Maxim Institute Podcast

In the first of a new series of weekly podcasts, Senior Researcher Marcus Roberts discusses why Roe v. Wade was in the NZ headlines. He discusses the idea of informal empire.

In June, we hosted Research Fellow Alex Penk and Maxim Institute Senior Researcher Marcus Roberts at the MIC 14 event | COVID and Our Constitution: How A Pandemic Affected Our Body Politic and Culture. This podcast is a recording of the event, including the audience Q+A, so sound quality isn't our usual standard. Alex and Marcus both make valuable contributions discussing New Zealand's COVID-19 re...

On today’s episode, honouring those who have served our country, Executive Director Tim Wilson talks to Dr Rowan Light about his recently released book; Anzac Nations: The legacy of Gallipoli in New Zealand and Australia, 1965–2015, Rowan examines the myth-making around Anzac and how commemoration has evolved, he reflects on his own experience of ANZAC growing up, and of being at the Anzac Centena...

In this episode of the Maxim Institute Podcast we are joined by Maxim Researcher 'Ala Teu and Christians Against Poverty Social Policy Adviser Michael Ward. They discuss 'Ala's recently released paper and the issues it highlights in the credit and finance space in New Zealand. Along with examining the areas of buy-now-pay-later and debt collection, they also offer some hopeful solutions and wonder...

We celebrate the launch of our latest volume of Flint & Steel by sitting down to have a conversation with one of the contributors—Josie Pagani. The discussion is wide-ranging, from BBC interviews to bungee jumping rites of passage to Duran Duran! Make sure you hop on over to the website and grab your copy of Flint & Steel today-flintandsteelmag.com. It makes for a great summer read.

In the fight against COVID-19, we have seen nations employ varying approaches that shed light on the role of the State, the individual, and communities in different societies. Some responses are agreeable, and others questionable. All, however, highlight the deeper complexities underpinning these relationships. American sociologist Robert Nisbet’s The Quest for Community provides a framework for u...

As much as we try to ignore it, death is inevitable. Unfortunately, with access to palliative care services limited, a good death is not. Maxim Institute has just released its new discussion paper—Ending Well – The Urgent Case for Accessible Palliative Care—arguing that access to this care must be made available now to brace for the coming tsunami of people in need. In this podcast Executive Direc...

Whether it’s Netflix recommendations or your phone suggesting how you might want to finish your sentences, AI or artificial intelligence is already deeply embedded in the way we live and get things done. But what might these benign digital improvements be learning about us, and what will this data end up being used for? How smart, and how powerful might machine intelligence get in the coming years...

Author Alan Jacobs wants us to keep reading into the past. In his latest book "Breaking Bread with the Dead" he argues that we stand to gain far more than we lose if we continue to wrestle with great historic texts that may seem out of touch or even offensive to current tastes. For this podcast, Maxim Institute Executive Director Tim Wilson hosts a wide ranging conversation on Jacob's thesis with...

Last month we hosted Ven Dr Lyndon Drake and Maxim Institute Senior Researcher Julian Wood at the MIC 13 event | On debt, our COVID-19 recovery, and where to from here? This podcast is a recording of the event, including the audience Q+A, so sound quality isn't our usual standard. Julian and Lyndon both make valuable contributions arguing and discussing New Zealand's debt, government responses to...

For the Maxim Institute Book Club this month we have been reading Vivek Murthy's book on human connection, loneliness and how our health and wellbeing is intimately intertwined with community, love, belonging and purpose. We are joined by Maxim Institute Researchers Kieran Madden and Danielle van Dalen in this conversation diving deep into the books themes, responses and questions. Be sure to sign...

Over the past few weeks, we've heard a lot of conversations that have included questions like: “What do you think about the vaccine? Do you reckon you’ll get it straight away? Doesn’t it seem like it’s come out way too quickly?” Our guest for this month’s podcast is Professor Graham Le Gros an immunologist who is the Programme Director for the Vaccine Alliance of Aotearoa New Zealand and Director...

As our Education Researcher Rowan Light leaves Maxim Institute, we commissioned him for one last podcast to speak with Bronwyn Wood on the new policies around New Zealand History in schools, the education system and ideal learning spaces for our children. Dr Bronwyn Wood is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Education at Victoria University (of Wellington) and joins us from her office in Wellingto...

“Civility is about the way we deal with our disagreements, not about the way we avoid them.” Back in 2017, just after the inauguration of President Trump, we invited Professor Jeremy Waldron to deliver our annual Sir John Graham Lecture. Professor Waldron delivered what he called “A letter from America” a description of the warning signs of political incivility as a cautionary tale to New Zealande...

November 2020 we released the latest Flint & Steel magazine, on recovery, repair, and reconciliation. One of the feature articles this year by Shelly Neethling focused on foster care in New Zealand, child development and what can be done for kids from hard places. Ursula Elisara was a primary voice in Shelly's article. She's the CEO of Immerse, a non-profit foster care agency that trains and suppo...

This month’s podcast is a recording of Maxim Institute's Executive Director Tim Wilson in conversation with Te Karere Scarborough at the launch of the seventh volume of the Flint & Steel magazine. The conversation talks about the themes of his article in this year's magazine, the growing numbers of people looking to learn te reo, they answer some surprising audience questions and discover why Te K...

In the course of the last generation, mantras of excess have driven our culture of consumption. Bigger is better, greed is good, too much is never enough. In this month's book club pick, we explore the writings of a German born economist, E. F. Schumacher planting a warning flag against these cultural views, with his book Small is Beautiful: a study of economics as if people mattered. Enjoy the co...

2020 has presented all of us with significant challenges, but as Maxim’s latest research notes, spare a thought for our young people. On this podcast, Jeremy and Rowan are joined by Ryan Donaldson, General Manager of Whangarei Youth Space. Together they explore the problem of youth unemployment, how the class of 2020 will be effected long-term by COVID-19, and the importance of community, mentorsh...

This month on the Book Club, our Interim CEO Joanne Abernethy hosts researchers Dr Rowan Light and Danielle van Dalen, as they discuss Viktor Frankl's book Man's Search For Meaning. In this podcast, they dive into Frankl's experiences of the Holocaust, how at the depth of dehumanisation, one can find beauty, hope and dignity. This conversation also explores the foundation of his psychological theo...

Last month we released Julian's latest research paper on Active Labour Market Policies, looking at the ways that government can spend money to try to save or create jobs for people. Our conversation covers Julian’s thoughts on how effect this Government’s response has been, what the next government should focus on to try to stem unemployment, and more broadly, where he thinks the economy is going...

This September, New Zealand will vote to determine if the End of Life Choice Act will come into force, legislation that would create a new system of legal assisted dying for people who meet certain criteria. On this podcast we take a deep dive into the text of the End of Life Choice Act with Maxim Institute euthanasia researcher Danielle van Dalen, and Dr Stephen Child. Stephen is a medical specia...

This month on the Maxim Book Club podcast we’ve got a conversation with Maxim Institute’s Research Manager Kieran Madden and Communications Manager Jeremy Vargo about the book we’ve been reading over the last two months, Ross Douthat's The Decadent Society, How we became victims to our own success. In this discussion we talk about what we did and didn’t like in the book, covering a wide variety of...

This year, our Sir John Graham Lecture was due to be delivered by Associate Professor Tom Simpson. Tom was joining us to speak from over a decade of study on the idea of trust – and how it sits at the core of issues of political polarisation that have challenged the foundations of democratic societies in recent years. While COVID-19 has delayed Tom’s visit to deliver the SJGL until 2021, we didn’t...

This month on the first Maxim Book Club podcast we’ve got a fantastic conversation with Maxim Institute’s interim CEO Joanne Abernethy and researcher Danielle van Dalen about the book we’ve been reading over the last two months, David Brooks’ Road to Character. In this discussion we talk about what we did and didn’t like in the book, covering a wide variety of topics such as pride, humility, wisdo...

This month on the podcast, we return to our 2015 Sir John Graham lecture delivered by Sir Pita Sharples. Sir Pita is known to most people as the co-founder of the Māori Party and as the Minister of Maori Affairs, yet his experience ranges far wider than that into leadership, academia, and public service. In his 2015 address Sir Pita covers his own personal history, and the history of the people of...