RNZ: Saturday Morning

The cameraman behind award-winning images that helped to bring Sir David Attenborough's conservation work to life, is being remembered in a special charity event 'A Night to Remember' in Queenstown.  

Chef and food waste expert Del Holland is back to share her tips on getting savvy in the kitchen, without compromising on taste.

Dunedin born Sarah Foster Sproull is one of New Zealand's top choreographers. Her work 'Ultra Folly' is making its way around the country as part of the Royal New Zealand ballet's winter season.

For generations, the story of the Bounty has been told as an adventure - a dramatic clash between Captain Bligh and Fletcher Christian. But for the descendants of those who survived, it's something far more personal. A handwritten register recording births, marriages and deaths is returning to the South Pacific after more than 170 years in Britain.

This week we lost a screen legend, and according to all accounts - a top bloke. Sam made a huge impact on stars of our stage and screen in their own right, Oscar Kightley and Sara Wiseman - who pay tribute.

Last month we spoke with FIFA's Head of Pitch Infrastructure, Ewen Hodge. He's responsible for some of the most important grass in the world. He's joins us to discuss how the grass is going after all this footy.

Peter Hambleton is perhaps better known as Glóin in The Hobbit trilogy. But he's ditched the Dwarf costume and put down his axe to do battle with people we pay our rates to, in a new stage comedy called Local Library, opening at Circa next weekend.

This month marks the 40th anniversary of the Homosexual Law Reform Act. Welby Ings is a queer activist, who in the early 1980s established Gay Rights of Taihape, an advocacy group for rural queers. He's also a renowned film-director.

The bird flu's now in New Zealand - what could it mean for our native bird populations? The Pukorokoro Shorebird Centre's Keith Woodley explains the risks.  

The Football World Cup is in its final throes this weekend with the play-off for 3rd and 4th between France and England tomorrow at 9am.

Kalina Silverman is the founder of a global movement Big Talk; she wants everyone to skip the small talk to make room for big conversations

Our resident gardening expert is back, this time to talk about all things Matariki. Hannah Zwartz has over 30 years' experience gardening professionally, including looking after the herb and succulent areas at Wellington Botanic Garden and running community market gardens in the Hutt Valley. She speaks with Paddy Gower about making the most of this time of year and answers your listener questions.

Majic won Best Maori Female Solo Artist at the Waiata Maori Music Awards in 2015 and she's putting together a concert which is next weekend to mark Matariki. She's undertaken the task on behalf of her iwi - Ngaati Whatua Orakei - which is the host this year of the national hautapu ceremony which you'll have heard a bit from here on RNZ National yesterday.

From a home perched impossibly on the side of hills, to a flat pack build that needs only three people to put together - our landscape hosts some rather unique dwellings. Simon Devitt is an award-winning photographer, and Andrea Stevens is a writer with a background in architecture. Together they've teamed up, collating New Zealand's most interesting homes into a coffee table book called 'Cape to Bluff'. They speak with Paddy Gower.

Poi E is right up there with iconic Kiwi songs. The chart-topping waiata is 42 years old and still going strong. The Patea Maori Club is still going strong too - they were performing just last night. Paddy is joined by Laura Maruera, who as chair person keeps the club in line. She joins Paddy from Patea, along with foundational members, twins Bib and Bub.

Now, granted, it is a long weekend - and you have every right to put your feet up and relax - but if you're worried about becoming a winter couch potato, then this might be for you. The Winter 31 Club is a 31 day yoga challenge inspired by Matariki. Katie Deare is from the Sun Salute Yoga Centre in Hamilton to talk it over.

The Doc Edge Festival is on at the moment with screenings at all the main centres. There's even a Virtual Cinema launching at the end of the month - so no one is missing out. Always close to the action was our very own Mihi Forbes who Paddy speaks with live from the launch of the latest important chapter in the NZ Wars series: Stories of Waerenga-a-Hika

Veteran war correspondent Cameron Bennett joins Paddy to talk about the NZ Wars documentary: Stories of Waerenga-a-Hika. Cameron's directed the doco about the six day siege at Waerenga-a-Hika, a pa site close to Gisborne.

Two things you'll find in Golden Bay are horopito and takahe, and they're two things that father daughter duo Peter and Lucy Butler have put together. Peter Butler transitioned from a failing organic kiwifruit orchard to successfully farming the native horopito plant. He's also behind Health Post - New Zealand's largest natural health and wellness store - which is 100% NZ family-owned - founded by his late wife, Linley. It runs on the principle you shouldn't profit from people's ill health, and ultimately led to the establishment of HealthPost Nature Trust. Together with his daughter Lucy Butler, they have recently released takahe onto the Onetahua Farewell Spit, after their team to put up an impressive predator-proof fence. The father-daughter duo join Paddy.

A recent study has revealed that there are vast and mysterious underground networks of fungi right under our feet. These organisms are so small they can't be seen by the naked eye, yet they're foundational to the health of soil and the wellbeing of plants. Katie Field is a Professor in Plant-Soil Processes at the University of Sheffield. She joins Paddy.

Those of us who sit at a desk for most of the day know the importance of taking a break. New research has figured out exactly how often we should get up and move around. The study found taking a short walking break every 20 minutes reduces blood sugar and insulin. University of Otago PhD graduate and lecturer in physical activity and nutrition behaviour at AUT Dr Jen Gale is the lead author in the study. She speaks with Paddy Gower.

One of the most senior figures in global anti-doping is a New Zealander. David Howman is Chairman of the International Athletics Integrity Unit which polices athletics. But before that, David spent 13 years at the World Anti Doping Agency as it's director general. Paddy speaks with him about developments this week which have seen the International Olympic Committee provisionally lift its suspension of Russia.

Auckland's TALA has received the first-ever Michelin Star awarded for Samoan food.

Kate de Goldi, our resident reader, is back with her latest picks.

Craig Turner-Bullock has spent almost a decade travelling the world, taking photos of dogs. He talks to Susie about capturing canines - and finding their best side!

Matariki became a public holiday in 2022 largely thanks to the mahi of Professor Rangi Matamua who last year decided he would do Matariki in Antarctica.

Four-time Pulitzer Prize winning photo-journalist, Carol Guzy, on documenting ICE.

Black holes, glittery images and alien water on an interstellar comet - the infinite possibilities of space!

There's no doubt divorce can be messy, but according to divorce expert Kate Daly, it doesn't have to be! 

This July fourth in the USA marks the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. As it reaches this milestone, we take a look at the current temperature of the United States and what the future holds for it.

The PM's Science Prize has been awarded to an Auckland team who's work has prevented severe disability for thousands of babies around the world.

The mighty Ruamāhanga river is set to play the starring role in an upcoming documentary alongside naturalist Ruud Kleinpaste, also known as The Bug Man. 

Have you always wanted to join a book club but haven't quite found the time to make it happen? Well, the Libby Reads digital book club might be your answer. 

TVNZ's FIFA World Cup host, Chris Chang speaks to Mihingarangi ahead of this afternoon's match between the All Whites and Belgium.

The Cuban revolution is particularly personal for Alina Fernández. When Alina was 10 years old, she found out that her father was its leader - Fidel Castro. 

Many of us spend years building our lives around accumulation, believing that's how we'll find security and happiness. But what if we've got it backwards? Daisuke Yosumi swears by minimalism.

How do we build resilience in the face of more technological and societal change? Acclaimed neuroscientist, Dr Hannah Critchlow shares her tips.

How will you be remembered after you die? And does it really matter if you're not here to see it? It turns out that an awful lot of us do care.

We often talk about how life has changed for women across the generations but what about men? What does it mean to be a man today? 

Just as Maori have fought for the restoration of their whenua and reo so too have they fought for recognition of matauranga Maori - traditional knowledge. Unlikely Kin tells the story of Ngati Wai elder Hori Parata and his son Te Kaurinui who lead the cultural harvesting of deceased tohora following a stranding. But it isn't just about treating a taonga with the respect it is due and acknowledging its place within Te Ao Maori. It's about its connection to another taonga - the kauri. Mihingarangi talks to the documentary's directors Kim Webby and Michael Jonathan about a conservation message that was five years in the filming.

Emma Neale is the author of seven novels and seven poetry collections, the latest of which won the Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry at the 2025 Ockham NZ Book Awards. Her newest novel, Maybe Baby, tells the story of a grieving widower determined to honour his and his late wife's desire to have a child. It's an exploration of the complexities of bringing life into the world and the tensions that arise when desire takes over. Emma joins Susie to discuss the central themes of the novel.

Over the last week we've seen house prices slumping in what could be the biggest property reset in decades, while petrol prices may also be set to come down. Liam Dann is the Business Editor at Large for the New Zealand Herald. He talks to Mihingarangi about the latest data trends.