RNZ: Saturday Morning

Calling all bird lovers! In a celebration of our feathery friends, David Klein shares fun scientific facts with a dollop of silly at the Wellington Fringe Festival in the aptly named David Klein presents: Birds. A former winner of Best Newcomer, David has since taken his unique brand of scientific storytelling across the ditch to Melbourne's Fringe Festival where he performed Towards a Better Understanding of the Universe and around the country by bike with Tour de Science. David catches up with Susie to explain the inspiration behind his latest show and why Wellington provides the perfect perch.

Regular commentator and Business Editor at Large for the NZ Herald, Liam Dann joins us to discuss the latest signs of economic recovery, whether we can outperform Australia and alternative ways to manage inflation.

Sit down and listen to your nanna! Interviews are a precious form of oral history: a combination of remembering and forgetting, story and silence. So says Director of the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History at the University of Kentucky Libraries, Douglas Boyd. His Oral History: A Very Short Introduction looks at the preservation of voices and memories through interviews and storytelling. Boyd is a recent president of the Oral History Association and author of Crawfish Bottom: Recovering a Lost Kentucky Community (2011). Photo: University of Kentucky

This week Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was stripped of his Waitangi medal. Andrew Lownie is a British historian and royal biographer who has scrutinised the former Prince's business dealings and links with Jeffrey Epstein. His book Entitled examines his and Sarah Ferguson's lives and he tells Susie their acquaintance with Epstein began earlier, continued longer and was more frequent than reported.

In 1910 two teams raced to be the first to the South Pole. One was led by the Norwegian adventurer Roald Amundsen and the other by British naval officer, Captain Robert Falcon Scott. Amundsen would beat Scott to the Pole by about four weeks, only for the latter to perish with his team on their return journey. But what of the women they left behind? Author Katherine MacInnes first told their story in her book Snow Widows but a trip to Antarctica this month has revealed even more. Katherine talks to Mihingarangi about the harshness not just of the climate - but of the times - and New Zealand's links to an expedition that has been compared with the race to the moon.

From "fibermaxxing" to cortisol hacking, are you sick and tired of the over-prescribed wellness industry? Author of Eat Your Ice Cream: Six Simple Rules for a Long and Healthy Life, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel singles out six rules to ignore and some basic things do instead. Dr. Emanuel is Vice Provost of Global Initiatives, University of Pennsylvania, former Obama White House Health Policy Adviser and member of Biden's transition Covid-19 Advisory Board. He was a key architect of the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA) and author of Which Country Has the World's Best Health Care?

This week US and Iranian delegations failed to make a breakthrough that could avert potential US strikes amid a massive military build-up. The threat of those strikes saw New Zealand's Foreign Minister Winston Peter's reiterate official advice for New Zealanders to leave Iran. Pressure is mounting on Iran externally and internally. This week anti-government protests spread to at least 13 universities. Susie speaks to Ross Harrison, Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington DC and author of "Decoding Iran's Foreign Policy" on whether we are edging closer to a peaceful outcome through diplomacy or to a US attack on Iran.

As Bridgerton fans around the world binge on part two of its fourth season this week, the Regency era romance has continued to make a statement about diversity and inclusion. In a reimagining of Britain during the reign of King George III and Queen Charlotte, rank, title and wealth are not the sole purview of the white aristocracy. In fact the "ton", as the upper class is known, is racially diverse and inclusive. This season goes a step further with the introduction of a character called Hazel, a young maid with a disability. Hazel is played by 23-year-old Gracie McGonigal who has a congenital limb deficiency. Gracie talks to Mihingarangi about what this role means for the visibility of disabled actors plus she shares some behind the scenes stories from the set of Netflix' global hit.

Gardens around the country have faced a battering in the wild weather of late but there are ways to deal with weather effects and changing temperatures.

Apologies come in all forms. But how often are they sincere? A participatory performance show Sincere Apologies examines famous apologies.

His lens provided the pictures for Sir David Attenborough's words.

Stepping into the world of medieval sword collections and vampire love stories, Steffanie Holmes is the author of over 50 books and she's legally blind.

President Donald Trump has been left fuming over the U.S Supreme Court ruling that he didn't have the power to introduce his controversial global tariffs.

When Stephen Spielberg adapts your novel for the big screen you know it's the big time! 

No Tears on the Field is the latest film from award winning documentary maker Lisa Burd. 

The four-year Cass Review, carried out for NHS England recommends limiting the use of puberty blockers to research settings. 

The war between Russia and Ukraine is grinding towards its fourth anniversary. 

Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall went viral before going viral was even really a thing.

Fiji's only professional circus is set to have its Aotearoa debut in just a few days' time. An off shoot of renowned Fiji performance arts company VOU, the Fijian Flying Circus is a world-first fusion of indigenous storytelling and contemporary circus. Featuring aerial acts, acrobatics, dance and drama, it is a celebration of culture. The group is performing at Hannahs PlayHouse in Wellington from the 17th to the 22nd of February as part of this year's Fringe Festival. They're also headlining the Hamilton Arts Festival on the 27th and 28th of February. Susie's joined by Artistic Director Navi Fong and three members of the troupe who'll perform some live music from the show.

The way to anyone's heart is through their stomach - or so we've been told. Here to test that theory is chef Del Holland sharing her love inducing recipes for Chocolate Tahini Cookies and Cheats Portuguese Custard Tarts. Del has over 20 years' experience working in world-class kitchens and as a private chef. She now resides in beautiful Wanaka, and through her social media channel Dishes with Del, she shares recipes to make during a cost-of-living crisis. She speaks with Mihi.

The 27 club is not a club you want to be a member of. If you are, it means you were exceptionally talented - and died too young. The club includes artists like Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Amy Winehouse and Kurt Cobain - rock and soul legends who all passed away at the age of 27. Zac Tyler is the creator and director of 27 Club, a show that celebrates their musical genius and legacy. It will be performed in New Zealand for the first time at Te Ahurei Toi o Tamaki Auckland Arts Festival from 18th - 20th of March. Zac talks to Mihingarangi about why songs like Piece of My Heart and Smells Like Teen Spirit still resonate with audiences today.

Francesca Hogi worked as a corporate lawyer for over a decade, before making a rather drastic career switch - into a love coach. Her Ted Talk about unlocking your flirting superpowers has over a million views. She's also a best-selling author of How to Find True Love: Unlock Your Romantic Flow and Create Lasting Relationships. Regardless of whether you're in a relationship or single, connections are the backbone of society and Francesca says 'the blueprint for society's future'.

Lithium ion batteries power our everyday lives and are at the heart of the green electric revolution. But there's a very dirty story behind the clean image - the minerals and rare earths that go into making our phone and EV batteries are as geopolitically important as oil once was. Journalist Nicolas Niarchos' The Elements of Power starkly outlines the ravaging cost to the people and the environment where they're mined, and the global machinations by superpowers including China and the USA as they vye for world dominance. Nicolas Niarchos tells Susie extractive capitalism and its supply chain wreaks havoc across the globe, not least on the messy reality of a greener future.

In the latest series of Origins, Scotty Morrison follows in the footsteps of the first explorers and settlers of Aotearoa. From time at sea on a voyaging waka under traditional navigation techniques to snow-capped peaks, he traces the first landings, accompanying archeologists as they link artifacts to those journeys. Scotty speaks with Mihingarangi about the process of filming such an epic journey and the responsibility he feels to share it.

Highly acclaimed British-Irish playwright Simon Stephens is one of the most performed living English language playwrights in the world today. His adaptation of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime is coming to Auckland.

A state of Emergency has been declared for the Otorohanga District, having experienced widespread flooding and heavy rain, with reports of flooding, slips and inundation. An Emergency Operations Centre has been set up at Council Chambers and people are being urged that to stay safe, they should not venture out into floodwater. Some people have left their homes to seek shelter at Te Kotahitanga Marae in Otorohanga. Marae spokesperson, Kaea Haerewa spoke with us live from the Marae.

Internationally acclaimed scientist Carl Bergstrom on why humans are so psychologically wired for online and whether we are living with "modern-day oracles or bullsh*t machines."

Music Portrait of a Humble Disabled Samoan is the new show telling the story of Fonoti Pati Umaga, former bassist for the Holidaymakers, who after a fall in 2005 was left a tetraplegic. 

Mariana Enriquez's fascination with burial grounds as a teenager lead to a lifelong interest in uncovering the secrets of our final resting places.

What is the ecological impact of the Moa Point treatment plant spill and how does it compare to the sewage spilling into the sea in the rest of the world? 

New Zealand's most awarded podcast, RNZ's Black Sheep is back with more real life, shady, controversial and sometimes downright villainous characters. 

Aussie rock icon Jimmy Barnes has certainly lived a full life but he hasn't been living his best life - until now. 

The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo is bringing its 75th anniversary show to Auckland for the very first time. 

The Booker prize winner confronts the biggest issues of our time: corporate greed, the environmental consequences of progress and the question of absolution.

Kate de Goldi has got a nose for a good book and she's back to share her thoughts on Island Storm by Brian Floca and Sydney Smith and From Far Around They Saw Us Burn by Alice Jolly.

The Visitors is a reimagining of the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788 from a First Nations' perspective and it's part of this year's Auckland Arts Festival.

Jeremy Denk is one of America's finest pianists and a New York Times bestselling author for his 2022 memoir Every Good Boy Does Fine.

Rugby royalty, Brad Thorn is one of those rare athletes who conquered the world in green and gold and again in black. 

With summer and the festive season coinciding in the southern hemisphere, many of us are now dealing with the consequences of holiday weight gain. 

BAFTA, Olivier and Tony award winner, Nicholas Hytner's new film The Choral is just out in cinemas. 

From Iran to Greenland and Venezuela, it has been a tumultuous start to the year. We look at what that means for geo-political stability. 

Star of The Secret Agent, Wagner Moura is hotly tipped to scoop one of the most coveted Oscars at this year's Academy Awards.