Saturday Morning for Saturday 18 March 2023

8.10 Sam Neill releases revealing memoir

Sir Sam Neill is known as an open book, sharing yarns from his Central Otago vineyard home with his social media following, but in his soon to be released memoir Did I Ever Tell You This? Sir Sam reveals even more of the highs and lows of his life.

From his breakthrough lead in 1977 kiwi feature Sleeping Dogs Neill has gone on to act in almost 100 feature films including Jurassic Park and The Piano, as well as dozens of TV shows including Peaky Blinders. 

9.05 Tom Bateman: protest and the future of Democracy in Israel 

Mass protests have rocked Israel in recent weeks, in response to planned changes to the judicial system by the country’s far-right coalition, headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

If the proposal passes, it would give the Government greater sway in selecting judges while limiting the power of the Supreme Court.

Opponents say it’s a threat to democracy, and hundreds of thousands of people joined demonstrations this week in the largest street protests in the country’s history. 

Kim talks with the BBC’s Middle East Correspondent Tom Bateman, who is based in Jerusalem.  

9.30 Kat Tua: young Māori designer turning fashion heads 

Auckland-based fashion designer Kat Tua (Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Raukawa) is the powerhouse behind menswear label Manaaki, which is already proving popular with high-end fashion buyers.

In its first year Manaaki was chosen for a mentorship with Mr Porter, one of the biggest luxury websites in the world. 

But Tua’s story has been one of determination rather than overnight success. Before launching Manaaki in 2020 she spent more than a decade working long hours for some of Australia’s biggest fashion brands while juggling life with a young son.

 

10.05 Prof Peter Deardon: the genetic secrets of the velvet worm

Peripatus (aka velvet worms or ngāokeoke) are an ancient and fascinating native nocturnal crawling creature.

This week in an Otago University fridge a group of peripatus had babies. 

Celebrating the birth was Professor Peter Dearden, director of Genomics Aotearoa.

He's particularly interested in sequencing their genome as they are akin to living fossils, having survived over 500 million years virtually unchanged.

10.30 Evana Belich: how to get fired

Evana Belich has plenty of experience dealing with other’s employment woes. 

She has worked as a trade union official, a mediator, an employment relations adviser, and has degrees in law and dispute resolution.

All good source material for her debut comic story collection How to Get Fired.

The recent IMML Creative Writing graduate, Belich is now working on her debut novel as a Grimshaw Sargeson Fellow. 

11.05 Gordon Collier's magical home gardens 

Gardener Gordon Collier's first major project was on his family's farm, west of Taihape, 

Over 30 years he transformed a sunny clay hillside into an internationally celebrated garden, Titoki Point. 

He's since dedicated his life to gardening, becoming one of our most respected advisors. Since retiring Collier's advisory work has included the restoration of the Wellington Government House garden. 

A new book Gordon Collier’s Three Gardens shows Titoki Point as well as two of his other home gardens; Anacapri in Taupo and The White House, his current home in Taihape.  

11.40 Megan Dunn on art: looking at crocodiles

Author and art writer Megan Dunn joins Kim to talk crocodiles. 

From sculptor Mike Hewson's wooden crocs, to historic paintings and children's books, she examines why we like to look at crocodiles, and what our fascination says about our evolving relationship to nature.

 

 

Books featured on this show

Did I Ever Tell You This? A Memoir
By Sam Neill
Published by Text Publishing
ISBN 9781922790309
 
Gordon Collier’s Three Gardens 
By Gordon Collier
Published by Quentin Wilson Publishing
ISBN 9781991103031
 
How to Get Fired 
By Evana Belich
Published by Penguin
ISBN 9780143776642