The Weekend for Sunday 2 January 2022

 

08:12 A world of disasters 

First up this morning we're heading the the UK. to speak to ABC News correspondent Marcus Moore. Wherever there's a disaster Marcus is not far away.  He was in Haiti a few months back after the assassination of the Haitian President and the subsequent hostage drama, he's covered Historic flooding in Germany, Hurricanes, the refugee crisis, the Black Lives Matter protests and so much more. He joins Anna to discuss how to cover a disaster and whether there are more now or if it just feels like it. 

8:35 David Shearer: from South Sudan to Tāmaki Makaurau 

David James Shearer .. spent over 20 years working for the UN, managing the provision of aid to countries including Somalia, Rwanda, Liberia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Iraq.  He was a member of Parliament for the Labour Party from 2009 to 2016, and of course leader of the Opposition from 2011 to 2013. He then left to work for the UN again in South Sudan for four years.  He returned a  few months back and is mulling his next steps. He catches up with Anna about the last four years and what the future might hold. 

9:05 Kerry-Jayne Wilson: flying with the seabirds 

New Zealand is the seabird capital of the world! We also have more than twice as many threatened species of seabirds than any other country. Our seabirds are more threatened than our land birds and yet, far more effort goes into the conservation of a few high-profile land birds than all our seabirds put together. Ornithologist and conservationist Kerry-Jayne Wilson recently released book New Zealand Seabirds - a natural history shares her passion for the subject and insights from her 45-year long career.

9:30 Trying for a decent swim with Brannavan Gnagalingam 

Have you been out in the waves yet this summer? It can often be a real mark of the begining of the summer holiday, that first submerging in freezing ocean water. It's even the case in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington where author, lawyer and columnist Brannavan Gnagalingam has been searching for a perfect sea swim. It's been a big year for Brannavan with the ongoing massive success of his novel Sprigs, including winning the Ngaio Marsh Award for Crime Writing for best novel. So it's about time for a swim!

10:05 Eleanor Janega: Going Medieval 

We tend to associate the Middle Ages with plagues and pestilence. Author and historian Dr Eleanor Janega lectures on medieval history at London School of Economics at the University of London and has just written a book called The Middle Ages: A Graphic History  and it busts the myth of the 'Dark Ages' which sheds light on the medieval period's present-day relevance. 

10:35 Aotearoa's 19th century viral fern craze 

We're talking gardening now, and specifically the ubiquitous fern. Found all over the country, it is a plant that just loves our temperate climate. In NZ alone we have about 200 species, and around 40% of those are only found in this country. The different types range from 10m high tree ferns, to filmy ferns just 20mm long. 

Who didn't have a maidenhair in the 70's? it is also our national symbol! What you may not know about the fern.. is that it was at the centre of a craze that swept the world in the 1800's. Anna is joined by Annette Bainbridge, who has been investigating this little known piece of gardening history.  

11:05 Who Lived There? The Empire 

We're going on a journey into Aotearoa's past now, and a very special hotel. We're continuing our series  'Who Lived There' this morning, it's based on a book of the same name which came out last year. Jane King took the photographs and Nic McCloy researched and wrote down the stories of dozens of significant buildings and places. Today Nic is taking us to The Empire in Dunedin which is now a  beautifully restored Edwardian apartment block. 

11:25 The Dunedin sound with Stephen Kilroy 

Because we've just taken a trip into Dunedin's past, and specifically The Empire Hotel, we thought it would be appropriate for our music feature this morning to be focused on of course, the Dunedin Sound. It has played such an instrumental (excuse the pun) role in the city's culture... and the music is still enjoyed today. It coincided with the founding of the student radio station Radio One and helped increase the popularity and availability of the music around the city. We're going to talk with someone who was at the very heart of it all, Musician, artist, stonemason and one of the key players in the 80s in Dunedin Stephen Kilroy.