RNZ: Saturday Morning

Susie explores the multi-sensory art installations in Whanga - The Cove at Victoria University's School of Architecture in a celebration of nature, bird song and the city it calls home. She also gets to ask a real-life philosopher, Professor Simon Keller, a question!

Food and dance is a big part of the CubaDupa festival in Wellington this weekend and one of the city's iconic spots is the Seamarket where Dion Antonino Basile is the person in charge. His father bought the Wellington fish market in 1979 and Dion is the next generation to keep the family business thriving. During the festival its carpark will be taken over by a dance party! Susie speaks to Dion about his recommended catches of the day.

There have been a few meteorological and weather events in the region this week! Tuesday's Tonga earthquake, the Ambae eruption in Vanuatu and the flooding that hit Northland and Coromandel. Saturday Morning's regular guest Graham Leonard speaks to Mihi about the risks and wonders of the weather. Graham is the General Manager of Geological Hazards at Earth Sciences New Zealand.

Stop by Wellington's famous bucket fountain and you'll hear singer Lisa Tomlins performing - she just one of thousands of artists at the free street festival. Lisa's part of the Capital City Big Band TNT! that combines the big sound of more than 25 musicians with te reo waiata and translated jazz classics - a combination she tells Susie is a perfect blend.

Susie Ferguson is out and about at this weekend's CubaDupa festival in central Wellington. Visitors can enjoy art, music, theatre - and of course plenty of food! Organisers say it is a fitting end to summer after some tough times. Susie catches up with event director Bianca Bailey.

Stacey Leilua is playing the lead in a new production of A View from the Bridge. Written in 1955 by American playwright Arthur Millar, its themes of immigration, family and the pressures that can break a household still resonate loudly today. Stacey's known for her roles acting, writing and directing across a range of theatre works including Wild Dogs Under My Skirt which toured internationally and a stint in Hollywood where she earned a Hollywood Critics Association Award nomination as Ata Johnson in NBC's Young Rock. She speaks to Mihingarangi about her latest role.

Australian-Sri Lankan comedian and writer Sashi Perera is no stranger to big, life-changing decisions. She ditched a career as an international refugee lawyer to take up stand-up comedy. She's also walked away from a destination wedding and IVF treatment. Her new show Peartree will be at the New Zealand Comedy Festival in May. Sashi talks to Susie about making the right call in the big moments and throwing caution to the wind.

Everyone always tells you to take time to stop and smell the roses - and there is nothing wrong with roses - but have you ever considered how varied and beautiful our native flowers - our putiputi - are? Aotearoa in Bloom by Rachel Clare and Tryphena Cracknell is a celebration of our indigenous flora and an acknowledgment of those who have documented, drawn and championed it over the years. It explains that our native flowers aren't just pretty but purposeful - used in traditional medicines, they have a special place in Te Ao Maori. Rachel and Tryphena speak with Mihingarangi about how to make your own garden bloom with putiputi.

If the weather is good and you're heading out for a long walk or a tramp, then Dutch director Bart Schrijver's film The North could be for you. It was inspired by tramping the Te Araroa trail and is described by The Guardian as "possibly the ultimate hiking film", following two friends who walk 600 kilometres through the Scottish Highlands. It's their reunion after a decade apart and with each step they reveal a little more about each other. Known for his immersive style of film making, Schrijver talks to Susie about how his time in New Zealand formed the basis for another passion project and what it taught him about himself.

Next month will mark a year since the passing of one of Aotearoa's most acclaimed artists - Tohunga Mahi Toi Maori Robyn Kahukiwa. Known for her depictions of strong Maori women and themes of tino rangatiratanga, Robyn's lineage was Ngati Porou, Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti, Ngati Konohi and Te Whanau-a-Ruataupare. A major exhibition of her work is currently being planned for the Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu, to open in February next year. However several of her artworks are thought to be in private collections and haven't been seen in public for some time. Chloe Cull is one of the curators of the exhibition and she talks to Mihingarangi about how they hope the public can help track the missing pieces down.

We're almost a month into autumn and there's a definite nip in the air which means that flu season - and the flu shot - isn't far away. Maybe you'll also be thinking about whether or not to get a COVID booster. But imagine if there was one vaccine that could protect you against both of those - and more. Well a recently published American study suggests that a universal vaccine may very well be possible. Dr Bali Pulendran is a Professor at Standford University's School of Medicine, Director of its Institute for Immunology, Transplantation and Infection and senior author of the study. He talks to Susie Ferguson about what this could mean in the face of another global pandemic.

He grabbed all the headlines at the Baftas for all the wrong reasons. Imagine what it was like to grow up with the neurological disorder, Tourette Syndrome, at a time when very little was known about it. That was the experience of Scotsman, John Davidson in the 1980s. Tourettes causes tics - uncontrollable and repetitive movements and vocalisations, like obscene gestures or swearing. John's story - one of both early rejection - and eventual acceptance - forms the basis for the biopic I Swear. Directed by Kirk Jones, it was nominated for five BAFTAs including Outstanding British Film and won for Leading Actor and Casting. It also captured headlines when John experienced a racially offensive verbal tic during the ceremony which was broadcast by the BBC. Kirk talks to Mihingarangi Forbes about the challenges of bringing John's story to the screen.

Between 2001 and 2019, Dr Alan and Hazel Kerr saved the lives of nearly 800 children in Palestine through forty volunteer missions to Gaza and the West Bank. 

One of Australian comic author Kathy Lette's former agents told her "nobody wants to publish books about middle-aged women. They're just not that sexy." 

Polyfest, the world's largest secondary school Pasifika cultural festival is taking place this week at Auckland's Manukau Sports Bowl. 

Summer's officially over so it's time to gather the end of season produce and turn it into preserves, condiments, and ferments.

Dedicated to rooting out junk science, Dr Newby explains how we can all be - and should be - healthy hedonists.

Young New Zealander of the Year, twenty-seven-year-old Lucy Blakiston is the founder and CEO of Shit You Should Care About.

One of New Zealand's leading criminologists, Greg Newbold once served prison time for dealing drugs. 

The Dog Control Act is thirty years old and this morning the government announced that it will initiate a review. 

Saturday Night Live - the UK version - has its first outing this Saturday and one of the writers is a Kiwi. 

Against the backdrop of the Iran War, is now the time to be Taking Action on Climate Change and what would that mean for farming, cities and everyday life?

Jordan With a Why is a South Auckland-based R&B and neo-soul artist who blends Maori and Samoan heritage into her music. She joins Mihi live from the Pasifika Festival at Western Springs.

Gardening expert Hannah Zwartz teaches us about the optimal times for planting winter veges, pruning stone fruit and how to cultivate a thriving garden bed.

Live at the Pasifika Festival: Mihi talks to Chair of NIOFA, Jamal Veidreyaki about Niue's climate-resilient agriculture movement.

Heather Mitchell stars in the hit one-woman play RBG: Of Many, One about US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Mihi's reporting live from Auckland's Pasifika Festival happening this weekend in Auckland's Western Springs. Jep Savali is Group Manager, Tataki Auckland Unlimited and joins Mihingarangi.

Thomas Coyle MNZM is one of New Zealand's most seasoned forensic experts. He joins Susie to talk about his new memoir, The Dead Speak: My Life in Forensics.

The Wellington City library has officially re-opened after being closed for almost seven years due to earthquake risks. RNZ reporter Krystal Gibbons reports live from the opening.

A legend in tramping circles, Paul Kilgour has "bagged" over 1200 huts and walked the length of the South Island. He talks to Mihingarangi about the characters he's met in some of the most remote parts of the country and how being in nature gives him a unique perspective on time and space.

Papali'i Lisa Taouma is an award-winning documentary maker, writer, director and producer, recognised for bringing the essence of Pasifika communities to the screen. She talks to Mihingarangi about her company, Tikilounge Productions, and navigating change.

2025 Booker Prize winner Canadian-Hungarian author David Szalay is appearing at the Auckland Writer's Festival in May. His acclaimed novel Flesh tells István's rags-to-riches story from teenager to old man.

Author Roham Alvandi breaks down the history of Anglo-American involvement in Iran through three critical events, the 1953 coup, the 1979 Iranian Revolution, and the 2015 Nuclear Agreement.

The 98th Oscars ceremony is taking place this coming Monday. RNZ cinephile Sam Hollis has watched the best film contenders and shares what to look out for.

Norwegian writer-director Joachim Trier's Sentimental Value is nominated for nine Oscars, including best picture and best director. He's known for The Worst Person in the World, bursting with his trademark deep psychological insight and empathy. Susie caught up with him as he was dusting off his tux ahead of the awards ceremony.

The NZ Festival of the Arts is in full swing and includes a show embracing Malcolm Gladwell's idea that it takes ten thousand hours to master any skill. 

A memoir of life as a first-generation migrant, told through food and ingredients that offers a new perspective on an often-misunderstood land.

What are the things you obsess about? What things are just right or just plain wrong?

New earthquake faultlines have been discovered across the motu. 

A part psychological thriller and part family saga that examines themes of shame, addiction, truth and the stories we tell to survive. 

In a week of climate bombshells, Martha Jeffries is gearing up to be a climate agony aunt!

Bafta award-winning filmmaker Kevin Toolis grew up on a remote Irish island where death and dying were an everyday part of life.