Saturday Morning for Saturday 19 December 2009

Guest details for Saturday Morning 19 December

This is the last full Saturday Morning programme for 2009. The next five Saturday Mornings will feature a selection of interviews from previous programmes, from 8.00-10.00, followed by two hours of Prairie Home Companion. Saturday Morning with Kim Hill resumes full broadcast from 30 January 2010.

8:12 Marcus Chown

Marcus Chown is an award-winning writer and broadcaster. Formerly a radio astronomer at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, he is currently cosmology consultant for the weekly magazine New Scientist, and author of Quantum Theory Cannot Hurt You: A Guide to the Universe (Faber, ISBN: 978-0-571-23546-9), and The Never-Ending Days of Being Dead: Dispatches from the Front Line of Science (Faber, ISBN: 978-0-571-22056-4). His new book is We Need to Talk About Kelvin (Faber, ISBN: 978-0-571-24402-7).

8:45 Paul Callaghan

Paul T Callaghan is the Alan MacDiarmid Professor of Physical Sciences at Victoria University of Wellington, and is involved with the development of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) devices at Magritek. He is the author of Wool to Weta: Transforming New Zealand's Culture and Economy (Auckland University Press, ISBN 978-1-86940-438-3).

9:05 David Vann

David Vann is an associate professor of English at University of San Francisco where he teaches creative nonfiction and fiction. He is the author of the memoir A Mile Down: The True Story of a Disastrous Career at Sea. He has written for a number of magazines, including The Atlantic Monthly, Esquire, Outside Magazine, and Men's Journal. His short story collection, Legend of a Suicide (Penguin Viking, ISBN: 978-0-14104-378-4), won the 2007 Grace Paley Prize, a California Book Award, and has appeared on 15 "best books of the year" lists, including the Times Literary Supplement and The New York Times

9:45 Art with Mary Kisler

Mary Kisler is the Mackelvie Curator of International Art at the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki. She will discuss the (sometimes controversial) restoration of artworks in Italy. To view images of the works under discussion, click on the Art on Saturday Morning link on the right-hand side of our Saturday web page. Mary is currently working on a book about European art in New Zealand's public collections.

10:05 Tom Bailey

Musician, producer, film-maker and artist Tom Bailey was the leader of the British band, Thompson Twins. He currently works under the name International Observer, and has followed up three albums - Seen (2002), All Played Out (2005), Heard (2007) - with the new album Felt (Dubmission Records). International Observer play two dates in New Zealand, with Pitch Black (NZ) and Tapes (UK), on Friday 18 December (Galatos, Auckland) and Saturday 19 December (Sandwiches, Wellington). Tom will also perform as part of the Holiwater Project in 2010, at the Prana Festival in the Coromandel (3 January) and at Leigh Sawmill (5 January).

10:45 Greg Broadmore

Weta Workshop designerGregBroadmore has been involved with many successful films, from his work as lead conceptual designer on recent sci-fi success District 9, to King Kong, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and the upcoming Tintin movie. He has illustrated over 30 children's stories and books, designed a range of Dr Grordbort's products, and is the author and illustrator of Dr. Grordbort's: Victory (Weta Publishing/Dark Horse, ISBN: 978-1595824639), described as "scientific adventure violence for young men and literate women". Greg recently returned from China where he helped stage The Exceptional Exhibition - Weta Workshop introduces the World of Dr Grordbort's, a collection of his fine art paintings, plus art, props and sculpture created by Weta. All ticket profits will be donated to relief efforts for the 2008 earthquake in Sichuan province, China, where the exhibition is being held.

11:05 Jubilation Choir

Jubilation is a 30-member New Zealand a capella gospel choir. Since forming in 2000, they have been performing traditional and more recent gospel covers with arrangements by Tim Tenbensel and Sally Dodds, as well as original songs by Rick Bryant and Jean McAllister, and recently released the album, Shout and Never Get Tired (Ode Records). Two sub-groups of the choir, a male quartet (Simon Clark, Peter Kirkbride, James Moore, Nick Rosenberg) and a mixed quintet (Rick Bryant, Amanda Billing, Jennifer Ward-Lealand, Tim Tenbensel, Isolde Grunwald), join the programme for songs and chat.

11:45 Children's Books with Kate De Goldi

Kate De Goldi will discuss what makes great children's books, using the example of Geraldine McCaughrean's 2001 book, Stop the Train (Oxford University Press, ISBN 0192752669).

Music played on the programme

Lyle Lovett: If I Had a Boat
From the 1987 album: Pontiac
(Curb/MCA)
Played at around 9:40

International Observer: At the Coronation
From the 2009 album: Felt
(Dubmission Records)
Played at around 10:10

Grace Jones: My Jamaican Guy
12" version from the 2008 compilation: Funky Nassau - The Compass Point Story 1980-1986
(Island/Strut)
Played at around 10:30

Pupa Jim: TV Addict
The 2009 single
(Stand High Production)
Played at around 10:40

Jubilation (male quartet): So Glad I've Got the Stone
Live from the Radio New Zealand studio, Auckland
Played at around 11:15

Jubilation: People Get Ready
From the 2009 album: Shout and Never Get Tired
(Ode Records)
Played at around 11:30

Jubilation (mixed quintet): Motherless Child
Live from the Radio New Zealand studio, Auckland
Played at around 11:40

Studio operators

Wellington engineer: Lianne Smith
Auckland engineer: Jeremy Ansell
Christchurch engineer: Hamish Doake