Sunday Morning for Sunday 1 March 2020

7:10 The Kiwi living in an Italian Covid-19 danger zone 

Last week, Jackie Miller joined the show for our Calling Home segment, where she told listeners about her idyllic lifestyle in the Liguria region of Italy. Seven days later she is living in a Covid-19 danger zone after a new case was reported of someone who lives not far from her house in Pieve di Teco. 

7:18 Study shows dairy milk 'associated with breast cancer risk' 

A new study conducted by researchers at Loma Linda University Health has associated consumption of dairy milk with a greater risk of breast cancer in women. New Zealand Professor Gary Fraser was the lead author of the paper, which was published in the International Journal of Epidemiology. He joins the show to discuss the study. 

7.32 The House

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

7.45 Calling Home: Charles Olsen in Madrid

Having been enticed by a love of Spanish art and flamenco guitar, New Zealand artist and poet Charles Olsen arrived in Spain in 2003 with the intention of staying for a month. Seventeen years later, he has just begun a tenure as Residencia Artística at Matadero Madrid and couldn't feel more at home in Spain. 

8:10 Insight

This week ABC producer Fiona Pepper travels to Tanna to hear stories of the blackbirding trade, and the scars the kidnapping of a generation of men has left on Vanuatu.

8:41 How speaking 'parentese' helps your baby learn to talk 

When it comes to helping infants learn to talk, it's not just how much parents say, but how they say it. A new study  shows that parents who learn how and why to speak ‘parentese’ can have a direct impact on their children's vocabulary. Naja Ferjan Ramirez is an assistant professor at the department of linguistics at the University of Washington. She joins the show to discuss.  

8:50 Probability out the door with big Lotto prizes 

People rationally understood that their chances of winning last night's $50 million Lotto Powerball prize were slim, to say the very least, but the concept of probability tends to go out the door when it comes to big Lotto prizes. Professor Marc Wilson is from Victoria University's school of psychology. He explains why we are so driven to buy tickets for the 'big one', despite the fact the odds become even more astronomical than they normally are in weeks such as this.

9:06 Mediawatch

This week Mediawatch asks if whistleblowers who go to the media deserve protection from the law. Also: a new online news service that wants to sign you up as a subscriber - and why one editor has pledged to push party politics out of her publication in election year. Produced and presented by Colin Peacock and Hayden Donnell. 

9:37 Popular songs have gotten sadder over 50-year period 

Researchers at the University of Exeter analysed the lyrics of more than 15,000 English-language songs published between 1965 and 2015 and found that popular songs are getting sadder. In fact, the most successful songs in the charts tend to have the most negative words in the lyrics. Dr. Charlotte Brand was one of the study's co-authors. She joins the show to explain. 

10:04 Study on rabbits reveals the secret to living a longer life 

In 1978, a seemingly straightforward experiment designed to establish the relationship between high blood cholesterol and heart health in rabbits discovered that kindness made the difference between a heart attack and a healthy heart. It's called the Rabbit Effect, and Dr. Kelli Harding has written a book about it; The Rabbit Effect: Live Longer, Happier, and Healthier with the Groundbreaking Science of Kindness. 

10:39 Professor Michael Baker on New Zealand's coronavirus threat 

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is urging calm as panicked shoppers rush for medical supplies and empty supermarket shelves in the wake of this country's first coronavirus case. The Ministry of Health says the risk of a community outbreak is low. Professor Michael Baker, Department of Public Health, University of Otago, Wellington is with us for an update. 

10.50 Our Current Song: Pitch Black, Third Light

Third Light is the title track from pioneering New Zealand electronic duo Pitch Black's sixth studio album. Michael Hodgson, who is one half of Pitch Black along with Paddy Free, joins Jim in studio to discuss the band's success and longevity, and the inspiration behind Third Light. 

11:05 Kids in focus at Christchurch Children's Day event 

Today is Children's Day - Te rā o ngā Tamariki, a day of national awareness, annually recognised on the first Sunday of March. Christchurch's Children's Day is being held at the Red Zone Transitional Land in Dallington. Event organiser Helen Miles joins the show to discuss the day and its importance for the Garden City. 

11:15 Hackers could shut down satellites and turn them into weapons  

Satellites have the potential to revolutionise many aspects of everyday life, but there is also a very real risk that these same satellites could be shut down by hackers, who could then turn them into weapons. Dr. William Akoto is a cyber conflict commentator with the University of Denver. He says all it takes is a highly motivated and skilled hacker to shut down a satellite. 

11.30 US correspondent Karen Kassler on 'Super Tuesday' 

There is another huge week ahead ahead in US politics, with 'Super Tuesday' -- where more than a third of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary votes will be cast -- looming as the star billing. US correspondent Karen Kasler joins the look at Super Tuesday and whether Michael Bloomberg can ultimately buy the election.   

11.50 Why trigger warnings don't help people cope with distressing material 

Advocates for trigger warnings have made quite specific psychological claims about their benefits, especially for enabling people to brace themselves emotionally for what lies ahead, but Dr. Christian Jarrett has studied a wealth of recent research and doesn't believe we are able to brace ourselves emotionally when distressing material is involved.