In this episode, Eric talks with Jillaine Heather, Chief Executive of the Free Speech Union, about the Government's plans for an under-16 social media ban and the universal age verification that may come with it. They examine why the Department of Internal Affairs appears to be building delivery machinery ahead of any legislation, what Australia and the UK reveal about compliance and scope creep, and why policy aimed at online harms could create serious risks for privacy and free speech.
Jun 11, 2026•28 min
In this episode, Eric talks with Prof Chris Berg from RMIT University about the Australian regulatory ideas New Zealand has considered importing, from the news media bargaining regime to the under-16 social media ban and prescription-only vaping. They discuss how policies sold as protecting journalism, children or public health can instead create rent-seeking, surveillance, black markets and unworkable rules.
Jun 04, 2026•36 min
In this episode, Oliver talks with Eric about Budget 2026, which brings the forecast surplus forward a year but rests on a series of lucky breaks, from oil prices falling to fiscal discipline surviving the election and coalition negotiations. They weigh what is driving spending well above 2019 levels, the case for superannuation reform, council incentives to go for growth, the shrinking public service, and why Treasury's tobacco and alcohol excise forecasts keep going wrong.
May 28, 2026•33 min
In this episode, Eric talks with Dr Benno Blaschke and Chris Parker about why our current approach to housing supply, which is focused on housing targets and delivered through “predict and provide”, has consistently failed. The explore what a better system could look like by discussing Benno's proposed alternative, where an independent panel would use price-based indicators to evaluate council plans against the conditions of competitive urban land markets. These assessments would inform plans as...
May 25, 2026•46 min
In this episode, Oliver talks with senior fellow John Howard about mounting geopolitical instability, from Iran and the Strait of Hormuz to Trump's visit to Beijing and the growing pressure on Taiwan. They discuss what these crises mean for New Zealand's energy security, political leadership, European security, business risk, and the need for more serious strategic thinking.
May 19, 2026•31 min
In this episode, Oliver talks with Roger Partridge about the Government’s decision to legislate to stop the Smith v Fonterra climate change case. They discuss why Parliament was right to step in after the Supreme Court reinstated a claim the Court of Appeal had unanimously struck out, the causation problems at the heart of the case, and why media claims of an attack on judicial independence get New Zealand’s constitutional order backwards.
May 14, 2026•30 min
In this episode, Michael talks to Oliver Hartwich about his new satirical novella The Martian Audit, in which two alien auditors arrive in New Zealand to assess it for invasion, only to find themselves defeated not by weapons but by the country's regulation and bureaucracy. There are no villains, just a country full of friendly people trapped in systems that don't work, from leaky homes and hospital waiting rooms to view shafts you can't legally stop to admire.
May 07, 2026•30 min
In this episode, Michael and James talk with Sarah McLaughlin from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. They discuss attacks on free speech internationally, with governments from Washington to Beijing using deportation powers, financial leverage, and anti-terror laws to silence critics. They analyse the censorship impulse across the political spectrum, the threat of social media age bans to internet anonymity, and the failure of even strong legal protections to protect free speec...
Apr 30, 2026•1 hr 7 min
The guns have paused in the US-Iran conflict but Oliver Hartwich and John Howard argue New Zealand should take little comfort from that. All parties are struggling to find an off-ramp, damage to Qatar's refineries alone means a two-to-three-year rebuild, and New Zealand still lacks the energy strategy promised in 2024. Singapore, a city-state the size of Lake Taupō, has built the fuel resilience we have not.
Apr 24, 2026•31 min
Bob Davies joined the New Zealand Army at 16 and served 31 years, rising to Sergeant Major of the Army. He deployed to Vietnam in 1968, took shrapnel wounds, caught malaria twice, and was exposed to Agent Orange. His infant son Geoffrey, born with spina bifida linked to that exposure, lived three days. Bob used his compensation to establish the Geoffrey Davies Memorial Prize at Victoria University of Wellington. On Anzac Day, Bob talks to Oliver Hartwich about what service cost him and why New Z...
Apr 23, 2026•31 min
In this episode, Michael speaks with Professor Elizabeth Rata about the history of New Zealand's school system. The conversation challenges the contemporary narrative of 19th-century schools as authoritarian and oppressive. They discuss ways in which teaching was knowledge-rich and aligned with what we now understand from the science of learning before late 20th-century ideological shifts reshaped education, sidelining knowledge and teacher expertise.
Apr 22, 2026•41 min
In this episode, Michael talks to Lynda Knight, principal of Glenview School in Porirua, about how understanding the neuroscience of stress and trauma transformed her school's approach to dysregulated behaviour. They discuss why a felt sense of safety, strong relational connections and teacher self-regulation are essential foundations for learning, and what schools and policymakers can do to better support children experiencing stress and trauma.
Apr 15, 2026•26 min
In this episode, Michael speaks with Oliver Hartwich about his new research note "Who Runs the Country?", examining the friction between New Zealand's elected government and its permanent public service. They explore how the appointment of chief executives can undermine ministerial control, and why Germany's model of political appointments with institutional safeguards offers a promising alternative.
Apr 08, 2026•35 min
In this episode, Oliver speaks with retired Major General John Howard about the escalating Middle East conflict, unpacking the military realities behind the United States' shifting approach and the growing role of global powers like China and Russia. They explore what disruption in the Strait of Hormuz means for energy markets and why New Zealand may be more exposed to fuel and supply shocks than it realises.
Apr 07, 2026•36 min
In this episode, Eric talks with Andreas Heuser, partner at Heuser Whittington and lead economist on the government's fuel security study, about why the price system is New Zealand's best tool for managing fuel scarcity in the wake of the Strait of Hormuz closure. They discuss why calls for rationing are misguided, what the Marsden Point decision got right, and how the existing tax and transfer system can address the real pain households are facing.
Apr 01, 2026•49 min
In this episode, Nick and Benno discuss whether New Zealand's proposed planning reforms can actually deliver housing affordability or fail to escape the gravitational pull of the status quo. They unpack how our current planning system and the rules it makes are an extractive institution: one that concentrates decision-making power over land use in the hands of a few, beholden to a privileged group of incumbents. The result is artificial scarcity that inflates land prices across entire cities, dr...
Mar 26, 2026•48 min
In this episode, Michael talks with Dr James Kierstead about the pressures on academics to align with universities’ institutional priorities, including expectations to incorporate Māori and Pasifika perspectives in all teaching programmes. The discussion raises questions about academic freedom, institutional neutrality, and accountability, illustrated by the circumstances surrounding Dr Kierstead’s redundancy from Victoria University of Wellington.
Mar 25, 2026•35 min
Renowned urbanist Alain Bertaud has spent six decades studying cities: from working as a young draftsman in Chandigarh in 1963 to advising governments worldwide on urban land markets. His book Order Without Design has become a touchstone for New Zealand's housing reforms, cited by ministers on both sides of the aisle. In this episode, Eric and Benno are joined by Bertaud and Salim Furth of the Mercatus Centre to discuss why cities are labour markets first and infrastructure projects second, what...
Mar 19, 2026•1 hr 7 min
In this episode, Oliver Hartwich and Eric Crampton are joined by retired Major General John Howard to assess the Iran conflict three weeks on, covering how it has escalated, what the odds of de-escalation look like, and whether a US ground invasion or ceasefire is realistic. They also explore the wider global picture, from China's posture around Taiwan to Ukraine's worsening position, and what it all means for New Zealand's fuel security, energy resilience, and national preparedness.
Mar 18, 2026•57 min
In this episode, Nick talks with Bryce about the government’s proposed replacement of the Resource Management Act and what it means for property rights. Bryce argues the bills fall short of the government’s stated commitment to property rights, lacking the economic disciplines needed to ensure regulation delivers net benefits for New Zealanders.
Mar 11, 2026•30 min
In this episode, Oliver talks to retired Major General John Howard about the first week of US–Israel strikes on Iran — what the opening strikes reveal, how Iran is responding, and why the risk of escalation remains real. They then zoom out to the global ripple effects (Russia and Ukraine, China and Taiwan, NATO cohesion) and the practical consequences for New Zealand, from fuel and supply-chain disruption to the need for more proactive national security planning.
Mar 04, 2026•35 min
In this episode, Oliver talks to Roger Partridge about his new report, Renovating the Nation, which proposes selling around $25 billion worth of government-owned commercial assets and reinvesting the proceeds into critical public infrastructure. Drawing on the success of New South Wales's asset recycling programme, Roger argues the Crown has too much capital tied up in businesses it doesn't need to own, and that ring-fencing sale proceeds in an independently governed fund could deliver the roads...
Mar 02, 2026•22 min
In this episode, Eric Crampton talks to Nick Clark about New Zealand's long and troubled history with the Resource Management Act — and whether the Government's 744-page replacement really fixes it. They examine the missing property rights protections, the absence of robust cost-benefit analysis, and the fail-safes needed to ensure the new framework delivers better outcomes for New Zealanders.
Feb 26, 2026•26 min
In this episode, Oliver talks to retired Major General John Howard about escalating US–Iran tensions, what 'phase zero' military build-up signals, and the pathways from diplomacy to potential strikes. With New Zealand holding, as Howard notes, around 14 days of fuel reserves, they explain why disruption in the Strait of Hormuz matters, and why energy security and national resilience deserve far greater urgency.
Feb 24, 2026•29 min
In this episode, Oliver Hartwich speaks with retired Major General John Howard, whose 40-year military career included a senior executive role at the US Defense Intelligence Agency. Howard explains New Zealand is strategically underprepared for a more contested world, lacking clear national security and intelligence strategies, modern capability and sustained investment to protect a trading nation's interests.
Feb 19, 2026•31 min
In this episode, Michael Johnston speaks with Kaaryn Cater of MindWise Connection about sensitivity – a temperamental trait that makes some people more affected by their environment. They explore why open-plan classrooms can overwhelm highly sensitive children, how social cues and sensory stimuli shape learning, and practical strategies teachers and workplaces can use to reduce overload and better support highly sensitive people.
Feb 17, 2026•29 min
In this episode, Michael talks to demographer Marion Burkimsher about New Zealand's falling fertility rate and looming population decline. They explore whether immigration can fill the gap as birth rates drop, the psychological implications of ageing societies and what might actually help young people form families - from affordable housing to healthier relationships and realistic expectations about parenthood.
Feb 09, 2026•41 min
In this episode, Eric and Oliver talk about New Zealand's negotiations with the United States over rare earth minerals, following a 180-day ultimatum from America requiring allied nations to sign mineral access deals or face tariffs. They discuss the complications revealed in Australia's similar agreement, the implications for New Zealand's mining regulations and international relationships, and how this pressure from the US represents a fundamental shift away from the traditional rules-based in...
Feb 04, 2026•23 min
In this episode, Michael and Stephanie are joined by former Chief Justice of Australia Robert French to examine academic freedom and freedom of expression in universities. French reflects on the model code he developed in 2019 for Australian universities and explains why the real threat to free speech often lies in vague codes of conduct rather than controversial speakers. They discuss the difference between free speech and academic freedom, the limits universities can legitimately place on expr...
Jan 29, 2026•38 min
This concluding episode examines what it takes for housing reform to endure. Minister Chris Bishop reflects on his journey to Competitive Urban Land Markets (CLM) and why housing affordability is best understood as a problem of land supply. The conversation situates Bishop within a decade-long reform arc spanning governments and parties. Building on earlier work under Bill English and Phil Twyford, he discusses how CLM has been socialised within National and translated into the Going for Housing...
Jan 22, 2026•55 min
