Happy Budget Day! The Tova pod takes you behind the scenes at Parliament as Nicola Willis unveils the Government's first bash at the books. We bring you expert reaction from inside the lock-up, the zingers and stingers from the debate, reaction from our panel of everyday Kiwis and, in an interview with Stuff, the Finance Minister explains how she got one crucial number so wrong.

With the cost of living crisis hitting hard, we assemble a panel of Kiwis doing it tough or feeling the pinch in what politicians love to call the squeezed middle. We ask how they're coping and what they're hoping for in next week's Budget. And, with rising food prices the great unifier, we check out the work of the Grocery Commissioner - the man charged with easing the challenge at the checkout.

What started as the home of song and dance videos is beset by claims of spying by the Chinese government and fears about the mental health of young users. A cybersecurity authority whose company cracked the TikTok code reveals how much data it collects and what it does with it. And, if you’ve noticed kids behaving differently after too much screen time, public health expert Dr Samantha Marsh explains why in a sobering but must-hear interview. Plus the PM on whether he restricted his kids’ access to social media, where he stands on the proposed US TikTok ban and how he’s TikToking so furiously around the Beehive if the app’s gone from all parliamentary devices.

This week a deep dive into water. We all need it - clean drinking water, working sewerage systems and somewhere for stormwater to go. But with buggered pipes and faeces at the beach, we’ve been getting it woefully wrong for far too long. In the wake of Three Waters, will we really pay less for better services? We tap the man leading the Government’s water reforms, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown, and the man who drove them under Labour, Local Government Spokesman Kieran McAnulty, for answers.

This is an audio version of Tova O'Brien's analysis piece titled The week politics completely blew its gasket, from stuff.co.nz

In the white heat of last year’s coalition negotiations, when none of the party leaders would talk about their top-secret meetings, we convened an alternative. We brought together a senior figure connected with each of the three parties poised for power. You loved the show, and they were prescient in their predictions, so, six months into the Government’s term, and with its first Budget looming, we’re bringing it back, albeit with a reshuffle in personnel. Chris Finlayson (National), Heather Roy (ACT) and Tau Henare (NZ First, and National) analyse the PM’s performance, policy priorities and party dynamics - including some surprising takes on whether the coalition can survive. Then Andrew Little (Labour) offers the view from the left.

Section 7AA: A small part of a big law causing an enormous legal and political fracas. Former Children’s Minister Tracey Martin oversaw the introduction of the Oranga Tamariki Act. She explains why it remains enlightened legislation and why children will suffer if the Government completes its plan to repeal it. She also talks job cuts at the child protection agency, having her work undermined by her old boss Winston Peters and the prospect of a political comeback.

After our bumper mortgage episode 'Home discomforts: living on the edge', all about the people affected by interest rates hikes and the cost of living, we wanted to explore the issue even further. We drill into the state of the property market with a property economist and find out what the change of government could mean for first-time buyers and investors. We also sit down with former Reserve Bank Governor Dr Alan Bollard to better understand the thinking that drives the decisions which determine our interest rates.

Interest rates and mortgage misery - the number of people falling behind on their payments has hit a four-year high. With the Government promising to help the so-called squeezed middle in its looming first Budget, we explore the issue from every angle: the property owners forced into life-changing decisions; a money adviser; the Finance Minister in charge of that Budget; and an extended interview with the chief executive of one of our big five banks.

This is an audio version of Tova O'Brien's analysis piece titled Claims that Winston Peters hadn’t been given media cabinet paper “bullshit” - source, from stuff.co.nz

Off the back of our exclusive interview with former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, which featured on the podcast this week, we caught up with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to get his view on whether New Zealand should review our nuclear-free policy to ensure it’s fit for purpose after Morrison suggested it’s worth a look. Tova also grilled the Prime Minister on the mystery surrounding Broadcasting Minister Melissa Lee’s media support cabinet paper.

In Wellington for meetings of a powerful global group of centre-right politicians, former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison talks New Zealand’s possible admission to the elite Aukus alliance, our nuclear-free policy, China versus the US, Donald Trump, his relationships with Christopher Luxon and Dame Jacinda Ardern - and just how angry the 501 deportations made her.

How much money is too much? We talk to the political philosopher who says Limitarianism - essentially a cap on the rich - is the way to a better world. Internationally, critics have dismissed the idea as “claptrap” and avowed Libertarian David Seymour agrees. He offers the counterview in this fascinating debate. Plus, the incredible numbers that demonstrate how little police pay has kept pace with inflation.

In this bonus shortcast, we break out our package on the latest in the police pay dispute. We hear from cops on the frontline, put their stories to the PM and reveal exclusive new details about how many Kiwi officers are desperate to skip the Ditch for more lucrative roles in the Aussie force.

It’s the full story of Chumbawamba-gate, including an exclusive interview with a founding member of the band on the prospect of legal action against New Zealand First and their ongoing fight for control over which politicians can - and can’t - use their music. Plus - the police pay dispute and perception among officers that they’re being taken for granted by the Government. We put questions to the PM and get the feeling from the frontline.

This week we received an eleventh-hour opportunity for a short interview with the Prime Minister. On the agenda during his visit to Central Districts Field Days: police pay, tax cuts, Ruby Tui and his political value judgements. Oh, and we heard his verdict on the conversation too.

This week we had a long conversation with ACT leader David Seymour about his ideological position on wealth and tax. That was for a specially themed episode of the podcast, coming very soon. We also took the chance to ask him some policy questions - about the tax rebate for landlords, whether the Government is on track to keep its tax cut promises and how they might incorporate ACT’s tax policy into that plan. Because that’s been in the headlines this week, we thought we’d share that section as a shortcast. This is it.

Super Tuesday supercharged Donald Trump's drive for another term in the White House. Anthony Scaramucci, the White House communications director Trump fired after just 11 days, joins us from New York to explain why he’s backing Biden in America’s “hour of peril”. And CNBC senior political correspondent Kevin Breuninger analyses the primary results. Plus, back home, Andrea Vance and Luke Malpass assess the Government's first 100 days.

This week's podcast investigates our emergency housing crisis. As promised at the end of the show, here's Tova's full interview with the mother who gave us a frontline perspective.

Almost 6500 people live in emergency motels, nearly half of them children. One mother, who needs short-term help through no fault of her own, offers a frontline perspective after rejecting a filthy motel, and questions whether vulnerable people are expected to settle for whatever they’re given. We track down the motelier and get the inside running from the Government on their plans for emergency housing.