The Front Page

After months of back and forth, Elon Musk is officially the new owner of social media giant Twitter. 

The world’s richest man has sought to reassure advertisers that Twitter would not "become a free-for-all hellscape” under his watch, but Musk has already started sharing fake news on the site, while his admirers have used his arrival in the building as a reason to launch hateful troll campaigns.

Today, Damien is joined by Professor Colin Gavaghan, director of the University of Otago’s Centre for Law and Policy in Emerging Technologies, to discuss what the law really says about free speech.

Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network.

Host: Damien Venuto
Producer: Shaun D Wilson
Executive Producer: Ethan Sills 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The last few months have been a tumultuous period for the All Blacks.  

A string of poor results had fans baying for the blood of coach Ian Foster, who somehow managed to survive. 

On the surface, New Zealand Rugby appeared to back Foster, but the uncovering of a number of covert meetings suggests that Crusaders coach Scott ‘Razor’ Roberston came far closer to landing the job than previously known. 

Today, rugby writer Gregor Paul joins Damien to discuss his series that shows the inner-workings of New Zealand Rugby.

Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network.

Host: Damien Venuto
Producer: Shaun D Wilson
Executive Producer: Ethan Sills 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand’s health system is facing yet another crisis. 

Figures show that some people are waiting over six hours for emergency treatment at hospitals, while others are facing year long waits to book surgeries.  

While the health system is still recovering from Covid-caused delays, Opposition parties and the public want to see change now. 

But is a quick fix even possible in our underfunded and overburdened healthcare system?  

Today, Dr Deborah Powell, national secretary of the New Zealand Resident Doctors Association, joins Damien to get a health professional’s perspective on what’s going on with our wait times.  

Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network.

Host: Damien Venuto
Producer: Shaun D Wilson 
Executive Producer: Ethan Sills  

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s no secret that the media loves to focus on crime, with robberies and violence grabbing easy headlines across the nation. But there’s a bigger crime epidemic in this country, one that’s taking place closer to home. 

Domestic violence remains deeply rooted into New Zealand life – and it’s taking more lives than many of us realise. On average, a child is killed in the home every five weeks. This is on top of the many New Zealanders who survive abuse on a near-daily basis. 

So how bad is domestic violence in Aotearoa? Are we doing enough to stop it? And why don’t we like to talk about it as much as other crimes?

Today, Janet Fanslow, an associate professor at the University of Auckland, joins Damien for a discussion about the crime crisis that no one is talking about. 

Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network.

Host: Damien Venuto
Producers: Paddy Fox and Shaun D Wilson 
Executive Producer: Ethan Sills

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Concerns have been raised about so called ‘involuntary celibates’. Incels, as they are better known, aren’t choosing to abstain of their own volition.

Instead, they blame society, and particularly women, for denying them the opportunity for sexual relationships. While this anger has stayed online for the most part, it has been blamed for acts of real world violence.  
 
So what exactly are incels? What risks do they pose to the rest of us? And what is New Zealand doing to ensure we don’t end up as the latest country hit by an incel-inspired attack?  
 
Today, Damien is joined by NZ Herald journalist and In the Loop co-host Katie Harris for a discussion about an online sub-culture that’s sparked concern.

Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network.

Host: Damien Venuto
Producers: Paddy Fox and Shaun D Wilson 
Executive Producer: Ethan Sills

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Winston Peters has made it clear he is determined to return New Zealand First to Parliament in 2023. 

Two years after departing as their coalition partner, the 77-year-old has upped his criticism of Labour and is showing no signs of supporting Jacinda Ardern again. 

He joins a number of parties outside Parliament trying to ride a wave of anti-government sentiment to victory in 2023. 

But with so many parties fighting for the same vote, how many will actually succeed? And is there room for more moderate parties to break through as well?  

Today, I’m joined by lobbyist Mark Unsworth for a discussion about who will sing the tune the disgruntled voters will follow.    

Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network.

Host: Damien Venuto
Editor/Producer: Shaun D Wilson 
Executive Producer: Ethan Sills

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The economy has gone through a rough time over the last few years, but one of the positives is that employees have been able to take control. 

Figures have shown that wages are increasing as the labour market tightens, and bosses have no choice but to cough up to get the staff they are after. 

It’s never an easy conversation to have, especially not for Kiwis or during inflation and recession worries, so what can the ordinary worker on an average wage do to get the most out of their job? 

Today, personal finance expert Hannah McQueen joins Damien for a discussion on making your job work for you – and how to avoid financial pitfalls in uncertain economic times.

Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network.

Host: Damien Venuto
Editor/Producer: Shaun D Wilson 
Executive Producer: Ethan Sills

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Forty-five days is a long time in politics, but probably not long enough if you are trying to lead a country.  But that’s how long Liz Truss lasted as the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister.

After a month of chaos sparked by a mini-budget that crashed the pound, Truss has resigned, sparking a truncated leadership contest in an attempt to right the ship.  

So how did her reign go so wrong – and is there any salvaging of the UK’s Conservative Party after 12 years in office? 

Today, on The Front Page, producer Shaun D Wilson is joined by UK correspondent Gavin Grey to unpick the collapse of an incredibly brief premiership.

Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network.

Host/producer: Shaun D Wilson 
Executive Producer: Ethan Sills

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On October 19th 2017, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters threw support behind the New Zealand Labour Party, making Jacinda Ardern our 40th Prime Minister and ending nine years of National rule.  

Labour has gone through plenty of highs and lows over the last five years, but half a decade on, the party seems to be facing its most perilous period in power yet.  

A rogue backbench MP, a brewing economic nightmare, and growing attacks against some key policies are seeing the party dip in the polls.  

Five years into power, is Labour able to revive its fortunes before the next general election

Today, Newstalk ZB deputy political editor Jason Walls joins Damien to see if there’s any twinkle left in Labour’s stardust.

Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network.

Host: Damien Venuto
Editor/Producer: Shaun D Wilson 
Executive Producer: Ethan Sills

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand has cancelled William Shakespeare. 

At least, that’s what you’d believe if you read some of the headlines this week.  

The latest round of Creative New Zealand funding decisions sparked global outrage after the Shakespeare Globe Centre of New Zealand missed out on funding.  

But after initial backlash against Creative New Zealand, it appears the outrage was blown out of proportion – and covered up some more serious issues with the latest round of funding. 

So how did media and commentators get this so wrong, and what can be done to fix arts funding in Aotearoa? 

Today, Damien is joined by award-winning playwright and culture editor for The Spinoff, Sam Brooks, to discuss the state of arts funding in this country.

Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network.

Host: Damien Venuto
Editor/Producer: Shaun D Wilson 
Executive Producer: Ethan Sills

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.