Thoughts & Comments Podcast

~Content warning, discretion advised~. A disturbing university sexual assault trial (details deliberately left vague) is redefining how we view predators and victims. Andrew Urquhart is joined by podcaster Brendan Malone to discuss the gender-based groupthink now shaping public reactions to cases of crime and immorality. The LifeNet director posits that rather than asking "What is true?", society...

Public theologian Dr Craig Heilman joins Andrew Urquhart to unpack the unrest sweeping French cities, where protests over crumbling schools and spiralling public debt have spilled into street violence. Dr Heilman warns France's debt, now around 120% of GDP, is a "wake-up call" for all heavily indebted Western nations, including his own Australia, as governments struggle to tax or spend their way o...

Matt Perry, executive director of the Far East Broadcasting Company (FEBC), updates Andrew Curtis on the deepening crisis in Ukraine as the war enters its fifth year. He reveals that FEBC's roughly forty Kyiv-based staff are now being evacuated westward to Chernihiv amid a relentless new Russian bombing campaign targeting bridges, roads and transport infrastructure, causing severe sleep deprivatio...

Thu 8 Oct ~ Geopolitical analyst Dr Jeffrey Miller, editor of Gulf States Insight, reflects with host Andrew Curtis on the two years since Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel, which killed around 1200 people and took 250 hostages before triggering a devastating war in Gaza. Dr Miller notes the conflict reshaped global attention away from Ukraine, hardened divisions over who counts as victim or aggre...

Simon O'Connor of Family First joins host Davina to discuss New Zealand's retirement income landscape, covering the rising cost of superannuation, proposed KiwiSaver hikes, and the five-year anniversary of the End of Life Choice Act. He warns the country is heading towards a fiscal "cliff" as an ageing population drives up the superannuation bill, arguing successive governments of both colours hav...

Professor Robert Patman, Professor of International Relations at the University of Otago, joins Andrew Urquhart to assess the state of the Ukraine war as it heads into another winter. He describes the Donbas front as bordering on stalemate, with Russia making grinding, costly gains until a recent Ukrainian breakthrough near Lyman, while both sides escalate drone and missile strikes on infrastructu...

Commentator Brendan Malone joins Andrew Urquhart to dissect the media storm around Nicky Hager's latest election-season book, questioning whether it represents genuine investigative journalism or a recurring pattern of politically timed hit jobs targeting the right. Malone draws a parallel with America's "October surprise" tradition, arguing Hager's repeated conspiracy framing ironically mirrors t...

Nathan Seiuli, founding head of civil liberties group Pillar, reviews the outgoing Parliament's three-year term as politicians head into campaign mode. He grades the National-led coalition a "B at best", crediting them for shrinking a bloated public service inherited from Labour's expansion years, but criticizing moves like move-on orders, gang patch bans, proposed social media restrictions and ta...

Andrew Urquhart speaks with Professor Grant Schofield, an expert in preventative medicine, about New Zealand First's health policy which draws on work from the Make New Zealand Healthy trust. Schofield explains he was part of a scientific advisory team that offered comprehensive health reform policy to all political parties, focused on shifting spending from treating sickness to preventing disease...

TUE 15 SEP ~ Are political bias, bureaucratic stalling and buried incompetencies the hallmark traits of the civil service? Arian Tashakkori from civil liberties group PILLAR joined Andrew Urquhart to discuss recent examples of clashing loyalties and conflicts of interest, including public service unions handing out "change the government" stickers during strikes; and the tension between service co...

"This is a cost-of-living election," observes a political analyst; and the Green Party may have just found their meal ticket. Dr Bryce Edwards of the Democracy Project unpacks the Greens' proposal that's banking on the people to break New Zealand's supermarket duopoly with a $2.8b publicly-owned chain promising consumer savings. Although the Opposition party hasn't yet calculated the profit and af...

Has Kiwisaver become a bit of a political football? Or is it more a tug-of-war? With the original author Labour on one side, and on the other, National's developments for the superannuation scheme, Pillar CEO Nathan Seiuli questions whether Kiwisaver will serve New Zealanders well in retirement. He joined Andrew Urquhart to weigh up the different policy implications for employees and employers, pa...

Faith in the midst of horror, quiet heroes... God with skin on.     A Ground Zero chaplain recalls the moments, days and weeks after terror struck the Twin Towers on September-eleven, 2001.     25 years later, Father Emile Frische still feels the weight of the tragedy as he describes the shock and heartbreaking scenes to Diane Campbell. Hear how God sustained him as h...

A tragic, violent and symbolic end to an age of innocence. That's one confronting way to view the September-11 terror attacks on the USA. Brendan Malone reflects on one of the most momentous days in modern world history, when calculated aeroplane hijackings on American soil ushered in a new era of suspicion and division. He recalls the immediate shock, the loss of national innocence, and the lasti...

WED 2 SEP - Will bad slogans decide the polls and should Ministry staff change with outgoing governments? Family First's Simon O'Connor brings his political insights to bear as electioneering ramps up. The ex-MP discusses party slogans and the likelihood that tax will dominate debate, alongside co-governance and Te Pāti Māori's proposed 'bottom line' policy of subordinating Parliament's sovereignt...

TUE 1 SEP - A once-devoted mum succumbs to psychosis and commits an unspeakable crime... or did she.    Despite Lindsay Clancy's insanity plea, internet speculation has proliferated like wildfire as her trial draws to a close. Blame aside, the human loss is all but lost amidst the noise of a worldwide web of conjecture.    Brendan Malone joins Andrew Urquhart to reflect on...

The Free Speech Union is critiquing a renewed attempt to legislate against blasphemy. Responding to calls for religious criticism to be classed as 'hate speech', CEO Jillaine Heather points out that it's a thinly-veiled attempt to restrict unpopular or divisive opinions, and could be used against minorities. She also questioned the timing of the government's proposed social media ban for under-16-...

A local documentary by Jo Robertson entitled "What Happened to Sex?" has premiered this week, exposing a hidden darkness that has been stalking increasingly-younger children. Family advocate and podcaster Brendan Malone says that a generation of youth are learning about sexuality from sources other than their parents, and without cultural, developmental or age-appropriate filters. The LifeNet spea...

Civil liberties champion Nathan Seiuli weighs up proposed online laws intended to protect children from internet harms. The founding head of PILLAR argues that a statutory ban risks expanding beyond its original scope, grants power to subjective arbitrators, and removes parental responsibility. Instead, Mr Seiuli advocates for family-level solutions like New Zealand-made parental control tools (e....

The NZSIS annual report has again identified the Chinese Communist Party as New Zealand's top security threat, and the Asian superpower's reaction is telling. Nick Hanne of civil liberties group Pillar explains that the intelligence agency pinpointed increasingly pervasive interference beyond local Chinese groups into New Zealand politics, business, and community organisations. He says the Chinese...

For some it's a season, for others, a lifelong calling. And for humanitarian worker Stephen Court, even an ambush on his young family could not shake the conviction that he was exactly where God wanted him.  World Vision NZ's Director of International Partnerships sees humanitarian work as the holistic outworking of God's vast love, and says the need for global aid is greater than ever. He jo...

Is a political candidate's religious affiliation enough to earn your vote?   John Peachey (www. TheThinkfarm.org) discusses how Christians can approach Elections 2026, maintaining that voters should consider evidence of a candidates's professed faith. He highlights three key criteria he finds useful in making an informed and prayerful decision: Character Competence God's direction The le...

Although last week's leadership turmoil has settled, the election trail remains volatile as more parties get into campaign mode.   Following Te Pāti Māori's low-key campaign launch, Dr Bryce Edwards explains their MMP "gaming" strategy which asks voters in the seven Māori electorates to give TPM their candidate vote, not their party vote. Combined with a surge in young Māori voter regist...

A former National MP notes Chris Penk's impending departure from Parliament makes him the latest Christian MP to be lost to the cut and thrust of politics. Minister Penk was stripped of his Cabinet portfolios on Wednesday following his alleged part in the latest challenge to Christopher Luxon's leadership. Ex-Nat Simon O'Connor, now with Family First, discusses the likelihood that the real instiga...

Sacrificial lamb rather than a lone wolf - is that a more likely description of the National MP singled out in yesterday's Caucus announcement?   LifeNet's Brendan Malone joins Andrew Urquhart to discuss the repercussions of another challenge to the Prime Minister's leadership, focusing on MP Chris Penk's alleged involvement. Both note that the recently promoted Cabinet Minister had acco...