Ange is back up in the studio, sharing secrets on the key to getting a good nights sleep, and answering your questions about itchy throats, lingering coughs, sore joints, and more. Whakarongo mai nei!

Thanks to Natural Ange!

This week on the Wednesday Wire...

For our weekly catchup w/ the Green Party, Host Manny spoke with MP Ricardo Menéndez March about the minister in charge on the social services collecting huge amounts of parliamentary financial privileges, whilst her reforms led to thousands off kiwis mistakenly losing support.

For our fortnightly catchup w/ the Opportunity Party, Producer Theo spoke to Party leader Qiulae Wong, on the changes affecting local governments, and Opportunity’s ‘Citizen’s Voice’ policy proposal.

Then Jude spoke to the University of Auckland Research Fellow, Dr Akshata Ankshen, about her research on ways to prevent cancers from spreading to the brain.

Finally, Theo spoke to Professor Antonia Lyons and Associate Professor Clive Aspin on their recently released report on whānau engagement during the coronial process following the suspected suicide of rangatahi Māori.

tim batt joins olive for a kōrero about muckaround comedy night! happening every first thursday of the month at crushes on karanga-a-hape road. this month's show features liv mckenzie, rhys matthewson, bridget davies and more! and of course your host tim! tickets available here!

Before we start, we’d just like to warn that this story mentions youth suicide.

Aotearoa New Zealand has one of the highest youth suicide rates in the OECD. For rangatahi Māori in particular, multiple overlapping determinants such as structural racism and discrimination have contributed to greater rates of psychological distress and suicide.

Coroners, and coronial services, play an important role in producing findings that deter our national suicide statistics and in making recommendations underpinning suicide prevention strategies.

However, the coronial process, following the suspected suicide of a loved one, can be difficult to navigate. For Māori whānau who have lost a rangatahi, there is frequently a lack of consideration given to their knowledge of their loved one. As a result, Māori knowledge is often excluded from the findings, recommendations, and comments that inform our national statistics and influence suicide prevention and postvention in Aotearoa New Zealand.

A recently released study on whānau voices during the coronial process for suspected rangatahi Māori suicide found that this coronial process could compound trauma for Māori whānau. Te Mamae me te Ngaukino nā to Whakamomori Rangatahi involved 14 whānau members who had lost a rangatahi to suicide, alongside 11 coroners who had worked on rangatahi suicide investigaitons.

To understand more about the challenges facing whānau, and what can be done to improve our coronial process, Producer Theo spoke to two members of the research team, Associate Professor Clive Aspin and Professor Antonia Lyons.

If this story has brought up anything for you, talking to someone you know or contacting formal support services can be helpful. 

You can free call or text 1737 any time to speak to a trained counsellor, for any reason.

The Suicide Crisis Helpline can be reached on 0508 828 865 (or, 0508 TAUTOKO)

And Youthline can be called on 0800 376 633 or text for free on 234 (24/7)

Local governments across Aotearoa New Zealand have faced a deluge of changes this year. Last month, the deadline was reached for councils to submit proposals on how leadership in their regions would amalgamate into unitary councils. Many bristled at the central government-driven change, with 17 councils refusing to submit proposals, leaving their amalgamations in the hands of the government.

More recently, Labour joined the National party in support of a rates cap of four percent per year, the legislation of which is currently progressing through Parliament. And just the weekend before last, the National party ruled out a bed levy - seemingly in contradiction to signed agreements with Auckland and Queenstown councils to consider its implementation.

With all these clashes between central and local government, Producer Theo and Qiulae Wong began their discussion on what Opportunity’s view is on the relationship between central and local government.

Then, they discussed Opportunity’s ‘Citizens Voice’ proposal, which would see direct democratic participation through citizens assemblies on gridlocked issues.

Rosetta has a kōrero with Nai Palm, lead-singer and guitarist from Hiatus Kaiyote, ahead of their 15th Band-iversary Aotearoa Tour! They're playing at The Powerstation this Friday September 4, with support from Crystal Chen.

Rosetta and Nai chat about what's kept the band going for 15 years, approaching genre like Bruce Lee, pulling song ideas out of dreams, music recommendations from Erykah Badu, and more. Whakarongo mai nei!

400 people get diagnosed with brain cancer and tumours annually in New Zealand. With only 10 to 30% of these patients making it 5 years after being diagnosed. 

However, oddly, most brain cancers don’t typically start in the brain; they start in other parts of the body. 

So, researchers have been trying to find ways to stop cancers in other parts of the body from spreading and reaching the brain.

Melanoma, lung and breast cancer are the focus of this research as they have the highest risk of spreading into the brain.

Statistically, around 90% of melanomas end up becoming brain cancers.

To learn more about how cancer spreads to the brain, the research aiming to stop it and how it works. Producer Jude spoke to University of Auckland Research Fellow, Dr Akshata Anchan.

Local governments across Aotearoa New Zealand have faced a deluge of changes this year. Last month, the deadline was reached for councils to submit proposals on how leadership in their regions would amalgamate into unitary councils. Many bristled at the central government-driven change, with 17 councils refusing to submit proposals, leaving their amalgamations in the hands of the government.

More recently, Labour joined the National party in support of a rates cap of four percent per year, the legislation of which is currently progressing through Parliament. And just the weekend before last, the National party ruled out a bed levy - seemingly in contradiction to signed agreements with Auckland and Queenstown councils to consider its implementation.

With all these clashes between central and local government, Producer Theo and Qiulae Wong began their discussion on what Opportunity’s view is on the relationship between central and local government.

Then, they discussed Opportunity’s ‘Citizens Voice’ proposal, which would see direct democratic participation through citizens assemblies on gridlocked issues.

This week's show focuses on Sparklehorse's 3rd studio album It's a Wonderful Life, celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Features tracks from artists providing guest collaborations for the album including PJ Harvey, Tom Waits and Portishead. Also includes tracks from other associated artists including Elliott Smith, The Flaming Lips, and David Lynch!

Rosetta and Milly catch up with Carmel Sepuloni to chat about the Labour Party's recently announced fiscal strategy, and their response to National's proposed changed to student loan repayements. Whakarongo mai nei!