Duncan Garner - Editor In Chief

To vote in this election, you need to be enrolled by midnight this Sunday, October 25th. Miss the deadline, and you cannot vote; you will be completely shut out. Chris Hipkins is calling National reckless, accusing them of changing the rules to disenfranchise thousands. Is it sour grapes, or has the government made it harder for regular Kiwis to exercise their democratic right? Learn more about yo...

We are in the final stretch of the election and it is looking like the tightest race in decades. ACT leader David Seymour joins us live to break down his party's $400 million health policy, primary care funding, cutting the public service, and why he refuses to hand over Epsom. Plus, Ashley Church and Maurice Williamson join the panel to crunch the numbers on our latest poll of polls. Learn more a...

Mike King sits down with Duncan Garner for a deeply personal, wide-ranging yarn about where he has been and where he is headed. From his early years in a gang to navigating late puberty, school failure, and complex family dynamics, Mike opens up about the moments that shaped him. We dive into why so many Kiwi kids feel lost today, the truth about youth mental health, and what Gumboot Friday is rea...

Green and Te Pati Māori MPs visited a South Auckland gang pad to meet senior Mongrel Mob members and posted the photos online. With the election on a knife-edge, the judgment of these politicians is under heavy scrutiny. Chris Hipkins has called the photos abhorrent and completely unacceptable. We ask what on earth they were thinking and whether this error hands the election to their opponents. Le...

Christopher Luxon looked stronger. Then Chris Hipkins found his weak spot and kept hitting it. Duncan Garner, Ani O’Brien and Jordan Williams deliver their verdict on the NZ Herald leaders’ debate. Luxon gets the edge overall, but his minimum wage answers come under fire, while Hipkins faces tough questions over COVID decisions and trust. Plus, the panel tackles government spending, the Greens’ Mo...

Four weeks out from the election, Wellington is telling schools how to manage uniform costs. Is this really how we tackle a massive cost of living crisis, or is it just a cheap distraction? We dig into why central government needs to butt out of local decisions and start answering the big questions about who will actually run the country and how families are going to get ahead. Learn more about yo...

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The election is so close we could be looking at a completely hung parliament, leaving the major parties scrambling for votes. Kylee Wong joins us to lay down a challenge on how kingmaker negotiations should work, while National and ACT push tough welfare calls to rally their bases. We dig into whether these policies show true strategy or sheer desperation, and ask if MPs should face the same drug...

Would Qiulae Wong put National or Labour into power? And what would she demand in return? The Opportunity Party leader joins Duncan Garner to explain her five bottom lines, why tax reform isn’t a condition of a deal, and where she stands on Winston Peters. Duncan presses her on the cost of living, supermarket competition, power bills and how much a minor party could actually deliver. Then Ani O’Br...

Opportunity Party leader Qiulae Wong joins Duncan Garner in the studio as TOP surges in the polls and positions itself to potentially hold the balance of power this election. With the party sitting around the key 5% threshold, Qiulae breaks down TOP's five non-negotiable bottom lines, including cracking down on supermarket competition, regulating lobbying, reforming health, and recommitting to cli...

The government has officially stripped non-elected members of voting rights on Auckland Council committees, including the Auckland Māori Statutory Board. It brings us back to a basic democratic principle: if you want the power to vote, you should have to stand for election and face the voters. But while the core principle makes sense, the process behind it has been messy and rushed. We break it do...

Our latest rolling poll of polls averages out the numbers and hands this election to the left. National is narrowly ahead in the party vote, but MMP arithmetic means Labour, the Greens, Te Pāti Māori, and TOP could have enough seats to form a government. Last night's debate showed just how tight this contest really is, even if most voters have already made up their minds. Learn more about your ad...

A snarky debate, rehearsed answers and plenty of missed opportunities. Did either leader give New Zealanders a reason to feel confident? Duncan Garner, Ani O’Brien and former National minister Maurice Williamson give their verdict on the TVNZ leaders’ debate between Christopher Luxon and Chris Hipkins. Where did Luxon let Hipkins off the hook? Was Hipkins better at debating than answering the hard...

Nicola Willis has used nuclear political language, calling Chris Hipkins a liar over Labour's alternative budget. She claims there is a $10 billion-plus hole in their pay equity promises. We break down the biggest takeaways from our interview, including her warnings about Winston Peters, supermarket competition reforms, and why Chris Hipkins refused to front up on the show. Learn more about your a...

The 2026 election battle is officially underway, and cost of living is front and centre. We sit down with Finance Minister Nicola Willis to unpack Labour’s fiscal plan, soaring petrol prices, and whether supermarket structural changes can actually lower your grocery bill. Plus, we look at the brutal MMP mathematics that could leave senior ministers without a seat in Parliament. Learn more about yo...

Buried in the minor parties debate, Winston Peters dropped a massive election grenade: an extra $120 a week for working families. That is over $6,000 a year, but when pushed on how to pay for it, he pointed to economic growth, mining, and a future fund we know little about. Promises are easy, but numbers are hard. We look at whether this holds up or triggers a massive spending auction. Learn more...

Chris Hipkins goes missing when asked how Labour will pay for its promises. Duncan Garner tracks down the missing Labour leader who refuses to front for the Editor-in-Chief podcast after getting put through the political wringer on his uncosted $18 billion budget. Plus, former All Blacks captain Tane Randall joins the show to talk about standing for New Zealand First, cutting SME taxes, and gettin...

It is only day three of the election campaign, and the left is already fighting over the Treasury keys. Chlöe Swarbrick wants the finance portfolio, Chris Hipkins says Barbara Edmonds gets it bottom line, and Labour is talking up a mini budget to cover its promises. We break down the massive numbers, the pay equity demands, and why the arithmetic simply does not add up. Learn more about your ad ch...

The latest poll just blew the election wide open with a massive Green surge, leaving National and Labour tied at 28%. But behind the headline numbers, who actually holds the balance of power? Plus, New Zealand First candidate Bernadette Soares joins us to blow the whistle on dodgy migration deals, worker exploitation, and why she believes current immigration settings are failing everyday Kiwis. Le...

National is facing an internal battle over how best to return a centre-right government under MMP. Former Cabinet Minister Maurice Williamson argues that with National polling around 30% while holding a large number of electorate seats, extra party votes for National will not produce extra MPs. He suggests National voters strategically give their party vote to ACT or New Zealand First to maximize...

Christopher Luxon versus Chris Hipkins is shaping up as one of the most vanilla, stale political battles in recent history. With both major party leaders playing it safe, the real fire is coming from the fringes. Winston Peters wants to buy back BNZ, TOP is pitching massive tax overhauls, and David Seymour wants Paul Henry as broadcasting minister. We ask who is actually offering real change, plus...

Parliament has risen, the politicians are hitting the hustings, and our latest rolling poll of polls shows a dead heat. National and Labour are sitting tied at 29.1 percent. The center-right holds a razor-thin margin, but with a fresh cost of living crisis biting families hard, voters are asking a brutal question: what has this government actually delivered? We break down the numbers. Learn more a...

Nicky Hager is back with a new book targeting the Taxpayers' Union, but does his evidence actually stack up? Former insiders Ani O'Brien and Ashley Church join us to tear apart the claims, address the serious allegations against Jordan Williams, and break down why effective political advocacy isn't a conspiracy. Plus, we look at the tight election race and Labour's latest tax backdown. Learn more...

We dig into feedback from an Otago Med School grad who claims entry standards for Māori and Pacific students are far lower than the public knows. Plus, long-time National supporters feel gaslit by the party's recent supermarket policies, while David Seymour faces backlash over a proposed minimum wage freeze. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every major political player suddenly wants to take a wrecking ball to the supermarkets, but is any of it actually going to make your weekly shop cheaper? We break down the sudden wave of political panic six weeks out from the election. Plus, NZ First leader Winston Peters joins us to defend his supermarket policy, lay out his plan to buy back the BNZ, and explain why he refuses to work with Labou...