Here it is - the latest episode of CounterCulture, diving into the topic of Feminism! There is sure to be some debate. Will we see a split of views from our panellists - 2 men and 2 women 😄

Louis Theroux has dived into the disturbing world of the Manosphere in his recent documentary. He does a great job of exposing the exploitation and poisonous messaging on this "red pill" community. However, he gives very little in response to the very real struggles young men are facing in today's modern world.

In this episode of Political Playback – MPs to debate the definition of a ‘woman’ after a private members bill is drawn; the Human Right Commission proves just how dangerous they are; the Ministry of Health can’t say the word “woman”; the latest political poll is bad for National; Luxon does a cabinet re-shuffle – was anyone watching; the BSA unilaterally determine their ‘authority’; is the Easter / Christmas / Anzac Day booze bill simply a smokescreen for further steps; is Hipkins’ trust at the same low level as the media’s; is the role of Prime Minister similar to that of a CEO; the Green party accepts trans candidates but not prostitutes – what bigots; is Winston really a social conservative – not according to one commentator.

A private members bill to define in legislation the word "woman" has been drawn. The bill is sponsored by New Zealand First MP Jenny Marcroft. Now we will find out once and for all whether MPs can define Truth & biology - or whether they’re captured by ideology & fear. Let the (women’s) sports begin! xx

In this episode of Family Matters, Simon O’Connor interviews Jonathan “Jono” Mcfarlane, a former New Zealand’s Strongest Man, multiple Highland Games champion, and a Guinness World Record holder (for being able to throw a person the furthest; he did hold the record for throwing a 100 pound washing machine, but later beaten by actor who played ‘The Mountain’ in Game of Thrones’. As the International Olympic Committee (IOC) insists that athletes compete according to their biological sex, Simon and Jono talk the very real biological differences between men and women in sport. As Jono notes, his perspective comes from years of being in elite sport and as a strength athlete – so shot put, discus, wrestling, strongman, highland games, and more. Jono describes how he started shot put at age 14, taking up Olympic weightlifting at 16, and later doing strongman. He retired in 2019 to avoid being “broken” and to be even more present as a dad. He also talks about his parallel ministry path as an Anglican priest, recalling a funny moment where he married a couple and then literally ran to compete in highland games, switching his liturgical garb for kilt. The key message from Jono is that when it comes to the biological reality of male vs female performance in elite sport, the gap between men and women is much larger at these top levels than many realise, making male participation in women’s sport inherently unfair and often unsafe. Jono talks through examples in shot put and strongman competitions, sharing the successes of the exceptional Valerie Adams and putting her achievements alongside the men’s competition (and vice versa). He also talks the situation around Laurel Hubbard, and how all the manifest differences (e.g. being 39 years old, whereas most lifters are in their twenties or very early thirties) simply keeps pointing to the fact that being a biological man gives an advantage. Simon and Jono finally discuss how all this supports the recent IOC decision, but that various New Zealand sports entities still seem confused as to what to do, ultimately pushing girls and women out of competitions and impacting safety. #familymatters #FamilyFirst #FamilyFirstNZ

Bob shares his highlights from the past 20 years of Family First. Yes we’re 20 Years Strong - still here, even stronger, and still fighting for Kiwi families. Consider investing in our future by donating here: https://familyfirst.org.nz/donations/ For 20+ years we’ve been a leading pro-family and pro-life voice - we’ve played a key role in major public policy debates including opposition to the anti-smacking law, the redefinition of marriage, the liberalisation of abortion laws, and the 2020 cannabis and euthanasia referendums. We’ve also become one of New Zealand’s leading new-media commentators - recently we measured 40+ million views of Family First content across our social media platforms in just 12 months, In many stories we get more views than the mainstream media.

A new ‘trust’ barometer based on a global study has found that compared to media around the world, our news media is in what we call in sporting terms – the relegation zone. The communications agency that oversaw the study suggested that the media should “Write accurate headlines instead of exaggerated or fear-inducing ones” and “Dedicate equal time and coverage to different viewpoints on big issues”. Don’t hold your breath.

In this episode of Solid Ground, Simon celebrates Family First’s 20 year milestone as well as the positive comments about motherhood by broadcaster Tova O’Brien. Simon updates listeners on the government funding political activism after reporting that a Christchurch charitable trust received $30,000 via the Ministry for Ethnic Communities and a further $70,000 via the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet’s ‘preventing violence and extremism fund’ to promote Gazan perspectives on the current conflict. He notes no funding should be given to either side of this debate, but that there is clearly an ideological capture within the civil service to have allowed this to happen. He discusses Family First’s calls for a new ‘App Store Accountability’ law, noting successful lawsuits in the US against Meta and Tiktok for harm caused to young people. He also notes the UK has just introduced age verification for apps as well, though warns against any creep towards wider digital ID. Turning to overseas, Simon condemns Finnish MP Päivi Räsänen’s conviction under war-crimes legislation for her Christian statements on marriage, and highlights how Canada is moving towards its own absurd hate speech laws. Finally, he welcomes the International Olympic Committee’s decision to keep Olympic categories based on biological sex.