Different Matters by Damien Grant

Craig Renney is a New Zealand economist and politician. He is the Labour Party candidate in Wellington Bays for the 2026 New Zealand general election. In his recenty published book, The Good Economy, Renney asks what kind of economy we want – and who it should serve.

Through an analysis and the voices of New Zealanders he explore the values shaping our current system, how we got here, and what it would take to build something fairer and more resilient.

Tune in as I interview a wide selection of interesting individuals, authors, businesspeople, politicians and anyone else willing to talk to me. For more interviews visit: https://www.differentmatters.co.nz/

Julie Glamuzina is the author of Perfectly Natural, Out Front: Lesbian Political Activity in Aotearoa 1962-85, and co-author of Parker and Hulme: A Lesbian View. She has also written for the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, Women Together, and Spiral magazine. In 2021 she published Lies and Spies, on the curious life of Hjilmar Dannevill.

Hjilmar Dannevill travelled the world in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, sometimes using aliases, sometimes disguised as a male, and claiming to be researching venereal diseases on behalf of a wealthy Austrian businessman. She arrived in New Zealand in 1911 and falsely presented herself as a qualified medical professional while helping to set up a private health home run by women. In the hostile anti-foreigner environment of World War 1, doubts about her sex, identity, qualifications and motivations, as well as suspicions about her relationships with women, drew the attention of police and military authorities.

Tune in as I interview a wide selection of interesting individuals, authors, businesspeople, politicians and anyone else willing to talk to me.

For more interviews visit: https://www.differentmatters.co.nz/

Daniel is a leading barrister who lives with his family in Wellington. He has lived in New York and London, taught at Columbio University, and practises internationally.

With degrees in law, English and philosophy, he has always been interested in unravelling the layers of meaning behind ordinary things.

This book is about what happened when that search, in his own life, became pressing rathe than a pastime.

Tune in as I interview a wide selection of interesting individuals, authors, businesspeople, politicians and anyone else willing to talk to me.

For more interviews visit: https://www.differentmatters.co.nz/

Freelance writer and editor Nevil Gibson has been a journalist since 1968, including in the positions of Managing Editor and Editor-in-Chief at the National Business Review, for which he now reviews books.

Following a review of Ron Brierly's book, The History of Brierley Investments Ltd, 1961- 2021, I interview him about the life and business of Ron Brierley.

Tune in as I interview a wide selection of interesting individuals, authors, businesspeople, politicians and anyone else willing to talk to me.

For more interviews visit: https://www.differentmatters.co.nz/

Sarah McLaughlin is Senior Scholar, Global Expression at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. She studies the relationship between authoritarianism, free nations, and global censorship.

She recently published a book about transnational repression in higher education, titled Authoritarians in the Academy. Her other writings have been featured in outlets including Foreign Policy, MSNBC, The Independent, The Daily Beast, Newsweek, New York Daily News, and l'Opinion.

In this interview Serah and I discuss how tertiary institutions' engagement with China has impacted free speech.

Tune in as I interview a wide selection of interesting individuals, authors, businesspeople, politicians and anyone else willing to talk to me.

For more interviews visit:

https://www.differentmatters.co.nz/

Oliver is the Executive Director of The New Zealand Initiative. Before joining the Initiative, he was a Research Fellow at the Centre for Independent Studies in Sydney, the Chief Economist at the Policy Exchange in London, and an advisor in the UK House of Lords.

In this episode, Dr Hartwich and Damien discuss the Acceleration in decline of world order, risks to democracy, and the Dimise of the Liberal world order, which may or may not be attributed to Donald Trump.

Tune in as controversial writer and podcast host, Damien Grant, interviews a wide selection of interesting individuals, authors, businesspeople, politicians and anyone else willing to talk to him. For more interviews visit:

https://www.differentmatters.co.nz/

Matthew Hooton is a respected centre-right commentator on New Zealand politics and its political economy, including as one of the best-read weekly columnists for the New Zealand Herald.

He recently completed his PhD in Philosophy at the University of Auckland on the topic is “Groundwork & Principles of Applied Conservatism”.

His thesis is about conservatism in a general sense, drawing on conservatism in political philosophy, conservatism in ethics and metaethics, epistemic conservatism and ontological conservatism. The thesis is thus about how we can decide what to think, believe and do when we can never know with certainty what to think, believe or do.

You can read Matthew’s thesis here: 
https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/items/26952dcc-a8a0-4c38-a634-33001c77f418 

Tune in as controversial writer and podcast host, Damien Grant, interviews a wide selection of interesting individuals, authors, business people, politicians and anyone else actually willing to talk to him.

For more interviews visit: https://www.differentmatters.co.nz/ 

David Cohen is a Wellington writer and the author of eight books. In 2025 he released his political biography, Jacinda: The Untold Stories, co-authored by Rebecca Keillor, in November 2025.

After Jacinda turned down Cohen's request to interview her for the book, he decided to create a platform for the voices that haven't been heard. Drawing on more than 100 interviews and extensive research, David and co-author, Rebecca Keillor track the rise, fall and re-emergence of former NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern onto the global stage.

Tune in as controversial writer and podcast host, Damien Grant, interviews a wide selection of interesting individuals, authors, business people, politicians and anyone else actually willing to talk to him. For more interviews visit: https://www.differentmatters.co.nz/

Stephen Rowe is full-stack digital strategist by profession, innovator by passion, and a storyteller at heart.

With over a decade of experience under his belt, he has mastered the art of bridging and blending cutting-edge technology with human connection. 

After graduating in 2015, he left Montana to join Charlie Kirk’s newly founded organization, Turning Point USA, at its headquarters in the Chicago area. 

Within a month, he was promoted to Editor-in-Chief of Hypeline News, a new digital platform that served as the early foundation of Turning Point USA’s influencer program. 

In just one year, he scaled the site from startup to over 12.8 million page views and millions more across social media. By September 2016, the newsroom had over 200 contributors nationwide.

Tune in as controversial writer and podcast host, Damien Grant, interviews a wide selection of interesting individuals, authors, business people, politicians and anyone else actually willing to talk to him.

*correction - Stephen Rowe hosted in New Zealand by the The Taxpayers' Union, not the Free Speech Union as stated in the interview. 

For more interviews visit: https://www.differentmatters.co.nz/

Helen Janeith Joyce is an Irish journalist and gender critical activist. She studied as a mathematician and worked in academia before becoming a journalist.

Joyce began working for The Economist as education correspondent for its Britain section in 2005 and has since held several senior positions, including finance editor and international editor. She published her book Trans: When Ideology Meets Reality in 2021.

In April 2022, Joyce took a leave of absence from The Economist to become the director of advocacy for Sex Matters. She wrote an opinion piece for the Guardian arguing that gender identity change efforts should not be included in a bill banning conversion therapy.

Recently Joyce visited New Zealand as a speaker invited by New Zealand Free Speech Union and The New Zealand Women's Rights Party.

Tune in as controversial writer and podcast host, Damien Grant, interviews a wide selection of interesting individuals, authors, business people, politicians and anyone else actually willing to talk to him.

For more interviews visit: https://www.differentmatters.co.nz/