Duncan Garner - Editor In Chief

One week out from polling day, voters are being asked to hand over their power without seeing the fine print. We dig into whether Chris Hipkins can actually manage a four-party beast, what happens if Nicola Willis is out and David Seymour wants Finance, and why National has only themselves to blame for leaving the door wide open. Ashley Church and Maurice Williamson join Duncan in the studio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

National just dropped 25 percent in the latest poll, and politicians are spinning flat-out. Duncan sits down with veteran pollster David Farrar to rip past the talking points, break down the rogue numbers, and look at the real coalitions that could govern. We also hear from a Christchurch parent who says the basics are still slipping through the cracks at school. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ten days out from the election, neither major party has moved the dial. Millions have been spent, debates have been endless, and National is flatlining in the high 20s, with some of its biggest names facing political execution. Duncan breaks down our latest rolling poll of polls, why Luxon is struggling to pull away, and whether Chris Hipkins can actually stitch together an untried four-party government. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Erica Stanford joins Duncan to warn that the hard-won gains in our classrooms could be wiped out if Labour gets the chance to roll back school reforms. Chris Hipkins will not front to debate it, leaving parents in the dark on structured literacy, curriculum rollouts, and regular testing. Plus, Duncan breaks down the Leone gang scandal fallout and the voter enrolment deadline debacle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Mongrel Mob scandal has exploded right into the Labour Party, forcing candidate Kieran Leone to resign after misleading leader Chris Hipkins about her gang ties. With polls opening in 48 hours, this timing couldn't be worse for the left. Duncan Garner, Maurice Williamson, and Ashley Church break down whether this massive political mistake has handed the election to National, and why Hipkins' emotional response is making things even worse. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The country's top business leaders have delivered a brutal verdict, leaving Christopher Luxon outside the government’s top 10 ministers again. These are his people, and they do not rate him. Plus, if Luxon refuses to pick up the phone to Keeler Wong post-election, will National MPs axe him? We look at the mounting pressure on the Prime Minister. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chris Hipkins is rewriting history to cover his back after Labour MPs met up with the Mongrel Mob. Trying to pin $2.75 million of gang funding on John Key is cobblers when Labour ministers signed off the paperwork. Plus, NZ First’s Shane Jones joins us after visiting the Santana gold mine site to explain why fast-tracking growth matters and why DOC needs a complete shake-up. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christopher Luxon came out firing in the third leaders' debate, delivering a surprisingly dominant performance against Chris Hipkins. Joined by Taxpayers' Union director Jordan Williams and commentator Annie O'Brien, Duncan Garner dissects the key moments from the night, including the latest 1 News-Verium poll showing National at 32%. We break down the fiery exchanges over health workforce numbers, inflation, classroom building costs, and the controversial $2.7 million government funding given to the Mongrel Mob under Labour. Plus, we discuss whether Hipkins went too far with his aggressive approach, if The Opportunities Party holds the balance of power, and how the recent Green Party gang pad visits are impacting voters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To vote in this election, you need to be enrolled by midnight this Sunday, October 25th. Miss the deadline, and you cannot vote; you will be completely shut out. Chris Hipkins is calling National reckless, accusing them of changing the rules to disenfranchise thousands. Is it sour grapes, or has the government made it harder for regular Kiwis to exercise their democratic right? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We are in the final stretch of the election and it is looking like the tightest race in decades. ACT leader David Seymour joins us live to break down his party's $400 million health policy, primary care funding, cutting the public service, and why he refuses to hand over Epsom. Plus, Ashley Church and Maurice Williamson join the panel to crunch the numbers on our latest poll of polls. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mike King sits down with Duncan Garner for a deeply personal, wide-ranging yarn about where he has been and where he is headed. From his early years in a gang to navigating late puberty, school failure, and complex family dynamics, Mike opens up about the moments that shaped him. We dive into why so many Kiwi kids feel lost today, the truth about youth mental health, and what Gumboot Friday is really fighting for. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Green and Te Pati Māori MPs visited a South Auckland gang pad to meet senior Mongrel Mob members and posted the photos online. With the election on a knife-edge, the judgment of these politicians is under heavy scrutiny. Chris Hipkins has called the photos abhorrent and completely unacceptable. We ask what on earth they were thinking and whether this error hands the election to their opponents. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christopher Luxon looked stronger. Then Chris Hipkins found his weak spot and kept hitting it. Duncan Garner, Ani O’Brien and Jordan Williams deliver their verdict on the NZ Herald leaders’ debate. Luxon gets the edge overall, but his minimum wage answers come under fire, while Hipkins faces tough questions over COVID decisions and trust. Plus, the panel tackles government spending, the Greens’ Mongrel Mob visit and Luxon’s refusal to work with the Opportunity Party. Would he really choose opposition over picking up the phone? Did either leader win over undecided voters, or was Ryan Bridge the best performer of the night? Join Team Duncan. Text DUNCAN to 3598 for a link to sign up. With thanks to LifeDirect for supporting Editor-in-Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Four weeks out from the election, Wellington is telling schools how to manage uniform costs. Is this really how we tackle a massive cost of living crisis, or is it just a cheap distraction? We dig into why central government needs to butt out of local decisions and start answering the big questions about who will actually run the country and how families are going to get ahead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The election is so close we could be looking at a completely hung parliament, leaving the major parties scrambling for votes. Kylee Wong joins us to lay down a challenge on how kingmaker negotiations should work, while National and ACT push tough welfare calls to rally their bases. We dig into whether these policies show true strategy or sheer desperation, and ask if MPs should face the same drug tests. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Would Qiulae Wong put National or Labour into power? And what would she demand in return? The Opportunity Party leader joins Duncan Garner to explain her five bottom lines, why tax reform isn’t a condition of a deal, and where she stands on Winston Peters. Duncan presses her on the cost of living, supermarket competition, power bills and how much a minor party could actually deliver. Then Ani O’Brien and former National minister Maurice Williamson give their verdict on Wong’s answers and debate strategic voting, a possible hung Parliament and whether National has left its toughest decisions too late. Could the smallest shift in votes decide who gets the keys to the Beehive? With thanks to LifeDirect. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A snarky debate, rehearsed answers and plenty of missed opportunities. Did either leader give New Zealanders a reason to feel confident? Duncan Garner, Ani O’Brien and former National minister Maurice Williamson give their verdict on the TVNZ leaders’ debate between Christopher Luxon and Chris Hipkins. Where did Luxon let Hipkins off the hook? Was Hipkins better at debating than answering the hard questions? And why wasn’t there more scrutiny of the coalition partners who could shape the next government? From the cost of living and tax promises to health, education and law and order, the panel picks apart the exchanges that mattered. Join Duncan LIVE on YouTube every Sunday at 7pm for more Election 2026 coverage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Opportunity Party leader Qiulae Wong joins Duncan Garner in the studio as TOP surges in the polls and positions itself to potentially hold the balance of power this election. With the party sitting around the key 5% threshold, Qiulae breaks down TOP's five non-negotiable bottom lines, including cracking down on supermarket competition, regulating lobbying, reforming health, and recommitting to climate targets. Maurice Williamson and Ani O'Brien join Duncan on the panel to dissect whether Christopher Luxon can keep ruling TOP out, how vote splitting affects National and minor parties under MMP, and what a tight election result could mean for New Zealand's political landscape. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The government has officially stripped non-elected members of voting rights on Auckland Council committees, including the Auckland Māori Statutory Board. It brings us back to a basic democratic principle: if you want the power to vote, you should have to stand for election and face the voters. But while the core principle makes sense, the process behind it has been messy and rushed. We break it down with Maurice Williamson and Ashley Church. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our latest rolling poll of polls averages out the numbers and hands this election to the left. National is narrowly ahead in the party vote, but MMP arithmetic means Labour, the Greens, Te Pāti Māori, and TOP could have enough seats to form a government. Last night's debate showed just how tight this contest really is, even if most voters have already made up their minds. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nicola Willis has used nuclear political language, calling Chris Hipkins a liar over Labour's alternative budget. She claims there is a $10 billion-plus hole in their pay equity promises. We break down the biggest takeaways from our interview, including her warnings about Winston Peters, supermarket competition reforms, and why Chris Hipkins refused to front up on the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 2026 election battle is officially underway, and cost of living is front and centre. We sit down with Finance Minister Nicola Willis to unpack Labour’s fiscal plan, soaring petrol prices, and whether supermarket structural changes can actually lower your grocery bill. Plus, we look at the brutal MMP mathematics that could leave senior ministers without a seat in Parliament. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Buried in the minor parties debate, Winston Peters dropped a massive election grenade: an extra $120 a week for working families. That is over $6,000 a year, but when pushed on how to pay for it, he pointed to economic growth, mining, and a future fund we know little about. Promises are easy, but numbers are hard. We look at whether this holds up or triggers a massive spending auction. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chris Hipkins goes missing when asked how Labour will pay for its promises. Duncan Garner tracks down the missing Labour leader who refuses to front for the Editor-in-Chief podcast after getting put through the political wringer on his uncosted $18 billion budget. Plus, former All Blacks captain Tane Randall joins the show to talk about standing for New Zealand First, cutting SME taxes, and getting small businesses growing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It is only day three of the election campaign, and the left is already fighting over the Treasury keys. Chlöe Swarbrick wants the finance portfolio, Chris Hipkins says Barbara Edmonds gets it bottom line, and Labour is talking up a mini budget to cover its promises. We break down the massive numbers, the pay equity demands, and why the arithmetic simply does not add up. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The latest poll just blew the election wide open with a massive Green surge, leaving National and Labour tied at 28%. But behind the headline numbers, who actually holds the balance of power? Plus, New Zealand First candidate Bernadette Soares joins us to blow the whistle on dodgy migration deals, worker exploitation, and why she believes current immigration settings are failing everyday Kiwis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

National is facing an internal battle over how best to return a centre-right government under MMP. Former Cabinet Minister Maurice Williamson argues that with National polling around 30% while holding a large number of electorate seats, extra party votes for National will not produce extra MPs. He suggests National voters strategically give their party vote to ACT or New Zealand First to maximize the right-wing seat count. However, party heavyweights John Key and Chris Bishop reject the strategy, urging voters to stick to two ticks for National to ensure a stable government. Meanwhile, polling scenarios from the Sensible Sentencing Trust suggest a small 3% shift in party votes could materially alter the election outcome. Duncan Garner breaks down the parliamentary arithmetic, evaluates Labour and National's campaign launches, and sits down with Maurice Williamson to debate the numbers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christopher Luxon versus Chris Hipkins is shaping up as one of the most vanilla, stale political battles in recent history. With both major party leaders playing it safe, the real fire is coming from the fringes. Winston Peters wants to buy back BNZ, TOP is pitching massive tax overhauls, and David Seymour wants Paul Henry as broadcasting minister. We ask who is actually offering real change, plus RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop joins us to break down the government’s massive planning overhaul. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Parliament has risen, the politicians are hitting the hustings, and our latest rolling poll of polls shows a dead heat. National and Labour are sitting tied at 29.1 percent. The center-right holds a razor-thin margin, but with a fresh cost of living crisis biting families hard, voters are asking a brutal question: what has this government actually delivered? We break down the numbers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nicky Hager is back with a new book targeting the Taxpayers' Union, but does his evidence actually stack up? Former insiders Ani O'Brien and Ashley Church join us to tear apart the claims, address the serious allegations against Jordan Williams, and break down why effective political advocacy isn't a conspiracy. Plus, we look at the tight election race and Labour's latest tax backdown. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We dig into feedback from an Otago Med School grad who claims entry standards for Māori and Pacific students are far lower than the public knows. Plus, long-time National supporters feel gaslit by the party's recent supermarket policies, while David Seymour faces backlash over a proposed minimum wage freeze. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every major political player suddenly wants to take a wrecking ball to the supermarkets, but is any of it actually going to make your weekly shop cheaper? We break down the sudden wave of political panic six weeks out from the election. Plus, NZ First leader Winston Peters joins us to defend his supermarket policy, lay out his plan to buy back the BNZ, and explain why he refuses to work with Labour again. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Debbie Ngarewa-Packer dropped the C-bomb and got booted from Parliament, while Willie Jackson followed right behind her. We ask whether it’s a genuine double standard or pure political theater from Te Pāti Māori. Plus, National is threatening to forcibly break up the supermarket duopoly. We look at whether Nicola Willis has abandoned core party principles just to chase a short-term electoral bounce. Retail NZ Chief Executive Carolyn Young, Jordan Williams, and ex-National MP Maurice Williamson join the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Three years of cost-of-living pain, and what do we get? Election-year gimmicks. National wants to forcibly break up Foodstuffs, Labour wants to cap profits, and the Greens want the state behind the checkout. We look at why none of these political fixes will lower your grocery bill, and share a devastating message from a Kiwi who has lost all faith in our nation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The latest rolling polls show both major parties stuck in the 20s, with voters turning away from the standard blue-versus-red match-up. National’s lost ground, Labour hasn't gained it, and the minor parties are now calling the shots. Duncan Garner, Ani O'Brien, and Ashley Church break down why MMP fragmentation could derail election night. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every time Willie Jackson opens his mouth, Labour drops in the polls. From co-governance to spending and failing to explain his own party's capital gains tax policy, Willie has become a walking liability. Does Chris Hipkins actually have authority over his own party? Plus, we talk to the Cannabis Clinic about how new roadside drug testing is catching out Kiwis using legal, prescribed medication. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

British author, academic, and free speech advocate Andrew Doyle joins Duncan Garner in the studio while on tour with the Free Speech Union to deliver an urgent warning to New Zealand. Looking at the United Kingdom as a cautionary tale, Andrew breaks down staggering stats from a recent Big Brother Watch report revealing 62,000 arrests for offensive speech between 2021 and 2025. That is roughly 30 people a day arrested for opinions, online posts, and even satirical jokes. Duncan and Andrew dive into the chilling reality of non-crime hate incidents, police ideological training, and how police guidelines are shifting away from fundamental equality before the law. They examine real-world cases, including comedy writer Graham Linehan’s arrest at Heathrow Airport by armed officers over Twitter posts, and a former police officer fined for a satirical meme. Andrew warns that expanding protected characteristics to include religious belief in New Zealand could severely compromise satire, parody, and free thought. Is New Zealand already setting up the framework to head down the exact same path? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wellington ratepayers are shelling out $280,000 for a Chief Māori Officer, which is $78,000 more than the city’s mayor takes home. Over in the regional council, there is another executive doing the same work for over $200,000. We look at why ratepayers are funding duplicate bureaucracy in a cost-of-living crisis and ask where the actual outcomes are. Former minister Maurice Williamson and Ani O'Brien join the show to break down council spending. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aucklanders are getting hammered by rates, congestion, and failing infrastructure, yet Auckland Transport is advertising for a Head of Māori Outcomes reporting straight to the CEO. A passenger is a passenger, and standard public transport should deliver one service for everyone. We look at how bloated public sector bureaucracy keeps expanding while the basics remain broken. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We take a look at the extraordinary entry numbers coming out of Otago Medical School. Around 90% of Māori applicants receive offers compared to just 31% in the general category, turning away candidates with superior grades. David Seymour joins us after being briefed on a secret report into race-based admissions. He says it fails to justify the policy, so why won't the government release it to the public? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Winston Peters has just thrown a hand grenade into the superannuation debate. New Zealand First wants to change the rules so that from 2029 you must be a New Zealand citizen to qualify for NZ Super. Right now, permanent residents can get it after meeting residency requirements. We speak with New Zealand First candidate Craig Stobo about why they are pushing for this change and whether our current welfare model is sustainable. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Greens want to spend $6 billion on a government-owned supermarket chain, acquiring 120 stores to give us cheaper groceries. But is KiwiMart a genius fix or an expensive fantasy? We break down why forcing private businesses out won't magically lower your checkout bill. Plus, Retail NZ’s Carolyn Young joins us to reveal the real costs, huge legal risks, and what this means for Kiwis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This election is starting to look less like two competing visions and more like a choice between dumb and dumber. National’s telling us to wait while spending $20 billion more than Labour’s last budget, but Labour is turning up with an uncosted $21 billion shopping list. Chris Hipkins refuses to show us the money, Willie Jackson says they didn't spend enough, and everyday Kiwis are left carrying the bill. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A real estate agent with a 30-year career faces a lifetime ban for refusing to take a compulsory 90-minute course on tikanga Māori. She lost her license not for misconduct, but for holding firm to her personal beliefs. We ask when regulators got the power to take away a person's right to work over a compulsory course. Plus, interest rates go up again. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices