Sunday Morning for Sunday 16 December 2012

8:12 Insight: Online Video Games - a Virtual Crisis?

Insight considers if online video gaming could be causing harm, or if it’s the new frontier for sport.
Written and presented by Teresa Cowie.
Produced by Philippa Tolley.

8:40 Robyn Paterson – Finding Mercy

In June 2010 Chris interviewed ‘Emma’ – that’s not her real name but she was  keeping her identity secret as she traveled between her new home in New Zealand and Zimbabwe, where she grew up. She was making a film about the reign of Robert Mugabe, telling the story through her search for her childhood friend, Mercy Shumba. Now the documentary is finished, has won awards, and is about to screen on TVNZ. Emma’s real name is Robyn Paterson and she’s with Chris today to talk about making her film, the risks she faced, and what she found.
Finding Mercy screens on TV1 at 9.30pm, Monday, 17 December.

9:06 Mediawatch

Mediawatch asks the boss of the government outfit spending our money on broadcasting: Is it time to reconsider what’s really important?  Mediawatch also looks at a rash of recent media stories asking if modern medicine is doing us more harm than good, and how some local publications are taking the plunge and trying to get people to pay for their news and journalism online. 
Produced and presented by Colin Peacock and Jeremy Rose.

9.40 Victoria Treadell – The UK Relations

Victoria Treadell is the British High Commissioner to New Zealand and Samoa, and the Governor of Pitcairn. She’s the first woman to serve as British High Commissioner to New Zealand.

10:06 Ideas: Mad Pride

Mad Pride is an international movement of mental health consumers who are confronting society’s prejudices against those with mental illnesses. In New Zealand the movement has been spearheaded by Arana Pearson, a mental health consumer advocate and self-described “edutainer”. Chris Laidlaw talks to Arana about the ideas behind the Mad Pride movement. And Jeremy Rose speaks to two members of Wellington’s Sendam Rawkestra, a Wellington drumming group that grew out of Newtown’s The Clubhouse – a drop-in centre for mental health consumers. The Sendam Rawkestra is currently attempting to crowd-source the funds needed to release a CD and you can find out more about that on its Facebook Page.
Produced by Jeremy Rose.

10.55 Today’s Track

Islamist militants are banning music in northern Mali. This is a huge blow for the poor country where, as musician Toumani Diabaté says, "culture is our petrol … music is our mineral wealth. There isn't a single major music prize in the world today that hasn't been won by a Malian artist." Today’s track is Kala Djula,  featuring Toumani Diabaté, and the late Ali Farka Touré, from their 2009 album ‘Ali & Toumani’ (World Circuit)

11.05 Down the List

Where does the real power in New Zealand lie? That’s right, with a bunch of bureaucrats, underlings, officials, and lowly-ranked list MPs that you and I have never heard of.  Whether it’s in sport, politics, commerce, education or the arts, the only way to find out what’s really going on in this country is by going ... Down the List. Written by Dave Armstrong and produced by Radio New Zealand’s Drama department.  Today, the morning crew from Crap FM stage their regular Mad Mike’s Mad Monday prank call.

11.12 Avner Gvaryahu – IDF Soldiers Break the Silence

Avner Gvaryahu is a former Israeli soldier and a member of Breaking the Silence, a non-governmental organisation established in Jerusalem in 2004 by Israel Defence Forces veterans, to document the testimonies of Israeli soldiers who have served in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. He talks to Chris about how support within Israel for the occupation of Palestinian territory rests on the belief that the army’s actions are defensive and aimed at protecting the country - but a new book, which includes hundreds of soldiers’ testimonies collected over a decade, tells a different story.
Our Harsh Logic – Israeli soldiers’ testimonies from the Occupied Territories, 2000–2010, compiled by Breaking the Silence, is published by Scribe.

11.40 Wayne Brittenden’s Counterpoint

Wayne Brittenden has been Radio New Zealand’s correspondent in several capital cities over the years. Each week he gives fresh insights into a wide variety of topics of national and international concern, followed by Chris Laidlaw’s discussion of the issue with guests. Today, Wayne looks at the circumstances surrounding the invention of Christmas, the First Council of Nicea in 325AD and its impact on Christianity. Chris follows up with Clay Nelson, the American-born associate priest at Auckland’s St. Matthew-in-the-city.