Q+A with Jack Tame

Featuring David Seymour, Richard Dawkins, and Whena Owen's story on social investment

World-renowned biologist and writer Richard Dawkins is embarking on a speaking tour to mark the 50th anniversary of his first book, The Selfish Gene, a seminal text on the nature of genetics.

He joins Jack Tame from his home in Oxford to reflect on how science has progressed, and shares his impressions on whether artificial intelligence technology can be considered 'conscious'.

Richard Dawkins will be speaking at Auckland's Kiri te Kanawa Theatre on Friday 20 November and Wellington's Michael Fowler Centre Monday 23 November. Tickets are on sale now.

Join Jack Tame and the Q+A team and find the answers to the questions that matter. Made with the support of NZ on Air.

RNZ chief executive Paul Thompson will resign after 13 years in the job, board chair Jim Mather announced this morning.

Mather says while the decision for Thompson to resign at the end of 2026 was made in December of last year, the announcement has been pulled forward by "recent unhelpful external commentary about his future".

Deputy prime minister and ACT Party leader David Seymour, who is also a shareholding minister in RNZ, has criticised the public broadcaster's board and chief executive in recent months, and speculated earlier in the month that Thompson "won't be answering the call at RNZ for much longer."

David Seymour joins Jack Tame. Watch more of Q+A's interview with David Seymour on Sunday.

Deputy Prime Minister and ACT Party leader David Seymour is welcoming the reduction of New Zealand's public service by 8700 staff over the next three years.

He joins Jack Tame to discuss a new map of New Zealand's 267 different regulators from the Ministry for Regulation. With less than six months to the general election, and the party polling slightly lower than its 2023 performance, David Seymour speaks to his new policy of tougher English language requirements for visa-holders and introducing an overstayer enforcement unit within Immigration New Zealand.

Join Jack Tame and the Q+A team and find the answers to the questions that matter. Made with the support of NZ on Air.

Erica Stanford: NCEA, immigration and "anti-Māori" criticism

Minister for education and immigration Erica Stanford joins Jack Tame to discuss the new scheme replacing NCEA, facing down public criticism over removing school boards' Treaty of Waitangi obligations, and why the National Party is toughening its rhetoric on immigration.

She also pushed back on education ministry plans to remove ESOL funding for year 0 and year 1 students in the second half of this year, saying the ministry had “got ahead of itself” and that wouldn’t now be happening.

Stanford also touched on the government’s pause in rolling out a social media ban for under-16s, saying there was a legislative programme still under way, and that the National Party was still committed to moving something on age verification.

Where's the policy? Chris Hipkins on Labour's election plans

Less than six months out from a general election, New Zealand's highest-polling party has only revealed a handful of policies. On big issues like the cost of living, fuel security and immigration, Chris Hipkins says the Labour Party will be sharing their vision for the country after Budget Day.

Chris Hipkins joins Jack Tame for his first appearance of 2026 to discuss his flagship education policy of the previous government, Fees Free - now set to be cancelled, with a price tag to date of $2 billion. He also considers whether Labour in New Zealand can take any lessons from Sir Keir Starmer's turmoil in the UK.

“Oligopoly”: How a lack of competition hurts public pockets

OECD economist David Haugh joins Q+A with Jack Tame to talk about a major new report detailing the weak state of competition in the New Zealand economy, and why ordinary New Zealanders are being economically hurt by the structure of key markets.

His report also critiqued the government’s LNG plans, and he responds to an assertion from PM Chris Luxon that those sections of the report are “a load of rubbish”.

The “global Goliath” and risk of worldwide societal collapse

Cambridge researcher of existential risks Luke Kemp talks to Q+A about the threats facing the continued survival of humanity, why wealth inequality is such a major risk factor, and how in such a globalised world, a collapse would be much more difficult to survive than previous societal collapses.

Kemp’s book is Goliath’s Curse: The History and Future of Societal Collapse, and he’s been in New Zealand as part of the Auckland Writers Festival.

Join Jack Tame and the Q+A team and find the answers to the questions that matter. Made with the support of NZ on Air.