Democracy
Parliament's education chamber
The House revisits Parliament's lesser known fourth chamber where heated debates about pineapple on pizza take place. Audio
Indonesia's football league set to begin again under the cloud of its violent past
The Indonesian professional football league kicks off Febuary 29 under a cloud - fan violence has resulted in many deaths and the league could be abandoned if trouble flares again this season. What… Audio
Democracy on a tightrope
In 1992, the economist Francis Fukuyama declared we were at the end of history with the worldwide transition to liberal democracies. Today, that picture looks a lot different as developing countries… Audio
Letter calls on NZ unis to adopt 'Chicago principles'
An urgent call is going out to the vice chancellors and councils of all New Zealand universities from a group of academics concerned about the state of free speech on campus. Audio
Where Power Stops: politicians and the limits of power
We're entering week six of President Donald Trump's impeachment inquiry and its yet to be seen whether he'll be removed from office - or whether he'll even come close. So if they do exist, how do you… Audio
Sudan is the massacre where hashtags drove awareness
Rihanna talked about it and Instagram turned blue - Sudan is the massacre where social media drove awareness more than mainstream media. Audio
Islam must fight its enemies from within, as well as without, says UK author
At the 2018 Word Christchurch writers' festival, Ed Husain discusses his book The House of Islam with Donna Miles-Mojab. Audio
Sean Gourley: NZ maths genius warns about the future of AI
New Zealander Dr Sean Gourley is a prominent international expert in the mathematics of conflict situations. He speaks to Jim about the role future role of A.I in our lives. Audio
You have been randomly selected to lead the country...
Imagine if instead of voting people into power, politicians were randomly selected from the population. The system of sortition goes back to the ancient Greeks, and Australian writer and academic Tim… Audio
Don’t mention the peace – how reticence about the success of Europe led to Brexit
Prof AC Grayling talks about Brexit, and the failure of the greater vision for the EU with MP Chris Finlayson. Audio
Brazilians vote in fraught presidential election
About 147 million Brazilians are voting in a presidential election that's been described as the most polarising since the country returned to democracy three decades ago. The frontrunner was… Audio
Max Rashbrooke - Government for the Public Good
Max Rashbrooke is a journalist, author and academic based in Wellington. His first book in 2013, Inequality: A New Zealand Crisis, was followed by The Inequality Debate (2014) and Wealth and New… Audio
Martha C. Nussbaum - The politics of blame
Martha C. Nussbaum is the Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics at the University of Chicago and is one of the world's leading legal philosophers. She is visiting Aotearoa as… Audio
Former Fiji coup leader turns democracy champion
Fiji's first coup leader Sitiveni Rabuka talks about the freedoms he says the Sodelpa Party will return to the country if he is elected prime minister later this year.
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A citizens' jury on euthanasia
Fifteen Dunedin citizens took part in a University of Otago citizens' jury to discuss legalising euthanasia and assisted dying. Audio
AC Grayling: Democracy in Crisis
British philosopher AC Grayling investigates the “least worst” system of government – and the current alternatives – in a lecture at the 2018 NZ Festival Writers and Readers. Audio
Tomicah Tillemann: breaking down the blockchain
Dr Tomicah Tilleman knows blockchains. He is the Chair of the Global Blockchain Business Council, a co-founder of the Blockchain Trust Accelerator in the US, and a member of the Advisory Board of the… Audio
AC Grayling: the crisis of democracy
Is democracy on the ropes? Some would have you believe that it's a dark time for democracy with the result of the Brexit referendum described as the greatest fraud ever and claims that the Trump… Audio
Insight: MMP - Democracy or Power?
Under NZ's MMP system, the highest polling party is not leading government. Former RNZ political editor Brent Edwards investigates if MMP is still the right option. Video, Audio
Upholding democracy in a place that doesn't exist
New Zealand's Dr Michael Walls has the unusual job of being the chief international observer of presidential elections in Somaliland, a country that has yet to gain international recognition. This… Audio, Gallery