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Sunday Morning

1,835 episodes - English - Latest episode: 7 days ago -

News, discussion, features and ideas until midday.

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Episodes

Donald Trump's gift to ISIS

October 12, 2019 18:11 - 14 minutes - 13.6 MB

In handing over the ISIS fight in Syria to Turkey, there are fears that US President Donald Trump has helped launch a platform for the Islamic State to make its comeback. Journalist and author Mike Giglio joins the show to discuss.

In the long run, funny women satisfy men more

October 05, 2019 22:40 - 13 minutes - 12.8 MB

Research shows that in early courtship, it's generally the man who performs the role of the joker and women are the receptive ones, but over time the roles are reversed and it is the men who crave the humour from their wives and partners. Indeed, when women produce more humour, they have happier husbands. Professor Jeffrey Hall has conducted studies into the role humour plays in relationships and discusses it with Jim Mora.

Frank Dikotter - ruling with the cult of personality

October 05, 2019 22:05 - 33 minutes - 30.5 MB

The cults and propaganda surrounding dictatorships, from Hitler and Stalin to Mao Zedong and Kim Il Sung, are revealed in a new book by the Dutch historian Frank Dikotter. 'How to Be a Dictator' describes how these men built their regimes and maintained their public images and how those dictatorships influenced Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Now these leaders are using new technologies to target citizens directly, exploiting the cult of personality to achieve the i...

Anne Unkenstein - How do you remember?

October 05, 2019 21:30 - 27 minutes - 25.1 MB

Anne Unkenstein is a Melbourne-based clinical neuropsychologist who helps people cope with memory illnesses, including dementia. Dr Unkenstein's new book, Memory-wise, explains how memory works and the changes that can occur as we age, especially during menopause, and how to minimise the effects.

What multilingual nuns can tell us about dementia

October 05, 2019 21:06 - 20 minutes - 18.6 MB

A longitudinal study of the School Sisters of Notre Dame in the US has discovered surprising insights into the impact speaking many languages has on a person's likelihood of developing dementia. The ground-breaking Nun Study has been studied since the 1980's and is now a complete, data rich cohort of more than 600 nuns. Public health professor at Waterloo University in Canada, Professor Suzanne Tyas, has studied the nun's brains and drawn fascinating conclusions from those who spoke mult...

Gin Wigmore - bringing Romeo & Juliet to the stage

October 05, 2019 20:45 - 13 minutes - 12.1 MB

In 1996 Australian filmmaker Baz Lurmann made a big splash by putting Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet on the big-screen in a contemporary setting. Helping to colour the movie's moods and reflect the mid-90s pop-culture was its soundtrack featuring big name acts Radiohead and Garbage, and soon to be huge hits from The Cardigans and Des'ree. The soundtrack will be celebrated over two nights, December 7 and 8, at the Civic in Auckland with an all-star cast of local singing talent, supported by...

Three Minutes Max - Siobhan Leachman

October 05, 2019 20:38 - 2 minutes - 2.67 MB

Wellingtonian Siobhan Leachman says she misses the Wellington central library after it was closed down because of earthquake risk earlier this year.

Mediawatch for 6 Oct 2019

October 05, 2019 20:00 - 37 minutes - 34 MB

Covering Climate Now saw all of New Zealand's major media companies upping their environmental coverage but it was still eclipsed by the rugby World Cup and New Zealand Herald journalist Keith Ng on covering the protests in Hong Kong as a Cantonese speaker.

How we read in the digital age

October 05, 2019 19:40 - 19 minutes - 18.3 MB

How does reading online affect your ability to take in what you're reading and could it have an impact on how much you read printed material? A new survey by Read NZ reveals we are losing the ability to absorb longer material, especially online. Some people find reading long or challenging content is harder now than in the past, and concentrating is more difficult. The chief executive of the NZ Book Council, Read NZ, Jo Cribb, joins Jim Mora to look at how our online habits are changing ...

Calling Home: Hola from Barcelona

October 05, 2019 18:45 - 13 minutes - 12.4 MB

Wellingtonians Olivia Mitchell and Tony Burns sold up everything, including horses and a large rural property in Whiteman's Valley near Wellington, set up their public speaking training business so it still provides an income, learned Spanish and fulfilled a long-held dream to move to Barcelona.

Deciding on abortion law

October 05, 2019 18:30 - 16 minutes - 22.2 MB

MPs are working on legislation to reform abortion law and their decisions are often shaped by those who turn up to talk to them at select committee. 

Tracing ocean plastic to its source

October 05, 2019 18:21 - 10 minutes - 9.45 MB

Most of the plastic washing up on the shores of Inaccessible Island, a UK protectorate in the Tristan da Cunha group, in the middle of the South Atlantic ocean, comes from a place we haven't fully considered. We assume that a lot of the flotsam in the Pacific ocean gyres comes from big rivers in Asia mostly, and from us, too. But it's hoped not just governments but the International Maritime Organisation will sit up and take notice of a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academ...

Hong Kong: The Troubles - Christine Loh Kung-Wai

October 05, 2019 18:17 - 4 minutes - 4.19 MB

What will it take to quell unrest in the former British colony? This past week saw what was perhaps inevitable, the shooting of a teenage student by police. The street violence in the days since has been the worst since the protests began. We talk to Christine Loh Kung-Wai, a scholar at Hong Kong's University of Science and Technology. She is also a former Legislative Councillor, founder of the Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor, a former Hong Kong "Woman of the Year", and author of the book...

Keith Quinn: Watching the Rugby World Cup unfurl

October 05, 2019 18:10 - 5 minutes - 5.57 MB

The All Blacks opening pool clash with South Africa drew a cloud of criticism on social media, which repeated when Steve Hansen named the team to play Canada in Beppu on Monday and struck again over forces at play guiding referees in this tournament. But the All Blacks coach was having none of it and drew a firm line in the sand over the fuss. Wallabies coach Michael Cheika, meanwhile, erupted in the wake of his side's 29-25 defeat to Wales in a Pool D classic at Tokyo Stadium on Sunday ...

Adrian Orr: The Reserve Bank governor taking on the Aussie banks

October 03, 2019 17:00 - 28 minutes - 25.8 MB

The Reserve Bank's Governor thinks the big 4 Australian banks are making too much money in NZ. Guyon Espiner investigates efforts to rein them in.

Sir Anthony Robinson: Walking the River Thames

September 28, 2019 22:42 - 16 minutes - 14.9 MB

With family ties to London that stretch back three centuries, Sir Anthony Robinson was clearly the right person to host Walking The Thames. The man who famously played Baldrick in Blackadder joins the show to discuss the expedition. 

The problem with mindfulness

September 28, 2019 22:25 - 11 minutes - 10.4 MB

New Zealand-raised Cambridge University graduate student Sahanika Ratnayake can't stomach the modern rhetoric that surrounds modern mindfulness and the general lack of awareness about the movement's deep historical roots.

The Black List people seriously want to be on

September 28, 2019 22:05 - 17 minutes - 16.5 MB

Franklin Leonard is  the man who created The Black List, a ground-breaking publication that separates Hollywood's most popular unproduced screenplays from the tens of thousands that are crafted every year.

A travel writer's guide to the roads less travelled

September 28, 2019 21:34 - 24 minutes - 22.9 MB

Travel writer Mary Jane Walker says people should always travel to the places they tell you not to. She is the author of the 'Maverick Traveller' series of books. 

The life and times of the mysterious Man in Seat 61

September 28, 2019 21:06 - 27 minutes - 25.7 MB

Mark Smith is the driving force behind the hugely popular seat61.com website. He joins the show to discuss his business and why he rates New Zealand's Northern Explorer as one of the top five train trips in the world.

Tim Ross: Finding humour in architecture and design

September 28, 2019 20:37 - 14 minutes - 13.1 MB

He's best known for his work on TV and radio but Australian comedian Tim Ross has always had a passion for architecture and design. The self-proclaimed "designer nerd" is in the country for the Festival of Architecture.

Mediawatch for 29 September 2019

September 28, 2019 20:05 - 31 minutes - 29.1 MB

Was Spark's streaming drama a storm in a tech teacup?; giving Amazon a big break.

Pet numbers need to shrink to help save the planet

September 28, 2019 19:41 - 17 minutes - 16.4 MB

Pet ownership around the world continues to grow, and the environmental cost is skyrocketing along with it. Professor David Raubenheimer says people need to start making compromises when it comes to pets.

Three Minutes Max: Cathryn Monro on positive learning environments

September 28, 2019 19:37 - 2 minutes - 2.7 MB

Three Minutes Max on Sunday mornings, interesting opinions from New Zealanders. Sculptor Cathryn Monro is also an educator, author, and the mother of two teens. She advises on leadership development. 

Calling Home: Rod Snowdon in Giessen, Germany

September 28, 2019 18:45 - 16 minutes - 15.4 MB

Professor Rod Snowdon was only meant to be heading to Germany for a short while when he first arrived in 1993, but circumstances changed, and over a quarter of a century later he remains based in Giessen. 

All care and no control: Responsibility lite

September 28, 2019 18:35 - 6 minutes - 8.88 MB

Responsibility is a recurring issue during Parliament's Question Time. Ministers are responsible for their 'kingdoms', but exactly how responsible?

Parliament calls for public view on gun law

September 28, 2019 18:30 - 7 minutes - 9.81 MB

Parliament is working on the second piece of promised firearms legislation from the Government and is asking for the public to share their views. 

Recommendations for Mosque shooting victim donations due next month

September 28, 2019 18:18 - 6 minutes - 5.82 MB

Christchurch City Councillor Raf Manji is meeting with the community on behalf of the Christchurch Foundation to make recommendations about the best ways to disperse funds to the victims of the mosque shootings.   

Donald Trump could be guilty of four different crimes

September 28, 2019 18:10 - 11 minutes - 10.4 MB

If the CIA whistleblower's claims ring true, Donald Trump could be guilty of as many as four different crimes. US correspondent Karen Kasler looks at the potential impeachment of the US President.

The New Zealanders involved in the exploitation of Filipinos

September 26, 2019 18:00 - 26 minutes - 24.7 MB

New Zealand is a dream destination for many Filipinos. But many are exploited and New Zealanders are increasingly  becoming involved in exploitation in the Philippines as well. Gill Bonnett investigates.

Snus tobacco petition considered at Parliament

September 25, 2019 06:55 - 4 minutes - 5.72 MB

Petitions to a select committee are sometimes a testing ground for impending legislation like the snus tobacco petition considered by the Health Committee this week.

A quick spring clean for the law

September 24, 2019 06:55 - 6 minutes - 9.09 MB

Here’s a spring cleaning tip for the legally minded. You can spruce up a law really quickly if you plan to blow the dust off but not move anything.

My Van, My Castle: Life On The Road In New Zealand

September 21, 2019 23:35 - 26 minutes - 24.4 MB

Jackie Norman met her soulmate, sold her suburban home and swapped it for life on the road travelling around New Zealand in a campervan. She tells her fascinating tale of discovery in her new book, My Van, My Castle.

Sarah Edmondson: How I escaped the NXIVM sex cult

September 21, 2019 23:05 - 29 minutes - 27 MB

Vancouver actress Sarah Edmondson spent 12 years in the NXIVM cult. She eventually blew the whistle and has a new book, Scarred: The True Story of How I Escaped NXIVM, The Cult That Bound My Life.

Learning Mandarin not as intimidating as it might seem

September 21, 2019 22:43 - 15 minutes - 14.2 MB

Mike Insley began learning Mandarin when he and his wife moved to China to work in a winery in the remote region of Ningxia in 2015. He's brushing up on his Mandarin skills as part of the NZ Chinese Language Week,

Books

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