B-side Stories

Vanessa Stacey talks to Sadie Coe about her dedication to the performing arts and to helping others into the industry. Vanessa began acting on the big screen at the age of seven, and since then has worked around New Zealand and the world acting, directing, and singing with various bands, as well as working as a publicist and tour manager for acts such as Fat Freddy's Drop. She also shares one of her latest songs live in the studio.

This Matariki, B-Sides host Sadie Coe celebrated by playing songs by some Wellington bands past and present. Have a listen, then go buy the albums of these great musicians! Featured: Bilge Festival, Double Ya D, Tape Man, Black Minnaloushe, Orchestra of Spheres, Mermaidens, Beatcomber, Thrashing Marlin, Lucy Smyth, The All Seeing Hand (pictured), Mr Sterile Assembly, Hans Pucket, The Nudge.

Rachel Benefield is a mum committed to going plastic free! Laurie and Laura spoke to Rachel about how her family reduced their plastic waste, and how the experience inspired her speak-up and lead Plastic Free Kāpiti, a community group on Facebook to help other folks on the same journey!

Following the 15 March terror attacks in Christchurch, which left 51 people dead, Tahir Nawaz from Wellington has been thrust into the spotlight as a leader of the Muslim Community in New Zealand. In this episode, Laura speaks to Tahir about the Muslim community in Wellington, and how they have been affected by the terrible events in Christchurch, as well as learning about his background and life.

Ali Little left a successful corporate career for a life with more play in it. Her talents include performing and teaching improv theatre, photography, playing the ukulele, and creating everything from paintings to puppets and from taxidermy to TARDIS's. "The idea that music and art and sports should all be left to people who are good at it and the rest of us should just watch them—I despise that idea."

Kaicycle Urban Farm in Newtown has a reputation of sustaining passionate youthful volunteers, an organic waste service that is too full to take anymore subscriptions and grows food through the compost it makes to give to Kaibosh and other community groups that need it! And whats more urban farms like these are a solution for Climate change! In this B-side stories interview we talking with Kaicycle urban farmers Sheldon Levet and Kate Walmsley about why this urban farm works and how our capital could see more of them!

Zoe Studd and team at Mountains To Sea Wellington are helping our local streams and oceans by empowering young people to protect the amazing habitats all around them. Hear about some of the incredible work they're doing to protect and restore our freshwater! Visit http://mountainstoseawellington.org/ to learn more.

Bruce Foster talks to Perrine about his environmentally inspired art and activism, and the ways that artists might want to make audiences uncomfortable!

Molly and Ursula tell B Sides about the School Strike 4 Climate held on 24 May - speaking to crowds of 4500, growing hope for youth in New Zealand, and becoming activists. They also lay down a few challenges for Perrine and Laura!

Laura and Perrine headed to Te Ngakau Civic Square on 24 May to check out the second school strike 4 climate.

Lucy and David from the Citizens Advice Bureau share the many interesting (and helpful!) things that the CAB do in a day... and fill us in on their changing central city location. Note well: Sound is a little shaky for the first minute or so, but then clears up, so please persevere!

Climate Scientist James Renwick is a Professor at Victoria University, the winner of the Prime Minister’s Science Prize for Communication in 2018, and when you hear a climate scientist on Morning Report talking about the dangers of climate change, it’s probably him. James sat down with Laura to chat about his journey into studying climate, the urgency that's required for responding to climate change, and using art to tell stories about our changing world.

Urban Habitat Collective are a diverse group of Wellingtonians working to collectively design and build a medium-density, stacked neighbourhood. Collective members Bronwen Newton and Lew Skinner talked to Sadie Coe about their vision of social living and a sharing of skills and resources in an urban community.

Stu Farrant is one person championing Wellington's water! He is an ecological engineer for Morphum Environmental, the chair of the Whaitua Committee, and he has just completed a Winston Churchill Fellowship looking at how cities around the world are getting more connected with their water. Listen in to find out about how we can better improve the relationship we have with ours!

Laura spoke to Dr Mike Joy, an environmental scientist, and researcher and lecturer at Victoria University. He’s been working for 20 years on the on understanding the freshwater crisis in Aotearoa, and on the public policies needed to resolve environmental issues. We spoke about his background and early work, and about an old sailboat called Medina that keeps him sane.

The second edition of our new economics segment is about the Living Wage. The Living Wage is a higher wage rate for people doing typically minimum-wage work. Laura asks our expert economist, Olivia Wills, about whether an employer should pay the Living Wage, and she hits us with some evidence based policy! This episode is related to our interview with Lindy McIntyre from 11 April. Find it in you podcast feed to learn more about the Living Wage.

As an end cap to Organic Week NZ, the Sustainable Business Network organised a series of speakers on urban farming in Aotearoa. Laura went along and spoke to two out-of-towners about their projects and vision for sustainable and regenerative community agriculture in our cities. You'll hear Bailey Peryman from Cultivate Christchurch, and Sarah Smuts-Kennedy of For the Love of Bees. Find related interviews in our back catalog with Julia Milne of Common Unity Project, and Jen Cooper from Kaicycle.

Bambi talks to us about statelessness in the Moken people in Thailand and we discuss how we can learn from this in Aotearoa

Bambi tells Perrine and Laura about her work on statelessness in Thailand and beyond

Our new economics segment covers the 'Wellbeing Budget'. At the end of May, the Government is set to announce a whole new style of budget. Our expert economist, Olivia Wills, tells us the new areas the Government will measure, and how it's different from an old budget.