The Detail

Economists are starting to talk about the demise of American exceptionalism. The Detail looks at what that term means, and what effect it has on your KiwiSaver.The United States has long been held up as the peak of the free-market economy, but several factors including political interference in institutions are giving it the speed wobblesGuest: Mark Brighouse - Chief Investment Strategist, Fisher FundsLearn More:Read Mark's piece on US Exceptionalism here See the US Federal national debt clock hereSee Emeritus Professor of Accounting Practice at Sheffield University Management School, Richard Murphy, on the failure of American Exceptionalism here. He is director of Tax Research LLP and the author of the Funding the Future blog.Read renowned economist Sir Niall Ferguson's controversial piece, We're All Soviets Now hereSee PBS's Crosscut Talks interviews former US Secretary of State Robert Gates on 'Is This The End of American Exceptionalism?' hereRead about problems with airport infrastructure here (paywalled)Find The Detail on Newsroom or RNZ Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Retirement village living should feel like home, but in some cases residents have the status of students in a hostel What seems like a small dispute over name-calling emails has shone a spotlight on the power imbalance residents of retirement villages can faceGuests:Jon Duffy- Consumer NZ chief executiveGayle Chambers - Grey Power Foundation national presidentLearn more:Listen to Retirement Commissioner Jane Wrightson on Breakfast - from September 2022 - hereRead the Condell Retirement Village disputes panel decision hereFind The Detail on Newsroom or RNZ Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

In the 1990s, Lois Cox interviewed lesbian women about their lives in Wellington. Some 25 years later, those stories have been published.In Lois Cox's book 'That's What I Am' 16 lesbians tell their stories of living in Wellington last century, before they could be unapologetically outGuests:Lois Cox - author of That's What I AmLearn more:Find Lois's book hereFind The Detail on Newsroom or RNZ Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Those who can afford it are getting thin by needle, but new weight loss drugs bring with them unanswered questionsObesity, Ozempic, and the end of body positivity - Is New Zealand losing its balance in its pursuit of thinness?Guests:Evelyn Ebrey- fashion journalist and producer of Cutting the Curve documentary seriesProfessor Wayne Cutfield - Auckland UniversityLearn more about the topic by listening to The Detail's previous episodes on weight loss medication and the body positivity movementFind The Detail on Newsroom or RNZ Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

The road to getting a driver license is set to become easier and more efficient, but experts question whether safety is enough of a considerationThe government is proposing changes to make getting a driver license easier, including scrapping the full license test. But with more than a third of drivers failing that test, experts have concerns.Guests:Dylan Thomsen - Road Safety spokesperson at AAMark Revel-Johnson - president of the NZ Institute for Driver EducatorsLearn more:Read more details about the changes here Find the statistics on youth road safety statistics referenced in the episode hereFind The Detail on Newsroom or RNZ Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

From promise to protest - how the Bougival Accord has thrown New Caledonia into chaos.The Bougival Accord was meant to heal, but now risks dividing New Caledonia again, with a French journalist saying that locals are armed and readyGuests:Coralie Cochin- Journalist at New Caledonia La PremierLearn more about the history of civil unrest in New Caledonia and other Pacific nationsFrench claws in the Pacific The tiny nations that want to stand aloneFind The Detail on Newsroom or RNZ Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

New Zealand risks missing out on the "land grab" for e-waste and is paying the price as it sends phones, laptops and batteries offshoreA Kiwi tech firm's breakthrough solution for recycling EV batteries goes offshore, where countries are scrambling to keep hold of their valuable e-waste metals.Guests:Will Barker - Chief executive and co-founder of MintSue Coutts - Director of external affairs at Zero Waste AotearoaDave Young - Head of research and development at MintLearn more about Mint's deal with British car maker Jaguar Land Rover and its partners, the University of Warwick and LiBatt Recycling. Follow their progress here, as they work to recover critical metals such as lithium, nickel and cobalt from old batteries.Find The Detail on Newsroom or RNZ Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

There's a silent epidemic in our national game, and it's leaving a trail of tragedy here and overseas Shane Christie wanted a hard look at the link between head knocks and long-term brain injury, and he asked for his own brain to be studiedFind The Detail on Newsroom or RNZ Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Despite the scandals and leaky pipes, Wellingtonians want the rest of the nation to know that their city is still unbeatableThe capital city has been getting a tough time in the headlines lately, but locals say it's the same creative, beautiful place they've loved for a long timeFind The Detail on Newsroom or RNZ Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

AI-hallucinated scientific research and legal precedents are making their way into academic papers and court cases, highlighting AI's real-world impactThe world's most cited cat had a brief, successful run. Then Google Scholar brought his career to an abrupt halt.Find The Detail on Newsroom or RNZ Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details