Afternoons for Wednesday 21 November 2018

Short Story Club

We're doing something a bit different this week, in stead of a short story its a comic by Barry Linton who recently passed away. Check out My Ten Guitars and we will discuss it on Thursday with Dylan Horrocks. Email us your thoughts - jesse@rnz.co.nz - to be in to win Sport 46, which the cartoon is published in.

1:10 First song: Veronica Fusaro

We have a visitor from Switzerland to perform our first song today - Veronica Fusaro came to prominence in 2016 when she was just 18, with her self-produced EP Lost In Thought  which went on to win several awards.

She's now touring her latest EP and performs her new single, Venom live in our Auckland studio

1:15 Support for adults with dyslexia

It's estimated one in ten people are dyslexic, but many adults may not be aware they have the condition. 

People with dyslexia are often let down by our education system, which can see them leave school with fewer qualifications or reduced self-esteem.

Primary ITO have just completed a research project into how to support adults with dyslexia.

Mike Styles is National Specialist of Literacy & Numeracy at Primary ITO and he joins us now to discuss the research.

1:25 Wood carver, Andy Mardell

Art is inspired by many things; experiences, emotion, and the environment around us.

Andy Mardell is a wood carver, whose artwork comes from, and promotes, nature. His structures are made from fallen native timber, like swamp Kauri from South Auckland. 

He's showcasing his work early next year at the West Coast Gallery in Piha, where he's part of a group of locals who are transforming wet lands behind the gallery.

Andy is in studio with me to talk about his art and community work.

1:35 Ngā Taonga Sound Archives: The 1918 influenza pandemic peaks

100 years ago this week, New Zealand was in the grip of the influenza pandemic. 9,000 New Zealanders died in the two month period between October and December 1918. By late November, schools had been turned into hospitals, trains and buses were stopped, public gatherings were banned and city streets were deserted.

Many memories of this grim time are held in recordings in the sound archives of Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision and today Sarah Johnston is going to play some of them. You can learn more about the plague here. 

1:40 Prince: Around the world in a day

We feature songs from Prince's 7th studio album, and talk to writer Allan Drew about why he reckons Raspberry Beret is the perfect literary pop-song. You can check out his essay on this topic here

2:20 Bookmarks with Richard Misilei

Tupu, in Otara, South Auckland, is a library -- but not a library as we're used to thinking of them. It's New Zealand's only youth library, and for the past 10 and a half years it's been managed by Richard Misilei.

He tells us about the library and shares with us his favourite books, tv shows, movies and songs.

3:10 Why the western diet is bad for your microbiome

When refugees flee their homes in search of safety and a better life, the list of issues they have to overcome is massive;  a new language, a new culture and add to the list a new microbiome that can affect digestive health.  Researchers at the University of Minnesota  just released a study that shows migrants from developing countries lose the diverse microbiome in their guts when they move to the United States.  

We'll talk to one of the lead researchers, Dr Dan Knight about the implications of what they found and what it says about our Western diet.

3:35 Science and environment stories

Stories from Our Changing World.

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

4:05 The Panel with Cindy Mitchener and Joe Bennett