The Iron Duke Podcast

After a solid run of 65 episodes, this is Byron’s last as co-host on the Iron Duke Podcast. But they say when one door closes, another door opens – and in this case its two. We are excited to announce Jesse Corlett and Henry Levett joining MBS as co-hosts of the podcast. Jesse and Henry are introduced to listenerville, we take you through our peaks and our pits, and round it out with a final goodb...

In his penultimate episode, Byron kicks off 2024 with a splash (thanks to Wellington's crumbling water infrastructure) and takes a deep dive into Houthi attacks on cargo ships in the Red Sea. Maddy tackles public transport across the Motu and looks at the surge in tourist arrivals. We round it out with a discussion about what it means to take pride in our cities. 

it's the annual recap episode, complete with a guest appearance from the Iron Duke himself - Phil O'Reilly. We take you though our peaks and bits, interesting bits and anything that fits from 2023 right here in Aotearoa and around the globe.

With Wellington moving at the speed of light, we pick up the pace to bring you a rapid fire recap of the week in politics. We cover off the big resignation of Kelvin Davis before deep diving into just how much this government is going to tick off before Santa shows up. We round it out with the big numbers of the week; immigration, the economy and just how many of us are actually vegetarian?

We're back to the grind of Wellington and all the policy peaks and pits that come along with it. This week we talk protests, the use of te reo in naming our public sector agencies as well as taking a deep dive into New Zealand's abysmal PISA results. 

We're back recapping the biggest (and perhaps only) news of the week! What's in the coalition agreement, what do they mean, who's hot, who's not and what it means for getting Aotearoa #backontrack.

Catch up with Phil, Byron and Maddy for their post election break down. The seats that have surprised us, the campaigns that were run best and what comes next.

Well listeners, will we be eating a slice of humble pie or is this episode your ultimate cheat sheet for Saturday night, only one way to find out! This week we go through the electorates to watch, our pearls of wisdom for those at the negotiating table and what we expect to happen come Sunday morning.

We are on the election home straight! This week we recap the madness of the campaign trail, get out of our bubble to have a chat about whats happening in the US House of Representatives, and lastly, make an impassioned plea for you to tick any box other than NZ First.  

With only two weeks before E-Day, is there anything  worth discussing other than politics? We talk polls, policies and debates in your weekly round up of what's happening in Wellington.

This week we're back on the campaign trail analysis, who's running out of steam and who needs to learn to just answer the question! We also cover the Nats tourism announcement, what a confidence and supply agreement would look like and NEW SEGMENT ALERT - welcome to Policy of the Week.

This week in politics we cover the campaign cringe that has kicked off the election season, debates, dental care and tax cuts for you, me and everyone in between.

After a week off the airways, we're back to recap Byron's Australian adventure. We give the minor parties a good run down this week too, who's ruling Winston in or out, what happened to Act's discipline and did the Greens talk to anyone about their light rail policy?

Maddy and Byron bring you the rapid fire run through of the last week in politics. From the National Party banning phones in schools, the rise of the NZ First phoenix, Labours fruity GST idea and the Greens dishing out solar panels to million dollar homes - it certainly is election season!

Politics is heating up with campaign promises left, right and ambitiously somewhere near the centre. We talk about clean energy invest from labour, free dental care for all from the greens, Act's plan to rid Lambton Quay of public servants and  Later on we are joined by Andrew Schultz, an economist with Sense Partners to talk us through all of these transport promises

Wow! Fifty episodes, who would have thought we would make it this far (not us.) this week we’re talking TAX. The good, the bad and the gst. We also cover off the Labour Party list and the great road plan of the blue team. One question we don’t get an answer to though, is Palmerston North - boring or not? 

Byron's back after a long trip through the Australian outback! We cover the story of the week, Kiri Allen's parliamentary exit and dive into the big policy and campaign announcements of the week. We celebrate the kick off of the FIFA world cup, pothole patches and being In It To Get New Zealand Back On Track. 

An awesome episode with Deborah Hart the chair of  The Independent Electoral Review Panel to take us through the current consultation and what it means for us as every day lovers of democracy and voting. Byron and Maddy also cover off the shufflings of cabinet, the state of our universities, the National Party conference as well as the big China trip for Prime Minister Chip.

Maddy and Byron are here with the weekly breakdown of all things policy and politics. This week we cover of the Minister Woods airport share fiasco, new vaping legislation, NZPost cancelling sending your letters to a quarter of the world and have the Act Party just started the tax cut wars? It is an election year after all!

We're taking you through the highs and lows, the big winners and big losers, of this years budget. With only four months to run to the election, what does it mean for the public, the policies and the polls?

We're back! And one of us is very apologetic for our absence... It's just Maddy and Byron taking you through a rapid fire recap of the last three weeks. We cover the cost of living crisis, cry babies, AUKUS, political candidates, food prices, crime, the ned of Stuart Nash, class sizes and everything weird and wonderful inbetween.

This week we warm ourselves next to the flames of Hipkins policy bonfire and give our two cents on the state of the Labour party. Later on we're joined by Amanda Butterworth, Ākina Foundation Social Procurement Director and New Zealand coordinator of Fashion Revolution to discuss why it's important to know where your clothing comes from.

We're back for another week of rambling and ranting! Byron and Maddy take you through the big ticket items of the week; the teachers strike, the ongoing ferry chaos  and what's happening in the woeful world of banking. Later on we're joined by Rebecca Ingram, Chief Executive of Tourism Industry Aotearoa to discuss the return of tourism post a summer of catastrophic weather events.

This week, Byron and Maddy conduct their post-mortem for sacked health boss Rob Campbell, and discuss political neutrality in the public service, three waters and roadside drug testing. We also assess the damage from Cyclone Gabrielle, and we are joined by HospitalityNZ CEO Julie White to take us through the struggles facing businesses on the ground in the East Coast.

We're all over the floods this week. The cyclone, climate change and the governments response, alongside the big questions like what on earth happens next and how do we pay for it? Later on we're joined by a guest who understands these questions better than anyone. Having been at the Cabinet table during the Christchurch earthquakes, Hon Peter Dunne shares his insights on how the governm...