Saturday Morning
1,286 episodes - English - Latest episode: 5 days ago - ★★★★★ - 16 ratingsA magazine programme with long-form, in-depth feature interviews on current affairs, science, modern life, history, the arts and more.
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Episodes
Director Hamish Bennett celebrates country values in new film Bellbird
November 01, 2019 20:07 - 23 minutes - 21.9 MBRural Kiwi characters rarely seen on-screen take centre stage in the new film Bellbird, directed by Northland primary school teacher Hamish Bennett.
Granddaughter of Erebus victim on her quest for the truth
November 01, 2019 19:35 - 25 minutes - 23.1 MBNovember 28th will be the 40th anniversary of the Erebus disaster which shook our nation and took 257 lives when an Air New Zealand sightseeing flight crashed into a mountain in Antarctica. A Royal Commission of Inquiry later revealed 'an orchestrated litany of lies' designed to cover up the real reasons for the crash. Sarah Myles' grandfather Frank Christmas, a keen amateur photographer, died in the tragedy. She's written a book Towards the Mountain, which weaves together the stories of...
Predictions of sea level rise severely understated
November 01, 2019 19:10 - 22 minutes - 21 MBA new study indicates previous estimates of the global impact of sea level rise have been grossly understated. The research, published in the journal Nature Communications and conducted by the non-profit news organisation Climate Central, suggests that three times as many people as previously thought could be at risk of annual flooding by 2050. That means that land that's home to 300 million people could now be at risk, rather than the 80 million people thought to be affected. Ben Straus...
Listener feedback for 26 October 2019
October 25, 2019 22:55 - 9 minutes - 9.08 MBListener feedback for 26 October 2019.
Kate's Klassics - Valley of The Dolls
October 25, 2019 22:45 - 14 minutes - 13.3 MBPoet and writer Kate Camp returns for the latest instalment of Kate's Klassics. This week she reviews Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann. The American writer's debut book became the biggest selling novel of 1966, the year of its release. A film followed the next year with plot changes and a tense shooting schedule which saw Judy Garland fired from the cast over her drinking. To date, it's sold more than 31 million copies worldwide.
Taking Fly My Pretties off the stage and into the studio
October 25, 2019 22:08 - 35 minutes - 33 MBIn its 15 year history the Fly My Pretties musical collective has staged incredible live performances, and released six best-selling live albums. Now they've released The Studio Recordings Part One which captures some of their songs in full polished sonic glory. We'll take a listen to some with Barnaby Weir.
Julie Morrison: how dogs can help court witnesses
October 25, 2019 21:37 - 17 minutes - 15.9 MBStepping into a witness box to give evidence in court can be daunting and stressful, especially for young and vulnerable people. In several US states and in Canada the use of court dogs as support animals is being used as a way to reduce the stress involved. Julie Morrison is pioneering their use in Australia where she works at the Victoria Office of Public Prosecutions. Awarded a Churchill Fellowship to investigate the use of court dogs overseas, we'll ask about her experiences and her ...
The Slap author's foray into historical fiction
October 25, 2019 21:07 - 30 minutes - 27.6 MBAustralian author Christos Tsiolkas is best known for his fourth novel, The Slap, from 2009. This closely-observed portrait of simmering social tension won a Commonwealth Writers' Prize and was turned into a popular TV series in Australia and the US. The subject matter for his sixth and latest novel Damascus couldn't have got much more ambitious; it's an excursion into historical fiction tracing the formation of the Christian church using the writings of St. Paul as its source text. Chri...
Deborah Manning - Fighting food waste
October 25, 2019 20:40 - 18 minutes - 17.2 MBNew Zealand industry generates over 100,000 tonnes of food waste per year at the same time as many kiwi families are unable to afford and access good food. Deborah Manning saw an obvious solution to both problems and set about founding food rescue organisation. KiwiHarvest has grown from "one woman and her car" to a nationwide operation collecting and redistributing over 80,000kg of food a month to charities that give to those in need. They've just opened a 650m2 hub in South Auckland th...
Treating chronic depression using magnetic stimulation
October 25, 2019 20:05 - 28 minutes - 25.9 MBAlmost a third of people diagnosed with clinical depression do not respond to medication or talk therapy. A potential treatment for this chronic or treatment-resistant depression is Repetitive trans-cranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) which has been used overseas for more than a decade. Dr Nicholas Hoeh from the University of Auckland's Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences is lead researcher on the first clinical study of its use in New Zealand. So how does it work, and who could it he...
Lady Anne Glenconner: 'I've got a hell of a lot of very good stories'
October 25, 2019 19:26 - 35 minutes - 32.2 MBMoney is sometimes the only difference between eccentricity and madness, says Lady Anne Glenconner, who served as Princess Margaret's lady-in-waiting for over 30 years. Now 87, Lady Anne has written a memoir about fascinating and tragic life – Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown.
Thomas Novotny - The case for banning cigarette filters
October 25, 2019 19:10 - 12 minutes - 11.9 MBPublic health professor Thomas Novotny from San Diego State University's School of Public Health has just co-authored an editorial in The British Medical Journal calling for a ban on filtered cigarettes. He says some 6 trillion cigarettes are produced and smoked worldwide every year and that vast numbers of discarded butts end up in the natural environment and potentially eaten by animals. And filter cigarettes, he claims, have no discernible health benefits; in fact, they could be encou...
Listener feedback for 19 October 2019
October 18, 2019 22:55 - 10 minutes - 9.87 MBListener feedback for 19 October 2019.
Documenting the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster
October 18, 2019 22:45 - 13 minutes - 12.5 MBThe Pastafarian faith claims 30 million devotees worldwide including over 4000 New Zealanders according to last year's census. The religion revolves around the idea that the world was created by a Flying Spaghetti Monster (and his 'noodly appendages'). Its adherents' headwear of choice is the colander, and they close their written communications 'R'Amen' as the mark of their faith. It was founded in 2005 by graduate student Bobby Henderson 'as a response to Christian fundamentalists dema...
Marc Taddei - Fanfare For The Common Man
October 18, 2019 22:05 - 38 minutes - 35.2 MBMarc Taddei is a classically trained trombonist who is the music director of Orchestra Wellington. On Saturday evening at the Michael Fowler Centre in Wellington the orchestra plays Aaron Copland's Third Symphony, and violinist Amalia Hall performs Samuel Barber's violin concerto, in an American double bill called 'Fanfare For The Common Man'. Kim asks him about the challenges of operating an orchestra in the capital alongside a better-financed incumbent (the NZSO), his appearance on the...
Poet Michael Pedersen - "the throaty voice of modern Scotland"
October 18, 2019 21:30 - 28 minutes - 25.7 MBScottish poet and writer Michael Pedersen co-runs and founded Neu! Reekie! a UK arts collective which produces shows all over the globe and hosts take-overs for National Galleries, National Museums and major festivals. His most recent poetry collection, Oyster was illustrated by and performed as a live show with Frightened Rabbit's Scott Hutchison. Michael will read some poems, including Oyster, which is about his later-to be girlfriend (and vegetarian) Hollie McNish's first mouth encoun...
Michael Connelly - Crime writer on his new Harry Bosch book
October 18, 2019 21:05 - 26 minutes - 24.7 MBMichael Connelly is a bestselling crime fiction writer whose 31 books have sold more than 60 million copies worldwide and been translated into 40 different languages. Since his first novel The Black Echo (1992) other books like Blood Work and most notably The Lincoln Lawyer have been turned into popular films. And in others, like Dark Sacred Night and his latest The Night Fire he follows the career of his major protagonist, the LAPD Detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch, and his efforts to ...
Dr Matire Harwood - Champion for Maori health
October 18, 2019 20:30 - 27 minutes - 24.8 MBDr Matire Harwood (Ngapuhi) has devoted her medical career to issues relating to Maori health. She works as a GP in a busy medical centre in South Auckland, teaches at The University of Auckland's Medical School, is recognised for her work as a community leader, and also conducts medical research in areas including asthma, stroke, heart disease and diabetes. Her work's been recognised this week with the award of the Health Research Council's Te Tohu Rapuora Award, at the Royal Society Te...
Billy Connolly: 'The thing is to just carry on'
October 18, 2019 20:05 - 24 minutes - 22.1 MBBeloved Scottish comedian, musician, actor and storyteller Billy Connolly retired from live stand-up comedy at the end of last year, as a result of the progress of Parkinson's disease, the degenerative neurological condition he was diagnosed with in 2013. He's still working as an actor and has just released a book Tall Tales and Wee Stories which includes his most famous routines. Kim will talk to him from his home in Florida where he still enjoys fishing, drawing and keeping the local m...
Eliud Kipchoge and the sub two hour marathon
October 18, 2019 19:35 - 13 minutes - 12.9 MBLast weekend was exciting for fans of distance running. Kenyan runner Eliud Kipchoge broke the "unbreakable" two-hour marathon barrier and compatriot Brigid Kosgei smashed a 16 year old women's marathon world record by more than a minute. Kosgei's record was achieved during a standard competitive marathon race in Chicago but Kipchog's attempt involved precisely engineered non-race conditions: a wind break of a pace setting runners, a guiding laser beam, a pair of performance-enhancing Ni...
Alastair Campbell: Brexit latest
October 18, 2019 19:10 - 29 minutes - 26.8 MBBritish MPs vote tomorrow (Saturday UK time) on the amended Brexit deal that Prime Minister Boris Johnson has negotiated with the European Union. Meanwhile, the former Labour Party press secretary Alastair Campbell will join a major public rally in Parliament Square calling for another public vote to approve any deal. After a career advising successive Labour governments and PM Tony Blair, Mr Campbell remains active in politics as an outspoken critic of the Brexit process and the UK's pl...
Doug Wilson - Science vs Ageing
October 11, 2019 22:35 - 21 minutes - 19.8 MBThe wealth of new research about the science of ageing should help improve care for older people but is there a danger in over medicalising a natural process?
Mike White - How to Walk a Dog
October 11, 2019 22:05 - 33 minutes - 30.8 MBMike White is well known for his hard hitting investigative crime and justice journalism including coverage of Mark Lundy, Scott Watson, and the murder of Scott Guy.
Megan Phelps Roper - Leaving the Westboro Baptist Church
October 11, 2019 21:05 - 46 minutes - 42.6 MBAs the granddaughter of Westboro Baptist Church founder Fred Phelps, Megan Phelps-Roper grew up believing that God hates gay people.
Kim Gordon: 'I never questioned that I would succeed at something'
October 11, 2019 20:40 - 16 minutes - 15.3 MBMusician, artist, and author Kim Gordon has released her first solo album No Home Record eight years after the end of her band Sonic Youth and her 27 year marriage to bandmate Thurston Moore.
White Teeth Author Zadie Smith on her short fiction experiment
October 11, 2019 20:05 - 36 minutes - 33.6 MBAuthor and New York University professor Zadie Smith has just released Grand Union, her first collection of short fiction.
A bright future for seaweed farming in NZ?
October 11, 2019 19:30 - 22 minutes - 20.5 MBEcological economist Marjan Van Den Belt is excited about the environmental and financial opportunities large scale seaweed farming could bring to New Zealand.
Turkish forces move in to northern Syria as the US withdraws
October 11, 2019 19:12 - 25 minutes - 23.3 MBTurkish forces have entered Kurdish-held areas of northern Syria in response to a US military withrawal from the region.
Listener feedback for Saturday Morning for 5 October 2019
October 04, 2019 22:59 - 7 minutes - 6.76 MBKim Hill reads listener feedback for Saturday Morning 5 October 2019.
Playing Favourites with Mike Chunn
October 04, 2019 22:05 - 55 minutes - 50.7 MBMusician, CEO of the Play it Strange Trust and former Split Enz guitarist Mike Chunn has a new memoir A Sharp Left Turn. He'll share some of his favourite songs with Kim.
The dark history of New Zealand's leper colony
October 04, 2019 21:35 - 16 minutes - 15.3 MBFrom 1906 to 1925 Quail Island in Lyttelton Harbour was the site of New Zealand's only leprosy colony. The fate of those who ended up on the Island was grim, with a lack of care and reports of institutional abuse. While official record of the colony is light, historian and author Benjamin Kingsbury has pieced together the story through contemporary newspaper reporting and the letters of the people involved. He's just about to release his book The Dark Island - Leprosy in New Zealand and ...
Straight male escort John Oh: 'I love my job'
October 04, 2019 21:05 - 37 minutes - 34.3 MBMonogamy isn't necessarily the most important aspect of a marriage, according to John Oh – a sex worker based in Sydney. Among his clients are women who want to have sex outside marriage without having an 'affair', John tells Kim Hill.
The Manus Island recording project - sounds of life in detention
October 04, 2019 20:35 - 24 minutes - 22.2 MBThe Manus Recording Project Collective's work how are you today? is a collaboration between six men detained on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea and Australian radio-makers Michael Green and Jon Tjhia. Audio recordings by Farhad Bandesh, Behrouz Boochani, Samad Abdul, Shamindan Kanapathi, Kazem Kazemi and Abdul Aziz Muhamat give listeners 10 minute long sonic windows into life in detention. Kim will ask Michael Green and Jon Tjhia about the challenges of the project and how the men are doi...
Stephen Chbosky - The Perks of Being a Wallflower author
October 04, 2019 20:05 - 19 minutes - 18 MB20 years ago Stephen Chbosky wrote the best selling novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Since then he's been writing and directing films with credits including the movie of his own novel, a live action Beauty and the Beast and the 2017 dramatic comedy Wonder. He's just released his second novel, Imaginary Friend. a horror story exploring how children deploy imagination to deal with trauma.
Author Melissa Anelli - cyberstalked by New Zealander
October 04, 2019 19:40 - 19 minutes - 17.9 MBMelissa Anelli is the author of the New York Times bestseller Harry, A History, which chronicles the Harry Potter phenomenon, the webmistress of The Leaky Cauldron fansite, and a host of the PotterCast podcast. She is also the victim of 8 years of serious cyberstalking by a New Zealander she had banned from commenting at The Leaky Cauldron. Anelli tried everything she could to get it to stop and in the process learned the limitations of international cyberstalking laws. Anelli is a now a...
Anti-Springbok-tour veterans on the power of HART
October 04, 2019 19:10 - 29 minutes - 26.9 MBNew Zealand protest group Halt All Racist Tours (HART) formed in 1969 to protest against sporting contact with apartheid South Africa. In 1981 the issue of whether the All Blacks should play the Springboks came to a head with the nation so violently divided that it is acknowledged as being the closest New Zealand came to civil war in the 20th century. Kim will talk to HART founding member Trevor Richards and former All Black and protester Robert Burgess about how they felt at the time an...