Welcome back listeners! This week on the show, Jesse, Ben and Henry have a take or two on the following topics: might our domestic economy be finally turning (again); the philosophical policy debate challenging whether only New Zealand citizens should be granted voting rights; and one of us takes issue with this whole KiwiSaver thing... 

Have a good long weekend.  

This week the team at Iron Duke Studios takes you through their peaks and pits on a local, domestic and international level. We talk about the democratic challenges arising from Wellington's Golden Mile project, whether this election will be when TOP finally slip into Parliament, and is Trump's Iran deal a flop? 

Another lap around the fiscal sun means one thing: it’s time for the Iron Duke Podcast Budget 2026 special. Join the team as they unpack some of the key items from this year's fiscal package. 

This week we are back in the studio with a full podcast team - Jesse, Ben & Henry - where we go through some of the already announced pre-Budget 2026 policies. With the main item on the menu being the most spicy so far: a reduction in headcount. 

Tune in for our BUDGET SPECIAL episode next week. 

In this week’s podcast, Jesse and Ben discuss the Prime Minister’s big scene-setting pre-Budget speech, delve into what we know about the Budget already, and look at whether a “job-rich” Budget is a sign of bad economic times to come.

This week on the Iron Duke Podcast, Jesse and Ben discuss what has been a big two weeks for the Coalition - in particular the growing tension between the National Party and New Zealand First. 

This week we return back to our standard format of peaks/pits, hots/nots. 

We discuss how Tova O'Brien is two-for-two on her new weekly segment with Prime Minister Luxon, the mining royalties for regions policy proposal, and the moralaties around banning greyhound racing. 

Continuing a run of ‘special episodes’, Jesse and Ben unpack the National Party’s ministerial reshuffle - the winners, the losers, and what it signals about the Government’s direction. Who knows, there may even be a couple of Easter Eggs in there too if you listen closely... 

This week we discuss the latest health sector results - which are surprisingly positive - as well as the latest on the emerging fuel crisis and how the Government and Reserve Bank is reacting to it. 

Note, listeners may need to turn volume up as we have an audio malfunction this week. 

This week on the poddy, the team break down the Government’s response to the fuel security crunch (and why our earlier calls are holding up), the proposed Datagrid investment in Southland, and how enabling transport tech could quickly turn into a mass-surveillance political hot potato.