Afternoons for Tuesday 20 February 2018

Short Story Club

Next Thursday we will discuss Hummingbird Heart by Eileen Merriman. Best emailer wins her book, Catch Me When You Fall. Jesse@radionz.co.nz

1:10 First song

1:15 Gita hits New Zealand

Charlie Dreaver reports in from the West Coast which is beginning to bear the brunt of former tropical cyclone Gita.

And here are some of the photos listeners have been sending in of the weather today

1:20 Flights Cancelled

Air New Zealand has cancelled most flights today, including all flights out of Wellington from 2.45pm til midnight.

Chris Brandolino from NIWA explains just how bad the winds might get.

1:20 Scientists unlocking the secrets of glow in glowworms

Scientists are hopeful that in studying the what makes native glowworms glow that might lead to finding new ways of fighting serious diseases.  A group of Otago University researchers have found how our glowworms produce their glow and are now looking at ways it can be applied medicinally.

The scientists looking at the glow worms discovered that our native species uses a different chemical reaction to other creatures which light up such as the fire fly.

Lead author, Dr Miriam Sharpe talks to Jesse about what they have discovered and the potential to use the chemicals in fighting disease.

1:30 National Leadership has five candidates

Two more National Party MPs have put their hats in the ring to take over the leadership from Bill English. Mark Mitchell and Steven Joyce join three others who all say they have the support to win the race. Jesse talks to David Farrar about the five horse race and who he thinks has the best chance.

1:40 Great album: KD Lang: Ingenue

2:10 Book critic: Lisa Glass

Lisa Glass presents her "idiots guide" to paranormal romance.

These are books featuring characters such as shapeshifters, ghosts, vampires, werewolves, zombies, fairies, angels and mermen.

Possibly the best known of this genre are the twilight books by Stephanie Meyer, but one of the top writers in this genre is in fact a New Zealander.

Best selling kiwi author Nalini Singh's paranormal romances have regularly appeared on the New York Times best seller list.

2:20 Music Feature: Jazz

Today's music feature looks at the history of jazz and how it's spread around the world and managed to work its way into many genres. Dr Rodger Fox is a senior lecturer at Victoria University's music school and he joins Jesse in the Wellington studio to talk about the background of jazz and his top ten songs. He also shares some new music from his band, The Rodger Fox Big Band.

3:10 Why Dinosaurs matter

They may have lived millions and millions of years ago, but dinosaurs have a lot to teach us about modern life according to paleontologist Kenneth Lacovara. There are lessons about humility and perspective contained in the fossil records found in dusty archaeological digs.

Lacovara explains why these magnificent creatures are worthy of more than just our idol curiosity.  His book is called Why Dinosaurs Matter

3:30 Ours: Treasures from Te Papa

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has a little known hero: Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackelton. In episode two of the podcast Ours: Treasures from Te Papa, she reveals why he's captured her imagination as she gets up close with one of Shackelton's sleds.

3:45 The Pre-Panel Story of the Day and One Quick Question

4:05 The Panel with David Slack and Leonie Freeman