Nigel Biggar CBE is Emeritus Regius Professor of Moral Theology at the University of Oxford and Distinguished Scholar in Residence at Pusey House, Oxford. In his recent book, Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning Nigel Biggar addresses the crucial questions in eight chapters: Was the British Empire driven primarily by greed and the lust to dominate? Shoul…

Roger Partridge is chairman and a co-founder of The New Zealand Initiative and is a senior member of its research team. He led law firm Bell Gully as executive chairman from 2007 to 2014, after 16 years as a commercial litigation partner. Roger recently published a report titled, Who Makes the Law? Reining in the Supreme Court, in which he warns of…

Martin van Beynen was born in Christchurch, and lived in West Auckland from the age of 11, where he attended St Peter's College. He later graduated from University of Auckland where he studied law and wrote for Craccum. He also completed a Diploma in Journalism at the University of Canterbury in 1989, and began working with the Otago Daily Times in…

The book Resilience, written by the late Inge Woolf, covers her remarkable life story. Born in Vienna before the war, her story tells of fleeing from Nazi oppression and genocide, establishing a tenuous life in England, her arrival in New Zealand, marriage, tragedy and children. Join me Damien Grant, as I talk to lawyer, director, adviser, independ…

Dr Oliver Hartwich is the Executive Director of the NZ Initiative; New Zealand’s premier free-market think tank. Before joining the Initiative, he was a Research Fellow at the Centre for Independent Studies in Sydney, the Chief Economist at Policy Exchange in London, and an advisor in the UK House of Lords. Oliver holds a Master’s degree in Economi…

Dr Eric Crampton is the chief economist at The New Zealand Initiative, New Zealand's leading private think-tank. He previously served for over a decade as lecturer and senior lecturer in economics at the University of Canterbury. In this second interview with Dr Eric Crampton we discuss Paul H. Ruben's book, Darwinian Politics: The Evolutionary Ori…

Marilyn Waring is a New Zealand feminist, former politician, author of multiple books, academic, and activist for female human rights and environmental issues. She is best known for her 1988 book If Women Counted, and she obtained a D.Phil in political economy in 1989. Through her research and writing she is known as the principal founder of the di…

Toby Young is a British social commentator and the founder and director of the Free Speech Union in the United Kingdom, an associate editor of The Spectator, and a former associate editor at Quillette. Toby recently visited New Zealand on invitation from the NZ Free Speech Union. In this Episode we talk about his book, How to lose friends and alien…

Evan Paul Moon is a New Zealand historian, a professor and author of New Zealand history and biography. Moon is widely recognised for his study of the Treaty of Waitangi, and has published two books on the topic. More recently he published Ans Westra: A Life in Photography, the story of the photographer Ans Westra, who died in 2023. Join me, Damien…

Jonathan Rauch is an American journalist, philosopher and author of eight books and many articles on public policy, culture, and government. He has also written on topics as widely varied as adultery, agriculture, economics, gay marriage, height discrimination, biological rhythms, number inflation, and animal rights. Join Damien Grant as he intervi…

The Honourable Christopher Francis Finlayson is a New Zealand lawyer and former Member of Parliament, representing the National Party. He practiced law in Wellington as a solicitor before going to the Bar in 2002. He was elected to Parliament in 2005 and became Attorney-General and Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations in 2008. During his Mi…

Steven Braunias is a New Zealand author, columnist, journalist and editor. He is the author of 13 books. In his book, Missing Persons, which was winner of the 2023 Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Non-Fiction, Braunias tells Twelve extraordinary tales of disappearance including former journalist Murray Mason, found dead in the Auckland Domain; the myster…

Alex Calder is a professor at the Faculty of Arts, English and Drama, New Zealand of Auckland University. He also edited the book, Gallipoli to the Somme, written by Alexander Aitken. Aitken began to write about his experiences in 1917 as a wounded out-patient in Dunedin Hospital. Every few years, when the war trauma caught up with him, he revisite…

Graham Linehan is an Irish comedy writer and anti-transgender activist. He created or co-created the sitcoms Father Ted (1995–1998), Black Books (2000–2004) and The IT Crowd (2006–2013), and he has written for shows including Count Arthur Strong, Brass Eye and The Fast Show. Early in his career, he partnered with the writer Arthur Mathews. Linehan …

James Hollings is Programme Leader, Journalism, for Massey Niversity. He has worked in senior roles in news organisations, including as production editor and as a senior correspondent in health, agriculture, industry and the arts. His doctoral dissertation was on the decision-making processes of reluctant witnesses. James Hollings, together with Ki…

Dr Eric Crampton is the Chief Economist at The New Zealand Initiative and previously served for over a decade as Lecturer and Senior Lecturer in Economics at the University of Canterbury. In this episode Eric and Damien discuss the book, How the Dismal Science Got Its Name, by David M. Levy. Tune in as controversial writer and podcast host, Damien …

Philip Matthews is a senior journalist, reviewer and editorial writer whose work has appeared in the NZ Listener, Metro, Sunday Star-Times, Landfall, The Press, The Wire, The Spinoff and a host of other publications during his 25 years in the business. For more than 10 years he was an award-winning film reviewer for the NZ Listener, with two stints…

Joe Bennett is one of New Zealands most highly decorated columnists and has won the New Zealand Colomnist Award of the Year multiple times. Born in England, Joe Bennett has lived in New Zealand since 1987. Thirteen collections of his columns have been published in New Zealand and three world-wide. He has had four travel books published by Simon and…

Jordan Henry Williams (born 1986) is New Zealand lawyer best known for his political activities, which are often connected to the National or ACT parties, and his lobbying for liberal and conservative causes. Jordan is also one of the cofounders of the Taxpayers Union which recently celebrated its ten years in existance.…

Gareth Thomas Llewelyn Hughes is a New Zealand activist, Political Commentator, and a former politician of the Green Party. He was a member of the New Zealand Parliament for eleven years, from 2010 to 2020. He is also the author of the book, A Gentle Radical, The Life of Jeanette Fitzsimons. Join me as I speak to Gareth about Jeanette's early life,…

Lord Hannan of Kingsclere is an author and columnist. A former member of the European Parliament and advisor to The Board Of Trade, he writes for ConservativeHome and The Washington Examiner. He is currently a sitting member of the House of Lords where he takes the Conservative whip, and has since 2020 served as an adviser to the Board of Trade. He…

Don has been one of New Zealand's leading economic and financial policy advisers, and over the years he has provided advice to governments in many parts of the world – in New Zealand most obviously, but also in recent years in Indonesia, Cambodia, the Bahamas, Saudi Arabia, and the Pacific Islands. Brash was Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zeal…

Paul Diamond is a writer, broadcast journalist and historian. His radio programmes have won Qantas Media and Media Peace Awards. He was also awarded a David Low Chevening Fellowship in 2001 to study at Oxford University. Diamond’s first book, A Fire in your Belly (2003) is a significant collection of interviews with Maori leaders. Makereti: Taking …

Todd Lauchlan is the managing director of JLL and a real estate professional with over 25 years of experience in office leasing, investment sales, transactions and managing corporate clients. I am a strategic thinker adept at combining technical skills with strong leadership abilities to implement quality business decisions. Tune in as controversia…

In this interview with Dr David Cumin from the Israel Instatute of New Zealand, we talk about the history of anti-Semitism, the history of the state of Israel and some of the activities that have led to the current crisis with the Hamas attack on Southern Israel. Tune in as controversial writer and podcast host, Damien Grant, interviews a wide sele…

Michael is an independent economic commentator, blogger, and stay-at-home parent. His regular blog, Croaking Cassandra, focused on economics and public policy (especially in New Zealand) and am researching issues relating to New Zealand's longer-term economic performance. Tune in as controversial writer and podcast host, Damien Grant, interviews a …

Liam is a “general practitioner” of the law and has strong connections to the rural community. He is a trusted advisor to many farming families. He has also developed a strong practice advising start-ups and not-for-profit organisations. Liam also frequents national radio, television, digital and print publications as a political commentator. Tune …

In this episode I interview Guyon Espiner, Investigative Journalist who has been working in the media industry since 1994 in newspapers, websites, radio and TV. He is also the author of The Drinking Game, an incisive analysis of how our drinking culture is influenced by the government, media and big business. Tune in as controversial writer and pod…

Anna Fifield is a remarkable and respectable journalist, columnist, author, and current editor of The Washington Post. I interviewed her about her book, The Great Successor: The Divinely Perfect Destiny of Brilliant Comrade Kim Jong Un. Tune in as controversial writer and podcast host, Damien Grant, interviews a wide selection of interesting and en…

Steven Joyce, former politician, filled the roles of Minister of Transport, Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Minister of Science and Innovation, and then served as Minister of Finance and Minister for Infrastructure, to name a few. In this episode we discuss his book, On the Record. Tune in as controversial writer and podcast…

Professor Paul Spoonley has spent a lifetime in academia; as an academic, administrator as well as a prolific author and commentator. In his 2020 book, The New New Zealand Spoonley looks at our nation's recent demographic past and the challenges for our future. In this discussion we discuss his book and the policy implications of a falling populait…

Dr Oliver Hartwich is the Executive Director of the NZ Initiative; New Zealand’s premier free-market think tank. In July he lead a delegation to Ireland with over thirty of his members, a group that included billionaires, knights of the realm and me. We discussed why we went, what we learnt in Ireland, and what the Hon Trevor Mallard is up to over …

Max Rashbrooke is a conviction-driven academic who has written extensively on inequality and wealth in New Zealand. He is the author of a number of books and a regular contributor for The Guardian and a range of local news outlets. In this interview we discuss his 2021 book Too Much Money, and dive into our different understanding of Thomas Piketty…

Dr Paul Moon is one of this nation’s most prolific historians and authors. His books cover the years before the foundation of our country, a slew of our most important figures, and in his latest work our most vibrant and populus city. I interview Paul about his book; Auckland; the twentieth Century Story.…