The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night featured co-hosts & talking with regular guest about geopolitics, the economy, climate change and politics.

This edition also includes discussions with with special guest Geoffrey Miller, a strategic analyst with a PHD in New Zealand’s relations with the Middle East.

This week:

• Bernard and Peter began with a chat about the conflict in the Middle East and the fuel crisis. They also talked about Bernard being in Wellington for the Kia Tika, Kia Pono—For A Just Society conference organised by Vic Uni’s Stout Research Centre for New Zealand Studies.

• Bernard, Peter and Cathrine then talked about research via about a Super Duper El Niño, and research on an increased risk the AMOC will collapse early.

• Bernard, Peter, Robert and Geoffrey talked about events in the Middle East.

The Hoon’s podcast version above was recorded on Thursday night during a live webinar for over 200 paying subscribers and was produced and edited by Simon Josey.

The Hoon won the silver award for best current affairs podcast in last year’s New Zealand Podcast awards.

(This is a sampler for all free subscribers and anyone else who stumbles on it. Thanks to the support of paying subscribers here, we’re able to spread my public interest journalism here about housing affordability, climate change and poverty reduction other public venues. Join the community supporting and contributing to this work with your ideas, feedback and comments, and by subscribing in full. Remember, all students and teachers who sign up for the free version with their .ac.nz and .school.nz email accounts are automatically upgraded to the paid version for free. Also, here’s a couple of special offers: $3/month or $30/year for under 30s & $6.50/month or $65/year for over 65s who rent.)

Get 84% off forever

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Ngā mihi nui.

Bernard

Kia ora

Come and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm today.

Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat with myself, and regular guests and Otago Uni’s Professor , plus special guest Geoffrey Miller.

Cheers

Bernard

Read more

This edition also includes discussions with with special guests Rania Abouzeid, a New Zealand-born journalist calling in from Beirut, and BusinessDesk co-founder Pattrick Smellie, on his column about a big new renewable energy plan.

This week:

• Bernard and Peter began with a chat about the conflict in the Middle East and the fuel crisis. They mentioned this scoop (gift link) by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan in the New York Times yesterday.

• Bernard, Peter and Cathrine then talked about new research on the increasing intensity and frequency of weather events in Aotearoa, before another intense weather event expected this weekend. They also talked about the effects of heatwaves on humans.

• Bernard, Peter, Robert and Rania then talked about Israel’s strikes on Lebanon, which threaten to upend this week’s ceasefire and which are prolonging the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

• Bernard and Peter then talked with Pattrick about his column, which referred to this research this week by the Sustainable Business Council.

The Hoon’s podcast version above was recorded on Thursday night during a live webinar for over 200 paying subscribers and was produced and edited by Simon Josey.

The Hoon won the silver award for best current affairs podcast in last year’s New Zealand Podcast awards.

(This is a sampler for all free subscribers and anyone else who stumbles on it. Thanks to the support of paying subscribers here, we’re able to spread my public interest journalism here about housing affordability, climate change and poverty reduction other public venues. Join the community supporting and contributing to this work with your ideas, feedback and comments, and by subscribing in full. Remember, all students and teachers who sign up for the free version with their .ac.nz and .school.nz email accounts are automatically upgraded to the paid version for free. Also, here’s a couple of special offers: $3/month or $30/year for under 30s & $6.50/month or $65/year for over 65s who rent.)

Get 84% off forever

Get 66% off forever

Ngā mihi nui.

Bernard

Kia ora

Come and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm today.

Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat with myself, and regular guests and Otago Uni’s Professor , plus special guests Rania Abouzeid and Pattrick Smellie.

Cheers

Bernard

Read more

The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night featured co-hosts & talking with regular guest about geopolitics, the economy, climate change and politics here, along with special guests and , who are researchers and commentators.

This week:

• Bernard and Peter began with a chat about electric cars, a surfeit of news and Donald Trump’s speech yesterday. Peter recommended the last two episodes of the podcast Past, Present and Future . Bernard and Peter referred to the case that referred to NZME’s largest shareholder, Jim Grenon, and this article in Newsroom from Tim Murphy: Thumbs down for NZME’s Grenon in high-stakes court fight over tax

• Bernard, Peter and Cathrine then talked about how the responses to the fuel crisis were bedding in fossil fuel dependency.

• Bernard, Peter and Robert then talked about Trump’s speech and the events in Iran and the Middle East.

• then joined the show to talk about his Op-Ed in The Post-$ this week titled: ‘We’ve been left dangerously exposed by the failure to build a public diesel reserve’. He also recently wrote this on his substack: As oil prices surge, how realistic is a worst-case inflation scenario of 3.7%?

• from then joined to talk about his columns: How to protect the poorest during a fuel crisis and The government’s fuel crisis package looks weaker with each passing day

The Hoon’s podcast version above was recorded on Thursday night during a live webinar for over 200 paying subscribers and was produced and edited by Simon Josey.

The Hoon won the silver award for best current affairs podcast in last year’s New Zealand Podcast awards.

(This is a sampler for all free subscribers and anyone else who stumbles on it. Thanks to the support of paying subscribers here, we’re able to spread my public interest journalism here about housing affordability, climate change and poverty reduction other public venues. Join the community supporting and contributing to this work with your ideas, feedback and comments, and by subscribing in full. Remember, all students and teachers who sign up for the free version with their .ac.nz and .school.nz email accounts are automatically upgraded to the paid version for free. Also, here’s a couple of special offers: $3/month or $30/year for under 30s & $6.50/month or $65/year for over 65s who rent.)

Get 84% off forever

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Ngā mihi nui.

Bernard

I was joined by substacker and academic to talk about the symposium, which Catherine is helping organise and Mike is speaking at.

We started by talking about the need for the Symposium and referring to the National Emergency Briefing held in the UK last year, including an address on food security by Paul Behrens. The video of his address is below via Youtube.

Here’s recent posts on substack by Mike Joy and Catherine Knight on these topics.

Mike Joy

The End of Infinite Materiality

Soon after the coalition government announced they would build an LNG terminal for imports many pundits, academics, some politicians and NGOs jumped in suggesting we would be better off spending the money on renewables and overwhelmingly the solar PV option was championed…

Read more

a month ago · 45 likes · 9 comments · Mike Joy

An Uncommon Land

How do we move to a more food-secure future?

There has been some tremendous analysis of the war in Iran, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the implication…

Read more

a month ago · 17 likes · 11 comments · Catherine Knight

Here’s Catherine’s substack post announcing the conference.

An Uncommon Land

Help alert our political leaders to reality

As a follower of this Substack, you are probably already aware of the upcoming Reality of Everything Symposium and the intent behind it. You may have already secured your place at what could be 2026’s most important conference. But even if you can’t make it on the day, there are still important ways to you can…

Read more

a month ago · 18 likes · 6 comments · Catherine Knight

Thank you , , , , and many others for tuning into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app.

Get more from Bernard Hickey in the Substack app

Available for iOS and Android

Get the app

Get more from Bernard Hickey in the Substack app

Available for iOS and Android

Get the app

Read more

Kia ora

Come and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm today.

Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat with myself, and regular guests and Otago Uni’s Professor , plus special guests and .

Cheers

Bernard

Read more

This week:

• Bernard and Peter began with a chat about the rise of reactionary and nationalist political parties globally, including in New Zealand.

• Bernard and Cathrine talked about the latest WMO report on the climate in 2025 and why New Zealand’s oil consumption rose to a five-year high last year1.

• Bernard, Peter and Robert talked about the latest news in the Iran conflict.

• Bernard, Peter and Roger talked about the preparedness of New Zealand organizations for such a crisis.

• Peter referred to this video by LedbyDonkeys as the skateboarding dog.

The Hoon’s podcast version above was recorded on Thursday night during a live webinar for over 200 paying subscribers and was produced and edited by Simon Josey.

The Hoon won the silver award for best current affairs podcast in last year’s New Zealand Podcast awards.

(This is a sampler for all free subscribers and anyone else who stumbles on it. Thanks to the support of paying subscribers here, we’re able to spread my public interest journalism here about housing affordability, climate change and poverty reduction other public venues. Join the community supporting and contributing to this work with your ideas, feedback and comments, and by subscribing in full. Remember, all students and teachers who sign up for the free version with their .ac.nz and .school.nz email accounts are automatically upgraded to the paid version for free. Also, here’s a couple of special offers: $3/month or $30/year for under 30s & $6.50/month or $65/year for over 65s who rent.)

Get 84% off forever

Get 66% off forever

Ngā mihi nui.

Bernard

Get more from Bernard Hickey in the Substack app

Available for iOS and Android

Get the app

Read more

Kia ora

Come and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm today.

Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat with myself, and regular guests and Otago Uni’s Professor , plus special guest Roger Dennis, who is a leadership adviser and strategist.

Cheers

Bernard

Read more

This week:

• Bernard and Peter began with a chat about the Iran war, the fuel crisis and Winston Peters’ move to block a ‘globalist’ WHO measure1.

• Bernard and Peter then spoke with Cathrine about increased demand for EVs and whether the fuel crisis represented a tipping point for climate action.

• Then Bernard, Peter and Dileepa talked about the fuel crisis.

The Hoon’s podcast version above was recorded on Thursday night during a live webinar for over 200 paying subscribers and was produced and edited by Simon Josey.

The Hoon won the silver award for best current affairs podcast in last year’s New Zealand Podcast awards.

(This is a sampler for all free subscribers and anyone else who stumbles on it. Thanks to the support of paying subscribers here, we’re able to spread my public interest journalism here about housing affordability, climate change and poverty reduction other public venues. Join the community supporting and contributing to this work with your ideas, feedback and comments, and by subscribing in full. Remember, all students and teachers who sign up for the free version with their .ac.nz and .school.nz email accounts are automatically upgraded to the paid version for free. Also, here’s a couple of special offers: $3/month or $30/year for under 30s & $6.50/month or $65/year for over 65s who rent.)

Get 84% off forever

Get 66% off forever

Ngā mihi nui.

Bernard

I was joined by regular Hoon guest , conference speaker and Vic Uni Professor of Climate Change and climate scientist Andy Reisinger, speaking independently and not in his role as a Climate Change Commissioner.

We started by talking about the need for the Symposium and referring to the National Emergency Briefing held in the UK last year, including an address by Zennström Professor of Climate and Energy at Uppsala University and Chair of Energy and Climate Change at the University of Manchester, Professor Kevin Anderson. The video of his address is below via Youtube.

We talked about the intersection of climate change with other crises, the realities of climate science, the urgency of action, and the systemic changes needed to address the climate crisis.

Here’s Catherine’s substack post announcing the conference.

An Uncommon Land

Welcome to 'The Reality of Everything' 2026

Something in the water …

Read more

4 months ago · 69 likes · 25 comments · Catherine Knight

And a follow-up post with the latest details.

An Uncommon Land

Don't adjust your set - normal programming will not resume

It has been exactly two months today since I announced the Reality of Everything Symposium here on Substack, and today I am excited to announce that our provisional programme is now available on an arresting new website. Thanks for reading An Uncommon Land! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work…

Read more

2 months ago · 24 likes · 2 comments · Catherine Knight

Here’s the chapters in the video above:

00:00 Introduction to Climate Change and the Reality of Everything Conference

01:25 Overview of the Reality of Everything Conference

02:17 Insights from the UK National Emergency Briefing

04:49 The Current State of Global Warming

07:31 The Impacts of Climate Change and Tipping Points

10:58 Radical Transformations Required for a Sustainable Future

14:12 The Reality of Climate Change and Public Awareness

16:57 The Necessity of Rapid Change

19:33 The Consequences of Inaction

22:18 Engaging Politicians and the Public

24:44 The Role of Corporations and Governance

27:15 Exploring Solutions at the Conference

Thank you , , , , , and many others for tuning into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app.

Get more from Bernard Hickey in the Substack app

Available for iOS and Android

Get the app

The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night featured co-hosts & talking with regular guests and about geopolitics, the economy, climate change and politics here, along with special guest Helen Clark.

This week:

• Bernard and Peter began with a chat about the Iran war, New Zealand’s looming fuel supply issues and Marsden Point.

• Bernard then spoke with Cathrine about new research confirming an acceleration of climate change1, about research showing a rise in carbon dioxide in bloodstreams2, and the links between the Middle East conflicts and climate change.

• Then Bernard, Peter, Robert and Helen talked about the current mess in the Middle East, New Zealand’s weak response, our health system and an upcoming play about Helen Clark called ‘Helen Clark in Six Outfits’

The Hoon’s podcast version above was recorded on Thursday night during a live webinar for over 200 paying subscribers and was produced and edited by Simon Josey.

The Hoon won the silver award for best current affairs podcast in last year’s New Zealand Podcast awards.

(This is a sampler for all free subscribers and anyone else who stumbles on it. Thanks to the support of paying subscribers here, we’re able to spread my public interest journalism here about housing affordability, climate change and poverty reduction other public venues. Join the community supporting and contributing to this work with your ideas, feedback and comments, and by subscribing in full. Remember, all students and teachers who sign up for the free version with their .ac.nz and .school.nz email accounts are automatically upgraded to the paid version for free. Also, here’s a couple of special offers: $3/month or $30/year for under 30s & $6.50/month or $65/year for over 65s who rent.)

Get 84% off forever

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Ngā mihi nui.

Bernard

The full interview is above for all.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Context Setting

07:22 Fuel Crisis and Government Response

10:43 Housing Crisis and Emergency Solutions

13:20 Economic Policy and the 30-30 Rule

19:19 Debt Management and Economic Stability

24:15 Electrifying the Economy and Climate Change

27:28 Population Growth and Migration Policy

Cheers

Bernard

The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night featured co-hosts & talking with regular guests and about geopolitics, the economy, climate change and politics here, along with special guest historian and author Jonathan Lyons.

This week:

• Bernard and Peter began with a discussion about deaths of a record 129 journalists reported in 2025 by the Committee to Protect Journalists, mostly in Gaza, and the risks of it worsening in an extended war in the Middle East.

• Bernard and Peter talked about New Zealand’s lack of resilience to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz for both diesel and fertiliser.

• Bernard, Peter and Cathrine talked about the impending dropping of clean car standards and the connections between war and climate change.

• Bernard, Peter, Robert and Jonathan talked about the implications from the widening war in the Middle East, including Israel’s role and Iran’s history.

Jonathan has written these books on Iran: The House of Wisdom: How the Arabs Transformed Western Civilization, and, Islam Through Western Eyes: From the Crusades to the War on Terrorism.

The Hoon’s podcast version above was recorded on Thursday night during a live webinar for over 200 paying subscribers and was produced and edited by Simon Josey.

The Hoon won the silver award for best current affairs podcast in last year’s New Zealand Podcast awards.

(This is a sampler for all free subscribers and anyone else who stumbles on it. Thanks to the support of paying subscribers here, we’re able to spread my public interest journalism here about housing affordability, climate change and poverty reduction other public venues. Join the community supporting and contributing to this work with your ideas, feedback and comments, and by subscribing in full. Remember, all students and teachers who sign up for the free version with their .ac.nz and .school.nz email accounts are automatically upgraded to the paid version for free. Also, here’s a couple of special offers: $3/month or $30/year for under 30s & $6.50/month or $65/year for over 65s who rent.)

Get 84% off forever

Get 66% off forever

Ngā mihi nui.

Bernard

Kia ora

Come and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm today.

Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat with myself, and regular guests and , along with along with special guest historian and author Jonathan Lyons.

Jonathan has written these books on Iran: …

Read more

I was joined by regular Hoon guest , substacker and symposium facilitator , conference speaker and epidemiologist Professor Alistair Woodward from the University of Auckland, and fellow public health specialist Associate Professor Caroline Shaw from the University of Otago.

We started by talking about the need for the Symposium and referring to the National Emergency Briefing held in the UK last year, including an address by Professor Hugh Montgomery, a Professor of Intensive Care Medicine at University College London. The video of his address is below via Youtube.

We talked about the intersection of public health and climate change, emphasizing the urgent need for a comprehensive approach to public health in the face of climate, resource and economic crises.

We talked about tobacco control as a precedent for health policy, the social determinants of health, and the benefits of e-bikes. The conversation concludes with recommendations for policymakers to prioritize health and well-being in climate action.

Here’s Catherine’s substack post announcing the conference.

An Uncommon Land

Welcome to 'The Reality of Everything' 2026

Something in the water …

Read more

4 months ago · 69 likes · 25 comments · Catherine Knight

And a follow-up post with the latest details.

An Uncommon Land

Don't adjust your set - normal programming will not resume

It has been exactly two months today since I announced the Reality of Everything Symposium here on Substack, and today I am excited to announce that our provisional programme is now available on an arresting new website. Thanks for reading An Uncommon Land! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work…

Read more

2 months ago · 24 likes · 2 comments · Catherine Knight

Here’s the chapters in the video above:

00:00 Introduction to the Reality of Everything Symposium

02:43 Understanding the Interconnected Crises

05:36 Climate Change and Health Risks

07:18 Tobacco Control as a Model for Climate Action

11:41 Social Determinants of Health and Climate Change

15:29 Transport, Health, and Climate Change Solutions

18:10 Rethinking Emergencies and Public Health

19:05 Transport Policies and Health Implications

21:20 Access Over Infrastructure: A New Perspective

22:19 The Hidden Health Costs of Transport

24:23 E-Bikes: A Healthier Alternative

25:34 Policy Solutions for Health and Climate Change

29:18 Public Health as Climate Action

31:48The Economic Case for Climate Action

Thank you , , , , , and many others for tuning into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app.

Get more from Bernard Hickey in the Substack app

Available for iOS and Android

Get the app

So I decided to have a Substack Live with , who writes about tech and AI for . The resulting chat is above.

Citrini Research

THE 2028 GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE CRISIS

Preface…

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2 months ago · 6206 likes · 83 comments · Citrini and Alap Shah

Thank you , , , , , and many others for tuning into my live video with ! Join me for my next live video in the app.

Get more from Bernard Hickey in the Substack app

Available for iOS and Android

Get the app