We don't often consider sleep a human right - yet, it is fundamental to our physical and mental wellbeing, as well as our day-to-day cognitive and social functioning. Guests Dee Muller (Sleep/Wake Research Centre), Jasneek Chawla (Child Health Research Centre, University of Queensland; Australiasian Sleep Association) and Sally Staton (Queensland Brain Institute) discuss the importance of sleep, and how sleep is both shaped by and perpetuates social inequities.

Celebrating 50 years of Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori! Sally talks with husband and wife duo Te Ataahia and Davide about the ways in which they value and give life to language, raising their tamariki in Aotearoa with Italian and Māori languages and whakapapa. They share personal reflections on the importance of Te Reo for tangata whenua and tangata Tiriti alike, as well as practical tips for learning a language and raising a family with multiple languages.

July/August 2025 marks 80 years since the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and 40 years since the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior here in Aotearoa. What do these anniversaries mean in the context of 2025, with the ever-greater escalation of global tension and a new nuclear arms race occurring alongside the seeming impotence of the UN and other international bodies? Guests Kate Dewes, David Robie, Karly Burch and Susan Bouterey bring passion, a wealth of knowledge and decades of anti-nuclear advocacy to this discussion.

Guests Josiah Tualamali'i and Daniel Mataki Jr discuss the Dawn Raids and their legacies, four years on from the official government apology.

This year, we celebrate both Matariki and World Refugee Day on 20 June - a perfect opportunity to think about the significance of stars and constellations in different cultures. Carla Millar provides an introduction to Matariki, then guests talk about stars, constellations and associated celebrations in their cultures: Sen Nhiang (Jarai ethnic group from central highland Vietnam), Marianna Boless (Assyrian) and Naomi Peters (Japanese).

What is 'whiteness', and how does it play out in the context of Aotearoa New Zealand? Guests Ella Henry and Elizabeth Ann Cook engage in honest and lively discussion on the concept and what we can all do to examine our own positioning and work towards a more harmonious society.

Conversations on human rights in our country

Guests Tofilau Nina Kirifi-Alai, Poalaga Selma Scott and Riki Welsh discuss campaigning for the 2024 Amendment to the Samoa Citizenship Act, which reinstated New Zealand citizenship for Samoans born during the period Samoa was a protectorate of New Zealand.

In the lead-up to International Women's Day, guests Ann Brower (University of Canterbury) and Erin Polaczuk (New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi) discuss the dual issues of the gender pay gap and gender pay equity. They focus particularly on the statistics (did you know that pay equity settlements have revealed that many sectors dominated by women were undervalued by 30 percent?!) and the impacts of this both ongoing inequity and of being finally paid what women are worth.

Laurie Hilsgen (Carers New Zealand) and Tyrone Barnard (Carers during COVID-19 researcher) discuss the work carried out by the many thousands of New Zealanders who care for a family member or friend, and the human rights issues they face.

Guests Gemma Bridge (Erskine Fellow at the University of Canterbury), Luisa Zuppardi-Smith (Nelson Kai Rescue) and Christina McKerchar (University of Otago) talk about food projects spanning the spectrum from kai rescue to food resilience to the ultimate goal of food sovereignty.

Every four/five years, each UN Member State undergoes a review of its human rights record, known as the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). In 2024, it was the turn of Aotearoa New Zealand to report on its progress and receive recommendations. On this show, recorded in collaboration with Plains FM's ACTivate, Lisa Woods (Movement Building and Advocacy Director at Amnesty International New Zealand) discusses some of the issues raised in the UPR.