Saturday Morning for Saturday 5 July 2025 Saturday Morning

Weather woes: Tasman mayor on the cleanup

7:07 AM.This week residents in Taranaki were hit with flash floods, slips, popped manholes and sewage flows after being pummelled by thunderstorms. The Nelson Tasman area is still under a state of emergency.
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Weekly wrap: Israel - Gaza conflict

7:13 AM.The Israeli military has killed at least 20 Palestinians in Gaza, as the fate of the US truce proposal hangs in the balance. Hamas said early on Friday that it is discussing the U.S. ceasefire… Read more Audio
Commonwealth Poet Laureate - Selina Tusitala Marsh

7:21 AM.This week notable New Zealand poet and academic, Selina Tusitala Marsh has been named as the very first Commonwealth Poet Laureate. Read more Audio
Turning plastic into paracetamol

7:35 AM.We may think of rubbish as something to throw away, burn or bury - but what if we could turn waste into fragrance, food flavouring or medicine? Professor Stephen Wallace from the University of… Read more Audio
Sports wrap: All Blacks vs France

7:42 AM.There's a massive weekend of rugby ahead with the All Blacks' first international of the year - playing France at Dunedin at the Forsyth Barr stadium. And it's already a bit controversial with France… Read more Audio
Wellington's Tattoo Convention

7:50 AM.The Wellington Tattoo Convention is taking place this weekend at the Old Dominion Building in Wellington. There are 120 tattoo artists from all around the motu. Read more Audio
Chris Ramsay - professional puzzle solver and magic Olympian

8:10 AM.The world's most prestigious international magic convention, known as FISM, is set to take place in Italy later this month. Basically, it's the Olympics for magicians. Canadian Chris Ramsay is one of… Read more Audio
Mighty Indeed - Life on the Ice

8:35 AM.Set in one of the harshest corners of Earth, a new documentary follows three women from different generations as they explore a hidden world underneath the Antarctic sea ice. Director Vanessa Wells… Read more Audio
Delaney Davidson

9:05 AM.Three times New Zealand Country Music Song of the Year award-winner song-writer Delaney Davidson speaks with Paddy Gower. Read more Audio

This audio is not downloadable due to copyright restrictions.
A Voice for the Silenced

9:35 AM.The lived experience of men and women who have served time, and the paths that took them there is the subject of a new book A Voice for the Silenced: Stories from inside and outside the cells of… Read more Audio

This audio is not downloadable due to copyright restrictions.
The forgotten 1948 scientific expedition to Arnhem Land

10:06 AM.The 1948 American-Australian Scientific Expedition to Arnhem Land in Australia's Northern Territory was at the time the biggest scientific expedition in history. Despite this, it's largely been… Read more Audio, Gallery
Why memory fails us

10:40 AM.Human sensory systems are almost as good as they can get, but memory is pretty fallible. We often misremember or downright can't remember. Ours can't hold a candle to artificial memory. But, there are… Read more Audio
Bamboo School - caring for orphans next to a conflict zone

11:05 AM.Running an orphanage and an ambulance service is no easy feat, but when you're also right next to a civil war, there are a lot more complications. Catherine Riley-Bryan is a New Zealander and founder… Read more Audio
Mow to Meadow: letting it all go on the lawn

11:30 AM.After a major garden renovation at home, NZ Gardener editor Jo McCarroll decided to make the bottom of her section a no mow area. She answers listener questions about switching up lawns. Read more Audio
Hercules Noble 'Will it Sourdough?

11:40 AM.Private chef Hercules Noble is the man behind the 'Will it Sourdough' series where he takes a random dish and sees if he can transform it into a loaf of sourdough. Think tiramisu, carbonara, or earl… Read more Audio

7.07 Weather woes: Tasman mayor on the cleanup

This week residents in Taranaki were hit with flash floods, slips, popped manholes and sewage flows after being pummelled by thunderstorms.

And further south the clean up is underway in the Nelson Tasman area after heavy rain, which has eased up now - although the area is still under a state of emergency.

Tasman mayor Tim King joins us live from his home in Eves Valley.

Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii

7.13 Weekly wrap: Israel - Gaza conflict

The Israeli military has killed at least 20 Palestinians in Gaza, as the fate of the US truce proposal hangs in the balance.

Hamas said early on Friday that it is discussing the U.S. ceasefire proposal with other Palestinian groups, and it would submit its response to mediators once the talks conclude.

Earlier in the week it appeared a breakthrough was near with to US president Donald Trump claiming that Israel had agreed to conditions for a 60-day ceasefire with Hamas.

But it looks like no such progress is on the cards between Russia and Ukraine.

To wrap it all together we speak to Toni Waterman is our US correspondent in Washington.

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 10: U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks on natural disaster preparedness in the Oval Office at the White House on June 10, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump said he wants to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and return its function to the state level. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Anna Moneymaker / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

Photo: ANNA MONEYMAKER

7.21 Commonwealth Poet Laureate - Selina Tusitala Marsh

This week notable New Zealand poet and academic, Selina Tusitala Marsh has been named as the very first Commonwealth Poet Laureate.

The position will involve Marsh crafting original poems for flagship events like the Commonwealth People's Forum and Ministerial and Heads of Government Meetings.

It's already turning out to a very big year for Selina, who was awarded the Katherine Mansfield Residency in Menton in the South of France.

Selina Tusitala Marsh Photo: WORD Christchurch

7.33 Turning plastic into paracetamol

We may think of rubbish as something to throw away, burn or bury - but what if we could turn waste into fragrance, food flavouring or medicine?

Well, Professor Stephen Wallace from the University of Edinburgh and his research team has been able to do just that.

They've just published a new study into genetically programming bacteria such as E-Coli to turn plastic bottles into paracetamol.

Photo: artisteer / Getty Images/ iStockphoto

7.42 Sports wrap: All Blacks vs France

There's a massive weekend of rugby ahead with the All Blacks' first international of the year - playing France at Dunedin at the Forsyth Barr stadium. And it's already a bit controversial with France deciding not to send its top tier players.

Also today the Māori All Blacks are playing against Scotland in Whangārei - marking 25 years since the two sides last met and the Black Ferns have one of their last games here before the World Cup.

RNZ Sport's Joe Porter speaks with Paddy Gower.

Gideon Wrampling of the Maori All Blacks scores a try. Photo: Tsutomu Kishimoto / www.photosport.nz

7.42 Wellington's Tattoo Convention

The Wellington Tattoo Convention is taking place this weekend at the Old Dominion Building in Wellington. There are 120 tattoo artists from all around the motu.

Event organiser Craig Lee speaks with Mihi.

Craig Lee at his Union Tattoo shop in Wellington

The Wellington Tattoo Convention is in its 7th year and bigger than ever. Photo: Supplied

8.10 Chris Ramsay - professional puzzle solver and magic Olympian

Chris Ramsay poses with an impressive looking puzzle.

Photo: Ramsay

The world's most prestigious international magic convention, known as FISM, is set to take place in Italy later this month. Basically, it's the Olympics for magicians.

Canadian Chris Ramsay is one of the presenters this year, he's a world-renowned magician, YouTuber, and puzzle creator known for his mind-blowing illusions and viral content, solving incredibly hard puzzles.

With millions of followers, he has redefined modern magic through storytelling and creativity.

He speaks with Paddy Gower about building a career from solving puzzles.

Magician and puzzle lover Chris Ramsay at FISM 2024. Photo: Ramsay

8.35 Mighty Indeed - Life on the Ice

Photo: Mighty Indeed

Set in one of the harshest corners of Earth, a new documentary follows three women from different generations as they explore a hidden world underneath the Antarctic sea ice.

Dr Natalie Robinson leads a world-first expedition to McMurdo Sound, joined by a microbiologist and mentored from afar by a veteran sea ice physicist.

Battling brutal weather and isolation, Mighty Indeed shows the moments the team discover extraordinary tiny creatures within the delicate structures of the ice.

Weaving personal stories with rich archival footage and groundbreaking science, and set against the immense scale of Antarctica, this film tells of the love these women have for the place.

They even sing songs about Phytoplankton!

Mighty Indeed is showing in the Doc Edge Film Festival. Director Vanessa Wells and expedition leader Dr Natalie Robinson join Mihi.

9.05 Delaney Davidson

Three times New Zealand Country Music Song of the Year award-winner and nominated for the Taite Music Prize 2025, song-writer Delaney Davidson is said to always have one foot on the road and the other on the stage.

And, true to form, he's just tucking his passport away after gigging in with Tami Neilson in Nashville before heading around New Zealand on his Anniversary Tour.

He's a man with a big heart and a musical ear for the human condition. He talks music with Paddy Gower.

Photo: Sabin Holloway

9.35 A Voice for the Silenced

Photo: Harry Walker

The lived experience of men and women who have served time, and the paths that took them there is the subject of a new book A Voice for the Silenced: Stories from inside and outside the cells of Aotearoa/New Zealand.

Harry Walker has given voice to the incarcerated in a collection of stories giving voice to the struggles, resilience, ongoing effects of trauma, and of disconnection experienced by marginalised people.

Harry Walker has a social work background, he's a former Māori Welfare Officer, National Office policy advisor, and Cultural Report writer.

Harry Walker looks at the camera in spectacles and a brown sweater.

Harry Walker has dedicated his life to social work - as a former Māori Welfare Officer, National Office Policy Advisor, Cultural Report Writer and Victoria University lecturer. Photo: Supplied

10.06 The forgotten 1948 scientific expedition to Arnhem Land

Martin Thomas historian and author of 'Clever Men'. Photo: Allen & Unwin

The 1948 American-Australian Scientific Expedition to Arnhem Land in Australia's Northern Territory to investigate both traditional Aboriginal life and the tropical environment, was at the time the biggest scientific expedition in history. Despite this, it's largely been forgotten, until now.

In his new book, 'Clever Men' award-winning historian and documentary filmmaker, Martin Thomas uncovers the secrets, scandals and unlikely achievements that unfolded as the worlds of scientific hubris and the world's oldest surviving cultures collided.

Dr Martin Thomas wheels Arnhem Land Elder Jacob Nayinggul to the burial site of the remains. Mourners proceed to the old burial ground at Gunbalanya in 2011 where a funeral ceremony culminated in the burial of the returned ancestors. The procession arrives at the mission graveyard. (PHOTO: Glenn Campbell)

Ten of the seventeen expedition members. From left: Herbert Deignan (ornithologist), Raymond Specht (botanist), Margaret McArthur (biochemist and nutritionist), Fred McCarthy (anthropologist), Frank Setzler (anthropologist), Charles Mountford (ethnologist and filmmaker), Bessie Mountford (honorary secretary), Brian Billington (medical officer), and Reginald Hollow (cook). Peter Bassett-Smith (cine-photographer) is inside the plane behind Billington with an unidentified crew member beside him. The photo is from the personal papers of Ray Specht (1924-2021), the longest-surviving member of the expedition. (PHOTO: Raymond Specht Papers, National Library of Australia.)

The towering mammalogist David H. Johnson inspects a stuffed wombat in Melbourne prior to the expedition. On the left of him is the expedition botanist Raymond L. Specht. Johnson’s own taxidermy made dead animals look lifelike, leading some Aboriginal observers to regard the American as a ‘clever man’ or shaman who had supernatural powers. (PHOTO: Photograph by Mountford, Mountford-Sheard Collection, State Library of South Australia.)

An aerial photograph of Arnhem Land shows the mighty serpentine rivers. Such photographs were used in planning the expedition. (PHOTO: Mountford-Sheard Collection, State Library of South Australia.)

Howell Walker’s photograph of Anindilyakwa men carrying supplies for the expedition points to the expedition’s reliance on the labour and knowledge of Arnhem Landers. (PHOTO: Mountford-Sheard Collection, State Library of South Australia.)

Gerald Blitner (left) and an unidentified man display the skin of a crocodile shot on the Roper River. Blitner was an invaluable guide and interpreter to the expedition. Martin Thomas recorded his oral history, which is quoted extensively in Clever Men. (PHOTO: Photograph by Walker, NGS Collection.)

Korpitja, one of Groote Eylandt’s master painters. He gave cultural advice to the expedition and created numerous bark paintings for the 1948 collections. (PHOTO: Photograph by Walker, NGS Collection.)

The Phoenix, a ‘terrible looking tub’, was commissioned by Mountford to carry essential food and equipment. At great cost to his credibility, the century-old barge became stuck on a reef en route to Groote Eylandt, causing major supply problems for the expedition. (PHOTO: Photograph by Walker, Mountford-Sheard Collection, State Library of South Australia.)

Colin Simpson (second from right) working with Larry Marawanna (far left) and other Binij musicians in recording traditional songs on a wire recorder. Ray Giles (right) operates the machine. (PHOTO: Photograph by Walker, Colin Simpson Papers, National Library of Australia.)

Mountford records information on paintings at Yirrkala. Most works collected by the expedition were on bark but some were painted on paper that Mountford gave to artists. Some painters were cautious about how much secret-sacred knowledge should be disclosed to Mountford whose interviewing technique was described by McCarthy as a ‘frontal assault’. To the fury and dismay of elders, the expedition released for general exhibition film and photographs of secret ceremony that had been shared in confidence with the researchers. (PHOTO: Photograph by Howell Walker, NGS Collection.)

A barge leaves Arnhem Land loaded with bark paintings, artefacts, and thousands of specimens of flora and fauna. In sealed ammunition boxes were the human remains taken from traditional mortuary sites. When exported to Washington DC the bones were described as ‘natural history specimens’ in the shipping documents. (PHOTO: Photograph by Setzler, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.)

After years of lobbying by the Australian government, the Smithsonian agreed to the repatriation of the human remains collected by the American anthropologist Frank Setzler in Arnhem Land. A delegation of Arnhem Landers travelled to Washington DC in 2010 to perform a ceremony that would bring home their ancestors. (PHOTO: Photograph by Adis Hondo.)

The ceremony leader Jacob Nayinggul from Gunbalanya watches as the repatriated bones are buried in their ancestral country. He had already reminded those around him: "We’ll follow. We’ll go after them too…" (PHOTO: Glenn Campbell)

10.40 Why memory fails us

Human sensory systems are almost as good as they can get, but memory is pretty fallible. We often misremember or downright can't remember. Ours can't hold a candle to artificial memory.

But, there are plus sides to this, related to creativity, as explained by Auckland University Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience Anthony Lambert.

Memory loss, conceptual illustration. (Photo by VICTOR HABBICK VISIONS/SCIENCE P / VHB / Science Photo Library via AFP)

Photo: VICTOR HABBICK VISIONS/SCIENCE P

11.05 Bamboo School - caring for orphans next to a conflict zone

Running an orphanage and an ambulance service is no easy feat, but when you're also right next to a civil war, there are a lot more complications.

Catherine Riley-Bryan is a New Zealander and founder of Bamboo School, located in a village called Bong Ti in western Thailand, right next to the Myanmar border.

Myanmar has had a troubled history of civil war in recent years, the latest conflict started just four years ago, when the army seized power from the civilian government. Since then, ethnic militias and anti-coup fighters have been trying to wrestle back power.

But recently the conflict has become extremely fierce sparking fears of evacuating the school at any moment. Catherine speaks with Mihi about what it's like running an orphanage and ambulance service right next to a conflict zone.

Catherine Riley-Bryan with some of the children at Bamboo School in Thailand. Photo: Supplied / Catherine Riley-Bryan

11.30 Mow to Meadow: letting it all go on the lawn

Turning lawn over to meadow brings abundant life to the garden. Photo: Unsplash

After a major garden renovation at home, NZ Gardener editor Jo McCarroll decided to make the bottom of her section a no mow area.

It's not that Jo doesn't love lawns, she's exploring alternatives to neat cut grass.

Photo: Jo McCarroll

11.40 Hercules Noble 'Will it Sourdough?'

When you think of sourdough you might flash back to covid lockdowns when every man and their dog suddenly became a sourdough expert. One Aucklander who took it to the next level is Hercules Noble.

Hercules is one of Auckland's most in demand private chefs and perhaps is best known for his popular 'Will it Sourdough' series on social media where he takes a random dish and sees if he can transform it into a loaf of sourdough. Think tiramisu, carbonara, or earl grey tea flavoured loaves.

Hercules Noble talks about what life as a private chef is really like and shares his sourdough secrets with Paddy Gower and Mihi Forbes.

Hercules Noble Photo: OUTSPOKEN

Music played in this show

9.06am - 'Little Heart' by Delaney Davidson

9.36am - 'Out of My Head' by Delaney Davidson

10.35am - 'In My Life' by The Beatles

11.40am - 'Bread and Butter' by The NewBeats

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Saturday Morning for Saturday 5 July 2025