the paid version for free. Also, here’s a couple of special offers: $3/month or $30/year for under 30s & $6.50/month or $65/year for over 65s who rent.)Ngā mihi nui.Bernard This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thekaka.substack.com/subscribe
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Live with Bernard Hickey & Gareth Hughes on long-term decision making survey
Mar 300:15:32Tap to summarizeThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thekaka.substack.com/subscribe
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Global oil & gas prices surge, hammering stocks
Mar 300:03:19Tap to summarizeThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit thekaka.substack.comBriefly in the news in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, March 4:* Global stocks slumped 2.5% overnight on inflation fears triggered by 40-60% rises in gas prices and surge in oil prices to US$82/barrel. Paying subscribers can see more below the paywall fold & hear more in the podcast above.* Housing and Justice officials advised the Government against introducing ‘Move-On’ orders for homeless people in our big cities.* Infrastructure giant Downer, which has 26,000 workers, is set to announce job losses this afternoon after NZTA spending freezes and cuts over the last two years.* Demand for business credit fell 1% last month as liquidations rose 16% in the last year to a 13-year high.* IRD is now triggering 70% of liquidations as it chases overdue debt, up from 30-40% during Covid.* New Zealanders are mostly opposed to the idea of New Zealand joining Australia as a seventh state, a poll has found.Global markets in turmoil as Iran war worsens inflation fears
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A Hoon on The Reality of Everything Symposium, interconnected crises & Public Health
Mar 300:33:50Tap to summarizeThis week I hosted a ‘Hoon’ on Substack Live previewing The Reality of Everything symposium to be held at Victoria University of Wellington on June 26, which will examine the interconnected crises of climate change, energy, water & food constraints, economic instability & public health.I was joined by regular Hoon guest Cathrine Dyer, substacker and symposium facilitator Catherine Knight, conference speaker and epidemiologist Professor Alistair Woodward from the University of Auckland, and fellow public health specialist Associate Professor Caroline Shaw from the University of Otago.We started by talking about the need for the Symposium and referring to the National Emergency Briefing held in the UK last year, including an address by Professor Hugh Montgomery, a Professor of Intensive Care Medicine at University College London. The video of his address is below via Youtube.We talked about the intersection of public health and climate change, emphasizing the urgent need for a comprehensive approach to public health in the face of climate, resource and economic crises. We talked about tobacco control as a precedent for health policy, the social determinants of health, and the benefits of e-bikes. The conversation concludes with recommendations for policymakers to prioritize health and well-being in climate action.Here’s Catherine’s substack post announcing the conference.And a follow-up post with the latest details.Here’s the chapters in the video above:00:00 Introduction to the Reality of Everything Symposium02:43 Understanding the Interconnected Crises05:36 Climate Change and Health Risks07:18 Tobacco Control as a Model for Climate Action11:41 Social Determinants of Health and Climate Change15:29 Transport, Health, and Climate Change Solutions18:10 Rethinking Emergencies and Public Health19:05 Transport Policies and Health Implications21:20 Access Over Infrastructure: A New Perspective22:19 The Hidden Health Costs of Transport24:23 E-Bikes: A Healthier Alternative25:34 Policy Solutions for Health and Climate Change29:18 Public Health as Climate Action31:48The Economic Case for Climate ActionThank you Susan St John, Mike Joy, Paul Singh, Melanie, Brian Rathbone, and many others for tuning into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thekaka.substack.com/subscribe
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Live with Bernard Hickey and Ed Miller on LNG
Mar 300:20:45Tap to summarizeThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thekaka.substack.com/subscribe
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Live with Bernard Hickey and Connor Sharp on RONS
Mar 200:23:14Tap to summarizeThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thekaka.substack.com/subscribe
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A Mini-Hoon with Ben Reid on Citrini's report about AI that unnerved global stocks
Feb 2700:27:33Tap to summarizeThis week a speculative post on Substack by Citrini about ever-faster AI tools creating a self-reinforcing doom loop of fewer jobs & lower wages for humans -- while AI owners win big -- shook global stocks. A link to the post is below.So I decided to have a Substack Live with Ben Reid, who writes about tech and AI for Memia. The resulting chat is above.Thank you James Wilkes, Nicola Francis, Summerhaze, David, Elaine, and many others for tuning into my live video with Ben Reid! Join me for my next live video in the app. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thekaka.substack.com/subscribe
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