Afternoons for Wednesday 12 December 2018

Short Story Club

On Thursday we discuss a story by Shonagh Koea  called A Novel in a Room.

The writer of the best email wins a copy of her novel, Landscape with Solitary Figure by Shonagh Koea Jesse@rnz.co.nz

1:10 The Beths perform their Christmas song

Auckland Band, The Beths have been named by Paste Magazine as the best new act of 2018. They join us in studio to perform their recently released Christmas song, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, in which all the sale profits go to the Girl's Rock Camp foundation.

1:20 Queenstown gondola - the details

A gondola has been pitched as a solution to traffic problems in Queenstown, ferrying tourists and locals to the Remarkables Park in Frankton.

It's a solution that could also encourage more use of bikes and public transport from the gondola, though it carries a hefty price tag. 

To explain more about how it would work is Remarkables Park Director Alastair Porter. 

1:25 App for when you're in an unsafe situation

A vigil was held for Grace Millane last night in Queenstown and there are more in the coming days in cities around the country. The vigils are not just to remember the British backpacker, they are for all those affected by violence. 

There's been a lot of talk about what women do to keep themselves safe. Verisafe was created for this very purpose. The app is designed to make it easier to get help if you're in a dodgy situation.

The app's founder Hannah Milward tells us how it works and why she created it.

1:35 Sound Archives - Kiwi Christmas memories

Memories of Christmas celebrations, both in good times and bad, are held in Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision and today Sarah Johnston is going to play us a few of them about Christmas during the Great Depression of the 1930s.

1:40 Great album: Definitely Maybe - Oasis

2:10 Music critic

Marty Jones reviews new releases from musical icons Morrissey and Kate Bush.

2:20 Bookmarks: Dr David Gaimster

It's a year and a half since Dr David Gaimster became Auckland Museum's director. Like his predecessor Roy Clare, he's British, and he arrived early in a major strategic transformation of the 155 year-old institution, called Future Museum.

A new book published this month captures his take on the museum he leads. It's part of the Director's Choice series published by Scala, in which the leaders of museums and galleries all over the world are invited to select key items from their collections and tell their stories.

And because it's Bookmarks, that's not the only book he'll be telling us about today.

3:10 Lauren E Oakes

Deep in a forest in Southeast Alaska, on an island with the highest population of bears per square kilometer on earth, stands of yellow cedar trees that have survived millennia are dying. Deep snow that usually protects their roots in the winter thaws too early, as temperatures rise. But the yellow cedar is fighting back, finding ways to adapt to changing climate. 

Conservation scientist Lauren E Oakes  spent years studying the die-back of these magnificent trees and the lessons their loss may have for us all. She tells the story of hope and resiliency in her new book, In Search of the Canary Tree: The Story of a Scientist, a Cypress, and a Changing World

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 Hayden Donnell and Dellwyn Stuart