Sunday Morning for Sunday 21 September 2025

8:10 UK and US news with BBC Correspondent Rich Preston  

BBC News presenter and foreign affairs reporter Rich Preston joins the show once again—this time from the United States—to give us the latest news from across the UK and US, including Trump's transatlantic visit and the memorials for Charlie Kirk.  

Rich anchors the BBC's international and domestic news channel for a global audience, and he's hosted the BBC's coverage of many major events. 

 

8:25 The Sunday Morning Quiz 

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

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

Wake up your brain and have a go!  

 

8:35 Batteries on board: what are the risks?

Shawn Pruchnicki is an assistant professor at Ohio State University. Trained as a pharmacist/toxicologist, he has also worked as a firefighter/paramedic, an airline pilot, and later for NASA. He’s with Jim to talk about the fire danger on aircraft posed by lithium batteries and whether fumes on board are harmful to pilots, crew and frequent fliers. 

 

9:10 Mediawatch 

Mediawatch talks to a former editor warning that ‘news deserts’ are creeping up on us - and there’s little in place in our main media companies or our government media policy to prevent the spread.  Also - more fallout from the death of Tom Phillips - and stories about housing and property can be found daily in every newspaper and news websites. But what kind of stories are they? 

 

9:40 Doug Gold: the incredible story of ‘Saving Elli’ 

After receiving an email from a reader of his previous bestselling book, The Dress Maker and the Hidden Soldier, author Doug Gold stumbled across another incredible true tale. In Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, a resistance couple risk everything by concealing a young Jewish girl in a camouflaged space above their ceiling.  

Gold, who is based in Wellington, joins Jim to share the story behind Saving Elli. 

 

10:10 Clarke Gayford on the making of Prime Minister 

The political and personal life of New Zealand’s 40th Prime Minister Dame Jacinda Ardern is laid bare in the new documentary, Prime Minister.  The film includes home footage shot by Dame Jacinda's husband, Clarke Gayford, who is also one of its producers. Prime Minister has won audience awards at both the Sundance and Sydney film festivals and will be in cinemas in New Zealand from Thursday.  

Clarke joins Jim to talk about the making of the film, the demands of the office of Prime Minister, and what life is like now for the couple. 

 

10:40 Weekend sports chat with Lavina Good 

Sports commentator Lavina Good joins Jim to discuss the weekend's big sporting fixtures, including the outcome of Black Ferns v Canada for the Women's Rugby World Cup semi-final on Saturday night, and outlook for the Silver Ferns v South Africa on Sunday evening as part of a three-match series contesting for the Taini Jamison Trophy. 

 

11:10 How smells can help us detect disease 

Clues as to whether we are developing serious illnesses could be right under our noses. Professor Perdita Barran is Chair of Mass Spectrometry at Manchester University and is part of a team working to identify biomarkers in our smells that can help diagnose conditions - including Parkinson’s and some cancers.   

Perdita joins Jim to discuss how a woman who can sniff out people with Parkinson’s disease has been a catalyst for the research and where it’s headed now. 

 

11:30 Why bosses exploit their most loyal employees 

New Scientist journalist David Robson’s with Jim to discuss why loyalty is often rewarded with extra expectations in the workplace – and what to do about it if it’s happening to you.  

 

11:40 Useful Science with Bonnie Harrison 

Bonnie Harrison is here guiding us through the latest weird and useful headlines from the world of science. 

 

The Sunday Poem: SPRING LAMB

Spring is sprung the grass is ‘ris’
No need to feed-out bales
And in the paddocks little lambs
Are waggling their tails

All over rural regions
Small children - bless their hearts
Are bottle feeding orphaned lambs
To give them all good starts

A picture perfect image of
A classic Kiwi scene
A child, a lamb, some daffodils
And rolling hills of green

An overload of cuteness and
‘Adorability’
The innocence of childhood and
A future lamb chop tea

By Robert Free, The Otago Bard