On this week's podcast: New Zealand is confronted with numerous serious issues; economic, financial, social, governance, and more. From the New Zealand Initiative, Executive Director Oliver Hartwich analyses what’s wrong and what needs to be done. Starting with the Public Service and Education. We make comment on woke banking stupidity, and brainwashing versus critical thinking. And we take you to The Mailroom with Mrs Producer. File your comments and complaints at Leighton@newstalkzb.co.nz Have...
Mar 15, 2023•1 hr 27 min
On this week's podcast: An independent writer, statistician, scientist, consultant and author of EVERYTHING YOU BELIEVE IS WRONG. A PhD in Mathematical Statistics: now an Uncertainty Philosopher, Epistemologist, Probability Puzzler, and Unmasker of Over-Certainty. An MS in Atmospheric Physics, and Bachelors in Meteorology & Maths. Meet William M Briggs, who spent time with me discussing things that matter; climate, coronavirus, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and much more. We mak...
Mar 07, 2023•1 hr 21 min
On this week's podcast: “The last three years has been a wonderful time, because it has brought everything into perspective”. Rodney Hide in todays podcast. That statement has a very broad perspective, and we target some of the most important issues confronting New Zealand today. We have a response to a letter in last weeks Mailroom from the former National Party MP, as requested. Ian Wishart queries NIWA's missing storm data and its impact on extreme climate claims. And we visit The Mailroom wi...
Mar 01, 2023•1 hr 54 min
On this week's podcast: "Dystopian artificial intelligence is not near, it is already here. "In November 2022, the release of an artificial intelligence on-line chatting programme, named ChatGPT, shocked the world." In 2014 Elon Musk warned that with AI "we are summoning the demon". Expat Kiwi Jonathan Robinson, PHD, has been at the coal face of AI and ML for many years. We talk with him about the relevance of AI. We also discuss education, and the ETS. And we visit The Mailroom with Mrs Produce...
Feb 22, 2023•1 hr 19 min
On this week's podcast: AGAINST THE GREAT RESET; 18 THESES CONTRA THE NEW WORLD ORDER… In one of the most informative and enjoyable interviews, we talk with editor and contributor Michael Walsh. He and sixteen eminent writers contributed a total of eighteen chapters on the World Economic Forum. Each author wrote on a different aspect; for example, the socialist history of woke capitalism, big tech and government censorship, and the WEF’s ideas for a fourth industrial revolution with Chinas commi...
Feb 14, 2023•1 hr 10 min
On this week's podcast: Former Finance Minister, now business consultant Steven Joyce, considers the current state of NZ politics and the run-up to the October election. What does National need to do to capture the treasury benches, and what are Labour’s chances of repelling them? We talk the state of the economy in both NZ and Australia, and the temperature of democracy. We compare the reportage on Jacinda Ardern’s resignation. And we start the New Year Mailroom with Mrs Producer. File your com...
Feb 08, 2023•1 hr 18 min
Leighton is on summer break, so we are highlighting some of his favourite guests from 2022. "One of the most damaging statements of a world leader was from Jacinda Ardern, that there will only be a single source of truth. We need to rediscover the virtues that brought about the effloresces of scientific discoveries which have made the world infinitely wealthier, healthier, better educated and better fed." So says Emeritus Professor Ramesh Thakur. Outstanding commentary from a great thinker. File...
Feb 01, 2023•56 min
Leighton is on summer break, so we are highlighting some of his favourite guests from 2022. He Puapua, the report commissioned by the Ardern government, was completed in 2019 and secreted from the public. Its existence was revealed after the 2021 election. There is belief that Labour would have suffered badly if it had been made public. Constitutional Law Professor James Allan has written an analysis of He Puapua, and the reading of it is not pretty. File your comments and complaints at Leighton...
Jan 25, 2023•1 hr 3 min
Leighton is on summer break, so we are highlighting some of his favourite guests from 2022. New Zealand scientist Dr Kelvin Duncan dismembers the predictions of the IPCC. His new book ,“Global Warming, a Counter-blaste to the Man-made Global Warming Hypothesis”, provides counter-arguments to the many areas of official misinformation. File your comments and complaints at Leighton@newstalkzb.co.nz Haven't listened to a podcast before? Check out our simple how-to guide. Listen here on iHeartRadio L...
Jan 18, 2023•1 hr 14 min
Leighton is on summer break, so we are highlighting some of his favourite guests from 2022. Marxism could not happen here... could it? After decades on the bench, covering four different courts, retired Judge Anthony Willy expresses his concern for the future of democracy in NZ. The most recent developments since that interview indicate he’s on target. File your comments and complaints at Leighton@newstalkzb.co.nz Haven't listened to a podcast before? Check out our simple how-to guide. Listen he...
Jan 11, 2023•51 min
Leighton is on summer break, so we are highlighting some of his favourite guests from 2022. Double Header: "The New York Times is reputed to be the world’s most powerful news outlet. Powerful enough to influence wars, foment revolutions, shape economies and change cultures. It doesn’t just cover the news, it creates it." Ashley Rindsberg, author of “The Gray Lady Winked”, talks about what happens when truth is abandoned in favour of interest and ideology. Then, who is Alexander Dugin? And what i...
Jan 04, 2023•1 hr 19 min
Leighton is on summer break, so we are highlighting some of his favourite guests from 2022. Professor Elizabeth Rata has been much requested. She is worth the wait. Overall it’s a ‘Defence of Democracy’ discussion. That’s if it is not already too late... File your comments and complaints at Leighton@newstalkzb.co.nz Haven't listened to a podcast before? Check out our simple how-to guide. Listen here on iHeartRadio Leighton Smith's podcast also available on iTunes: To subscribe via iTunes click h...
Dec 28, 2022•1 hr 4 min
Leighton is on summer break, so we are highlighting some of his favourite guests from 2022. Every day the media utilises the term “experts”. Experts say, experts warn, experts criticise... Dr Michael Tomlinson is a Higher Education Governance and Quality consultant. He suggests that the age of deference to experts is over. He adds a much needed perspective to scientific ponderance. File your comments and complaints at Leighton@newstalkzb.co.nz Haven't listened to a podcast before? Check out our ...
Dec 21, 2022•58 min
Leighton is on summer break, so we are highlighting some of his favourite guests from 2022. In this unfiltered insider account, Dr Scott Atlas (author of A PLAGUE UPON OUR HOUSE: MY FIGHT AT THE TRUMP WHITE HOUSE TO STOP COVID FROM DESTROYING AMERICA) gives us a full account of the key COVID-19 players in the White House during the pandemic. We cover the lies, distortions, and the truth about science, politicised academia, Big Business and Big Tech. File your comments and complaints at Leighton@...
Dec 14, 2022•1 hr 7 min
On this week's podcast: Six months ago Bruce Cotterill talked about what is wrong with NZ, and how we might fix it. At years end he returns to discuss what has changed; for better or worse. We talk politics and the current mood of the electorate with Barry Soper. He is full and frank in commenting on the Prime Minister. “Government Maladministration and Stupidity” is the title of an essay from a retired lawyer. And we visit The Mailroom for the final time this year with Mrs Producer. Have a wond...
Dec 07, 2022•1 hr 32 min
On this week's podcast: Three Waters… many lies. Frank Newman says Three Waters is too good to be true, and democracy is the loser. New Zealand’s Supreme Court is playing a foolish game of politics, according to a British law professor. And we visit The Mailroom with Mrs Producer. File your comments and complaints at Leighton@newstalkzb.co.nz Haven't listened to a podcast before? Check out our simple how-to guide. Listen here on iHeartRadio Leighton Smith's podcast also available on iTunes: To s...
Nov 30, 2022•52 min
On this week's podcast: Things are changing in the world of climate alarmism. On the basis of recent science, the U.N. has halved to only 2.5C its prediction of global temperatures for year 2100. Dr Judith Curry says so, as does The Wall Street Journal, and David Wallace-Wells of the New York Times. Noted climate scientist Dr Judith Curry says “the policy implications of all this is enormous”. Former NZ Under-Secretary of Science, Energy and Technology Barry Brill says this changes everything. H...
Nov 22, 2022•1 hr 23 min
On this week's podcast: We speak to Muriel Newman, from the NZ Centre for Political Research, on why New Zealanders need to make their voices heard. We talk separatist government, the water debate (that shouldn’t even be happening), He Puapua (whatever that means), farming, and other damage the Arden government is inflicting on New Zealand. And Patrick Basham, from the Democracy Institute, explains how the American midterm election results deserve a different perspective. As requested, a list of...
Nov 15, 2022•1 hr 33 min
On this week's podcast: A champion of free speech guests on this week's podcast. Jacob Mchangama, Danish lawyer and founder of Copenhagen think tank Justitia, talks hate speech, free speech and freedom. Coincidentally, we have been paying some attention to Twitter these past couple of weeks. The reason is obvious, free speech is the bedrock of democracy. We report on Patrick Basham’s final research for the mid-term U.S. elections, and we visit The Mailroom with Mrs Producer. File your comments a...
Nov 09, 2022•1 hr 19 min
On this week's podcast: "The Dictatorship of Woke Capital” is the story of how political correctness captured Big Business. Steve Soukup details the connection of European Marxism/Socialism to American progressivism and the development of the Administrative State. We comment on the moves to derail democracy in New Zealand and how that is leading to the increase in independent journalism critiques and opposition groups. And we visit The Mailroom. File your comments and complaints at Leighton@news...
Nov 01, 2022•1 hr 28 min
On this week's podcast: Two weeks out from the all important mid-term elections, we discuss the likely outcome and its repercussions with Patrick Basham from Democracy Institute. In these exciting times, Democracy Institute, in conjunction with the London Express, has been doing noticeably good research on American politics. And following the success of his novel "Agenda 2060”, author A.I. Fabler is back with “The Seed of Corruption”. The parallels with actual recent events are stunning, more so...
Oct 26, 2022•1 hr 46 min
On this week's podcast: Michael Every is a Global Strategist at Rabobank. He analyses major developments, contributes to the bank’s publications and is very active in the media. We hit on the future of money, the meta crisis we’re living with, and all that it means. Michael is not a conformist economist and his take on crypto, geopolitics, and missing leadership is compulsive listening. Tony Grey is an author and businessman who was born into Shakespeare. His email to me began “I am shocked. Onc...
Oct 19, 2022•1 hr 32 min
On this week's podcast: The Social Compact is an implicit understanding between the government and the people. Statistician and author Guy Hatchard suggests that the Social Compact has been broken. We discuss the distortion of public information, increasing control or influence over the media, the age of social engineering, and the lessons to be absorbed from poorly-scienced public health ideas. And is the next pandemic “Anxiety over Life Itself?” We comment on the Government versus farmers and ...
Oct 12, 2022•1 hr 36 min
On this week's podcast: For years, New Zealand productivity has been shortchanging the economy and therefore the country. Why is New Zealand outstripped by the rest of the first world countries, in particular Australia? The New Zealand Initiative’s Chief Economist, Dr Eric Crampton gives reasons and suggests solutions. Then, who is Alexander Dugin? And what is Eurasianism? A brilliant analysis from Associate Professor Salvatore Babones, University of Sydney, on the Russian Intellectual Dugin. Is...
Oct 05, 2022•1 hr 30 min
On this week's podcast: Semi-retired Investment Banker Jonathan Urlich discusses his thoughts on the financial world, both in NZ and globally. Jonathan first rang my radio program in 2007, commenting on what was developing. His analysis proved correct during the GFC. We look at George Friedman’s commentary on the Italian election, and high profile Law Professor Jonathan Turley on Jacinda’s call for a global attack on free speech. And we go to The Mailroom with Mrs Producer. File your comments an...
Sep 27, 2022•1 hr 32 min
On this week's podcast: This week we see the return of Michael Rectenwald PhD, Professor of Liberal Studies and Global Liberal Studies at New York University 2008 to 2019. We recount again his departure from NYU and his transition from a Marxist/Communist to Libertarian. Michael is the author of numerous books, and co-founder of American Scholars. Much of our discussion is about NZ. But we also cover Totalitarianism, Ukraine, Biden v Trump, and the challenging times ahead. And, of course, we vis...
Sep 21, 2022•1 hr 19 min
On this week's podcast: Professor Elizabeth Rata has been much requested. She is worth the wait. Overall it’s a ‘Defence of Democracy’ discussion. That’s if it is not already too late. We revisit the Rolf Harris case (podcast 171) with some additional information. We comment on the changes at Buckingham Palace, and we visit The Mailroom with Mrs Producer. File your comments and complaints at Leighton@newstalkzb.co.nz Haven't listened to a podcast before? Check out our simple how-to guide. Listen...
Sep 13, 2022•1 hr 29 min
Leighton is off this week with COVID. This week's podcast is a "Best Of" edition featuring David Round from Podcast 149 on March 20th 2022. Forty five years a law lecturer, David Round is renowned for his frankness. His unrestrained discussion covers many contentious matters confronting New Zealand today. From moral and political corruption to activist judges and the "meaningless piece of pious liberal posturing of the Bill of Rights”. And as for co-governance... We make comment on the P.M, and ...
Sep 07, 2022•1 hr 8 min
In 2014 Australian entertainer Rolf Harris was found guilty, on all counts, of charges brought by four women. Harris was but one of a number of public figures to be charged with sexual charges. But that is just the beginning. After the convictions ex-Auckland policeman William Merritt, now a specialist investigator, spent two years doing what Scotland Yard failed to achieve. In 171 Merritt relates a story of incompetence, lies, and injustice. It's a great study into human nature. The interview w...
Aug 30, 2022•58 min
On this weeks podcast: Joel Kotkin, described according to THE NEW YORK TIMES, is America's uber-geographer. an internationally recognised authority on global, economic, political and social trends. We talk to him about what is now brewing in Silicon Valley, proposed in Toronto and implemented in China, that could be the role model for our future urban civilisation. The book, THE COMING OF NEO FEUDALISM, is a warning to the global middle class and the future of the working class. And we visit Th...
Aug 23, 2022•1 hr 24 min
