Sunday Morning for Sunday 25 October 2020

7:10 Covid-19 update with Professor Gary McLean 

New research suggests that people with blood type O could be less likely to get sick with Covid-19. Their risk of severe complications such as organ failure - and even death - is also reduced, according to scientists. New Zealand professor Gary McLean joins the show to discuss the topic of blood group susceptibility.   

7:23 Christchurch's creepy cemetery tales unearthed 

Historian Richard Greenaway is a man who knows a thing or two about the dead of Christchurch. At this year's Christchurch Heritage Festival he'll be showing curious Cantabrians around various cemeteries around the city, and telling the stories of how they lived, and died. He joins the show to explain how he became a Christchurch cemetery expert and what those on this afternoon's Barbadoes Street cemetery tour can expect. 

7:42 Calling Home: James Griffiths in Geneva

James Griffiths left New Zealand in 2002 with his wife and two children - then teenagers, in order to give them the rich overseas experiences he'd had growing up. He'd visited Switzerland a couple of times in the 1990s and always liked it. Today, James works as an independent sustainability advisor in Geneva and is more than happy with his lot, despite the high cost of living and the fact he still misses his fellow countrymen and women.  

8:06 Waikato cardiologist leads ground-breaking Sudden Unexplained Death research  

Dr Martin Stiles has taken the lead in publishing an international and world-best practice blueprint for investigating Sudden Unexplained Death (SUD) and Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA). The paper sets out a framework to help identify how family members of patients who suffer from SUD and SCA can avoid the same fate. He joins the show from Hamilton to discuss this ground-breaking research.  

8:25 NRL Grand Final Preview with Lavina Good 

There'll be a huge Kiwi connection in tonight's NRL title decider between the Melbourne Storm and the Penrith Panthers at ANZ Stadium in Sydney, with as many as a dozen New Zealanders set to take the field, while former Warriors coach Ivan Clearly will be hoping to win his first NRL title as a coach with the Panthers. League commentator Lavina Good is with us to preview the match. 

8:41 The Weekend Panel with Jane Clifton and Richard Harman 

Our weekend panellists Jane Clifton and Richard Harman were a regular presence on the show in the lead-in to the recent general election. With Labour's landslide having now been analysed with surgical precision, we've brought them back with a view to looking forward more than back. They'll discuss what's ahead for New Zealand for the rest of 2020 and beyond.   

9:06 Mediawatch

This week Mediawatch talks to a journalist targeted by fake news - and a broadcaster keeping an awkward political promise. Also: fringe political parties with lots of followers on Facebook didn't have much impact on the election result. Do we really need to worry about political fake news and misinformation on social media?  

9:40 Why dangerous falls are on the rise around the world 

Globally, falls are the second leading cause of accidental or unintentional deaths worldwide after traffic accidents. And modern lifestyles are making our balance worse, leaving us more vulnerable to trips and falls. Associate professor Manoj Srinivasan works on the mechanics of human locomotion at Ohio State University and joins the show to discuss the decline in our collective stability. 

10:04 Michael Wood: 'China is the greatest civilisation on earth'

Historian, author and documentary maker Michael Wood has travelled the length and breadth of China, the world's oldest continuous civilisation and longest lasting state, to compile a stunning new single volume history of China, The Story of China, which offers a look into the past of the global superpower and its significance today. Professor Wood joins the show to discuss the new book and explain why he believes China is the greatest civilisation on earth. 

10:40 My Current Song: Mel Parsons, Isabelle (Greg Johnson cover) 

If you live in the South Island - Mel Parsons is coming to a woolshed near you. The multi-award winning musician's teamed up with the comedy duo The Bitches' Box as part of 2020's The Woolshed Tour. Mel joins the show to discuss the tour, where she'll be singing a cover of a Greg Johnson song, Isabelle. 

10:45 The hidden costs of streaming music 

In his recent book, Decomposed: The Political Ecology of Music, musicologist Professor Kyle Devine examines the hidden or overlooked costs of online listening. Devine wants people to understand that there is no such thing as a nonmaterial way of listening to music, and that our demand that all of musical history should be available at the touch of a finger has become gluttonous. 

11:05 The extraordinary lives of lighthouse women

Wellington-based author Shona Riddell enjoys cold, windy weather and stories about remote locations. She's also had a long-held fascination for lighthouses. So it's perhaps no surprise her new book, Guiding Lights tells the fascinating stories of lighthouse women, many of whom operated in wild, remote locations around the world. 

11:30 Musical Chair: Sarah Tuck 

Food writer and Dish editor Sarah Tuck's first cookbook, Coming Unstuck, came about after a tumultuous time in her life, having been written in the aftermath of her marriage break-up. Her new book, Stuck Together: Recipes to Share came from a very different place. She's in the Musical Chair this morning and will discuss the new book and offer up a couple of songs from the soundtrack of her life.