Different Matters by Damien Grant

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 Ministerial career he also held a nu

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 mysterious death of Socksay Chansy, foun

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 revisited the manuscript, which was eventua

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 has won five BAFTA awards, i

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 Kirsty Johnston, recently published T

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 Grant, interviews a wide selection

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 as the magazine’s arts and book

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 Schuster UK, and his work has bee

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, what drove her to vaticalism,