Saturday Morning for Saturday 30 May 2020

8:10 Evan Osnos: US / China relationship 'dangerously unstable'

What does the deteriorating state of the US's relationship with China mean for the two countries, and for the rest of the world?

Could the added stress of the Covid-19 pandemic tip an already fragile relationship towards armed conflict?

Evan Osnos is a staff writer for The New Yorker and the author of Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New China.

 

8:30 Chris Smith: Covid-19 treatments and testing

Consultant clinical virologist Dr Chris Smith returns to answer questions about the emerging science around the novel coronavirus pandemic.

This week, the WHO suspends clinical trials of hydroxychloroquine over safety fears; testing accuracy (and how China's been able to test nearly 7 million Wuhan residents inside two weeks); is the anti-viral remdesivir our best available treatment option; and does Covid-19 cause eye problems?

 

9:05 Director Kitty Green on her new film The Assistant

Australian writer and director Kitty Green's new film The Assistant presents a day in the life of a female assistant to a powerful executive.

It is a work of fiction, but its portrayal of insidious office relationships and workplace power imbalances is very much a product of the #MeToo age.

Starring Julia Garner (who won an Emmy for playing Ruth Langmore in the Netflix series Ozark) and Matthew Macfadyen (Frost/Nixon, Pride and Prejudice and Tom Wambsgans in the acclaimed HBO series Succession) the film was released in New Zealand on Thursday 28 May.

Green's previous documentaries include Casting JonBenét (2017) and Ukraine Is Not a Brothel (2013).

 

9:40 Architect Judi Keith-Brown: the future of NZ homes

Staying home during lockdown has made New Zealanders intimately aware of the strengths and flaws of our houses.

Wellington architect Judi Keith-Brown is the newly appointed President of the New Zealand Institute of Architects.

She takes over at an interesting time for the profession. Her mainly-residential practice is having to get to grips with the changing design demands posed by more clients working from home.

 

10:05 Elizabeth Loftus: how memory is made

Professor Elizabeth Loftus is an authority on the power and limitations of human memory.

She has appeared as an expert witness in many high profile trials including those of Ted Bundy, Harvey Weinstein, and OJ Simpson.

Her ideas about the accuracy of our memories, and the shortcomings of eyewitness evidence, have proved highly controversial.

She is a Distinguished Professor of Psychological Science and Law at the University of California, Irvine.

 

10:40 Mary Kisler: artists' gardens

Can a garden be an artistic medium? Curator and writer Mary Kisler examines the gardens of three well-known artists - Cedric Morris, Derek Jarman and Andy Goldsworthy - to see what we can learn about them and their work.

 

 

11:05 Pete Paphides: playing favourites

British journalist, author and music lover Pete Paphides' new book Broken Greek is a memoir of his childhood and the important role music played in it.

Paphides' parents arrived broke in Birmingham in the 1960s from their native Cyprus in the hope of a better life.

The family fish and chip shops were where Pete learned about pop music, being a bloke, Britishness, and belonging.

Now married to journalist Caitlin Moran, he shares some musical favourites with us, including songs by ABBA, The Police, and The Rubettes.

 

 

 

Books mentioned in this show

Broken Greek: a story of chip shops and pop songs
Pete Paphides
ISBN: 9781529404425
Quercus/Hachette

 

Music played in this show

Song: Only the Strong
Artist: Laura Marling
Played at: 9:40

Song Sugar Baby Love
Artist:The Rubettes
Played at  11:11

Song: Save Your Kisses For Me
Artist :Brotherhood Of Man
Played at 11:22

Song: Roxanne
Artist:The Police
Played at 11:34

Song: The Winner Takes It All
Artist: ABBA
Played at 11:49

 

ABBA: The Winner Takes It All dur 4:56