RNZ: Saturday Morning

Clairgustance is the psychic ability to perceive tastes or flavours through extrasensory perception, rather than mere eating. It's at the core of Ukraine-born, American author Daria Lavelle's Aftertaste, part ghost story, part gastro romance, it's an investigation of food: what we like to eat, who it reminds us of and who it connects us to. Daria speaks to Susie about her odyssey through food and love, life and death.

One of Australia's leading chefs, food columnists and author of the award-winning cookbook Chinese-ish, Rosheen Kaul is back with a saucy second book. 

Australian First Nations poet, spoken word performer, artist, and Nations Editor at Cordite Review, Dominic Guererra has brought his work to New Zealand for the first time. 

A celebration of the beauty of our backyard, Aotearoa Light is also a reminder that we need to protect it.

Queenie Tan, a 28-year-old mum of one, is a 'finfluencer', making a living sharing her top tips for building wealth - regardless of whether you have $5000 to invest or just $5. 

Volcanologist and Earth Sciences New Zealand principal scientist, Graham Leonard is back this week covering the challenge of flooding in Aotearoa. 

Ian McEwan's latest novel is set in a post-climate change future where survivors are haunted by the richness of a lost world.

Communities worldwide are planting trees. In New Zealand. Hāwera has 7.5% tree canopy, Picton has nearly 59%. The average across all NZ towns and cities is 19%. 

James Montague has taken an in-depth look at how the murder of Saudi journalist and dissident Jamal Khashoggi sped up Saudi Arabia's involvement and investment in sport. 

NZ Fashion week finishes today in Auckland. Having had a tough few years, there's a sense the fashion world in New Zealand is banding together, even seeing the return of one of its big global stars - alongside some surprising new ones! RNZ's lifestyle and entertainment reporter Serena Soloman speaks to MIhi about the catwalk debut of several greyhounds.

Marae are often on the front line of natural disasters, opening their doors to shelter the community and at times hit hard by floods themselves. PhD researcher Haukapuanui Vercoe was recently recognised with the 2025 New Zealand Esri Young Scholar Award. Vercoe also recently represented Aotearoa at the Esri User Conference in San Diego, showcasing how Indigenous knowledge and technology can work together to strengthen marae, whanau, hapu, and iwi resilience against natural hazards. He talks to Susie from his home in Rotorua.

If you're scrambling around in the laundry right now looking for boots and shin pads, chances are you're off to a kid's sports event. Alongside the joys of sport come some things to be weary of - like concussion. To help teenagers and their schools better cope with concussion, a group of researchers has developed a framework they hope to use to educate and encourage more reporting. Project co-lead Professor Gisela Sole from Otago's School of Physiotherapy explains to Mihingarangi how it would work.

Overnight Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected proposals for a buffer zone between Ukrainian and Russian forces as part of a peace deal. His comments followed a report suggesting European leaders were considering a 40km (25-mile) buffer zone as part of either a ceasefire or longer-term agreement. In the same week, Russia launched its biggest attack on the Ukrainian capital this month, damaging EU and British offices. The strikes took place less than two weeks after US President Trump hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin at a summit in Alaska, hoping to advance his peace efforts. The BBC's Russian Editor Vitaly Shevshenko talks to Susie from London.

Consumer confidence has fallen to a 10-month low as the high cost of living and weak housing and labour markets continue to have an impact. The ANZ-Roy Morgan survey on Friday also revealed consumers' perceptions of their personal financial situations had fallen to their lowest level since October 2023. Financial mentors say the cost of living is particularly concerning for those on fixed incomes like pensioners. This week an RNZ survey showed even retirees who have paid off their homes are struggling as rates and insurance costs increase. Retirement Commissioner Jane Wrightson joins Susie Ferguson from Wellington.

The polls have closed and results are trickling in for the Samoan General Election which has been described as one of the most unpredictable elections in history. This election race was originally scheduled for April next year but brought forward after a split in the ruling FAST party. It led to months of political instability that ended with Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa's minority government being unable to pass its 2025 Budget. NZ Pacific correspondent Grace Tinetali-Fiava'a speaks to Mihingarangi Forbes from Apia.

The resignation of the Reserve Bank chair Neil Quigley was announced by Finance Minister Nicola Willis last night as happening with "immediate effect". It came after months of close scrutiny over his handling of Adrian Orr's resignation as Governor. Quigley described Orr's resignation, in early March, as a "personal decision" but a series of revelations followed that cast doubt on that. Minister Willis declined to be interviewed on Saturday Morning but in a pre-recorded interview to RNZ last night she said "Mr Quigley chose to tend his resignation. If he had not offered his resignation, I would have asked him for it." RNZ Business Editor Gyles Beckford has the latest.

Author and illustrator Donovan Bixley is one of New Zealand's most acclaimed picture book creators and believes that illustrated books can be ageless. 

In the late 1970s, a group of Argentinian grandmothers, banded together to find their lost children and grandchildren following a series of kidnappings by the military junta

The time for seed sowing is almost upon us, and it'll determine what your garden will look like for the months to come. 

Pelvic organ prolapse is common for women but is seldom openly talked about. In New Zealand about 50% of women experience some degree of prolapse.

Autaia gives rangatahi a chance to explore their creativity by coming up with a story they want to tell and working out how to tell that tale through haka, dance and theatre. 

Paula Vogel's Mother Play is an absurd, funny, and unflinching exploration of family, identity, and the ties that both bind and break us. 

Gwyneth Paltrow is one of the most influential, aspirational and polarising celebrities of the last thirty years: her influence spanning entertainment, fashion and wellness. 

A new doco series Cutting the Curve explores the backlash against body diversity in fashion and the wider implications this has on society. 

Groundbreaking book, The Tesla Files is a tell-all of the world's most powerful businessman, Elon Musk and the rise and fall of his empire. 

 Black Fern legend Kendra Cocksedge is alongside our national team as they seek to defend their title at this year's Women's Rugby World Cup. 

When New Zealand and Australia missed out on hosting the world's largest radio telescope in 2012, Dr Tim Molteno decided to build his own!

An Auckland-based criminologist is concerned New Zealand's proposed social media ban for under-16s won't address on-line misogyny. 

Youth homelessness advocates are calling for more to be done to help vulnerable young people who don't have safe, stable accommodation. 

Yesterday Fonterra announced plans to sell its consumer businesses to global dairy giant Lactalis. The sale price? $3.845 billion.

A UN-backed body has confirmed there is famine in Gaza City. The report has been labelled an "outright lie" by Israel. 

Written and illustrated specially for children, this is the true story of Dame Whina Cooper who drove many successful campaigns for Māori and women's rights. 

Australian author Charlotte Wood's latest book Stone Yard Devotional was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Stone Yard Devotional talks about finding inspiration in personal upheaval and the stories that shaped Charlotte's childhood while merging with an entirely invented story about an enclosed religious community. Described as "one of Australia's most original and provocative writers" Charlotte Wood is the author of seven novels and three books of non-fiction. She's appearing at Word Christchurch at the end of this month.

We inherit our genes but can we inherit trauma? There's no doubt we can feel it but can the trauma of previous generations be expressed in our genetic code? 

With decades of experience in traditional and contemporary carving, artist Stephen Myhre is known for his mastery in wood, jade and bone. 

Launched back in 2004, The Biggest Loser put America's obesity problem on the big screen for 18 seasons. Producers looked for overweight people who were desperate to change their lives and take home a $250,000 prize. With contestants working out to the point of being sick, being berated by fitness instructors, pulling two-ton cars, taking part in temptation challenges and gorging on desserts; it trod a fine line. Now a 3-part documentary series, Fit for TV: The Reality of the Biggest Loser reveals the toxicity behind the scenes, talking to former winners, contestants, team doctors and experts. Saturday Morning speaks with former trainer-turned host, Bob Harper.

Netflix doco Grenfell traces the events leading up to the tragic Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017. 

Forever Auckland FC is a new docuseries, featuring players, coaches, owners and fans following the behind-the-scenes machinations of NZ's newest football club. 

Bird of the Year swoops into the competition's backstory while showcasing incredible illustrations from more than a dozen top wildlife artists.

Great-granddaughter of Sigmund, daughter to British painter Lucien, and brought up by strong women, Esther Freud's new novel is about sisterhood. 

It's the start of the rugby championship this weekend which features New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina and Australia. 

New research has found ME/CFS is partly caused by genetics, related to the immune and nervous system.