RNZ: Saturday Morning

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A magazine programme hosted by Kim Hill, with long-form, in-depth feature interviews on current affairs, science, modern life, history, the arts and more.

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    • Jul 18, 2025 LATEST EPISODE
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    • 20m AVG DURATION
    • 1,911 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from RNZ: Saturday Morning

    Playing Favourites with Kiran Dass

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 18, 2025 54:14


    Literary festival director and music aficionado Kiran Dass plays some favourite tunes and shares what it's like running WORD Christchurch.

    Reviving Lake Ōmāpere

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 18, 2025 10:10


    A group from the Lake Ōmāpere Trust in the Far North led by 93-year-old kuia Ani Martin, will present their plan for restoring its ecological health at the World Lake Conference.  

    New research on Auckland's volcanos

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 18, 2025 18:51


    Auckland is known for its volcanic cones - and while an eruption is very unlikely to happen, the volcanic field is technically still active.

    Telling stories through sign language: A Quiet Love

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 18, 2025 23:41


    Three deaf couples navigate love, parenting, and identity in the deeply personal documentary A Quiet Love - their stories all told in Irish Sign Language. 

    Water and wildfire: partnering with NASA for a more

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 18, 2025 10:46


    Space may be the final frontier, but it is also an increasingly viable one for New Zealand as our scientists partner with NASA to engage in mutually beneficial research. 

    Sameer Pandya: Our Beautiful Boys

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 18, 2025 21:40


    "Can you ever really know your kids?" That's the question at the heart of Sameer Pandya's new novel Our Beautiful Boys. 

    Chicago the Musical: putting a showstopping spin on a scandal

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 18, 2025 17:54


    Chicago is coming to Auckland with its celebrity cocktail of murder, media and music. 

    Digging up the shame of the past

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 18, 2025 18:37


    Excavators have begun work at St. Mary's Mother-and-Baby Home in Tuam where unmarried pregnant women were sent to give birth from 1925 to 1961. 

    Face with Tears of Joy: A Natural History of Emoji

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 18, 2025 24:00


    Emojis are the world's newest language - but where did they come from, where are they going, and what do they mean? 

    Why the grass is greener for award winning exporter

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 18, 2025 8:57


    Tauranga based Trimax Mowing Systems is Exporter of the Year for the Bay of Plenty. Their designs are used on PGA golf courses and even at Windsor Castle!

    Writing a wish list to go with your will

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 18, 2025 7:36


    It's Wills Week and a Taupo mum and her 13-year-old son have created a list of wishes to help families have those difficult conversations before it's too late.

    Iwi leader on discovery of French maritime artifact

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 18, 2025 6:43


    One of New Zealand's oldest European artifacts, an anchor from a French ship, has been found in Doubtless Bay. Its captain's actions are another story.

    Counting the cost: flood clean up in Nelson Tasman

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 18, 2025 4:23


    A week on from last week's devastating storm and locals in Nelson Tasman are still cleaning up and beginning to count the cost. 

    Update from Gaza

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 18, 2025 7:04


     On the ground in Gaza, Médecins Sans Frontières - Doctors Without Borders, describes the situation as "human carnage".

    The end of open plan classrooms

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 18, 2025 6:59


    Education Minister Erica Stanford has said after years of government flip-flops it will now only build single-cell classrooms. 

    Celebrating the DIVA

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 11, 2025 13:59


    Nowadays the word Diva likely conjures up someone who's difficult to work with; but the term was traditionally used to describe renowned and celebrated performers. Women who were fabulous both on and off the stage. Auckland Museum's DIVA exhibition, explores some of the world's best-known divas; from opera goddesses and silent movie stars to Hollywood legends and today's global megastars. Performers who have shaped culture, challenged norms, and captivated audiences worldwide.

    Kate de Goldi: Reading for Pleasure

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 11, 2025 14:08


    There's no better time than the weekend to dig into a good book. Kate de Goldi is a novelist, children's writer, Arts Foundation Laureate, and the recently announced Te Awhi Rito Reading Ambassador. Kate shares what her new role entails as well as the latest books she's loved. This week she's read: Under a Fire-Red Sky by Geraldine McCaughrean; Homework by Geoff Dyer; and Broadsword Calling Danny Boy by Geoff Dyer.

    Stacy Gregg - The Last Journey

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 11, 2025 16:41


    International bestselling author for middle-grade readers Stacy Gregg's latest book The Last Journey was inspired by the Auckland Anniversary weekend floods.

    Chasing Pacific Fire - Waka Lab

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 11, 2025 23:36


    Dr Ian Schipper has combined state of the art tools with a traditional double-hulled waka to reach remote and under-studied active volcanoes. 

    Chelsea Winstanley: TOITU Visual Sovereignty

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 11, 2025 20:25


    Toitu Toiora was the landmark exhibition held at the Auckland Art Gallery in 2020. It endured a number of obstacles before opening night, including Covid 19 and the public resignation of its Maori curator, Nigel Borrell. The exhibition is a major survey of contemporary Maori art from the 1950s to the present day and is the largest exhibition the Auckland Art Gallery has ever undertaken. It featured over 300 artworks by 110 Maori artists; the idea was to introduce the audience to new ways of approaching and engaging with Maori art. Award winning producer and director Chelsea Winstanley returned home from Hollywood to make a behind-the-scenes documentary and found herself at the centre of modern day stand for sovereignty. The result is TOITU Visual Sovereignty, is showing at the New Zealand International Film Festival.

    Relandscaping NZ farms for future generations

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 11, 2025 12:41


    John Burke and his family have taken what was considered the most environmentally degraded farm in the Western Bay of Plenty and turned it into an award-winning environmental farm. 

    Dame Fiona Kidman on how she became 'the girl who wrote'

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 11, 2025 31:10


    The life and literary legacy of Aotearoa's internationally acclaimed writer Dame Fiona Kidman has been captured in the documentary: The House Within. 

    Tim McKinnel and Bubba Cook - Fatal Watch

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 11, 2025 14:24


    Fatal Watch is an investigation into the global trade in tuna and the deaths of several fisheries observers who were monitoring illegal fishing. 

    Amelia Kerr: a role model beyond the wicket

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 11, 2025 19:50


    At the height of her cricket career, White Fern Amelia Kerr called time out and opened up about her struggles with mental health. 

    On the court and on the track - Wimbledon and F1

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 11, 2025 8:37


    It's finals weekend at Wimbledon. Sports broadcaster Michael Weadlock joins Paddy Gower from London with his predictions and to discuss the big upset of the week in Formula 1.

    Using toxic fungus to fight cancer

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 11, 2025 5:06


    Toxic fungus has been in the headlines this week - Australian woman Erin Patterson was found guilty of murdering her three in-laws by poisoning them with death cap mushrooms. But there's a toxic fungus that researchers have been able to use to fight cancer. The same mould that has been linked to deaths, in the excavations of ancient tombs - has the capability of fighting leukemia cells. Dr Sherry Gao, an associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania speaks to Mihingarangi Forbes about the significance of this discovery.

    Royal Commission into Covid-19 response

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 11, 2025 5:18


    The second phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into New Zealand's Covid-19 response, got underway this week in Auckland. The first phase was last year when Commissioners concluded that vaccine mandates were "reasonable" but were applied "more broadly than envisaged". RNZ reporter Victor Waters speaks to Mihingarangi Forbes about what came out of this week's discussions which focused on Auckland and Northland.

    Nurses vote to strike

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 11, 2025 6:27


    More than 36,000 Te Whatu Ora nurses, midwives, health care assistants and kaimahi hauora have voted to strike for 24 hours. The Nurses Organisation says the strike is due to Health NZ's failure to address safe staffing concerns. Health NZ is offering a 3 percent pay rise over two years, plus two payments of $325. But the union said the agency was refusing to provide safe staffing levels in its latest contract offer. NZNO Chief Executive Paul Goulter talks to Paddy Gower about what it would take to resolve their concerns.

    Latest from the Ukraine and Russia

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 11, 2025 6:57


    Overnight Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky said a Russian drone attack has hit a maternity hospital in the city of Kharkiv, injuring several women. The UN's Human-Rights-Monitoring-Mission in Ukraine says June saw the highest monthly civilian casualties in three years, with 232 people killed. It comes against the backdrop of some landmark court rulings against Russia and increasing concern Ukraine will be split-up under a future peace plan. Vitaly Shevchenko, the BBC's expert on Russia and Ukraine, joins Mihingarangi Forbes from London.

    Overview from the Metservice

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 11, 2025 3:33


    Oscar Shiviti talks to Paddy Gower about the Nelson Tasman forecast for the rest of the weekend and what other parts of the country can expect.

    Weather update from Nelson Tasman

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 11, 2025 6:06


    A state of emergency remains in place in Nelson Tasman after more heavy rain. RNZ's Mary Argue is on the ground in Riwaka just outside of Nelson and she talks to Mihingarangi Forbes about how locals are coping in the face of more evacuations.

    Hercules Noble 'Will it Sourdough?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 4, 2025 16:10


    Private chef Hercules Noble is the man behind the 'Will it Sourdough' series where he takes a random dish and sees if he can transform it into a loaf of sourdough. Think tiramisu, carbonara, or earl grey tea flavoured loaves. He shares his sourdough secrets with Paddy Gower and Mihi Forbes.

    Mow to Meadow: letting it all go on the lawn

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 4, 2025 8:58


    After a major garden renovation at home, NZ Gardener editor Jo McCarroll decided to make the bottom of her section a no mow area. She answers listener questions about switching up lawns. 

    Bamboo School - caring for orphans next to a conflict zone

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 4, 2025 24:13


    Running an orphanage and an ambulance service is no easy feat, but when you're also right next to a civil war, there are a lot more complications. Catherine Riley-Bryan is a New Zealander and founder of Bamboo School, located in a village called Bong Ti in western Thailand, right next to the Myanmar border.

    Why memory fails us

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 4, 2025 20:16


    Human sensory systems are almost as good as they can get, but memory is pretty fallible. We often misremember or downright can't remember. Ours can't hold a candle to artificial memory. But, there are plus sides to this, related to creativity, as explained by Auckland University Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience Anthony Lambert.

    The forgotten 1948 scientific expedition to Arnhem Land

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 4, 2025 26:35


    The 1948 American-Australian Scientific Expedition to Arnhem Land in Australia's Northern Territory to investigate both traditional Aboriginal life and the tropical environment, was at the time the biggest scientific expedition in history. Despite this, it's largely been forgotten, until now. In his new book, 'Clever Men' award-winning historian and documentary filmmaker, Martin Thomas uncovers the secrets, scandals and unlikely achievements that unfolded as the worlds of scientific hubris and the world's oldest surviving cultures collided.

    Mighty Indeed - Life on the Ice

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 4, 2025 20:27


    Set in one of the harshest corners of Earth, a new documentary follows three women from different generations as they explore a hidden world underneath the Antarctic sea ice. Director Vanessa Wells and expedition leader Dr Natalie Robinson join Mihi.

    Chris Ramsay - professional puzzle solver and magic Olympian

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 4, 2025 26:19


    The world's most prestigious international magic convention, known as FISM, is set to take place in Italy later this month. Basically, it's the Olympics for magicians. Canadian Chris Ramsay is one of the presenters this year, he's a world-renowned magician, YouTuber, and puzzle creator.

    Wellington's Tattoo Convention

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 4, 2025 5:28


    The Wellington Tattoo Convention is taking place this weekend at the Old Dominion Building in Wellington. There are 120 tattoo artists from all around the motu.

    Sports wrap: All Blacks vs France

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 4, 2025 6:34


    There's a massive weekend of rugby ahead with the All Blacks' first international of the year - playing France at Dunedin at the Forsyth Barr stadium. And it's already a bit controversial with France deciding NOT to send its top tier players. Also today - the Maori All Blacks are playing against Scotland in Whangarei - marking 25 years since the two sides last met AND the Black Ferns have one of their last games here before the World Cup. We're joined by RNZ Sport's Joe Porter

    Turning plastic into paracetamol

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 4, 2025 6:09


    We may think of rubbish as something to throw away, burn or bury - but what if we could turn waste into fragrance, food flavouring or medicine? Well, Professor Stephen Wallace from the University of Edinburgh and his research team has been able to do just that. They've just published a new study into genetically programming bacteria such as E-Coli to turn plastic bottles into paracetamol.

    Commonwealth Poet Laureate - Selina Tusitala Marsh

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 4, 2025 8:45


    This week notable New Zealand poet and academic, Selina Tusitala Marsh has been named as the very first Commonwealth Poet Laureate. The position will involve Marsh crafting original poems for flagship events like the Commonwealth People's Forum and Ministerial and Heads of Government Meetings. It's already turning out to a very big year for Selina, who was awarded the Katherine Mansfield Residency in Menton in the South of France.

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