Navigation for Sunday Morning

7:11  Robin Wright: How ISIS are able to radicalise upper and middle class recruits

ISIS alleged IS fighters, Anbar province, Iraq

ISIS alleged IS fighters, Anbar province, Iraq Photo: AFP

In the wake of the horrific terror attacks in Sri Lanka, which saw suicide bombers strike hotels and churches in the Colombo area and the eastern city of Batticaloa on Easter Sunday, the question on the lips of many was what would drive Islamic extremists from wealth and privileged upbringings -- people who seemingly have it all -- to commit to such a radical act? Robin Wright is a journalist, author of the book Rock the Casbah: Rage and Rebellion across the Islamic World and a joint fellow at the U.S. Institute of Peace and the Woodrow Wilson International Center. She joins the show to discuss ISIS indoctrination of the seemingly well-to-do and the Easter terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka.

 

7.18 Karen Kasler: What's driven 'Sleepy' Joe Biden to launch a third US presidency bid

In this still image taken from video released by the Joe Biden 2020 Presidential Campaign, former US Vice President Joe Biden on April 25, 2019, announces his bid for the presidency in the 2020 elections.

Photo: HO / Joe Biden 2020 Presidential Campaign / AFP

After months of deliberation, 76-year-old former Vice President Joe Biden -- the man Donald Trump refers to as 'Sleepy Joe' -- officially announced he would be running for the US presidency for a third time this week. In his campaign announcement video, the Democratic hopeful went straight on the front foot, framing his campaign as a battle for the soul of the country and rebuking the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017 and, crucially, Donald Trump's handling of the aftermath -- where the current US president concluded "there were some very fine people on both sides". Statehouse Bureau Chief Karen Kasler is with us to look at a vintage 2020 US presidential race that will include three 70-somethings (Trump is 72 and Bernie Sanders is 77) and 69-year-old Elizabeth Warren.

7.32 The House

A weekly digest of the events in Parliament with Daniela Maoate-Cox and Phil Smith.

 

7.45 Calling Home: Nick Ashley in Singapore 

Nick Ashley and a friend on a weekend away in Thailand

Nick Ashley and a friend on a weekend away in Thailand Photo: Supplied

Singapore has perhaps unfairly been labelled one of the most boring countries on earth, but Christchurch native Nick Ashley has a vastly different perspective of Asia's 'Garden City.' Ashley works as a pricing analyst for Singapore Airlines and has been living on the island since September 2017, having previously worked for the national carrier in both Auckland and Singapore. While he can understand why some people get a degree of cabin fever living among more than 5 million people in an area roughly the size of Lake Taupō, Ashley says there's more than enough local culture and hotspots -- not to mention weekend getaways to places like Malaysia and Thailand -- to keep people busy.
 

8:10 Insight: The new alt right hiding in plain sight

The Dominion Movement has retreated from public view since the March 15 terror attacks in Christchurch, but experts warn the ideologies and politics are still there.

The Dominion Movement has retreated from public view since the March 15 terror attacks in Christchurch, but experts warn the ideologies and politics are still there. Photo: Facebook

As the government looks to build international action to counter hate speech and extremism on social media, far-right political groups and ideologies are growing and becoming harder to detect.  Gyles Beckford has been investigating the emergence of new groups and new causes that are attracting disaffected and disengaged people.

 

8:37 Three Minutes Max: Martin Cocker 

Martin Cocker, Netsafe NZ

Photo: Supplied

Three Minutes Max: short, often sharp and succinct opinion from New Zealanders about life in Aotearoa. Netsafe chief executive Martin Cocker on 'The Christchurch Call' and the work New Zealand and France will be doing to help eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online


8:40 David Moreau: Science shows you can't achieve everything you set your mind to

David Moreau and the computer game Cerebral Space, which targets specific cognitive functions.

David Moreau and the computer game Cerebral Space, which targets specific cognitive functions. Photo: RNZ / Alison Ballance

Most people grow up being told they can achieve anything they set their mind to. However science suggests otherwise. Dr. David Moreau from the University of Auckland's School of Psychology has co-authored a paper called 'Overstating the Role of Environmental Factors in Success: A Cautionary Note.' The paper looks at whether or not popular ideas about psychology and brain training aimed at self-improvement are supported by scientific evidence. And the findings show that while we are probably encouraged to think if we adopt a particular mind-set or simply apply ourselves in a disciplined way, we could improve our lot, the whole idea of being able to achieve anything if you just try/apply yourself, isn't supported by scientific evidence. Dr. Moreau joins Jim to explain further.
 

9:06 Mediawatch

Produced and presented by Colin Peacock and Jeremy Rose.

9:37 3MM Gary McCormick 

Gary McCormick

Gary McCormick Photo: RNZ

Three Minutes Max: short, often sharp and succinct opinion from New Zealanders about life in Aotearoa on a Sunday morning. Broadcaster and raconteur Gary McCormick has some thoughts about school uniforms. 

9:44 Angus Kidman: Aussies have a leg-up in the trans-Tasman saving race

Our trans-Tasman cousins have one over us in the ongoing national rivalry between New Zealand and Australia, with Aussies saving more than Kiwis. Indeed, Australians save 2.1% of their disposable income on average, while New Zealanders are in negative savings rate. Which means we are spending more than we save. And the news is worse if you’re a Millennial. A study by the Brooking Institute this week was picked up by the Economist, which shows Millennials are not only doing financially worse at their age than previous generations, they're not able to save for their eventual retirements, they don't get employer pensions, they're saddled with huge student debt… and they have dreams and expectations they have little chance of making come true. Finder's global editor-in-chief is Angus Kidman. He joins us to discuss. 
 

10:06 Mike Garson: My life as David Bowie's piano man 

Mike Garson played piano for David Bowie on over 20 albums and 1000 live shows.

Mike Garson played piano for David Bowie on over 20 albums and 1000 live shows. Photo: Supplied

He was music icon David Bowie's longest-serving and most frequent band member -- not to mention being the man who helped Bowie 'go radical' -- but piano great Mike Garson didn't even know who Bowie was when he first turned up to audition (which lasted all of seven seconds) for his band 47 years ago. Then an aspiring avant-garde jazz pianist, Garson went on to feature on more than 20 Bowie albums and appear in over 1000 concerts around the globe. And he's continuing the Bowie legacy by bringing the A Bowie Celebration: The David Bowie Alumni Tour to New Zealand next month. He talks to Jim about his unique relationship with one of music's most influential artists -- who he rated as a level above John Lennon or Bob Dylan -- and the trip to NZ for the gigs in Christchurch and Auckland.
 

 

10.37 Neil Handley: How nearsighted people managed before glasses 

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Photo: 123rf

Neil Handley knows about glasses. He is Museum Curator at The College of Optometrists in London and an authority on the history of the lenses we look through to see properly, once past a certain age, sometimes from childhood. Neil wrote a book called Cult Eyewear, is a historian and cultural commentator, and has been Chairman of the London Museums of Health and Medicine and vice Chairman of the Scientific Instrument Society. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce. He joins the show to discuss the history of eyewear and how nearsighted people managed before the advent of corrective lenses. 


11:05 Nick Ferretti: The Kiwi musician who could prevail as 2019 German Idol winner

New Zealander Nick Ferretti has made the 2019 German Idol final. The final takes place in Cologne overnight.

New Zealander Nick Ferretti has made the 2019 German Idol final. The final takes place in Cologne overnight. Photo: Supplied

Unless you hail from Nelson and remember seeing him busking on its city streets, you might not have heard of 29-year-old Kiwi singer-songwriter Nick Ferretti. But there's a good chance he's about to become something of a household name. Indeed, Ferretti -- who describes himself as a 'Kiwi singer-songwriter travelling the world with my tunes' -- is taking part in the final of Deutschland sucht den Superstar (German Idol) in Cologne overnight, and we'll catch up with him once the highly-anticipated final is concluded. The final is set to take place in front of a viewing audience of over 5 million Germans, and will see the father of two young boys come out €100,000 (NZ$168,500) richer if he prevails. 

 

11:20 Three Minutes Max: Dave Read 

Three Minutes Max: short, often sharp and succinct opinion from New Zealanders about life in Aotearoa. A farming couple from Waiau Station near Wairoa contacted us regarding climate change. They were finalists in the East Coast Balanced Farm Environment Awards. Could they say something? Yes of course. Here's Dave Read reacting to discussion around Simon Upton's recent report on climate strategy.

 

11:34 Graham Russell: The story of Air Supply -- from humble beginnings 

Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock.

Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock. Photo: Supplied

The Air Supply story is that of two Russells -- Australian lead vocalist Russell Hitchcock and English singer-songwriter and guitarist Graham Russell. Together, they've been making music and touring the world as the iconic soft-rock balladeers for over 40 years. And if that wasn't enough, there is now even a musical stage show featuring some of their greatest love songs, called All Out of Love -- The Musical. Graham Russell joins the show on the eve of his latest visit to New Zealand to look at what has kept the Air Supply wheels spinning for over four decades, and life on the road in your late 60s. *Air Supply Orchestral plays at the Bruce Mason Centre on Tuesday night.