30 Apr 2019

The Panel with Guy Williams and Victoria Stewart (Part 2)

From The Panel, 4:05 pm on 30 April 2019

What is something you only recently learned that has improved your daily life? Jonathan Hait, a social psychologist and a top Global Thinker, according to Foreign Policy Magazine, says "never before, have we encountered a group like Generation Z who feel 'unsafe' if you disagree with them, expect upsetting information to be signalled with a trigger warning, and are so ill equipped for adulting that they will call the police if they find a mouse in the house". Are they right to be fearful in the midst of climate change and political fearmongering on all fronts? The Ministry of Transport has confirmed that April has been the deadliest month on the roads in 10 years. Forty-five people have died this month and 137 so-far this year. The usual reasons have been given - distraction and speed. Race car driver Greg Murphy is calling on more driver training but, road safety advocate Clive Matthew-Wilson says that would be ineffective. Journalist, Rod Vaughan's looked into New Zealand's roads and concluded that the conditions are appalling. A school in the UK is going to give kids a lesson in life. Farsley Farfield Primary in Leeds is planning to slaughter its pet pigs to demonstrate where meat comes from. The pigs are kept on the school's farm in West Yorkshire. The headteacher says his pupils will be 'more knowledgeable and sensitive to animal welfare' as a result of the plan. Part of the project is to discuss the need to reduce meat consumption. A pair of US botanists Elisabeth Schussler and James Wandersee, coined the term "plant blindness" back in the late '90s. It's an under appreciation of plants in general. The Panelists tell us how much notice they take of the natural world around them. The Panelists ponder if live music is still live if there's a pre-recorded backing track.