Sunday Morning for Sunday 22 March 2020

7:10 New Zealanders continue to be in favour of euthanasia legislation

A new survey from Research New Zealand Limited shows that Kiwis continue to be in favour of euthanasia legislation, while opinion is more polarised but possibly changing in favour of the recreational cannabis legislation. Research NZ Managing Partner Emanual Kalafatelis is with us to discuss further. 

7:18 Professor Gary McLean: 'No age group is immune from Covid-19' 

New Zealander Gary McLean is a professor in molecular immunology and infectious diseases specialist at London Metropolitan University. He thinks things are being done well in New Zealand in relation to the spread of Covid-19, but offers a stark warning that it is not only the elderly who are at risk of contracting the virus. 

7:45am Kiwi traveller stranded in Lima: 'We're not welcome here' 

New Zealander Jo Tovee is stuck in a hostel in Lima for the foreseeable future only five days into her solo-trip to Peru after the Peruvian government declared a 15-day state of emergency. While she has plenty of like-minded souls around her at the hostel, and the hostel is doing everything it can to help, she says foreigners are being made to feel unwelcome on the streets of Lima. 

7:54 New Zealander in French Guiana riding out Covid-19 storm 

Nicholas Holmes travelled in French Guiana to pick his daughter up and take her back home for a holiday in his home country, but he now finds himself locked down in a Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni apartment. He did consider making a mercy dash home but now realises it is virtually impossible, so he is going to sit it out.  

8:10 Insight: Cramped, rotting and risky - the scale of the hospital fix-up revealed

The state of many of the country's public hospital buildings is compromising medical care. For the first time there's been a national stocktake. Phil Pennington looks at what's wrong, and asks if it can be fixed.

8:39 3MM: Vanessa Baxter on essential items for your larder 

Now it's Three Minutes Max, New Zealand commentators with succinct opinions. Vanessa Baxter from The Fearless Kitchen shares some thoughts on essential items for your larder to help through social distancing or self-isolation due to Covid-19.

8:43 Professor Michael Baker: Covid-19 update and listener Q&A 

Professor Michael Baker discusses the practicalities of what the Prime Minister has announced for New Zealand, primarily that anyone incoming must self-isolate unless they are from the Pacific Islands, and fields your Covid-19 questions. Send them to sunday@rnz.co.nz  or text 2101. 

9:06 Mediawatch 

Mediawatch looks at how our media are adapting to 'the new normal' of Covid-19 while suffering from the economic fallout themselves. The media have conveyed crucial information in context but some have also amplified contradictory claims that could confuse people at a critical time.

9:37 The quiet zone: the US town where Wi-Fi is banned 

Tucked away in a mountain in the Allegheny Mountains in West Virginia is the Green Bank Radio Telescope - the largest steerable radio telescope in the world. The telescope needs to be isolated from all the radio noise that humanity produces. Which means that WiFi in Green Bank is both unavailable and banned, and cell signals are nonexistent. Dr. Karen O'Neil is the Director of the Green Bank Observatory. 

10:04 Nobel Prize-winner: 'People should act as though they have Covid-19' 

Australian immunologist Professor Peter Doherty literally wrote the book on pandemics (Pandemics: What Everyone Needs to Know.) His research is mainly in the area of defence against viruses. Doherty, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine in 1996, joins the show to look at the Covid-19 outbreak and how he expects things to pan out from here. 

10:35 Musical Chair: Georgia Hale 

The Musical Chair is designed for busy people, and this week's guest, league star Georgia Hale is certainly no exception, despite the fact her sporting season is in limbo due to the Covid-19 outbreak. The 2020 Young New Zealander of the Year will continue her tireless and compassionate work in the community, even if she can't get up close and personal with the people that mean so much to her. 

11:05 Michael Portillo's Great Australian Railway Journeys 

Accompanied by his distinctively colourful wardrobe, former UK cabinet minister turned TV presenter Michael Portillo travelled almost 15,000 kilometres around 'The Lucky Country' by train - from the Ghan to the Indian Pacific - for his latest series, Great Australian Railway Journeys, which premieres on NZ television next month. He joins the show to discuss the series and share his views on how the Covid-19 outbreak is being handled in the UK. 

11:32 The streamer at the heart of the esports chess boom 

Following in the footsteps of esport stars playing games like Fortnite and League of Legends in front of thousands of adoring online esports fans, chess streamer Alexandra Botez is at the forefront of the revolution that is bringing the most traditional of games kicking and screaming into the 21st century.

11:52 LA-based Kiwi actress in 'spirals of anxiety' over Covid-19 

Kim Crossman was already into the sixth day of a self-quarantine period when it was announced on Friday that the city of Los Angeles was going into lockdown due to the Covid-19 outbreak. Crossman was diagnosed with depression and anxiety last year and says events such as this can be a triggering event for people living with mental health issues.