Saturday Morning

7.11 Israel and Iran conflict

The recent upsurge in conflict between Israel and Iran continues to build.

European foreign ministers have been holding talks with Iran to try to restore a diplomatic path over its nuclear programme. Before they got underway, Iran's foreign minister angrily denounced what he called Israel's merciless, barbaric and unjust war against his country.

This comes at a time when Israeli strikes continue in Gaza and a French-Saudi summit to discuss wider recognition of a Palestinian state was postponed indefinitely.

The BBC's Middle East Editor Seb Usher talks to Susie.

7.18 US role in the Israel-Iran conflict

President Trump has said he will decide if the US will get directly involved in the Iran-Israel conflict within the next fortnight.

The White House says he believes there is a "substantial chance of negotiations" in the meantime.

Iran's deputy foreign minister told the BBC it would cause "hell" in the region if the US were to get involved.

Washington Correspondent Simon Marks talks to Paddy.

7.26 The NZ-Cook Islands fallout

Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown has slammed New Zealand for what he calls a "patronising" approach over its China deal.

This week it was revealed that nearly $20m of New Zealand funding to the Cook Islands is on ice.

It's the latest update to a stoush started in February when Mr Brown signed partnership agreements with China, without consulting New Zealand.

Christopher Luxon said the government was unhappy and dissatisfied with the lack of transparency from the Cook Islands, but that it was a matter that didn't involve China on Thursday.

Late last night after high level bilateral talks with China Luxon refused to add anything further.

Yvonne Underhill-Sem is a Professor of Pacific Studies at the University of Auckland and hails from the Cook Islands, she talks to Susie.

7.36 Luxon's China trip

The Prime Minister has wrapped up a whirlwind three-day trip in China.

There was a blitz of promotional activities for New Zealand goods, but the main event has been high level talks with the leaders of the Chinese administration, including none other than President Xi Jinping.

To discuss Mr Luxon's trip to China is Jason Young, the director of the New Zealand Contemporary China Research Centre.

7.47 Taranaki high school has surplus with $4 school lunches

The coalition government's shake-up to school lunches last year left a trail of complaints, including melted plastic in food and a student being burned by an overheated lunch. 

For schools delivering the lunches themselves, there have been serious cost pressures. 

But one Taranaki high school says they've not only managed to operate within the $4 per lunch budget in the first quarter, but also had a small surplus.

Daryl Warburton is the principal of Waitara High School and talks to Paddy.

7.53 The Māori New Year

Ngā mihi nui o te matahi o te tau! Happy New Year.

It is of course the Māori New Year, and yesterday we celebrated the start of Matariki and the rise of the star cluster.

One of people who had a hand in deciding when we mark Matariki is Māori astronomer Victoria Campbell.

She is the general manager for The Dark Sky Project, a leader in astro-tourism and stargazing experiences, combining Western science and Māori celestial knowledge in Takapō, also known as Tekapo.

It's been a busy year for Victoria, from partnering with Minecraft, to creating unique Mataraki stamps with NZ Post and she joins Susie and Paddy.

8.11 Why times speeds up as we age - and how to slow it down 

For some of us, a day or an hour disappears in the blink of an eye. For others it might feel much longer. Time also seems to speed up as we get older. But why? And how can our perceptions be so different to one another?

Dr Steve Taylor is a senior lecturer in psychology at Leeds Beckett University. He has spent several years analysing time expansion experiences (or TEEs) - which is when we perceive time as being stretched or slowed down.
 
Think about it - you might have had a sense of heightened awareness and time slowing in a moment of danger or during a crucial sporting moment - or during meditation. A boring conversation with a coworker might seem to last forever, whereas an exciting film could fly by in seconds. 

Dr Steve Taylor's latest book, Time Expansion Experiences: Psychology of Time Perception and the Illusion of Linear Time, shares the fascinating psychology behind time perception and why it is highly flexible and subjective. He speaks to Paddy Gower. 

8.35 Improving the lives of horses and pet animals - Natalie Waran OBE

Professor Natalie Waran has been recognised for her lifetime's research into improving the lives of horses. 

Natalie has been awarded an Order of the British Empire - or OBE - for services to equine welfare, research and education in the King's Birthday Honours. 

During her career, she has developed evidence-based educational programmes to improve how we understand and assess an animal's quality of life - and not just horses either. Her recent projects include looking at how artificial intelligence can decode a horse's emotional expressions while she's collaborated in a project designed to help cats (and their owners) transition to living indoors.  

She was formerly professor in Animal Welfare Science at University of Edinburgh, relocated to New Zealand in 2016, and is director of animal welfare charity Companion Animals New Zealand (CANZ).

Natalie Waran OBE speaks to Susie. 

9.05 Sharon Van Etten: solo to jamming

Sharon Van Etten's latest album is her seventh and first with her group The Attachment Theory.

The new album, Sharon Van Etten & the Attachment Theory, is the result of collaboration with her former touring band in the Californian desert.  

Despite previously being averse to jamming, Van Etten says she went against her own intuition and encouraged her bandmates to jam along with her at the end of a long week of rehearsals. 

The results left her inspired and this collaborative approach with her band became the backbone of the new record - her first full-band release. 

Susie speaks to Los Angeles-based Sharon Van Etten ahead of her shows in Wellington, Christchurch and Auckland this November.

9.30 The 21 year old gearing up for a bell-ringing marathon

When you think of bell-ringing in an old cathedral, the first thing that comes to mind probably isn't today's youth - but here to flip the script is 21 year old Dylan Thomas.

Dylan is the Ringing Master at Wellington Cathedral of St Paul and he's gearing up to take part in a historic peal attempt next week to mark the end of Matariki.

The peal, is basically a marathon of three and a half hours of non-stop bell-ringing, with each bell being struck over five thousand times.

Dylan speaks with Paddy Gower about his hopes of keeping the tradition of bell-ringing alive. 

9.45 Photographer Kirsten Lewis shows the messy reality of parenting 

Voted one of America's best photographers, Colorado-based Kirsten Lewis spent 15 years capturing the complex yet fulfilling roller-coaster ride of parenting. With her camera in tow, she visited families and spent hours and hours capturing raw and unfiltered moments of intimacy between loved ones.

The result? A collection of black and white photographs showing that both parenthood and life are messy endeavours. Kirsten's Lewis' photobook Unsupervised is her visual counterargument to the social pressures for parents to appear "perfect" on social media.  She says she hopes the project helps parents feel less alone. 

10.05 Lynne Olsen - resistance at Ravensbrück

New York Times bestselling author, historian and White House correspondent Lynne Olson's new book The Sisterhood of Ravensbrück tells of defiance in a notorious women-only Nazi concentration camp.

Already well-practiced in sabotaging the Nazis in occupied France, this tight-knit group of French women joined forces in the camp to defy their German captors and keep one another alive, including staging a music show to keep spirits up.

Ravensbrück became widely known thanks to Martha Hall Kelly's bestselling novel Lilac Girls.   It was a site of horror and brutality, and also a place of bravery, defiance, and mutual aid.  

Olsen's book takes us beyond the confines of the camp to the group's continued efforts for freedom and justice in post-war years.

10.35 Approaching life-changing diagnosis for "missing millions" with ME/CFS

Anyone who has or knows someone with ME, chronic syndrome fatigue or long covid knows that being believed is one of the toughest parts of having the condition.

University of Otago Emeritus Professor Warren Tate has dedicated his life to researching ME/CFS and is considered a leading authority on long covid. 

Along with his team, he has been developing a diagnostic test, that so far has shown promising results.

If implemented, it would be life-changing.

Warren and his co-researcher Dr Katie Peppercorn have also released a one-of-a-kind book to help clinicians and researchers find ways of better understanding post-viral conditions and improve the lives of those 'missing millions' affected with ME/CFS and most recently long covid. 

11.06 Mother of Chooks: Jesse Leaman on his tender chicken documentary 

Mother of Chooks is a joyful short documentary which follows Australian woman Elaine James who has become a minor celebrity - all because she keeps pet chickens. 

It was after losing her sister, that Elaine found companionship in a rescue chicken named Flapper - who she takes with her to cafes, parks, and has even toilet trained. Elaine has become a local legend - known as the Mother of Chooks. 

The short documentary film Mother of Chooks is showing at the nationwide Doc Edge Festival starting later this month. Susie speaks to co-director Jesse Leaman about this heartwarming story and what it was like to work alongside his mum who was also involved in the project. 

11.25 Northland Champion Gerry Paul - Brew of Islands Festival

If you're looking for something to do to pass the winter blues by, look no further than the Brew of Islands Festival taking place next weekend in Kerikeri.

The festival is a celebration of the best of what the region has to offer, from food, music, and of course local breweries. 

Unofficial northland champion, Gerry Paul is one of the event organisers.

Gerry was previously Wellington's CubaDupa festival director for many years and he currently runs Northlands premier arts venue, The Turner Centre.

He speaks with Paddy Gower.

 

11.45 Winter Gardening with Hannah Zwartz

Matariki is a great time of year to slow down, reflect, and take stock of the different areas of our lives, and for some, it might be a good time to get into the garden.

Just because it's cold doesn't mean the gardening has to stop - our gardening expert Hannah Zwartz is here to share how Matariki applies to the gardening world, aswell as how to have flowers all year long. 

If you have gardening related questions, text us on 2101, or you can email us at saturday@rnz.co.nz