Saturday Morning for Saturday 22 May 2021

8:10 Dr Leena Dallasheh: the history behind the Gaza-Israeli conflict

Dr Leena Dallasheh is a historian of the Modern Middle East and associate professor at Humboldt State University in California.

Her work has a particular focus on Palestinians who became citizens of Israel in 1948, and how they negotiated their incorporation in the state - affirming their rights as citizens and their identity as Palestinian.

Dr Dallasheh is also a Palestinian citizen of Israel and lived within walking distance of Sheikh Jarrah for seven years.

8:30 Catherine Delahunty: understanding inherited bigotry

For the last 30 years Catherine Delahunty has undertaken the "sometimes uncomfortable mahi" of being a Treaty educator, encouraging New Zealanders to face up to the damaging elements in our country's past and present.

Recently, the former Green MP has been delving into the life of her own forebears - children of the Raj and children of the Irish poor - and has unearthed some intriguing family history that compelled her to reflect on inherited bigotry and how we can all be influenced by it.

She's written an essay about it for the E-Tangata online magazine titled Flies in the Milk.

9:05 Prof John Hearnshaw: helming the rise of astrotourism in NZ

Astrotourism is a fast growing niche tourism industry worldwide, and New Zealand, which has five Dark Sky Sanctuaries, is playing a leading role.

Renowned astronomer John Hearnshaw has just launched the Aotearoa Astrotourism Academy, a school to train aspiring astrotourism guides.

Professor Hearnshaw is also poised to release the New Zealand Dark Sky Handbook, a manual for people interested in the protection of dark skies.

He says light pollution is one of the great environmental catastrophes of the last half century, all the more insidious because many people are blissfully unaware of the problem.

9:30 Rebecca Macfie: the life and times of Helen Kelly

Helen Kelly was the first female head of the country's trade union movement, but she was also considered a visionary, a fighter, a strategist, and an orator. Her battles with local celebrities and politicians were the stuff of headlines. Sadly, Helen Kelly died of lung cancer in October 2016, aged 52.

Award-winning journalist Rebecca Macfie, the author of 2013's Tragedy at Pike River Mine, has penned a new book entitled Helen Kelly: Her Life, which is not simply a biography but also an exploration of a defining period in New Zealand's history.

10:05 Dr Jen Gunter's menopause manifesto

Author of bestseller The Vagina Bible Dr. Jennifer Gunter is a fierce advocate for women's health.

Whether it's telling Gwyneth Paltrow where not to shove her jade eggs, or campaigning against a company marketing vaginal douche to teens, "the Internet's Gynaecologist" holds no punches.

Her new book The Menopause Manifesto continues the myth-busting mission, countering stubborn misunderstandings with hard facts, real science, historical perspective and expert advice. 

Gunter says menopause is not a disease - it's a planned change, like puberty. And just like puberty, we should be educated on what's to come years in advance, rather than the current practice of leaving people on their own with bothersome symptoms and too much conflicting information.

11:05 Dmitry Selitskiy: the future of brain-computer interfaces

Brain-computer interfaces, such as those being developed by Elon Musk's neurotechnology company Neuralink, promise to enable paraplegic people a better quality of life by being able to move things with their minds. But they also raise a lot of ethical questions, such as where is the line between healing and enhancement?

Dmitry Selitskiy was determined to help his paralysed and non-verbal cousin when he dreamt up nousBlink, a non-invasive device that enables someone to control a computer using their intentional eye blinks.

Dmitry is co-founder and CEO of Thought-Wired, and advocates for universal access to this type of life-changing technology.

11:40 Danyl McLauchlan: Life's big questions - Climate change optimism vs apocalypse

Protein scientist and writer Danyl McLauchlan joins Kim to tackle life's big questions, ideas and thinkers.

This week he's discussing The Sixth Extinction author Elizabeth Kolbert’s new book on climate change, Under a White Sky, which attempts to find a middle ground between optimism and apocalyptic bleakness. He wrote an essay about it for The Spinoff.

McLauchlan released his first essay collection, Tranquillity and Ruin in February. He's also author of comic novels Unspeakable Secrets of the Aro Valley and Mysterious Mysteries of the Aro Valley.

Books mentioned in this show:

Helen Kelly: Her Life
By Rebecca Macfie
ISBN: 9781927249741
Published by Awa Press

The Menopause Manifesto: Own Your Health with Facts and Feminism
Dr. Jennifer Gunter
ISBN: 9780349427607
Published by Piatkus

The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History
By Elizabeth Kolbert
ISBN      9781408851241
Published by Bloomsbury

Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future
By Elizabeth Kolbert
ISBN: 9781847925459
Published by Bodley Head

The Ministry for the Future: A Novel
by  Kim Stanley Robinson
ISBN 978-0316300131
Published by Orbit

The Uninhabitable Earth: A Story of the Future
David Wallace-Wells
ISBN: 9780141988870
Published by Penguin Press

Music played in this show

Song: Call My Name
Artist: Troy Kingi
Played at: 8:43

Song: Manifest
Artist: Andrew Bird
Played at: 10:30