Today on Daybreak - Pride week is a fizzer despite the Ministry of Education's endorsement; an Australian judge lambasts medical professionals pushing the transing of children; the FDA (US) is formally reviewing the safety of the abortion pill; yet another country swings to the right; a recent study shows that higher metal health correlates with conservatives political views; and we discuss the fascinating 'moral' judgements being made about the ex-press secretary of the Prime Minister.

Here is Political Playback for 5 June 2025. Today Bob is joined by guest panellist Ro Edge who is co-founder of Save Women's Sports Australasia. Topics include: the latest political polls; TPM - violence or rhetoric? ; The Deputy PM handover from Winston Peters to David Seymour; politicising the music awards; mandatory sex-testing for all boxers; Jacinda Ardern's memoir; and did Elon Musk do a Nazi salute?

As the use of this potent synthetic opioid grows in New Zealand, so does its devastating impact. Our discussion with Tim Beck from the US offers us an in-depth look at the widespread reach of fentanyl, the lessons we can learn from the US experience, and strategies to combat its alarming rise in our communities.

Tim Beck is Executive Director of Nevada Narcotic Officers Association, retired Narcotics Detective, and Task Force Officer with Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

The Drug Detection Agency (TDDA) recently held their 20th Anniversary Conference in Auckland, and Family First were granted access to interview some of the top international experts who were speaking at the conference. (Thanks TDDA!)

Melissa McKay is a mother of five in the United States who has successfully lobbied for legislation to protect young people online. As New Zealand discusses how to better protect under 16 year olds from accessing social media, Simon sits down with Melissa to discuss her innovation which was to target the app stores themselves. This is a fascinating discussion of how of Melissa’s efforts have led to real change and the formation of the Digital Childhood Alliance which is seeing the legal approach spread across US States and potentially being introduced Federally. Melissa’s campaign provides a way forward that New Zealand should be seriously considering.

Today on Daybreak – the latest political polling which seems to counter the media narrative; money for media but not for palliative care; Jacinda’s book; the abortion pill inventor dies and receives undue praise from the usual suspects; shock horror – we were right about the Olympic boxer; Thailand U-turns on recreational dope; same-sex marriage loses popularity in the US; and why Samoan Language Week will be far better for your kids than ‘Pride’ Week (which is fast losing support anyway!).

Today on Daybreak – increasing support for a social media ban for younger people; who is experiencing the most discrimination in NZ? The result might surprise you; a bloke is rightly told he can’t play netball in the women's league in Australia, irrespective of his pronouns; an offensive art display is removed; plus other interesting stories from abroad.

On this episode of Political Playback, Bob and Simon discuss topics including the social media ban for youth; Ministry of Health ideology; pay equity; police not investigating theft crimes below certain thresholds; Indians upset with our government; media’s choice of words; is news radio dying?

Here's StraightTalk for 26 May 2025. We cut through the spin and discuss the current issues related to family and society. This episode discusses: The Budget - Highs and Lows; Should you get sacked for abusing politicians in public?; Should we raise the superannuation age; Can we trust the Ministry of Health in NZ?