Saturday Morning for Saturday 25 October 2025

7:11 Wild weather: state of emergency 

A state of emergency remains in place in Southland and Clutha due to extensive damage caused by Thursday's red-alert winds and ongoing power outages.
 
Water and wastewater services are overwhelmed. 

Chief Executive of our National Emergency Management Agency, Dave Gawn speaks with Mihingarangi Forbes.

7:15 Wild weather: wildfire risk

Earlier this week destructive gales tore through parts of the South and North Islands, exacerbating wildfires on the East Coast.

As we go into the long weekend the public is being asked to remain vigilant. 

FENZ Assistant National Commander Ken Cooper speaks with Guyon Espiner.

7:19 Latest from the Middle East

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has expressed confidence that the Gaza ceasefire will hold.

He's in Israel to bolster Donald Trump's peace plan.

The President has once again warned Israel against annexing the occupied West Bank.

The BBC's Security Correspondent Frank Gardner joins Mihingarangi live from Israel.

7:27 Can our hospitals cope with a measles outbreak?

Health officials working on contact tracing measles patients have now identified patient zero on the Cook Strait ferry crossing.

There are now eight active cases with several of them linked to the Bluebridge ferry trip which was on the 3rd of October.

Dr Mamaeroa David is the senior Māori clinical advisor at the Immunisation Advisory Centre.  

She says our hospitals won't be able to cope with another outbreak like the one in 2019 and joins Guyon to explain why.

7:37 New study: rainforests contributing to carbon emissions

Researchers in Australia have discovered that its tropical rainforests have become a net source of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. 

The study, published in Nature this week has found that Australia's wet tropics are the first of their kind globally to show this response to climate change.

Co-author of the study, Dr Hannah Carle speaks to Mihingarangi about the significance of these findings.

7:45 Liam Dann on Labour's Future Fund

Labour's Future Fund was the first major policy announcement from the opposition in the long lead up to next year's election. 

The wealth fund - set up to invest in New Zealand infrastructure projects and businesses - would draw on an initial government capital injection of $200 million and dividends from state-owned assets. 

It faced accusations of being copied off New Zealand First while others - like Waikato-Tainui's Tuku Morgan - believe it will be a much-needed boost.

Herald Business Editor, Liam Dann talks to Guyon about the policy and what it says about the party's broader economic strategy.

7:54 Organising the Ōtāhuhu Food Festival

If you are in Tāmaki Makaurau today and are feeling a bit peckish, you might want to head out to the Ōtāhuhu Food Festival - the country's largest - on today from 10am until 4pm.

Richette Rodger, one the organisers from the Ōtāhuhu Business Association, gives Mihi the inside story on the best stalls.

8:12 The Seven Rules of Trust with Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales

In an age where information and, in turn, disinformation, is available at the touch of a button, and differentiating between the two is trickier than ever before - trust is one of the most pressing issues of our time.

Someone who's built his entire career on the principle of trust, is Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia.

Wikipedia started more than two decades ago, once spurned for being unreliable - it's gone on to be a universally trusted source for facts.

Derived from decades of observation, participation and discussion with leaders across the world, Jimmy shares the fundamental principles of his work in his new book, The Seven Rules of Trust.

Jimmy speaks with Mihi Forbes from London. 

8:36 Sam Dalrymple: creating modern nations

Historian, filmmaker and co-founder of Project Dastaan, which reconnects refugees displaced by the 1947 partition of India, Sam Dalrymple's debut book Shattered Lands explores the collapse of the Indian Empire and how five major partitions between 1931 and 1971 created twelve modern nations.

Shattered Lands traces how the decisions made in boardrooms and on battlefields reshaped a quarter of the world - from India and Pakistan to the United Arab Emirates and Burma.

9:07 Groundbreaking coma research with Dr. Sean Pauzauskie

For centuries, it was believed people in comas could not think or understand, but now with new technology, we know this is not always true. 

Dr. Sean Pauzauskie is a practicing neurologist in the University of Colorado, he's also the Medical Director of the NeuroRights Foundation, an organisation that advocates for brainwave privacy in the face of rapid innovations in neurotechnology. 

Seans debut novel Stage of Fools blurs real life with fiction. 

It's about a fictional San Francisco billionaire, Steven Levinson, who ends up in a coma, after nearly drowning. And the groundbreaking, and very real healthcare tech that's used to try and help him. 

Sean speaks with Mihi Forbes.

9:29 Recipe for Murder: inside the mushroom trial

The recent trial of Australian woman Erin Patterson captured headlines around the world. 

Charged with murder and attempted murder after serving a family lunch laced with the poisonous death cap mushroom, the mum of two claimed the deaths were accidental but failed to convince the jury.   

Former police detective turned investigative journalist Duncan McNab, attended the high-profile trial. 

A best-selling author, his latest book Recipe for Murder, provides further insights into the woman who committed these unimaginable crimes and how she was caught. He talks to Guyon Espiner about the motivation, method and mistakes behind the triple murder that gripped a nation.

9:55 Ōtāhuhu Food Festival: Aute Neli

Mihi is reporting live from the Ōtāhuhu Food Festival throughout the morning.

She speaks with Aute Neli from Kiwi Tucker Mussel Fritters.

10:06 Ōtāhuhu Food Festival: Aroha Harris 

Aroha Harris, Te Rarawa, Ngapuhi, lectures in history at Auckland University and was also a member of the Waitangi Tribunal from 2008 to 2023.

She talks to Mihi about the history of Ōtāhuhu.

10:18 Elspeth Sandys: turning trauma into great stories 

A rich seam of themes can be mined from Elspeth Sandys' writing. Trauma has dogged her life.  "Some people go to therapy" she says. "I write."

And she certainly does! Elspeth is an award-winning author of ten novels, two memoirs, two short story collections, a book of non-fiction and twenty plays.

Elspeth's new novel A Gap in Nature reflects on the effects of war on relationships and wider society, and articulates art's power to change lives. 

10:38 Ōtāhuhu Food Festival: Karen Wilson

Today it is all about multi-cultural kai but in the past Ōtāhuhu had its own food story.

It is situated between the Manukau Harbour and the Tāmaki River on a piece of land that is just one kilometre wide - the narrowest point in all of Aotearoa. While monuments and signs recognise its military past, Ōtāhuhu was a once bustling trading station with a portage for waka on the Manukau. 

Ōtāhuhu means Te Tahuhutanga o Te Waka Tainui, which translates as the ridgepole of the Tainui waka but local iwi and mana whenua, Te Ākitai Waiohua are not descended from Waikato Tainui.

Local iwi Chairperson of Te Ākitai Waiohua, Karen Wilson joins Mihi for a chat - on the maunga itself.

10:55 Ōtāhuhu Food Festival: Hare George and Rudy Alejandro

Mihi is reporting live from the Ōtāhuhu Food Festival throughout the morning.

She speaks with Hare George and Rudy Alejandro from The Slush Truck.

11:06 Ōtāhuhu Food Festival: Charlotte Macdonald - Garrison World

On October 28th Aotearoa will commemorate Te Putake o te Riri, a day established to recognise and remember the period of our history known as the New Zealand Wars.  

In past years, iwi, community and the Crown have jointly acknowledged the day, reflecting on the actions of the colonial government which saw a huge loss of life, the confiscation of land and theft of taonga.  

Also remembered are the colonial and imperial troops, the foot soldiers - some as young as fourteen - who lived and worked in harsh conditions for little reward. This part of the New Zealand Wars story has been included in a new book called Garrison World, written by historian, Professor Charlotte Macdonald. 

Following the war at Ruapekapeka in the North and Taranaki on the West Coast, the colonial government set its sights on the Waikato but first it had to get there. Charlotte talks to Mihi about the significance of Great South Road which passes through Ōtāhuhu.

11:19 These little boots are made for walking - the whole of NZ

Seven years old at the time she walked the entire Te Araroa trail, Emilie Bruce, along with mum Victoria, did the 3-thousand-kilometre walk from Cape Reinga to Bluff over six months.

Emilie is eleven now.  She's put together a book - with her mum - to inspire other kids to get out in the wild. Emilie Walks Te Araroa tells her story based on diaries she kept on the trail.

11:35 Chef Del Holland's "Best Ever" Chocolate cake

Our food regular Del Holland is back to share her latest tips and tricks.

Including how to make a proper risotto, what to do with sourdough discard (no you don't have to just throw it out), and she shares the recipe for what she describes as the best chocolate cake ever.

Del has over 20 years' experience working in world-class kitchens and as a private chef. 

Now though, she follows her real passion through her social media channel Dishes with Del - where she teaches others how to make easy, delicious, and budget conscious food.

11:49 Ōtāhuhu Food Festival: Queen Shirl'e

Queen Shirl'e is running one of the stages at the Ōtāhuhu Food Festival but in her other roles, she's worked with thousands of young people in the community over the past 20 years. In fact, several of them are performing and emcee-ing at the event.

She talks to Mihi about why she loves working with local youth.