Located in deepest British Columbia, you wouldn't think a town like Darkstead existed. But it does...When a spiteful local woman disappears under mysterious circumstances, it’s up to a jaded vampire detective and his over-eager new recruit to find her.
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Gibb Smith Productions Podcasts
Podcast by The New Zealand Initiative
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Sir Nick Gibb on what works in education reform
34:02
34:02
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In this episode, Michael talks with Sir Nick Gibb, who served as England’s Minister for Schools for a decade, about the evidence-based reforms that transformed English education through systematic phonics, a knowledge-rich curriculum, and structured maths teaching. They explore how progressive education ideology led to England’s earlier decline in …
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Owning less to achieve more: Refocusing Kāinga Ora
20:51
20:51
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20:51
In this episode, Oliver talks to Bryce Wilkinson about his new report examining Kāinga Ora, New Zealand's largest social housing provider, which manages around 78,000 units housing 200,000 people at a cost of roughly $2 billion annually to taxpayers. Bryce argues that the government could better support vulnerable New Zealanders by transitioning aw…
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Why New Zealand's productivity lags behind small European nations
37:14
37:14
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In this episode, Oliver talks to Michael Johnston about New Zealand's productivity paradox and why the country underperforms economically despite having strong institutions.They discuss lessons from small European countries like Switzerland, Ireland, Denmark, and the Netherlands, exploring how factors like decentralisation, foreign direct investmen…
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Building Nations: What Canada’s First Nations can teach us about devolution and development
25:27
25:27
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25:27
In this episode, Oliver talks to Eric Crampton, the New Zealand Initiative's chief economist, about his latest report Building Nations examining Canadian First Nations' experiences with autonomous land development and what New Zealand might learn from them. They discuss how Canadian reserves transformed from heavily regulated, impoverished areas in…
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In this episode, James talks to Craig Mellare and Abdul Razeed, senior lecturers at the University of Sydney Business School, about their empirical study on grade inflation in Australian higher education. They discuss findings showing that grades have risen significantly over the past decade despite no improvement in student ability, and explore th…
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In this episode, Oliver talks to Sam Andrews, Chief Strategy Officer at Bastion Security, about New Zealand’s cybersecurity landscape and the evolving threats facing organisations. They explore how AI is reshaping both attacks and defences, the strengths and weaknesses of New Zealand’s regulatory framework, and why building resilience is just as vi…
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In this episode, James Kierstead talks with Sarah McLaughlin, Senior Scholar, Global Expression at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), about her forthcoming book Authoritarians in the Academy. They explore how authoritarian governments, particularly China, pressure universities abroad through funding ties, partnerships, and …
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In this episode, Eric and Nick talk to Michael Keen, a former Deputy Director of the IMF's Fiscal Affairs Department and co-author of "Rebellion, Rascals and Revenue", about the many ways taxation can go wrong throughout history. They explore bizarre historical taxes like Britain's window tax and ship taxation, discuss New Zealand's exemplary GST s…
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What Adam Smith can teach us about regulating technology
46:43
46:43
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In this episode, Oliver talks to Stephen Crosswell, a partner at Baker and McKenzie in Hong Kong, the world’s strongest law firm brand. He is chair of the firm’s Asia-Pacific Antitrust & Competition Group and one of Hong Kong’s leading trial lawyers, admitted to practise in five countries. Stephen has seen first-hand how law shapes innovation, and …
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1
Unscrambling Government: Less confusion, more efficiency
29:12
29:12
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29:12
In this episode, Oliver talks to Roger Partridge about his new report "Unscrambling Government," which proposes consolidating New Zealand's extraordinarily complex government structure from 81 ministerial portfolios, 28 ministers, and 43 departments down to a more manageable 15-20 portfolios with corresponding departmental consolidation. They discu…
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Breaking down barriers not breaking up supermarkets
30:38
30:38
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30:38
In this episode, Oliver talks to Eric Crampton and Benno Blaschke about the New Zealand government’s supermarket competition reforms, which closely reflect The New Zealand Initiative’s policy framework—a major policy win that saw their research inform the Minister of Finance’s approach. They explain how their practical policy document shifted gover…
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Why getting an A at university is so easy now
32:02
32:02
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In this episode, Oliver talks to James Keirstead about his latest research report "Amazing Grades" which provides the first systematic analysis of grade inflation across all New Zealand universities. They discuss how A-grades have increased by 13 percentage points over two decades, reaching 35% of all grades awarded, and explore potential solutions…
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1
How Trump lost ground to Putin in Anchorage
28:02
28:02
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In this episode, Benno Blaschke talks to Oliver Hartwich about the recent Trump-Putin meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, where Trump appeared to abandon the Western position of seeking a ceasefire first in favour of Putin's demand for an immediate "peace deal" that would cement Russian territorial gains. They discuss the troubling implications of Trump …
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How professional licencing restricts competition
30:07
30:07
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30:07
In this episode, Eric talks to Ben Hamlin, Barrister at Clifton Chambers, about new Commerce Commission guidelines on occupational regulation and how professional licencing systems can restrict competition and increase prices for consumers. They discuss how government-created licencing boards often operate like cartels by limiting who can enter pro…
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Going Dutch: Lessons from the Netherlands
31:32
31:32
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In this episode, Oliver talks to Adelle Keely, Chief Executive of Acumen, about the Initiative's delegation to the Netherlands. They explore the country's remarkable approach to challenges, uncovering how Dutch culture of collaboration, technological innovation, and pragmatic problem-solving offers profound insights for New Zealand's future develop…
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In this episode, Oliver Hartwich talks to Michael Johnston about the government’s proposal to replace New Zealand’s National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) after more than two decades. They discuss how the current system, with its fragmented assessments and focus on collecting credits, has weakened learning. Michael explains how the …
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A fresh perspective on learning: Barbara Oakley's NZ odyssey
32:02
32:02
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In this episode, Oliver talks to Professor Barbara Oakley about her six-month stint as a visiting senior fellow at The New Zealand Initiative, marking her farewell to her time here in New Zealand. Reflecting on her work here, Barbara shares insights into education, discussing the challenges of student-centred learning, her work with the Initiative,…
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Going for Housing Growth (Part 3): The Government’s proposals
45:14
45:14
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45:14
In this final episode of their three-part series, Dr Eric Crampton, Dr Benno Blaschke and Dr Stuart Donovan critically examine the government's housing discussion document, assessing its potential to create more competitive urban land markets.They explore whether the proposed reforms genuinely move towards a more responsive and dynamic urban develo…
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Going for Housing Growth (Part 2): The way out
42:04
42:04
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42:04
In this second episode of their three-part series on New Zealand's housing crisis, Eric Crampton continues the discussion with Stu Donovan and Benno Blaschke, exploring what competitive urban land markets could look like.Building on their previous exploration of how New Zealand's housing became dysfunctional, they now examine the ideal alternative …
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Going for Housing Growth (Part 1): How we got into this mess
42:25
42:25
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42:25
In this episode, Eric Crampton talks to Benno Blaschke and Stu Donovan (Senior Fellow at Motu) about the complex history of New Zealand's housing crisis, exploring the first part of a three-part series on housing dysfunction. They delve into the underlying causes of housing unaffordability, exploring how urban planning policies, council incentives,…
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In this episode, Oliver talks to Associate Professor Darwyyn Deyo about her research journey from using popular fiction like Harry Potter to teach economics concepts to her main work on occupational licensing regulations. They discuss what occupational licensing actually involves, how New Zealand's lighter approach compares to the much more extensi…
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In this episode, James talks to Professor Ian Pace from City, Saint George's University of London about academic freedom, discussing the challenges facing universities, including political pressures, institutional neutrality, and the need for legislation to protect free speech and critical inquiry in academic settings.The conversation explores rece…
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In this episode, Eric talks to Tom Mungham, the former Chief Executive Officer and Registrar of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, about gambling regulation. Drawing from Ontario's successful experience with online gambling regulation, they explore how New Zealand can learn from and adapt international best practices to create a robust, …
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A Fast-Track to stronger grocery competition
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43:29
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In this episode, Eric talks to Benno Blaschke about his groundbreaking report proposing a fast-track supermarket entry and expansion omnibus bill that could revolutionise New Zealand's grocery market.They discuss the regulatory barriers preventing new supermarket chains from entering the market and explore a legislative framework that would streaml…
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In this episode, Oliver talks to Nick Clark about how artificial intelligence could help local government councillors make better decisions.They discuss how AI tools can help councillors understand complex reports, identify key issues, and formulate intelligent questions, ultimately empowering elected representatives who are often overwhelmed by te…
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