Both Sides Now was co-founded in 2022 by Eve McCallum and Finn Ross, who could see the increasing polarisation and the decreasing youth engagement in politics. They wanted to show that you could disagree politically and still be great mates. The show interviewed a range of high-profile politicians and journalists from across the political spectrum, including 6 Prime Ministers, 4 party leaders and 2 journalists. The show is back for election year 2026, and with Finn now being based in the UK, Alex Martin is stepping up to fill the left-leaning co-host role. Not only will the show continue its work to break down political polarisation and increase youth engagement, but it will do so with a new focus on women in politics. Eve and Alex have both seen the unfounded, increased vitriol towards female politicians in recent years, and we want to give them a chance to share their stories and educate and inspire other women to step up and become politicians. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
Ed v Mackelmore, more supermarket policy, training wages for u20s, and more!
This week on Both Sides Now, we kick things off with Ed Sheeran vs Macklemore, has Ed made the right call?Then we get into the big policy stories of the week: National entering the supermarket chat. Labour taking aim at supermarket price gouging, the Greens putting $200m behind Te Reo Māori, and Te Pāti Māori’s plans for New Zealand’s energy system.And we get into ACT’s small business policy, including a proposed freeze on the minimum wage and a new youth training wage for under-20s, set at 60% of the minimum wage for up to a year. ACT says the policy is about making it easier for businesses to take on and train young people — but what does it mean for young workers?We also look at National’s plan to put more police on public transport — will it actually make people feel safer, and what would it look like in practice? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
12 Sept 2026
A whistlestop tour of the NINE new policies announced this week
This week on Both Sides Now, we’re doing a political whistlestop tour because all the parties decided to do a policy dump this week. We start with the Green's KiwiMart. We then run through Labour and ACT's climate change and policies. TPM and ACT’s plans for the Waitangi Tribunal, what do these policies surpassingly have in common? We then go into Labour's AI policy, National’s first-home buyer announcement, and NZ First’s push around superannuation for citizens — plus the latest twist on immigration. We finish with Opportunity’s IERF policy.It’s a lot, but we’re breaking down what’s actually being proposed, why the parties are pushing it, and what it could mean if they ever make it into government.Another week, another nine things to have an opinion about. Welcome to election year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
5 Sept 2026
Student loans, women's health policy and climate change
This week on Both Sides Now we kick things off with National’s student loan policy. What is National actually proposing, who stands to benefit, and does it meaningfully change the picture for young New Zealanders trying to get ahead?Then we turn to health, with a particular focus on women’s health and the latest announcements in this space. We look at what the parties are promising and why young people should care about the health system.And finally, we get into climate change. We unpack ACT’s proposed scrapping of the Climate Change Commission, what that could mean for the way New Zealand approaches emissions and climate policy, and National’s position on the Paris Agreement.We also have some tax chats coming up! As mentioned on the show, if you have anything you want the experts to answer please email us at bothsidesnownz@gmail.com (no question is a silly question!) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
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