RNZ: Saturday Morning

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.

Mihingarangi reports live from the Northcote Saturday Market and sampling the best festive foods on offer.

Whatever Christmas means to you, there is no doubt that the way we celebrate it looks very different to the way it was celebrated a generation or two ago. 

Mihingarangi reports live from the Northcote Saturday Market where they are using recycled materials to build a miniature town centre. 

Chanelle Moriah is a neurodivergent author and illustrator whose latest workbook, I Am Dyslexic, lays out what it's like to live with dyslexia. 

Looking for a good book to get stuck into these summer holidays? Claire Mabey shares her reckons for kids, teens and adult readers. 

Nikki Moss is the founder of Womenzshed in Auckland, which runs workshops for women who want to learn how to use the tools needed to get the DIY done. 

A Different View is a new exhibition coming to Wellington fusing centuries old art with new tech to show off over 50 masterpieces.

One future solution to the shortage of care workers is the use of care robots - robots with the ability to perform everyday personal and household tasks. 

On Thursday the latest GDP numbers gave cause for cautious optimism. 

Spreadsheets are some people's idea of organisational heaven. For others they are hell. But who knew spreadsheeting is a competitive e-sport? 

Two high profile resignations in two days hit the world of sport this week. 

Christmas budgets will again be stretched this year as the high cost of living continues to be a concern for many. 

As many people head off to the beaches for summer, a group from a far north hapū are trying to educate those who drive on the beach and in the dunes. 

President Trump has ordered the suspension of the green card lottery, which allows up to 50 thousand people into the US through a random selection process. 

With the festive season in full swing, the government is proposing to allow restaurants with on-site retail spaces to sell take-home booze. 

Rob Thorne is an internationally renowned Māori taonga pūoro musician and anthropologist, at the forefront of the revival of traditional Māori instruments. 

Vasanti Unka is an award-winning writer, designer and illustrator, her newest children's book PukaPuka is a celebration of reading and the role library's play in our communities. Vasanti was also awarded the Arts Foundation Mallinson Rendel Laureate Award for Illustration in 2021. She speaks to Mihi Forbes about her journey into the world of children's books, South Asian voices becoming part of New Zealand's landscape, and the importance of libraries for the young.

Chef Del Holland is back to show us how to whip up something impressive, without breaking the bank this Christmas. 

Locals claim K'Rd's Malaysian Restaurant, Sri Penang is the best Malaysian food spot in Auckland but owner Ange Siew and her chef husband Kun are calling it a day.

The founder of storytelling platform Nuku has published a book to normalise discussion around a young woman's first menstrual cycle. 

At 50, Katherine Leamy packed her bag and headed off on a big international trip with nothing more than a backpack weighing 5 kgs. 

They're especially useful for communicating with people who've lost the ability to speak or move their body. At the extreme, one brain-computer interface prototype can decipher imagined sentences, and comes with password protection to avoid revealing private thoughts. To understand more, Mihi is joined by University of Auckland Professor of Psychology Anthony Lambert.

We all love to receive gifts - especially at this time of the year - but there is joy to be had in giving too. And the latest results from a study of over 200 children suggests that that joy can be experienced from a very young age. Professor Annette Henderson, director of the Early Learning Lab at Auckland University joins Mihingarangi to explain what this can mean for children and their parents.

Aviation pioneer Charles Kingsford Smith's plane disappeared on a flight from England to Australia. What happened has remained a mystery – until now. 

Wellington is playing host to the stars of Tinseltown, with the third Avatar movie Fire and Ash having its Australasian premiere there tonight. 

The southern hemisphere has had no shortage of aviation pioneers. In New Zealand we celebrate the exploits of Richard Pearse and Jean Batten while Australia has Sir Charles Kingsford Smith - the first person to pilot a flight between our two countries. This year marks the 90th anniversary of Kingsford Smith's disappearance on a flight from England to Australia. While some wreckage later washed up near Burma, now known as Myanmar, what happened to Kingsford-Smith and his co-pilot has remained a mystery - until now. Award-winning Australian film maker Damien Lay spent over twenty years scouting for wreckage and presents his account of why and how their plane, The Lady Southern Cross went down, in his book Of Air and Men. He talks to Susie Ferguson about his mission to uncover the truth.

At 97, Maureen Maclean is one of several seniors to sign up for a 31-day New Year yoga challenge at their local studio in Hamilton.