Sunday Morning for Sunday 16 March 2025

8:10 Flu season is approaching – are we ready? 

NZ’s Dr Richard Webby is the Director of the WHO Collaborating Center for Studies on the Ecology of Influenza.  

He’s been keeping a careful eye on the wave of influenza cases in the Northern Hemisphere and speaks to Jim about what might be in store for us this winter. 

8:20 The Sunday Morning Quiz with Jack Waley-Cohen  

Quiz master Jack Waley-Cohen is back with his Sunday Morning question.   

Jack is the mind behind the questions on BBC's infamous quiz show Only Connect, known for being both really hard - and at the same time totally obvious.   

Wake up your brain and have a go! 

8:30 Calling home: Tamara Singer in Norway 

New Zealander Tamara Singer lives more than 150 kilometres into the Arctic Circle in Norway’s Lofoten Islands. She can often be found in a wetsuit, hand-harvesting seaweed from the icy waters of the Norwegian Sea for her company Lofoten Seaweed, which is used in Michelin star restaurants across Europe.   

9:10 Mediawatch 

The PM’s got plenty on his plate right now, including media hinting his time is up in the top job. Is that true - or fair? Also: a new move to use the media to improve integrity in public life and push back at vested interests. Sounds good, but are things really that bad? 

9:40 Is there a link between high fluoride levels and IQ?  

A meta-analysis looking at 74 studies from around the world claims to have found a correlation between fluoride exposure and children's IQs. The review, which came out of the US, included data from a New Zealand study done more than 10 years ago.  

Professor Jonathan Broadbent was the lead author of the New Zealand-based research, which was drawn from data from the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Study. He joins Jim to discuss the findings. 

10:10 Toto’s Joe Williams on the band’s enduring legacy 

Best known as the lead vocalist for 80s rock band Toto, Joe Williams has many feathers in his cap. He has released 10 solo albums and worked as a session vocalist – including lending his voice to the singing part of adult Simba in 1994 animated film The Lion King.  He has also composed dozens of film scores – following in the footsteps of his father John Williams who is widely regarded as the foremost film composer of all time. 

With Toto winging their way to New Zealand for three shows next month, Joe joins Jim to discuss his musical family, as well as analyse the enduring musical success of Toto’s 1982 hit ‘Africa’, which has been certified Diamond for the sale of 10 million copies in the US. 

10:30 How much exercise can help cut the risk of dementia? 

Epidemiologist Dr Amal Wanigatunga from the Johns Hopkins Center on Aging and Health says a study of nearly 90,000 adults showed as little as 35 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week can reduce dementia risk in older adults.  He joins Jim to discuss the study and its results. 

10:40 What’s My Book About: Rodney Strong 

Rodney Strong is a Wellington-based author, primarily of cozy mysteries.  He has 18 titles to his name and a strong international following. He joins Jim to talk about this latest book, Three Dogs, Two Murders and a Cat. 

11:10  Laura Winter previews the Australian Grand Prix 

The Formula One 2025 season is poised to open with the Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne's Albert Park on Sunday afternoon. Local lad Liam Lawson will be racing in one of the hottest seats of the championship, having joined four-time defending champion Max Verstappen on the Red Bull team as the number two driver. 

F1 commentator Laura Winter has travelled form the UK to Melbourne for the season-opener and joins Jim to preview the race and discuss 23-year-old Lawson’s chances of success. 

11:25 My Latest Track: Dunedin band Skin & Bone 

Ōtepoti-based five-piece Skin & Bone centres around the core members of guitarist Mike Moroney and bassist John Dodd, who together have penned a collection of lively tunes which fall under a genre they call "cowboy lounge". These original songs, along with a selection of Western swing covers, feature on the band’s recently released debut album Last Bus To Brockville. 
 
Moroney and Dodd, who have played together for three decades in various forms, join Jim to chat about their latest musical venture, and share the track ‘Won’t be Coming Home Much Anymore’. 

11:35 Could we wipe out life on Earth? 

Dr David Jablonski, professor of geophysical sciences at the University of Chicago says it’d be difficult for humans to wipe out life on Earth entirely. He studies patterns of evolution and the way life rebounds after mass extinctions. 

Dr Jablonski joins Jim to talk about what might be left if Earth becomes seemingly ‘uninhabitable’.