Kākāpō numbers are recovering at such a rate that we are running out of pest-free islands to put them on

2026 could be the year that the kākāpō breeding programme takes such a big leap forward that conservationists can finally take a step back

Guests:

• Alison Ballance - Kākāpō Files

Learn More:

• Read DoC's blog on the 2026 mast season
• Learn about Auckland Zoo's kākāpō programme

Find The Detail on Newsroom or RNZ

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Sexual exploitation of children is seen as one of the worst crimes out there - but do the prison terms reflect the severity?

An advocacy organisation says it receives calls from people covertly asking for help to avoid offending - but despite evidence that programmes work, resources to help are thin

Guests:

• Tim Houston - manager of the digital child exploitation team at the Department of Internal Affairs
• Eleanor Parkes - National Director for ECPAT NZ

Where to get help:

• Stop: South Island
  • Email info@stop.org.nz
  • Call 03 353 0257
• WellStop: Lower North Island
  • Email: info@wellstop.org.nz
  • Call 04 566 4745
• Safe Network: Northern North Island.
  • Email: info@safenetwork.org.nz
  • Call 09 377 9898

Learn More:

• The Detail's first episode on child exploitation
• Government's Child Protection (Child Sex Offender Government Agency Registration) Amendment Bill

Find The Detail on Newsroom or RNZ

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Government pressed for action as scandal over police handling of McSkimming complaints sparks national reckoning

A week after a bombshell IPCA report raised allegations of high-level cover-ups and triggered accusations of corruption, the fallout continues to grow, with public trust in our Police in the spotlight

Guests:

• Jared Savage - New Zealand Herald's senior investigative journalist
• Sam Sachdeva - Newsroom national affairs editor

Learn More:

• Read Sam's article on the case here
• A Newsroom analysis written by Tim Murphy
• Jared's New Zealand Herald article on the McSkimming case

Find The Detail on Newsroom or RNZ

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Type 1 diabetes used to be called 'juvenile diabetes', and Type 2 affected adults. But that's no longer the case, and the number of kids with Type 2 in New Zealand is rising.

A specialist in treating childhood diabetes says that some children are born "almost what we call 'programmed'" to have the disease - but new medicine could help put them in remission

Guests:

• Dr Craig Jefferies - Paediatric Endocrinologist at Starship
• Guyon Espiner - RNZ In Depth

Learn More:

• Read an article from Best Practice Journal on how primary care can help with the rise of type 2
• Read more on the difference between type 1 and type 2 here
• Learn more about the rise in amputations associated with type 2 diabetes

Find The Detail on Newsroom or RNZ

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Editing scandal at BBC sparks 'existential crisis' for public-service broadcaster and puts the spotlight on trust in journalism

From editing error to boardroom exit, how the BBC's reputation took a blow and what this means for global journalism

Guests:

• Jim Tully - Journalism educator and media commentator
• Sean Hogan - Freelance Correspondent in the UK

Learn More

• Read the BBC's own reporting on the events
• Read Al Jazeera's timeline of the events

Find The Detail on Newsroom or RNZ

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

For years, a father has been fighting for Waka Kotahi to do more about the dangers of a vehicle braking system involved in his son's death. Now a coroner's report backs him up, but NZTA still disagrees.

After a death on a construction site, a coroner's report has called a braking system found in some 70,000 vehicles around New Zealand "inherently unsafe". Waka Kotahi disagrees.

Guests:

• Louisa Cleave - Checkpoint senior producer
• Selwyn Rabbits - safety campaigner

Learn More:

• Read more reporting on cardan shaft brakes, starting in 2021, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here
• See NZTA Waka Kotahi's guidance on cardan shaft park brakes

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Space terrorism is no longer relegated to sci-fi movies: it's happening already, and one legal expert warns we're far from prepared

An attack on satellite can take modern life offline, affecting everything from basic communication to banking. But international law is lagging, and an expert warns we risk turning the final frontier into the next frontline.

Guests:

• Anna Marie Brennan - University of Waikato law lecturer

Learn more:

• Read Anna's article on the threat of space terrorism here
• EU chief von der Leyen's plane hit by suspected Russian GPS jamming
• An overview of the cyber war between Ukraine and Russia

Find The Detail on Newsroom or RNZ

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

As AI share prices soar, some economic doomsayers have started to ring the warning bells of a bubble risk

More and more, finance experts are predicting that the AI bubble is getting ready to pop - so what does that mean for Kiwi investors, and for our economy

Guests:

• Gyles Beckford - RNZ business editor
• Harry Smith - Fisher Funds global equity portfolio manager
• Leighton Roberts - Sharesies co-founder

Find The Detail on Newsroom or RNZ

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details