Sunday Morning for Sunday 7 December 2025

8.10 Latest news from the US with Karen Kasler

Statehouse News Bureau chief Karen Kasler joins Jim to discuss the latest news coming out of the US.

 

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!   

 

8.30 The five major 'epochs’ of human brain development  

Scientists say human brain development has four pivotal ‘turning points’. The results come from brain scans of nearly 4000 people aged under one to 90 and provide a new understanding of brain structure, 

Professor Duncan Astle is a researcher in neuroinformatics at Cambridge University and senior author of the study. He speaks to Jim Mora 

 

9.05 Mediawatch

Australia’s banning social media for teens, and there’s a slick media campaign for the same here. But there's also warnings that the government here should not follow suit.  Also: the media’s fever for foreign flatpack furnishings as Ikea opened in Auckland.  

 

9.35 Calling Home: Angela Steele from Minnesota 

Calling Home this week is Angela Steele. She lives in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and works as a professional theatre actor.  

 

10.05 Suzanne Vega on the struggle of making new music 

Folk-rock luminary Suzanne Vega has just released her first album in eleven years, Flying with Angels. Best known for hits like Luka, Marlene on the Wall, and Solitude Standing, Vega will be in New Zealand in September 2026 to perform three career-spanning shows.

She joins Jim Mora from her home in New York to discuss her new album, Buddhism, staying anonymous, and her Crowded House connection. 

 

10.30 Useful science with Bonnie Harrison 

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

 

11.05 Forget the grindset: the power of 'productive quitting'

New Scientist journalist David Robson joins Jim once again, this time to discuss why ‘grindset’ mentality can adversely affect our physical and mental health. Instead, new research suggests that giving up on certain ambitions – such as plans to run a marathon or learn a language - can actually provide a wellbeing boost.

 

11.25 Across the Tasman with the ABC’s Angus Grigg

Angus Grigg is an investigative reporter based in Sydney and is part of ABC’s Four Corners team.  He joins Jim to discuss the news making the headlines in Australia. 

 

11.35 How the ‘Seated Salsa’ can help relieve lower back pain

An estimated 619 million people around the world suffer from lower back pain. The exercise ‘Seated Salsa’ is being touted as a miracle movement to ease discomfort.  

Professor Ben Darlow is based at the department of Primary Health Care at the University of Otago and a musculoskeletal physiotherapy specialist. He joins Jim Mora.