Posts in Politics
1/200 S2E148 - LGNZ of the Fall

Local Govt NZ had their conference and it's becoming clear that central government only likes local democracy when it's convenient. Cost of living and homelessness increases for everyone except the elite. The Epstein and McSkimming cases in the news prompt a discussion about power, broader political risks and perverse incentives in a hierarchy.

Read More
1/200 S2E147 - It's a Shame About Ray

We discuss the filthiness of right-wing discourse and strategy, particularly the latest targeting and smears by Ray Chung in Wellington. The ACT Party is moving openly further right, pulling NZ pol along with the aid of media. And across the West the “centre left” parties continue to accelerate rightwards themselves, could new parties and messaging ameliorate this?

Read More
1/200 S2E145 - Comms as You Are

Political communication, media and the divide in reality between the left and right of politics. We discuss Mamdani’s NYC Dem primary win, David Seymour’s attacks on public figures, the horrific behaviour by RNZ in their reporting on the death of a young transman and the transformation of the western elite into weird slop.

Read More
1/200 S2E143 - Hit Me With Your West Shot

Covering domestic and international politics this week, we look at the way in which existing power structures, and even accountability measures, predominantly protect the status quo and the accelerating radicalism of capital. NZ is chucking out the census, ACT is becoming more brazen in its attacks on public figures, and the West gets ever twitchier about encroachments on “their turf”.

Read More
1/200 S2E141 - Age of Entitlement

We catch up on the week’s political news. We look at the updates on the suspension of Te Pāti Māori MPs and the ways in which it is radicalising voters, the Michael Forbes case and the urgent need for an update to NZ legislation and the apparent battle between Musk and Trump.

Read More
1/200 S2E137 - Suspension Disbelief

We discuss the multitude of ways in which the establishment, both political and media, is aligning against opposition from progressive groups. From the suspension of Te Pāti Māori MPs to the full press against the Green’s alternative budget, it has never been clearer that these institutions are acting in class solidarity with the powerful.

Read More
1/200 S2E133 - US Primacy, Arms Sales and Human Rights w/ Dr Annelle Sheline

1 /200 doesn't usually get former US State Department officers as guests, but Dr. Annelle Sheline is no ordinary former State Department officer. Having famously quit her job in protest at the Biden administration's unequivocal backing for Israel's war on Gaza, she recently sat down with Branko Marcetic to talk about how a US foreign policy that puts military power over human rights hurts everyone - including the United States itself.

Read More
1/200 S2E130 - Pandora's "Box"

We discuss the continuing atrocities in Gaza, the blackbagging of activists across the west and declining US hegemony accelerated by an absurd tariffs regime. Closer to home we touch on the Treaty Bill submissions and the horrific hit job on a Green MP by far right muckrakers and politicians.

Read More