For Dear Science this week, our expert, Dr Cushla McGoverin chats with us about how light could be used as a painkiller, research on early signs of dementia, and the ‘mental trap’ that leads to indecision.

We are now more than a year into Donald Trump’s second term as president. Over the past twelve months, we’ve seen the United States flex its military muscles both within the Western Hemisphere and beyond, launching a military operation in Venezuela and capturing president Nicolas Maduro, making further threats to take over Greenland, and provoking Iran by sending a fleet of warships to the Persian Gulf.

Last year, President Trump even signed an executive order, renaming the ‘Department of Defence’ to the ‘Department of War’ on the basis that the former name was too “woke.”

This morning, Producer Toby spoke with University of Auckland professor Chris Ogden about the assertion of hard power in American diplomacy, and how this can be understood through the theory of ‘political realism.

Last week, communities around the world took part in the first annual ‘Reclaim the Economy’ week, calling on grassroots action to develop alternatives to existing economic systems that prioritise growth over people and the planet.

Wire Host Sara spoke to environmental activist and Director of the Wellbeing Economy Alliance Aotearoa Gareth Hughes about the meaning of ‘reclaiming the economy’ and the context behind this movement.

New Zealand has declined its's invitation to join US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace after saying it will give due consideration to the invitation. The Co-Convenor of human rights group Justice for Palestine, Samira Zaitoon, has welcomed the move, but has expressed concern over the government's wording around declining the invitation. 

She also talks about what the Board of Peace means for traditional global bodies like the UN, and what New Zealand can do in terms of policy-making on the issue. 

This week on the Monday Wire...

For our weekly catch-up with the ACT Party, Wire host Castor spoke to MP Simon Court about the ACT party’s stance on a new modern slavery bill and the prison population reaching an all time high.

On the prison population and Te Pāti Māori’s new policy of prison abolition, they spoke to academic and activist Dr Emmy Rākete.

And they spoke to the University of Auckland’s Hyesop Shin about the challenges involved with introducing congestion charging.

Producer Alex spoke to Professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Auckland, Treasa Dunworth, about New Zealand’s refusal to join the ‘Board of Peace,’ and what it means for our recognition of Palestinian Self-Determination.

He also spoke to Senior Research Fellow in General Practice and Primary care in the school of population health at the University of Auckland, Dr Samantha Marsh, about the new trial over Social Media Companies’ liability for adverse health affects of social media, and how it reflects and mirrors the decades of fighting against tobacco companies.

Auckland council is set to introduce congestion charging, a policy aimed at reducing emissions, reducing traffic, and generating revenue for other transport endeavours.

While the University of Auckland’s Hyesop Shin says congestion charging is important, he also says it needs to be accompanied by other policies to ensure the gains are not reversed.

The prison population reaching an all time high has come as a result of this government’s “tough on crime” policies, which they say are making New Zealand safer. 

In contrast, Te Pāti Māori last week announced a policy of prison abolition leading up to this year’s election. They say prisons do not work in Aotearoa, especially for Māori, who are consistently overrepresented.

To discuss how our prison population got so high, and how Te Pāti Māori’s plan could work in practice, Wire host Castor spoke to academic and activist Dr. Emmy Rākete. 

Last week, Christopher Luxon declined to join the ‘Board of Peace’ being championed by Donald Trump on behalf of New Zealand. The Board is supposedly aimed to restore and maintain stability, particularly looking at Gaza, which would involve this board working together to form a transitionary power structure in the region.

However, this board is facing a great deal of criticism; for starters, some see it as a way for Donald Trump to enforce structures that he sees as beneficial for himself. Importantly, also, there is a concern over the absence of any Palestinian voice from a board that claims to want to move the region forward, undermining their self-determination.

Monday Wire Producer Alex spoke to Professor of Law at the University of Auckland, Treasa Dunworth, about this rejection and the invite, and what it means for Palestinian self-determination and New Zealand’s stance.

This past week, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters posted on X, formerly Twitter, about the United States’ departure from the World Health Organisation. Peters criticised the WHO, calling them a “bunch of unelected globalist bureaucrats” who “are not accountable or responsible with worldwide taxpayers money”. 

Peters then questioned whether New Zealand taxpayer money is being well spent on our WHO membership.

News Director Castor spoke to the University of Otago’s Professor Nick Wilson about what the WHO does and why New Zealand’s membership is important. Wilson has previously done contract work for the WHO around polio eradication. They began by asking about what the WHO is and what it spends money on.

Current US foreign policy under the Trump administration has significantly broken with long-term partnerships and traditional structures of the so-called international rules based order. With the US being at odds with its long-term strategic partners Canada and Europe, the future of NATO as well as security in the pacific have become contentious issues. Trump’s actions have revealed contradictions within the previous dominant functioning of International Relations with his administration’s foreign policy radically utilising the power position asserted and given to the US on the world stage.

Flo spoke to Dr John Battersby, senior fellow for the center for defence and security studies at Massey University about current global security, the practical absence of an international rule based order and implications of US foreign policy on New Zealand.