Consume This

Sophie is on a journey to understand how and why a doctors visit for a mild fear of flying resulted in a blanket "Mental Health Exclusion" when she applied for income protection insurance. We unpick how this happened, why, and what it tells us about the way we treat mental health. Part one features Mental Health & Wellbeing Commission board member Taimi Allan and Sophie's ex-GP Dr Lesley Rothw...

The average car is parked 95% of the time and the average drill gets used for just 13 minutes across its whole life. With that in mind do we really all need to own our own, or is there another way? Should we, and could we, all just share?    For updates follow us on Facebook , Instagram or sign up to our mailing list here . You can get in touch via Podcasts@consumer.org.nz.   Hosted...

Does sex come with consumer rights? The short answer is yes, if you pay for it.  In 2003 the ‘Prostitution Reform Act’ squeezed through New Zealand parliament by just one vote! The result of that one vote is that it’s 100% legal to operate a brothel, work as a Sex Worker, or be a client.  The law reform was driven by the NZ Prostitute Collective with the aim of creating safer c...

What’s life like for our Newest New Zealanders? This episode looks at the small struggles and barriers recent arrivals need to overcome to make Aotearoa their home. Staring Rohingya Refugee Hafsar Tameesuddin, former Yugoslav Vladimir Zdravkovich, recently married couple Hassan Tahir & Mehpara Kahn, and South African Kathryn Laverock.  Our thanks this week to Open Road. You can find out m...

Sunscreen, Sun cream, Teamy Creamy... Whatever you call it, it’s a crucial part of summer. It stops us burning and makes a day at the beach, or on the cricket field that bit more enjoyable. But not all sunscreens are created equal. We know that SPF 50 provides better protection than SPF 30, but it goes way beyond that. As unlikely as it may seem Sunscreens are th...

As scary as it sounds, we’re rapidly heading towards Christmas! The holidays can be an exciting time, they’re full of food, friends, family and fun. But they can also be crammed with spending and shopping. One of our biggest expenses, in time and money, is the Christmas present!      On this episode of  Consume This  we’re unwrapping the psychology and economics behin...

We all have a vague sense that groceries are really expensive. If you’ve been around long enough you might even be thinking ‘it never used to be this way’. But are we really being charged too much? According to the Commerce Commission the answer may well be yes. For the last 12 months they’ve been conducting a market study into the grocery sector. They recently published their draft report, and it...

Death is one of life’s certainties, but can you afford to die? According to the Ministry of Health the average price of a funeral is $8-10k. While this may not seem like a lot for some people, one in ten New Zealanders have no savings. We examine the funeral industry – can you BYO coffin? Why does it cost so much? Also, why is it so hard to find out funeral costs up front?...

Is social media encouraging you to buy things you don’t need? According to podcast host Sophie Richardson the answer is no... but then again, she thinks the worm farm subscription Instagram has just sold her is an essential item! On this week's episode we explore how Instagram is changing the way we shop. Specifically, we’re on a quest to find out how it convinced Sophie to sign up...

When we think about scamming, we think 'that wouldn't happen to me'. Scams are supposedly reserved for the elderly, hopeless, and those who are totally gullible. Rachel, a tax accountant from Auckland, in her late 30's wouldn't put herself into any of those categories, yet she was swindled out of&nb...

New Zealand has built a mythology around meat and three veg for dinner. We have one of the highest rates of meat consumption per capita in the world, but times are changing... Particularly how much red meat we are stuffing in our faces. According to OECD Food & Agriculture statistics there has been a significant decrease in red meat consumption over the past&...

Is it harder than ever to buy your first home? To do that we're joined by Habitat for Humanity CEO Alan Thorp & Economist Bernard Hickey . Plus we hear from Wellingtonian Vladimir Zdravkovich on his never ending quest for home ownership. And Whangārei home owner James. Stats NZ’s Housing in Aotearoa:2020 report shows home ownership rates have been falling since 1991 and recently hit a 70-year...

This week we’re asking the question – is it possible to buy sustainable fast fashion? To answer that we’re joined by sustainable fashion consultant Jacinta FitzGerald and GoodOnYou.eco founder Gordon Renouf. Fashion is a huge business here in Aotearoa. In 2020 we collectively spent $7.8 billion on clothes and shoes. That’s over $1,300 each.&nb...

Welcome to Consume This, a podcast discussing the human face of consumption in New Zealand. Hosted by Jon Duffy & Sophie Richardson. We explore the issues that shape our lives. SHARE THE TRAILER - https://kite.link/AZcKXo3 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.