Sunday Morning for Sunday 12 October 2025

8:10 Local body elections wrap  

Who’s in and who’s out? RNZ’s Alexa Cook joins Jim to discuss election results across the motu. 

8:25 Sunday Morning Quiz with Jack Waley-Cohen  

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 Does Trump deserve the Nobel Peace Prize?

Despite his obvious campaigning, US President Donald Trump didn't was not awarded the Nobel Peace Prize this week. The White House claims giving it to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado prioritises politics over peace.

In Alfred Nobel's will, it says the award should go to the person "who has done the most or best to advance fellowship among nations". Feature Story's Nick Harper joins Jim to discuss Trump, Gaza, US crime and the US government shutdown.

9:10 Mediawatch 

Netball’s a national sport - and it’s natural the media want to know if something’s going wrong at the top. Mediawatch asks if the media are making the game’s current drama worse? Also - what to do about online harm was aired in a Parliamentary inquiry this week. But is the purpose of this to prevent regulation that could make it safer? 

9:40 The case for Lucy Letby 

Award-winning NZ feature documentary maker Charlotte Purdy has been researching the Lucy Letby case for more than two years. Letby, a neo-natal nurse, was convicted of the murder of seven infants at the UK’s Countess of Chester Hospital.

Charlotte Purdy’s research caught the eye of Channel 4’s commissioning agents and led to her being given an associate producer role for the channel’s new documentary Lucy Letby: Murder or Mistake. Charlotte joins Jim to talk about the case and about what her research uncovered. 

10:10 John Bishop: A quarter of a century of stand-up 

Twenty-five years ago, John Bishop stepped onto the stage at the Frog and Bucket in Manchester to perform his first ever comedy gig in front of just a handful people. John was working in the pharmaceutical industry by day, but that night, he picked up the mic and it changed his life.

John had never watched stand-up, didn’t know any of the rules or conventions and just gave it a go. Since then, he’s been performing to glowing reviews. John is with Jim to talk about Is This Thing On? the film coming out about his life, starring Bradley Cooper, Will Arnett and Laura Dern. Next month, John’s touring New Zealand with his 25 Years of Stand-Up tour.  

10:40 Happiness in life might not be U-shaped after all 

Victoria University Psychology Professor Dr Marc Wilson joins Jim to discuss happiness; a recent study out of Germany challenges the commonly held belief about happiness following a U-shaped curve throughout one's life. And a study out of Cornell University has found that strong friendships may literally slow aging at the cellular level. 

11:10 How cats have helped write some great books    

New Zealand raised, Sydney-based lecturer and writer Susannah Fullerton has written Great Writers and the Cats Who Owned Them. In it, she explores the special bond between renowned writers and their feline companions.

Susannah has been President of the Jane Austen Society of Australia for almost 30 years and gives talks on famous writers and their novels, poems, and plays. She’s with Jim to discuss the well-known authors who had a space on their lap for a cat. 

11:35 To see or not to see: Taylor Swift reveals new Ophelia video 

Taylor Swift fans are abuzz with excitement after the release of the star’s video for her new single ‘The Fate of Ophelia’. Some critics aren't as impressed. TV and film critic Sarah McMullan’s with Jim with her take on the video. 

11:45 What’s next for the economy? 

This week the Reserve Bank made the decision to cut the official cash rate by 50 basis points to 2.5 percent, in an effort to improve consumer confidence and boost the country's economy. But is it too little too late? And is the AI bubble about to burst?

RNZ’s business reporter and former market analyst Jeffrey Halley is with Jim to discuss the outlook for the economy.