Saturday Morning for Saturday 1 November 2025

7:12 Latest from the US

Donald Trump threw a nuclear curve ball this week saying he wants to start testing nuclear weapons so the US can keep pace with Russia and China.

The comments came with few details and have caused some confusion in the Senate. 

They came shortly after the US and China appeared to smooth things over at the APEC summit in which President Trump also met our own Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. 

US correspondent Simon Marks joins Guyon live from Washington. 

7:17 Potential for measles outbreak 

A public health academic says there is potential for a serious outbreak of measles in New Zealand. Professor Sir Colin Tukuitonga says there is sufficient reason for concern given the local transmission rate and low vaccination uptake.

Health officials are trying to stamp out the spread of measles with three schools now affected including one of the country's largest. So far there are 13 confirmed cases and more than two thousand close contacts have been identified. 

Measles is highly contagious but only about 80 percent of New Zealanders are immune - well below the 95 percent coverage needed to prevent an outbreak. The most recent modelling suggests 150 cases are possible a week. 

Professor Tukuitonga speaks to Mihingarangi Forbes about what needs to be done moving forward. 

7:23 Landmark case over water rights

On Monday a landmark case will begin in the High Court in Wellington over fresh water. 

A coalition, Te Wai Manawa Whenua is representing Māori landowners, hapu and iwi.  

The coalition says it is responding to decades of broken promises, including the Crown's assurance to the Supreme Court in 2012, to address the first-in, first-served freshwater allocation practice, they say ignores Māori authority and guardianship.

Chair Kingi Smiler joins Mihingarangi live from Wellington.

7:34 Capital gains tax: an international perspective 

This week Labour announced it will campaign for the next election with a capital gains tax as a key policy and point of difference.

It wants a 28% tax on profits made from the sale of investment property. Family homes and farms will be exempt.

Labour wants to channel the revenue it delivers towards providing three free doctor visits a year for every New Zealander.

John Minas is an Associate Professor at Monash University's Business School, who specializes in tax policy - and specifically - capital gains tax. He tells Guyon from Melbourne that New Zealand is currently an outlier.

7:44 Ozempic for pets?

We've all heard about ozempic for people - but what about for pets?

November is Pet Diabetes Awareness Month and though pet weight management is no joke, a potential weight-loss pill for pooches and pussy cats is ruffling feathers.

Lake Hawea based vet and Healthy Pets New Zealand charity trustee, Dr Cath Watson says animal weight loss treatments are coming - whether we like them or not.

Dr Watson speaks to Mihingarangi from Wanaka.

7:52 Racing for men's mental health

A team of four Kiwi adventurers are taking on NZ Godzone for Movember to raise awareness of men's mental health.

The adventure race NZ Godzone is an incredible 650km of hiking, abseiling and white-water rafting through Marlborough with part of the adventure being that contestants aren't told the exact route until the last moment.

Jonathan (JB) Brown and fellow teammate Simon Cochrane join Mihi and Guyon to explain why this race is so personal for them.  

8:12 The Governess: Are you clever enough?

Two out of three Kiwis watched The Chase last year.  The first season of The Chase New Zealand premieres on Monday at 7.30pm on TVNZ 1 and on TVNZ+.

Paul Henry is the host with Kiwi contestants taking on some of the world's most formidable quiz-masters in a four-part primetime special. Thousands applied but only 16 contestants got through.

Anne Hegerty aka The Governess is one of the chasers they face. Guyon grills the much-loved British professional quizzer.

8:40 Dr Jeremy Lockwood: Dinosaur hunter

For most people, coming to the end of your career is a time to slow down. But for Dr Jeremy Lockwood, it was the start of something new.

After nearly thirty years as a GP, Jeremy hung up his stethoscope and started hunting dinosaurs - swapping human anatomy for ancient bones.

Today, he's a leading student palaeontologist on the Isle of Wight, where he's helped identify entirely new species.

Dr Lockwood speaks to Mihingarangi from his home on the Isle of Wight.

9:07 Brendan Canty: Christy 

One of Ireland's most exciting and prolific film directors, Brendan Canty's video for Hozier's 'Take Me to Church' passed a billion views on YouTube and earned two MTV VMA nominations.

Brendan has directed music videos for other top international artists (Dermot Kennedy, Talos) as well as commercials for brands like Adidas and Sky Sports. 

Brendan's feature film Christy rolls back the issues surrounding the foster-care system for late-teenagers and features members of The Kabin Studio, a Cork-based community arts hip hop collective.

Christy premiered at the Berlinale 2025, where it won the Generation 14plus Grand Prix, and Best Irish Film at the Galway Film Fleadh. Christy is showing at the British & Irish Film Festival this month.

9:31 Postnatal depression: singing the blues away

It's reported that for every ten people who have recently given birth in Aotearoa, between one and two will experience postnatal depression. 

The figures are similar in the UK but a study published recently in the British Journal of Psychiatry supports what some mothers' groups have known for a while - it helps to sing!

Dr Rebecca Bind of Kings College London is one of the lead authors on the study which followed and assessed 199 mothers exhibiting symptoms of postnatal depression. Two thirds of them took part in group singing sessions called Melodies for Mums - and the results were telling.  

Dr Bind talks to Mihingarangi about why they think group singing is an effective therapy and how it could reduce pressure on maternal mental health services.

9:42 Toby Manhire: Juggernaught

Journalist and podcaster Toby Manhire is in to talk to Mihi and Guyon about Juggernaut Series Two. The six-part Spinoff production tells of the political, economic and personal drama that defined the 1990s under the Fourth National Government, charting a decade of fresh crisis, brutal cuts, and sweeping reform. 

10:07 How one man's war on terror became a war on poverty

New Zealander Aaron Tait was only 17 years old when he was deployed to Iraq to serve with the Australian Navy's Special Forces following 9/11.

The experience of war at such a young age had a profound effect on Aaron who has since built a life on humanitarian work and social entrepreneurship.

An educator and sought after speaker, Aaron's client list includes the likes of Microsoft, Apple and the Australian government. 

Now his inner battle with war - and his search for peace - has been documented in the memoir, 'Far Horizons'.

Aaron talks to Guyon about hunting with his father in the King Country as a child, his global mission to reduce poverty and the life lessons he shares with his two sons about what it means to serve.

10:35 Hooked Up: GP turned crime-writer on the dangers of reality TV 

GP turned award-winning author Fiona Sussman's latest crime novel Hooked Up explores the manipulative nature of reality TV, through the premise of a serial killer targeting ex TV show cast and crew in Auckland. 

When she's not writing crime thrillers, Fiona's also the co-founder of The Aotearoa Charity Hospital Trust - a charitable surgical service in Auckland set up to assist those who have fallen between the cracks in our health system. 

She speaks with Mihi Forbes about the twists of turns of life - and reality TV dating.

Fiona has two events coming up in November, at Remuera Library on Wednesday 19^th and at Matakana Books on Saturday 22^nd November.

11:06 Tackling garden weeds with Hannah Zwartz

Our resident gardener Hannah Zwartz is back, this time with advice on how to show weeds who's boss.

Hannah has over 30 years' experience gardening professionally, including looking after the herb and succulent areas at Wellington Botanic Garden and running community market gardens in the Hutt Valley.

She answers your questions.

11:20 Playing Favourites with Kate Coughlan 

A dream for many New Zealanders is of a return to nature - whether that looks like living off the land or living completely off the grid. 

NZ Rustic showcases a collection of homes that have been intentionally designed to harmonise with their surrounding landscape.

Edited by Kate Coughlan, a long time journalist and editor, having worked for the likes of The Dominion Post, NZ House and Garden, and NZ Life and Leisure.

Kate joins Mihi Forbes and Guyon Espiner to play favourites.

 

Music played in this show

Song: Blue Dreams
Artist: Holly Arrowsmith
Time played: 9'26

Song: Whiskey Didn't Kill the Pain
Artist: Mary Coughlan  
Time played: 11'30

SONG:  "Engari Te Titi"
Artist: Whirimako Black
Time played: 11'40

Song: Feelin' Good 
Artist: Nina Simone  
Time played: 11'45

Song: This is Heaven to Me 
Artist: Madeleine Peyroux
Time played: 11'57