Michael Johnston

Declining literacy is a contributor to low productivity and New Zealand's students have been let down by the education system.  In this podcast Dr Michael Johnston and Amanda Boyd discuss the Ministry of Education's plan to introduce new NCEA requirements and what this means for students, schools and businesses.

Podcast: Dr Michael Johnston on resetting literacy standards

John McDermott

Oliver Hartwich

Dr Oliver Hartwich chats with Dr John McDermott, Executive Director of Motu and former Assistant Governor and Chief Economist at the Reserve Bank of New Zealand about monetary policy in New Zealand, the overhang of monetary stimulus from the last few years, and what will happen if we don't wind this back.

Podcast: Oliver Hartwich Talks With John McDermott

John Law was a gambling, womanising, dualist, murderer and fugitive. He was also an economic visionary.  Dr Oliver Hartwich shares with us the story of the father of modern economics.

Podcast: Dr Oliver Hartwich and the crook who invented the modern world

Democracy Action engaged Professor James Allan to review the He Puapua Report. The result of Professor Allan’s analysis - "The Report of Professor James Allan on He Puapua: The Radical Prescription for Undermining Democracy and the Rule of Law".He joins Dr Oliver Hartwich to discuss Professor Allan's valuable critique of the He Puapua Report and how this impacts our democracy.

Democracy Action engaged Professor James Allan to review the He Puapua Report. The result of Professor Allan’s analysis - "The Report of Professor James Allan on He Puapua: The Radical Prescription for Undermining Democracy and the Rule of Law". He joins Dr Oliver Hartwich to discuss Professor Allan's valuable critique of the He Puapua Report and how this impacts our democracy.

Podcast: Oliver Hartwich talks with James Allan about his academic review of the He Puapua Report

Eric Crampton

Oliver Hartwich talks with Eric Crampton about the Government's rushed policy making for a fuel tax and Road User Charge holiday.

Podcast: Oliver Hartwich Talks With Eric Crampton About The Government's Rushed Policy Making

Len Cook

In this week's Initiative podcast, Chief Economist Dr Eric Crampton discusses with statistician Len Cook about changes to the Statistics Act.

Podcast: Eric Crampton Talks With Len Cook About Changes To The Stats Act

Oliver Hartwich discusses the biggest economic issues of the week with Eric Crampton and Bryce Wilkinson: 1) How transitory is inflation? 2) Will we ever see the return of supply-side economics? 3) How competent is government? And 4) What shall we think of Three Waters and are there any alternatives to the policy?

Podcast: Economic Roundtable

Amanda Boyd talks to Oliver Hartwich about his latest article in Newsroom about the future of European monetary policy and the parallels between Mexico 1982 and Italy 2022.

Podcast: Europe’s Path To Mexico’s Debt Crisis

Oliver Hartwich talks to senior fellow Dr Bryce Wilkinson about the state of the global economy and fears of a major recession.

Podcast: Fears of a global recession

Oliver Hartwich and Eric Crampton interview Foodstuffs North Island’s CEO Chris Quin and Independent Director Peter Schuyt about the Commerce Commission’s enquiry into the grocery retail sector.

Podcast: The supermarket study – Foodstuffs’ perspective

In conversation with Oliver Hartwich, Roger Partridge explains the findings from his new report ‘Reassessing the Regulators – The good, the bad, and the Commerce Commission’.

Podcast: Reassessing the regulators

Chelsy Killick talks with Eric Crampton and Oliver Hartwich on the Government’s Emissions Reductions Plan and what it will mean for transport.

Podcast: The Emissions Reduction Plan And Transport

Chelsy Killick talks to Oliver Hartwich about his new column in The Australian and what New Zealand should learn from Germany’s foreign policy mistakes.

Learning from Germany’s foreign policy errors

The government’s Te Hurihanganui sketches a radically different version of education in New Zealand. But what is it based on? And what would be its implications. Michael Johnston discusses the document in conversation with Oliver Hartwich.

Michael Johnston And Oliver Hartwich On Te Hurihanganui

Several large companies recently received hefty government handouts to install new boilers and heaters. This was all under the guise of decarbonisation, using money earmarked for the country’s Covid recovery.Oliver Hartwich speaks to Ben Craven about this blatant corporate welfare and BusinessNZ’s poor response.

Several large companies recently received hefty government handouts to install new boilers and heaters. This was all under the guise of decarbonisation, using money earmarked for the country’s Covid recovery. Oliver Hartwich speaks to Ben Craven about this blatant corporate welfare and BusinessNZ’s poor response.

Climate change corporate welfare

Putin’s influence has helped the rise of Marine Le Pen. But his political vehicles are not limited to the Far Right.Oliver Hartwich joins Ben Craven to discuss the recent French election, Putin’s wide-ranging meddling in Europe, and what the West should do to counter foreign influence in domestic politics.

Putin’s influence has helped the rise of Marine Le Pen. But his political vehicles are not limited to the Far Right. Oliver Hartwich joins Ben Craven to discuss the recent French election, Putin’s wide-ranging meddling in Europe, and what the West should do to counter foreign influence in domestic politics.

Putin’s influence on the French election

Ben Craven interviews Dr Michael Johnston about his recent presentation at The New Zealand Initiative Members’ Retreat.The pair discuss the disturbing trends of cancel culture and the erosion of academic freedom. They also touch on the troubling mental health issues that are increasingly common among university students.

Ben Craven interviews Dr Michael Johnston about his recent presentation at The New Zealand Initiative Members’ Retreat. The pair discuss the disturbing trends of cancel culture and the erosion of academic freedom. They also touch on the troubling mental health issues that are increasingly common among university students.

Problems in the university

Are the days of large news outlets now in the past? If so, what does that mean for our shared experiences and understanding of what is and isn’t news? And how does news become news anyway?Sean Plunket from The Platform and Dr Catherine Strong from Massey University presented their views of the media at The New Zealand Initiative Members’ Retreat.Ben Craven sat down with both Sean and Catherine at the Retreat to talk about the current state of New Zealand’s media and what they see happening in the future.

Are the days of large news outlets now in the past? If so, what does that mean for our shared experiences and understanding of what is and isn’t news? And how does news become news anyway? Sean Plunket from The Platform and Dr Catherine Strong from Massey University presented their views of the media at The New Zealand Initiative Members’ Retreat. Ben Craven sat down with both Sean and Catherine at the Retreat to talk about the current state of New Zealand’s media and what they see happening in the future.

What is the future of media?

Oliver Hartwich talks to Alex Sundakov from Castalia Advisors about his experiences in both countries, how the Soviet era cast a long shadow over their national identities, and why there might be some small positive to come out of the terrible conflict in Ukraine.Mr Sundakov was previously the International Monetary Fund’s resident representative to Ukraine and maintains strong connections to the country.

Oliver Hartwich talks to Alex Sundakov from Castalia Advisors about his experiences in both countries, how the Soviet era cast a long shadow over their national identities, and why there might be some small positive to come out of the terrible conflict in Ukraine. Mr Sundakov was previously the International Monetary Fund’s resident representative to Ukraine and maintains strong connections to the country.

Understanding Ukraine with Alex Sundakov

Oliver Hartwich joins Ben Craven to discuss Germany’s response to the war in Ukraine. Chancellor Olaf Scholz recently threw out three decades’ worth of German foreign policy dogmas.His “Zeitenwende” (turning of the times) proposed a large increase in military spending, provision of military arms to Ukraine, and a phasing out of Russian energy imports.But have the new Social Democrat Chancellor’s actions matched his rhetoric?

Oliver Hartwich joins Ben Craven to discuss Germany’s response to the war in Ukraine. Chancellor Olaf Scholz recently threw out three decades’ worth of German foreign policy dogmas. His “Zeitenwende” (turning of the times) proposed a large increase in military spending, provision of military arms to Ukraine, and a phasing out of Russian energy imports. But have the new Social Democrat Chancellor’s actions matched his rhetoric?

International Outlook: Germany's response to the war in Ukraine

The New Zealand Initiative

The best podcast episodes on global issues affecting everyone. Covering topics such as the #metoo movement, climate change, the impact of technology and some of the biggest global issues facing us right now. For anyone interested in learning more about the world, and some of the issues we're facing, pick an episode below and start listening! Add episodes you're interested into your queue below!

Best Episodes on Global Issues

The best podcast episodes about true crime. For any thrill seeking podcast listeners who just can't get enough of the captivating stories of murderers and criminals. This topic has all the best episodes from many different true crime podcasts.  Add episodes you're interested into your queue below!