If you’re from NZ, you’ll need no introduction to the powerhouse that is Chlöe Swarbrick who was elected age 23, making her the country’s youngest MP in over 40 years and who has since gone on to become a sort of AOC figure thanks to her no bullshit nature and insistence that she doesn’t have to give up on her personality - band tees included - just to be taken seriously in parliament. Internationally, Chlöe is known for her viral ‘OK boomer’ quip, where she succinctly shut up a Conservative MP twice her age who was heckling her during a speech about climate change - a moment that was covered everywhere from CNN to the BBC - and, just casually, she’s also behind the first-ever Green Party bill that passed unanimously through parliament. With so much talk about politics at the moment in the USA and beyond, we wanted to get Chlöe on the podcast to speak openly about how, as she’s said before, “politics is fucked”, but why we have to keep trying anyway. Our convo includes, but is not limited to, why millennial voters are disengaged with politics, why it’s worth losing electability to stand up for what you believe in, how she’s dealt with people assuming she doesn’t know what she’s talking about because of her age, the double-edged sword of speaking out about mental health as a politician, how drug laws tend to impact the most vulnerable people, and how toxic the political environment can be.

Follow Chlöe on Instagram

here.

If you’re a Kiwi, register to vote, check your details and ensure you’re all set to vote from overseas here. Voting opens Saturday 3 October and goes ‘til 7pm on election day, Saturday 17 October. You can vote online from overseas from Wednesday 30 September.

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