Saturday Morning Podcast Options

4:55 PM.Scottish writer Douglas Stuart recently won the 2020 Booker Prize for his debut novel Shuggie Bain. Before its success, the book was rejected more than 30 times by various publishers. Set in 1980s… Read more Audio

11:59 AM.Kim Hill reads listener feedback for Saturday Morning for 5 December 2020. Audio

11:40 AM.Art historian and curator Mary Kisler returns to discuss three so-called 'poster girls' of the 18th century: the opera singer Elizabeth Linley Sheridan, the actress Sarah Siddons, and the model, muse… Read more Audio

11:05 AM.Penguin expert and Antarctic explorer Lloyd Spencer Davis blends natural history, evolutionary biology and stories of adventure in his new book A Polar Affair: Antarctica's Forgotten Hero and the… Read more Audio, Gallery

10:40 AM.Dr Alyce Swinbourne is a wombat specialist based at the School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences at the University of Adelaide. She says the animals use their amazing armoured backsides (made up of… Read more Audio

10:05 AM.Judith Jones is an expert audio describer, providing verbal descriptions of museum exhibitions and stage performances to people who are blind or with low vision. She works as a host at The Museum of… Read more Audio, Gallery

9:40 AM.Cognitive neuroscientist Dr David Moreau has been recognised by the Royal Society Te Aparangi Te Kōpūnui with the Early Career Research Excellence Award for Social Sciences. Moreau is a lecturer in… Read more Audio

8:35 AM.Australia is not well known for casting envious glances across the Tasman. But what can 'the lucky country' learn from us? Laura Tingle is a senior political journalist with the Australian… Read more Audio

8:11 AM.Saliva-based Covid-19 tests could have many advantages over current nasal swabs; being potentially cheaper, quicker, easier, and safer for health workers. Recently returned expat New Zealander Dr Anne… Read more Audio

12:55 PM.26 year old Francesca Goodman-Smith is on a mission to tackle New Zealand's food waste problem. Working for Foodstuffs, one of the country's biggest supermarket chains, she's designed an award-winning… Read more Audio

11:40 AM.Gisborne punk band "Sit Down In Front" formed in January 2017 and its members are all still in high school. Fronting the four piece is 17-year-old Cory Newman who uses a wheelchair. His energetic live… Read more Video, Audio

11:05 AM.Whether you love them, hate them, or just don't know when to use them; the semicolon can be a divisive and contentious punctuation mark. That's what historian, Cecelia Watson discovered when she spent… Read more Audio

10:30 AM.David Lewis might be the greatest explorer you've never heard of. Born in England in 1917, but raised in New Zealand and Rarotonga, Lewis' exploits included climbing 19 South Island peaks, kayaking… Read more Audio

10:05 AM.The Hand Medal Project was devised by friends and artists Iris Eichenberg and Jimena Ríos to thank medical staff and caregivers for the sacrifices they were making to treat people infected with… Read more Audio

9:40 AM.A third promising COVID-19 vaccine candidate has released promising trial results this week. To weigh up the pros and cons of the various vaccine candidates is Dr Chris Smith. Chris is a consultant… Read more Audio

9:05 AM.In his prime, Sir Michael Parkinson's eponymous UK TV talk show attracted more than 8 million viewers a week, making 'Parky' a household name.  In Like Father, Like Son: A Family Story Sir Michael… Read more Audio

8:10 AM.More than three weeks on from election day, there are signs that Donald Trump is moving towards acceptance that he has lost. So how will the transition process work from here. Alex Burns is the… Read more Audio

5:10 PM.Shany Dror is a PhD student based in Hungary and the driving force behind the Genius Dog Challenge. Read more Audio

3:03 PM.The legendary singer, songwriter, actor, author, and humanitarian Dolly Parton is 75 years old and presides over a multi-million dollar music, entertainment and philanthropic empire.Her book… Read more Video, Audio

11:55 AM.Listener feedback for 21 November 2020. Audio

11:43 AM.Diane Stoppard is a photographer who is leading the $1 million Camera Obscura project in Whangarei. It's a giant walk-in pinhole camera clad in decorative steel. Read more Audio

11:05 AM.Historian, Anglican minister, TV presenter and social commentator Dr Hirini Kaa (Ngati Porou, Ngati Kahungunu and Rongowhakaata) has long been interested in the engagement and the interaction between… Read more Audio

10:45 AM.Colin Maclaren is the central figure in a new locally produced documentary The Man On The Island. The island in question is Rakino (population: 19), 2 kilometres long and 1 kilometre wide, and 22… Read more Video, Audio

10:06 AM.Cinematographer and director Kirsten Johnson was afraid of losing her father to dementia, so she got in first, killing him off in imaginative and comical ways in her new film Dick Johnson is Dead. Read more Video, Audio