Navigation for Station navigation

Featured stories

Ann Patchett: writing books that speak 'to how good people are'

16 Mar 2024

Ann Patchett is one of the world's most acclaimed, prize-winning novelists and non-fiction writers. She was named one of Time magazine's '100 Most Influential People in the World' and is a regular contributor to The New Yorker and Harper's Magazine. She also famously co-owns indie bookstore Parnassus Books in Nashville… Audio

Saturday 16 March 2024

Available Audio (9)

8:10 Freebirth: Why women are choosing to birth alone

Concerns about the rising practice of "freebirth" escalated last month, following the death of premature twins in Byron Bay.

Freebirthing, also known as unassisted birthing, is when women choose to give birth without medical assistance, rejecting both hospital care and midwife supported homebirth. 

It's increasingly a movement that NZ midwives are running into too. So what is motivating women to choose this path? And how risky is it?

Joining Susie, Australian Professor of Midwifery Hannah Dahlen and NZ College of Midwives CE Alison Eddy.

No caption

Photo: 123rf.com

8:45 Is there a good way to tell someone they're losing their job?

With proposed job cuts at TV3's News Hub and TVNZ's Midday and Late News, and the loss of Sunday and Fair Go, is it possible for employers to 'do' redundancy well?  

The news of the proposed redundancies was delivered in very different ways to each newsroom, each coming as a huge shock to employees.

Top employment lawyer Susan Hornsby-Geluk joins Susie with her take on how they each played out.

Photo: RNZ/Nick Monro

9:05 Gretchen Daily: the cost of not valuing nature

Professor Gretchen Daily

Professor Gretchen Daily Photo: supplied

Traditional systems of wealth measurement don't include nature's contributions.

Faculty Director of Stanford University's Natural Capital Project Professor Gretchen Daily thinks putting a dollar value on a mangrove, or a creek, or a honeybee is a vital paradigm shift.

Gretchen and her team help governments, international banks, and NGOs determine their gross ecosystem product, or GEP - a parallel concept to GDP.

New Zealand native rain forest.

Photo: 123rf

9:40 Expats filmmaker Lulu Wang

Lulu Wang

Lulu Wang Photo: Matt Morris

Filmmaker Lulu Wang came to international attention in 2019 with The Farewell which also caught the eye of Nicole Kidman.

Kidman then approached Lulu to bring a best-selling novel to the small screen.  The result is Expats, showing on Amazon Prime, about the lives of women in Hong Kong - both the super rich and their many "helpers".

Lulu Wang is coming to Auckland for the Big Screen Symposium next month.

10:05 Liam Dann: How money works and why it matters

Should you fix or float a mortgage? Is now a good time to buy - or sell?  Why does cheese cost so much? And what even is money?

These questions and many more are tackled by New Zealand Herald business editor at large Liam Dann in his new book, BBQ Economics

He draws on his 25 years of reporting, sharing anecdotes to make economic concepts more accessible.

composite of Liam Dann and the cover of his book "BBQ Economics"

Photo: supplied

10:40 Kath Irvine: how to prep your garden to feed you through winter

Kath Irvine on the porch of her house truck

gardener Kath Irvine on the porch of her house truck Photo: Kath Irvine

If you want your garden to feed you through winter, now's the time to get prepping.

Brassicas like Broccoli need three months to grow, so need to be planted,  and it's a perfect time to make compost with all your late summer garden waste

Organic gardener Kath Irvine from Edible Backyard joins Susie with tips and tricks for both small and large gardens.

Plus she'll answer your questions.

Photo:

11:05 Ann Patchett: Tom Lake 

Ann Patchett is one of the world's most acclaimed, prize-winning novelists and non-fiction writers. 

She was named one of Time magazine's '100 Most Influential People in the World' and is a regular contributor to The New Yorker and Harper's Magazine. 

She also famously co-owns indie bookstore Parnassus Books in Nashville with her husband. 

Her collection of essays These Precious Days was chosen by Barack Obama as one of his books of the year in 2021.

Ann is appearing at the Auckland Writer's Festival in May, where she'll be talking about her latest novel, Tom Lake.

Photo:

11:45 Australian jazz legend James Morrison

One of the many musicians hitting the stage at Tauranga's National Jazz Festival later this month is Australian jazz legend James Morrison.

He's a multi-instrumentalist, playing the trombone, piano, saxophone and double bass, but is perhaps best known for the trumpet.

He started playing instruments aged six and formed his own band by the time he was nine.

Photo: Cameron Bloom

Books featured on the show:

BBQ Economics: How money works and why it matters
by Liam Dann
Published by Penguin
ISBN: 9781776950768

Tom Lake
By Ann Patchett 
Published by Bloomsbury
ISBN 9781526664273

Playlist

Track: Heart of Glass
Artist: Blondie
Time played: 9:53

Song: Mo' Money Mo' Problems
Artist: Notorious BIG
Time Played: 10:45

Song: There Is No Greater Love
Artist:James Morrison Quartet
Time play: 11:40

Artist:  I've Never Been In Love Before
Artist: James Morrison Quartet
Time played: 11.55