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Kathy Lette: 'Revenge is not only sweet, it's totally non-fattening'

23 Mar 2024

Dubbed "deliciously rude and darkly funny", "chick lit" author Kathy Lette has a new book out which wreaks revenge. The Revenge Club features four best friends approaching their sixties, feeling invisible and bent on vengeance. It continues the Australian-British writer's observations of the best and worst parts of… Audio

Saturday 23 March 2024

Available Audio (8)

8:10 Kate Middleton announces she has cancer

A handout still from a recording released by The Prince and Princess of Wales on March 22, 2024 shows Britain's Catherine, Princess of Wales, announcing her cancer diagnosis in Windsor, west of London.

Catherine, Princess of Wales, announcing her cancer diagnosis in Windsor, west of London, on 23 March, 2024. Photo: Handout / BBC STUDIOS / AFP

Catherine, Princess of Wales has announced she has cancer.

Kate Middleton is in the early stages of treatment after cancer was found in tests, and is undergoing chemotherapy.

Details of the cancer have not been made public, but Kensington Palace says it is confident the princess will make a full recovery.

8:20 Prof Chris Barratt: male contraceptive pill enters human trials

Women still take most of the responsibility for contraception, but a long anticipated "male pill" could soon become a reality.

Several non-hormonal male contraceptive pills that work by slowing sperm are under development, with one entering human trials.

Head of the Reproductive Medicine Group at the University of Dundee Professor Chris Barratt has dedicated his career to understanding male infertility, human spermatozoa and sperm-egg interaction.

He joins us to explain how these new pills work and why it's taken so long to get to this point.

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Photo: 123rf.com

8:35 Caro Claire Burke: The rise of #Tradwife social influencers

Social media content makers celebrating their role as "traditional wives" are enjoying a startling rise in popularity.

Influencers such as Nara Smith, Emily Mariko and Ballerina Farm are baking, procreating and home-making their way to millions of followers.

So why is their #Tradwife vision of submissive domesticity so appealing in 2024?

We ask Caro Claire Burke, a cultural critic and journalist at Katie Couric Media. 

@naraazizasmith what’s your go-to cereal?🫶🏽 #easyrecipes #breakfast #cereal #toddlersoftiktok #cinnamontoastcrunch #homemade ♬ Chopin Nocturne No. 2 Piano Mono - moshimo sound design

9:05 Escaping Utopia: what it takes to break free from Gloriavale

Rosanna (Rosie) Overcomer Photo: Supplied by TVNZ

When abuse and lies cause you to lose faith in the strict religious community you were born into, where do you go? 

This was the dilemma faced by Gloriavale member Rosie Overcomer and her husband 11 years ago. 

Liz Gregory was one of the people who helped the family make a new life outside the sect, and the needs of others like them led her to set up the Gloriavale Leavers' Support Trust.

Both women feature in a new new TVNZ 3-part documentary series Escaping Utopia, which starts at 8.30pm on Sunday 24 March, and continues Monday and Tuesday. It examines the religious sect from all sides. and shows the intricate planning that goes into leaving the West Coast community.

screen shot from Escaping Utopia documentary

Photo: Supplied by TVNZ

10:05 Kathy Lette: The Revenge Club

Dubbed "deliciously rude and darkly funny", "chick lit" author Kathy Lette has a new book out which wreaks revenge.

The Revenge Club features four best friends approaching their sixties, feeling invisible and bent on vengeance.

It continues the Australian-British writer's observations of the best and worst parts of being a woman, with female friendships one of the perks.

Kathy Lette has written fifteen bestselling novels, and has been recognised for her advocacy of equality, human rights, physical and mental health.

composite of Kathy Lette and the cover of her book "Revenge Club"

Photo: Supplied by Bloomsbury

10:40 Jamey Stutz: Dating rocks in Antarctica

Glacial geologist Jamey Stutz dates Antarctic rocks 'dropped like breadcrumbs from melting glaciers' to help determine the scale of glacial retreat.

Jamey has recently joined the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center in Ohio as a research scientist in the Polar Rock Repository, having completed his Ph.D at the Antarctic Research Center at Victoria University in Wellington.

Jamey says he's excited to be part of the more than 60 year exchange of Antarctic knowledge between New Zealand and America.

Kevin Norton and Jamey Stutz along the upper reaches of Mt. Tuatara with Byrd Glacier and Mt. Tadpole in the background. Photo: Bia Bouchinas

11:05 Dr Olive Webb: Fearless fighter for marginalised New Zealanders

Clinical psychologist Dr Olive Webb is nominated in the Local Hero category of the Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year awards.

A strong defender of some of the most marginalised members of our community, she tirelessly advocated and revolutionised care for people with learning disabilities.

Most recently she also gave evidence to the Royal Commission into the Abuse in State Care and supported others to tell their stories.

Dr Webb released From Behind Closed Doors last year, a poignant reflection on her 50-year journey alongside individuals with intellectual disabilities.

Psychologist Dr Olive Webb has spent 50 years so far working with people with intellectual disabilities and says it’s time to ditch the ‘them and us’ way of thinking.

Photo: supplied by IHC

11:40 Aboriginal artist and activist Richard Bell

Richard Bell

Richard Bell Photo: Supplied by Māoriland Film Festival

Aboriginal artist Richard Bell's documentary You Can Go Now is screening at the Maoriland Film Festival, underway in Ōtaki .

In it, he poses provocative and humourous challenges to the status quo and to our preconceived ideas of Aboriginal art.

 

 

Books featured on the show:

The Revenge Club
By Kathy Lette
Published by Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN    9781035901265

Playlist

Song: 'Right Back to It'
Artist: Waxahatchee
Time played: 10.05

Song: I Adore You - sent to air
Artist: Fred Again
Time Played: 10:58

Song: Treaty
Artist: Yothu Yindi
Time played: 11:58