What started as the home of song and dance videos is beset by claims of spying by the Chinese government and fears about the mental health of young users. A cybersecurity authority whose company cracked the TikTok code reveals how much data it collects and what it does with it. And, if you’ve noticed kids behaving differently after too much screen time, public health expert Dr Samantha Marsh explains why in a sobering but must-hear interview. Plus the PM on whether he restricted his kids’...

This week a deep dive into water. We all need it - clean drinking water, working sewerage systems and somewhere for stormwater to go. But with buggered pipes and faeces at the beach, we’ve been getting it woefully wrong for far too long. In the wake of Three Waters, will we really pay less for better services? We tap the man leading the Government’s water reforms, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown, and the man who drove them under Labour, Local Government Spokesman Kieran McAnulty, for...

This is an audio version of Tova O'Brien's analysis piece titled The week politics completely blew its gasket, from stuff.co.nz

In the white heat of last year’s coalition negotiations, when none of the party leaders would talk about their top-secret meetings, we convened an alternative. We brought together a senior figure connected with each of the three parties poised for power. You loved the show, and they were prescient in their predictions, so, six months into the Government’s term, and with its first Budget looming, we’re bringing it back, albeit with a reshuffle in personnel. Chris Finlayson (National), Heather...

Section 7AA: A small part of a big law causing an enormous legal and political fracas. Former Children’s Minister Tracey Martin oversaw the introduction of the Oranga Tamariki Act. She explains why it remains enlightened legislation and why children will suffer if the Government completes its plan to repeal it. She also talks job cuts at the child protection agency, having her work undermined by her old boss Winston Peters and the prospect of a political comeback.

After our bumper mortgage episode 'Home discomforts: living on the edge', all about the people affected by interest rates hikes and the cost of living, we wanted to explore the issue even further. We drill into the state of the property market with a property economist and find out what the change of government could mean for first-time buyers and investors. We also sit down with former Reserve Bank Governor Dr Alan Bollard to better understand the thinking that drives the decisions which...

Interest rates and mortgage misery - the number of people falling behind on their payments has hit a four-year high. With the Government promising to help the so-called squeezed middle in its looming first Budget, we explore the issue from every angle: the property owners forced into life-changing decisions; a money adviser; the Finance Minister in charge of that Budget; and an extended interview with the chief executive of one of our big five banks.

This is an audio version of Tova O'Brien's analysis piece titled Claims that Winston Peters hadn’t been given media cabinet paper “b******t” - source, from stuff.co.nz

Off the back of our exclusive interview with former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, which featured on the podcast this week, we caught up with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to get his view on whether New Zealand should review our nuclear-free policy to ensure it’s fit for purpose after Morrison suggested it’s worth a look. Tova also grilled the Prime Minister on the mystery surrounding Broadcasting Minister Melissa Lee’s media support cabinet paper. 

In Wellington for meetings of a powerful global group of centre-right politicians, former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison talks New Zealand’s possible admission to the elite Aukus alliance, our nuclear-free policy, China versus the US, Donald Trump, his relationships with Christopher Luxon and Dame Jacinda Ardern - and just how angry the 501 deportations made her.

How much money is too much? We talk to the political philosopher who says Limitarianism - essentially a cap on the rich - is the way to a better world. Internationally, critics have dismissed the idea as “claptrap” and avowed Libertarian David Seymour agrees. He offers the counterview in this fascinating debate. Plus, the incredible numbers that demonstrate how little police pay has kept pace with inflation.

In this bonus shortcast, we break out our package on the latest in the police pay dispute. We hear from cops on the frontline, put their stories to the PM and reveal exclusive new details about how many Kiwi officers are desperate to skip the Ditch for more lucrative roles in the Aussie force.

It’s the full story of Chumbawamba-gate, including an exclusive interview with a founding member of the band on the prospect of legal action against New Zealand First and their ongoing fight for control over which politicians can - and can’t - use their music. Plus - the police pay dispute and perception among officers that they’re being taken for granted by the Government. We put questions to the PM and get the feeling from the frontline.

This week we received an eleventh-hour opportunity for a short interview with the Prime Minister. On the agenda during his visit to Central Districts Field Days: police pay, tax cuts, Ruby Tui and his political value judgements. Oh, and we heard his verdict on the conversation too.

This week we had a long conversation with ACT leader David Seymour about his ideological position on wealth and tax. That was for a specially themed episode of the podcast, coming very soon. We also took the chance to ask him some policy questions - about the tax rebate for landlords, whether the Government is on track to keep its tax cut promises and how they might incorporate ACT’s tax policy into that plan. Because that’s been in the headlines this week, we thought we’d share that section...

Super Tuesday supercharged Donald Trump's drive for another term in the White House. Anthony Scaramucci, the White House communications director Trump fired after just 11 days, joins us from New York to explain why he’s backing Biden in America’s “hour of peril”. And CNBC senior political correspondent Kevin Breuninger analyses the primary results. Plus, back home, Andrea Vance and Luke Malpass assess the Government's first 100 days.

This week's podcast investigates our emergency housing crisis. As promised at the end of the show, here's Tova's full interview with the mother who gave us a frontline perspective.

Almost 6500 people live in emergency motels, nearly half of them children. One mother, who needs short-term help through no fault of her own, offers a frontline perspective after rejecting a filthy motel, and questions whether vulnerable people are expected to settle for whatever they’re given. We track down the motelier and get the inside running from the Government on their plans for emergency housing.

It’s 20 years since Kiwi cinema’s greatest night, when the final film in the Lord of the Rings trilogy won 11 Oscars. Two decades on, the film sector contributes more than $3.5 billion to the economy each year and directly employs almost 14,000 people. But is it still one industry to rule them all? On this week’s pod we talk to industry powerbrokers and learn the fate of the government’s screen rebate scheme.

There's criticism that the tails are wagging the big dog in the coalition Government. And, with $1.2 billion wasted on Three Waters, and an influx of other infrastructure issues in the Government in-box, is it time to consider a different way of doing things? Could a grand coalition between National and Labour pave the way for better planning and stop smaller parties wielding disproportionate power? We learn the lessons of history from an international expert and see if ex-ministers from the...

With Māori leaders' distrust of the government at levels unseen since the Foreshore and Seabed legislation two decades ago, the leaders of the coalition faced a fierce examination at the annual commemorations of the signing of Te Tiriti O Waitangi. From the wonderful winterless north, Tova brings you the full story of one of the most significant Waitangi weekends for many years.

The pod returns next week with a very special episode from Waitangi - and Māori distrust of the government higher than at any point since the foreshore and seabed legislation 20 years ago. We'll be bringing you the latest from the commemorations of the signing of Te Tiriti O Waitangi, including interviews with key political players, expert analysis and, of course, celebrating Te ao Māori.

We're easing into the holiday period by asking some of our political heavyweights what they're giving Kiwis for Christmas. Plus, Tova recaps the tumultuous year that was, and Stuff political editor Luke Malpass predicts what to expect in 2024.

The relationship between Māori and the Government is at its most strained since the Foreshore and Seabed dispute two decades ago. In a week marked by protests across the country and controversy on day one of the 54th Parliament, we talk to Waitangi National Trust chair and iwi leader Pita Tipene, and new Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith, about the Government's Māori policy agenda.